Thoughts on first ever build part3

[Bo0ja]

Mostly gaming (BF3 mostly). Already have Windows 7, Keyboard, and Mouse. Don't need a wireless card. Budget: $1000 but would like to keep it as cheap as possible

Case: Cooler Master 690 II ($80)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119216

PSU: OCZ ZT Continuous 750w Modular ($90)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119216

CPU: i5 - 2500k ($180 at microcenter)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072

Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212+ ($25)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072

Motherboard: Biostar TZ68A+RCH ($40 at microcenter with promo)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138320

RAM: G. Skill Ripjaws X 8GB ($45)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231428

GPU: Sapphire HD 6950 2GB ($260)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102954

SSD: Crucial M4 64GB SSD ($114)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148441

OD: LG DVD/CD Burner ($21)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136238

Total before taxes, shipping, and after rebates: $855

*HDD prices are crazy right now so I decided on the smaller, faster SSD. I should be able to fit Windows 7, Antivirus/Firewall, BF3, Steam, Firefox, and a couple of other games on it but I haven't done the math tbh. Does anyone have one of these and could give me any tips on managing space? I figure by going this route I'll end up with both a HDD and SSD for the same price as a single 1TB drive costs now whenever hard drive prices do go down.

*The motherboard is cheap, I know. Only 4 USB ports on the back, it's smaller than a normal ATX board, no PCIe3, only 1 useful PCIe2 slot, and just 6 channel audio, but it's only 40 bucks! Microcenter doesn't carry the ASrock ex3 gen3 or else I'd go with that. Anyone know of a good board there that's fairly cheap? The deal is $60 off any z68 board when purchased with the 2500k.

*Still unsure about the 6950. Reading contradicting information about whether or not the reference cards still unlock, and it's been suggested a number of times here to buy the 570 instead. For some reason I can't get comfortable with the idea of spending $340 on a graphics card that will seat into a $40 motherboard :lol:


Questions:

PCIe3 compatibility shouldn't be an issue given that by the time I'll really need to upgrade this system, the LGA 1155 socket will be a goner and I'd need a new board anyway, right?

Reviewers for the mobo say it overclocks the 2500k fairly well (don't plan on going beyond 4.5) but I'm not sure for GPUs. Is overclocking the graphics card dependent on the mobo as well? I've never overclocked before and I don't plan on pushing the gpu until it's necessary.

I'm still searching for monitor that I can use to watch TV and looks pretty when gaming. My set top box only has a VGA out, no HDMI or DVI, and I've read only certain monitors are capable of displaying the cable signal in the correct resolution. Max width: 23" Budget for this: ~$250, hoping not that much


Appreciate any input. Third time posting because I'm trying to consider all my options and really want to do this right. Thanks for reading.

 

[jmsellars1]

Nothing wrong with that motherboard, for $40 it is insanely good. SLI/Crossfire isn't recommended on it though so I'd drop the PSU to 500-550W, drop the cooler until you overclock and spend the cash on a 128GB SSD.

 

[g-unit1111]

Nothing wrong with that motherboard, for $40 it is insanely good. SLI/Crossfire isn't recommended on it though so I'd drop the PSU to 500-550W, drop the cooler until you overclock and spend the cash on a 128GB SSD.

I'm going to disagree - Biostar motherboards are terrible from my experience. For that price I'd definitely say buyer beware. I'd spend the cash on getting a better motherboard then get whatever else you may need. Drop the case to the HAF 912 - it's still a really good CM product, and drop the PSU to a Builder Series CX600 - but if you plan to overclock maybe get a Corsair TX 650. Spend the difference on getting a better motherboard - the Asrock Gen 3 runs about ~$125, that would be a much safer bet. Alternately you could get the Asus P8P67LE for a few bucks more.