Hello everyone. I'm a first time builder and am trying to put together a pretty good gaming PC that can run the latest games (BF3 mostly) and leave me room for possible upgrades later down the road. I have between $800-$1000 to work with but would like to keep it as cheap as possible. I'm planning on buying all the parts on Black Friday when hopefully Newegg will have a couple good deals up to keep the cost of this down.
Here's what I have thus far, open to any changes or suggestions:
Processor: Intel i5 - 2500k ($215)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072
Motherboard: ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 ($125) <--- Not 100% sold on this yet, but it's been recommended often on the MoBo forum and it definitely fits my budget. It's possible Newegg will have a good i5/MoBo deal up on BF, so any recommendations for what to look for would be appreciated.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271
RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) ($50)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231314
Video Card: SAPPHIRE 100312-3SR Radeon HD 6950 2GB ($250) <--- Doesn't come with Arkham City BUT I've heard it can be unlocked to run like a 6970. Honestly not sure how that works, but it was recommended by another user here over the 560/560 Ti.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102945
HDD: Waiting for Black Friday, hoping to find a 1 TB HD for under $100
Case: ???
PSU: ???
Optical Drive: ???
Anything else you can think of that I'm missing?
Don't need a monitor, keyboard, speakers, or mouse. Planning on overclocking, but have never done it before. Would like it to run cool and quiet.
Could use your guys' help filling out this build. Don't know which case, PSU, or OD to go with. Not sure if I need a sound card or not.
All advice, suggestions, and thoughts are welcome! Thanks for reading.
Here's what I have thus far, open to any changes or suggestions:
Processor: Intel i5 - 2500k ($215)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072
Motherboard: ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 ($125) <--- Not 100% sold on this yet, but it's been recommended often on the MoBo forum and it definitely fits my budget. It's possible Newegg will have a good i5/MoBo deal up on BF, so any recommendations for what to look for would be appreciated.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271
RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) ($50)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231314
Video Card: SAPPHIRE 100312-3SR Radeon HD 6950 2GB ($250) <--- Doesn't come with Arkham City BUT I've heard it can be unlocked to run like a 6970. Honestly not sure how that works, but it was recommended by another user here over the 560/560 Ti.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102945
HDD: Waiting for Black Friday, hoping to find a 1 TB HD for under $100
Case: ???
PSU: ???
Optical Drive: ???
Anything else you can think of that I'm missing?
Don't need a monitor, keyboard, speakers, or mouse. Planning on overclocking, but have never done it before. Would like it to run cool and quiet.
Could use your guys' help filling out this build. Don't know which case, PSU, or OD to go with. Not sure if I need a sound card or not.
All advice, suggestions, and thoughts are welcome! Thanks for reading.