Budget Gaming

[cinder888]

Approximate Purchase Date: within the next 4 weeks

Budget Range: 500-800

System Usage from Most to Least Important: gaming ie. starcraft 2, DoD, CS, MMO) movies

Parts Not Required: Mouse, Monitor (for now)

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg, tigerdirect, Amazon

Country of Origin:US

Parts Preferences: Anyone that is Reliable and stable will do

Overclocking: Nope

SLI or Crossfire: No

Monitor Resolution: 1680x1250, currently have a viewsonic vx2035wm and plan to buy something better after the new year.

Additional Comments:
I am currently running a somewhat old P4 rig that my buddy put together for me a long time ago. It is no longer able to keep up with much of anything. I have read numerous reviews on various components that are contradictory and have lent to my confusion and indecision.
The i5-2500k is the only choice that seems to be a no-brainer to me.
So I would like to build the rest of the system around it keeping an eye on future upgradability. I am a bit confused by the wide selection of computer hardware available, so I am Looking for suggestions/input/guidance in the selection of :
Graphics card
Motherboard,
Power supply,
Case
Monitor
For an OS I plan on grabbing a copy of win 7 home premium 64b from newegg.
I am happy with my current mouse but would like some suggestions for a Cheap backlit keyboard that wont crap out on me.

 

[fb39ca4]

I made a similar rig to what you are looking for in April. You will want to stay closer the upper end of your budget, you will get much better performance for the money.

GPU - GTX 560/HD 6870 is a good choice for your resolution. You aren't playing the more graphically demanding games ATM, so you could get away with something less
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127592 - GTX 560
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102948 - HD 6870

Motherboard - AsRock P67 Extreme4 Gen3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157265
5 stars, very good feature set for the money, and it supports SLI/CF if you want to upgrade in the future. I have the older version of this board with PCIe 2.1, it hasnt given me any problems so far.

PSU - Silverstone 600W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817256071

Case - I have no idea what you prefer in a case. I got an NZXT M59, but from what I have heard, not everyone likes the front panel. For your price range, $60 is a reasonable amount to spend on one.

HDD - Any quality 750GB - 1TB 7200 rpm drive will do. On sale, you can snag them for $50-60.

Keyboard - I have no idea. I am still using the keyboard that came with a 13 year old Dell machine, and it hasn't crapped out on me yet : P

 

[cinder888]

Thank you for the suggestions, I had not seen that motherboard before.

I started looking at some newer monitors that are capable of higher resolutions, trying to find a decent one that preferably has built in speakers but all the reviews I read indicated that the built ins do not reproduce very good sound at all. Any one out there have one they are using they could recommend?

Also when I do get a new monitor would I be better off getting a better video card or would the above recommendations be more than adequate?

Thanks in advance

 

[fb39ca4]

What resolution do you plan to get? If you get 1920x1080 or 1200, a GTX 560 will be fine, but you probably wont be able to max out as many settings on new games.

I have never heard of a monitor with good built in speakers, you are better off getting one without and then buying a cheap pair of desktop speakers, though IMO headphones are better for gaming.

 

[cinder888]

I am planning on 1920x1080 and you have confirmed my fears on built in speakers. For some odd reason headphones had not even entered into my thought process . . . until now.

Thanks for the input!