[Solved] Advice needed: Gaming system ($700-800)

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Approximate Purchase Date: Mid-January, 2012

Budget Range: $700-$800 (a little flexible over the upper limit though)

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming!

Parts Not Required: Only desktop, have monitor, keyboard, mouse etc.

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Wherever I get the best deal.

Country: USA

Parts Preferences: Intel preferred, Don't think I need to spend extra on SSD

Overclocking: Not a priority but if it helps in reducing future investment then why not!

SLI or Crossfire: Again if just adding an extra GPU will increase the longevity of the system then sure.

Monitor Resolution: 1600x900 (20'' widescreen monitor)

Additional Comments:

- Would like to play games like COD and Battlefield 3 at medium to high settings. Mostly an FPS and racing game person.
- Already have a Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit DVD
- I don't plan on upgrading too often but if adding another GPU helps in prolonging the life of the system that would be perfect!

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>>>Here is the configuration I started with: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2MOo <<<<<

I have been out of touch with hardware technology so I really don't know which motherboard, case, PSU and cooler to go with.

I have done some reading recently and that's why I selected the i5-2500k. I also understand that the PSU is an important part in a gaming rig.

If anyone has questions they would like to ask me please feel free to do so and please dont hesitate to get technical. If there is something I don't know I will be happy to educate myself about it. Just point me in the right direction

It's best to spend more the GPU than the CPU when gaming.

The h67 board in your build will not allow overclocking of the i5 2500k so getting the K-unlocked version is a bit of a waste. You should go with a p67 or z68 model of motherboard but it will cost you a little bit more.

Or you can get a core i3 2100, i think its almost half the price of the i5 2500k. Spend what you saved to upgrade your video card.

now about the video card, my advice is to get the 560ti since it will be faster for newer games and have much better dx11 support than the 460.

Thanks for the reply! Please see the link for updates : http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2MOo

- As per your comment I changed the motherboard to a Z68 model and as "aznshinobi" also suggested above I selected the AsRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 ATX LGA1155
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 20HDMI%20S

- For the video card there are multiple manufacturers for the 560 Ti videocard. I just went ahead and selected the one from Gigabyte. Let me know what you think about this.

Don't get the parts off PCpartpicker, if they are newegg, click on the links I posted and buy from there. PCPartPicker doesn't incorperate Combos like what I did.

As for the questions.

1. No the stock cooler is fine, the one you chose isn't even worth spending money on. When you decide to overclock, get this cooler, it's the best bang for the buck
http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Maste [...] B002G1YPH0
You should just get it now while it's only $20, usually $25-$30.
2. No the performance difference is minimal
3. Yes the case size is fine for both.
3. It's can, but if you do I would be very minimal with the CPU overclocking. The 650w can handle SLI 560 Ti with the 2500K but be aware of your overclocking on your 2500K as it'll raise the TDP. I'd normally recommend a 750w (specifically the OCZ ZS 750w) but you're on a budget.

NP!

You got this PSU right?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817341049

Hey I was just reading reviews on performance of various graphic cards and was wondering what your opinion is on AMD systems?

Best answer selected by adicha.