$1700 budget. Gaming + encoding. Help get me back into the game!

[AdanDC650]

Please help folks! I've been using a crappy rig for a few years now. Get me back into the game!


Approximate Purchase Date: Within two weeks

Budget Range: Between $1600-1700 max

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, encoding, watching movies

Parts Not Required: Mouse and keyboard, copy of Windows and an SSD. I'll buy an SSD on Black Friday.

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Amazon (No CA tax) or Newegg (lots of parts but CA tax)

Country of Origin: United States

Parts Preferences: I would like an Intel 2600k processor, a very reliable and powerful modular PSU, 23"-24" LED LCD monitor and a great looking computer case with awesome cooling + USB 3.0 ports.

Overclocking: Of course! I won't go crazy at first.

SLI or Crossfire: SLI please!

Monitor Resolution: Full HD

Additional Comments: You guys rock! Love Tom's Hardware!

 

[Proximon]

We need a bit more from you first
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/261222-31-build-advice

 

[AdanDC650]

Approximate Purchase Date: Within two weeks

Budget Range: Between $1600-1700 max

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, encoding, watching movies

Parts Not Required: Mouse and keyboard, CPU/GPU coolers

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Amazon (No CA tax) or Newegg (lots of parts but CA tax)

Country of Origin: United States

Parts Preferences: I would like an Intel 2600k processor, a very reliable modular PSU that is SLI capable and a 23"-24" LED LCD monitor

Overclocking: Of course! I won't go crazy at first.

SLI or Crossfire: SLI please!

Monitor Resolution: Full HD

Additional Comments: You guys rock! Love Tom's Hardware!

 

[Proximon]

You will have to compare with Amazon on your own to figure out the best deals.

This is a bit off the cuff, can probably be done differently.

■COOLER MASTER HAF 932 Advanced RC-932-KKN5-GP Steel ATX Full Tower Compucase Case with USB 3.0, Black Interior and Four Fans-1x ...
■Seagate Barracuda ST31000524AS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
■2x GIGABYTE GV-N560UD-1G GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
■2x NVIDIA Gift - BATMAN Arkham City Game Coupon
■SeaSonic X750 Gold 750W ATX12V V2.3/EPS 12V V2.91 SLI Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply
■G.SKILL Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBSR
■Kingston 4GB Micro SDHC Flash Card Model SDC4/4GB
■Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM
■Crucial M4 CT128M4SSD2 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
■Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I72600K
■ASUS P8P67 PRO (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS
TOTAL: $1,634.72

 

[AdanDC650]

You will have to compare with Amazon on your own to figure out the best deals.

This is a bit off the cuff, can probably be done differently.

■COOLER MASTER HAF 932 Advanced RC-932-KKN5-GP Steel ATX Full Tower Compucase Case with USB 3.0, Black Interior and Four Fans-1x ...
■Seagate Barracuda ST31000524AS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
■2x GIGABYTE GV-N560UD-1G GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
■2x NVIDIA Gift - BATMAN Arkham City Game Coupon
■SeaSonic X750 Gold 750W ATX12V V2.3/EPS 12V V2.91 SLI Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply
■G.SKILL Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBSR
■Kingston 4GB Micro SDHC Flash Card Model SDC4/4GB
■Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM
■Crucial M4 CT128M4SSD2 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
■Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I72600K
■ASUS P8P67 PRO (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS
TOTAL: $1,634.72

Looks like a great build! I'm a little worried about the GPU's and PSU. The 1GB of VRAM me thinks just won't cut it for BF3 at ultra settings. Also, if I ever decide to buy 2x GPU's that require more than 750's, I'll be screwed.

BTW, I also forgot to mention that I won't need a copy of Windows. Last of all, I was planning on buying a Z68 motherboard since it has an SSD cache that I could use to cut down on boot times until I have enough cash for an SSD.

 

[Why_Me]

You can drop the price by going with dual gtx 560ti's and a 750w psu.

http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Carbide-Tower-Gaming-CC-9011012-WW/dp/B005E983JW/ref=sr_1_5?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1319080330&sr=1-5 $129.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Corsair Carbide Series 500R Mid Tower Gaming Case CC-9011012-WW

http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Enthusiast-Certified-Performance-CP-9020004-NA/dp/B005E98EI2/ref=sr_1_13?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1319080196&sr=1-13 $131.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Corsair Enthusiast TX V2 Series 850-Watt 80 Plus Bronze Certified High Performance Modular Power Supply CP-9020004-NA

http://www.amazon.com/Intel-6Gbps-Supported-Motherboard-P8Z68-V/dp/B0050HZ7AQ/ref=sr_1_16?m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1319068098&sr=1-16 $179.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
ASUS LGA 1155 Intel Z68 DDR3 2200 SATA 6Gbps and USB 3.0 Supported ATX Motherboard P8Z68-V

http://www.amazon.com/Intel-i7-2600K-Processor-3-4GHz-LGA1155/dp/B004EBUXSA/ref=pd_cp_e_2 $314.95 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Intel Core i7-2600K Processor 3.4GHz 8 MB Cache Socket LGA1155

http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Vengeance-240-Pin-Platforms-CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9/dp/B004CRSM4I/ref=pd_rhf_ee_shvl3 $49.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Corsair Vengeance 8 GB ( 2 x 4 GB ) DDR3 1600 MHz (PC3 12800) 240-Pin DDR3 Memory Kit for Intel Core i3, i5, i7 and AMD Platforms SDRAM CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9

http://www.amazon.com/Lite--Super-AllWrite-Layer-Drive/dp/B002YIG9AQ/ref=sr_1_6?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1319081262&sr=1-6 $23.95 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25
Lite-On Super AllWrite 24X SATA DVD+/-RW Dual Layer Drive - Bulk - IHAS124-04 (Black)

http://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Barracuda-7200-12-Internal-ST31000524AS/dp/B004IZN3YI/ref=sr_1_3?m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1319081191&sr=1-3 $58.97 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 1 TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s with NCQ 32MB Cache 3.5 Inch Internal Bare Drive ST31000524AS

http://www.amazon.com/Crucial-2-5-Inch-Solid-State-CT128M4SSD2/dp/B004W2JKZI/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1319081647&sr=1-1 $195.92 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Crucial 128 GB m4 2.5-Inch Solid State Drive SATA 6Gb/s CT128M4SSD2

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004SAO0Z4/ref=ox_sc_act_title_7?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER $347.96 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
MSI nVidia GeForce GTX570 Twin Frozr II OC 1280MB DDR5 2DVI/Mini HDMI PCI-Express Video Card N570GTX TWIN FROZR II/OC

Total: $1,781.86

***gtx 560ti version...replace the vid cards and psu up above with this down below

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004JLNZXU/ref=ox_sc_act_title_8?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER $244.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
MSI GeForce GTX560 1 GB DDR5 2DVI/Mini HDMI PCI-Express Video Card N560GTX TI TWIN FROZR II OC

http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Enthusiast-Certified-Performance-CP-9020003-NA/dp/B005E98FVS/ref=sr_1_12?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1319082166&sr=1-12 $113.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Corsair Enthusiast TX V2 Series 750-Watt 80 Plus Bronze Certified High Performance Modular Power Supply CP-9020003-NA

http://www.amazon.com/Windows-Premium-64bit-System-Builder/dp/B004Q0PT3I/ref=pd_sim_e21 $99.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64bit (Full) System Builder DVD 1 Pack