Feedback on $850-$900 Gaming PC

[villain731]

Approximate Purchase Date: Before the end of November

Budget Range: $850-$900 after rebates

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming

Parts Not Required: DVD-RW drive, HDD, floppy drive

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg.com, TigerDirect.com, and Amazon.com

Country: United States

Parts Preferences: Intel CPU, preferably nvidia GPU

Overclocking: Yes

SLI or Crossfire: No

Monitor Resolution: 1920 x 1080

Additional Comments: I'd like to be able to run current and upcoming games close to, if not at, max settings such as SWTOR, Arkham City, and similarly styled games.

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Tentatively, I've selected the following parts and listed their best prices found so far (although I'm waiting until cyber Monday comes and goes to purchase the system):


Case: Rosewill Armor - $80
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147047


Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast Series TX750 V2 - $105 (before $10 rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139021


CPU: i5-2500k - $225
http://www.amazon.com/Intel-BOX80623I52500K-Core-i5-2500K-Processor/dp/B004EBUXHQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1322025322&sr=1-1

Heatsink: Thermaltake Frio - $50
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=6046364&CatId=798


Motherboard: Asus P8Z68-V LX - $130
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1124769&CatId=7212

Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8 GB DDR3 PC3-12800 - $55
http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Vengeance-240-Pin-Platforms-CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9/dp/B004CRSM4I/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1322024816&sr=8-12
(cheapest/best at amazon)


Graphics card: GeForce GTX 560 ti - $260 (before $20 rebate)
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7191453&CatId=3669


Total: $905 (before $30 rebate)

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Generally the feedback I'm looking for is if there's any obvious conflicts, over-committing or under-committing to a specific part given the budget range, or if any selections are just bad or not as optimal as is reasonable. Thanks in advance for any help or feedback anyone can provide.

 

[cutebeans]

Why are you getting such a big PSU.

Get this FAST! THIS IS A STEAL ANTEC NEO 620w $50 usually $100
http://www.newegg.com/Special/ShellShocker.aspx?cm_sp=ShellShocker-_-17-371-031-_-11232011_1

Get this motherboard. Cheaper but same features
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128502

 

[villain731]

I was looking at the Corsair TX650, but with the rebate the TX750 was the exact same price. I was under the impression I'd want at least a 550W power supply, so I started looking in the 600-650 range and worked my way from there to the selection I listed. That power supply does seem like a good deal.

The motherboard you listed is also the exact same price as the one I listed, but the Asus mobo seemed to have a better warranty. Am I missing something obvious separating the two here?

I'll look at both of those options though, thanks!

 

[cutebeans]

Get the Antec NEO 620w!! You don't need much watts. Seriously get the antec neo! It's one of the best right now.

A 500w can easily power your build.

 

[Zero_]

My sig!

 

[calguyhunk]

Keep your Asus board. You can do much worse than the P8Z68 range from Asus. If you want PCIe 3.0, get the Asrock Extreme3 Gen3 board at this price range.

Get the shell shocker deal Antec 300 + Antec Neo Eco 620 Watt PSU for $70 after rebates is really amazing. With the $100 you save, either pocket the money or upgrade to the $350 EVGA GeForce GTX 570. Much stronger gaming rig

 

[villain731]

Lots of amazing suggestions and feedback, thanks everyone.

For PCIe 3.0, I had thought that for cards in the range I was looking at (560 ti, maybe 570) that "upgrading" to PCIe 3.0 would offer no real benefit to my system. Is this true?

 

[flips]

That 620W power supply deal at newegg is so good.... $35 after rebate I picked one up just for the hell of it...

 

[calguyhunk]

Lots of amazing suggestions and feedback, thanks everyone.

For PCIe 3.0, I had thought that for cards in the range I was looking at (560 ti, maybe 570) that "upgrading" to PCIe 3.0 would offer no real benefit to my system. Is this true?

For benchmarking purposes obviously there's gonna be some benefits, but I doubt if it's actually gonna be an issue in the real world.

I've read in some forum posts that PCIe2 X16=PCIe3 X8. But I really cannot authoritatively tell you that it is true.

In any case, whatever benefits there is to be had, you'll need both the card and the board to be native PCIe 3.0. The current gen cards are all PCIe 2.

 

[villain731]

Cool, thanks for the info.

 

[calguyhunk]

You're welcome

 

[villain731]

Best answer selected by villain731.

 

[calguyhunk]

Cheers