Review my almost 1200$ build

[chris238b]

Approximate Purchase Date: In the next month.

Budget Range: Around 1000$

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming

Parts Not Required: Monitor, keyboard, mouse etc. Just building the main box.

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: www.compusa.com I know its not quite as cheap as newegg, but there is a physical store near me and I still prefer to do things in person when possible.

Country: USA

Parts Preferences: Intel I5

Overclocking: not right away, but after the warranty is out.

SLI or Crossfire: very likely sometime later

Monitor Resolution: 1680x1250


Parts list

I5-2500k 220.00

Power Supply
Corsair CMPSU-750TXV2 Enthusiast Series TX750 V2 Power Supply - 750 Watts, ATX, 140mm Fan, 80 Plus Bronze, SLI Ready, Active PFC 104.99

Ram
Corsair CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9B Vengeance Desktop Memory Kit - 8GB (2x 4GB), PC3-12800, DDR3-1600MHz, 9-9-9-24 CAS Latency, Intel XMP Ready, Unbuffered 49.99

Cpu Cooler
Cooler Master RR-B10-212P-GP Hyper 212 Plus CPU Cooler - 120mm, LGA 1366, 1156, 775, AMD AM3, AM2+, AM2 29.99

Case
Cooler Master RC-430-KWN1 Elite 430 Mid Tower ATX Case - ATX/Micro-ATX, USB, Audio, 120mm Blue LED Fan, Black 44.99

Graphics Card
EVGA 012-P3-1571-KR GeForce GTX 570 HD Video Card - 1280MB, GDDR5, PCI-Express 2.0 (x16), Dual DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort, DirectX 11, Dual-Slot, SLI Ready 339.99

OS
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64BIT Operating System Software - OEM DVD, English 79.99

Motherboard
MSI Z68A-GD55 (G3) Intel Z68 Motherboard - ATX, Intel Z68 Express, Socket H2 (LGA1155), 2133MHz DDR3 (O.C.), SATA 6.0 Gb/s, RAID, 8-CH Audio, Gigabit LAN, USB 3.0, PCI-Express 3.0, SLI/CrossFireX 169.99

DVD Burner
Asus DRW-24B1ST 24X Internal DVD Burner - DVD±R 24X, DVD+RW 8X, DVD-RW 6X, DVD±R (DL) 12X, DVD-RAM 12X, CD-R 48X, CD-RW 32X, SATA, 2MB, Black, OEM 19.99

Hard Drive
Western Digital - Caviar Black 1TB Internal Serial ATA Hard Drive for Desktops 129.99


Total

1189.88

As you can see, I've gone a bit beyond my budget, but I really want to build a solid gaming rig that will hold up for several years.

With that in mind, would downgrading to a 560ti and adding a second one in SLI later give me similar performance to the gtx570? How pronounced is micro stuttering with a mid-range card like the 560?

Any help the community can provide will be greatly appreciated.

 

[g-unit1111]

That's actually a really solid selection of components.

If you can spend a bit more on the case I'd recommend doing so - my personal favorites are the Corsair Carbide and the NZXT Phantom. But the Elite 430 definitely isn't a bad choice at all. Maybe drop the PSU to a TX 650 and spend the difference on getting the Carbide.

I'm not the biggest fan of MSI boards - I've had way too many fail on me - I'd personally prefer Gigabyte or Asus myself. Although I do not like the Asus bulk DVD burners - I had one nearly explode on me, so I generally try to discourage people from buying them.

 

[chris238b]

those are some good tips, thanks. Also I managed to pick up a 850w 80+ bronze psu today for 99.99 so that puts me in a great mood.

 

[raptorxrx]

What PSU? Oh and since this is an old thread are you still in need for help?

 

[chris238b]

Best answer selected by chris238b.