Advice needed

[IInferno]

Hi, I am looking to build a new system for mostly gaming use with some light video editing.
The price range is around the £600-700 mark or if you using USD prices $600-800.
This will be my 2nd time building a system, my previous was last year and found the advice on these forums very useful.
My current system will go to replace the family system so will be a fresh start excluding screen, speakers etc

CPU: Intel i5-2500K
Mobo: unsure current brand is ASUS but open to other manufacturers
Case: current is the Antec three hundred, if still a good option i will get another
GFX: ATI preferred
RAM: current is G.Skill and have found them a good brand, also like corsair as have had it previously aswell.
Fan: not looking to overclock straight away so only if stock fan is poor option (unlikely)
HDD: samsung spinpoint f3 1 TB will probably be the one i choose
OS: already have win 7 64bit

i know i am going into this with not much to go on for you guys but haven't looked into the comparisons since building my current system so choices id make would likely be poor options until i get pointed in the right general direction.

Final question would be is it likely to benefit me much by waiting until january to build this or is it likely to still be roughly similar price. I can wait if there is likely to be a decent difference in the amount i can get for my money but if there is likely to be little change then upgrading my families home computer to my current is needed (families current is a 4-5 year old Intel core 2 duo that runs pretty slow)

I thank you in advance for any time you spend helping me.

 

[Outlander_04]

Mb with a Z68 chipset , and lucid virtu
google them

The 300 is still a good case , but lacks USB3 front panel connectors if that is important .

I dont think you are going to get a great graphics card [ in that budget ]after spending that much on the processor

It would help to know the resolution of your monitor .

RAM must be 1.5 volt or less

 

[andywork78]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100006736%204021&IsNodeId=1&name=%24500%20-%20%24750

these are 500~750 usd.

 

[IInferno]

Monitor res is 1680x1050 currently but will be getting a new monitor soon so a bit higher than that probably.

Is the HD 6870 a good enough graphics card or would it be worth my time chipping in the extra money to get a 6950 or better. (im fairly flexable with cost if the return on the extra investment seems worth it)

To get a similar cooling and noise reduction as the 300 with front usb 3.0 am i looking at a big increase in price. I liked the 300 when i built my current system because it did all the cooling and noise reduction very well for a decent price, the ones in the same price bracket before seemed to concentrate on windows and lighted fans which I didnt see much point to.

 

[Outlander_04]

I use a 6870 and have a 1080p [ 1920 x 1080] monitor

Games like Crysis warhead run at 50+ FPS on gamer settings . Inside the tunnels its more like 70 FPS , but newer games are increasingly graphically intensive .
BF3 would run at 1080p and be playable with a 6870
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/battlefield-3-graphics-performance,3063.html
but the 6870 is increasingly being left behind .

I would suggest the 6950 or better EVEN IF IT MEANS BUYING A CHEAPER PROCESSOR.
For these newer games a 2500k and overclocking yields no real return since the limitation is the graphics card . A 2400 makes sense IMO , if it lets you spend more on the graphics card

 

[raptorxrx]

That case will be fine as long as you don't need 3.0. It's a great case for the price. The 6870 is a good graphics card but I would get the 6950 2gb if possible, especially if you are planning on getting a high res monitor.

 

[IInferno]

In my current build from over a year ago, I went for the 5770 in the end but chose the sapphire vapor-x version, the fan has performed really well and kept the temperatures down so much so it barely increases at all with very little increase to noise.

Which model of the 6950 or 6970 would you suggest as best options?

For gaming i generally don't pick too graphic intensive games, more like SC2, Heroes of Newerth (a Dota port) and the occasional MMO as my general PC picks. I usually do FPS on consoles and if Diablo 3 ever comes out that will be a main one for me on PC.