PC Gaming Build for ~$1000 (Compatibility + Overclocking)

[the_god]

So far my PC looks like this...



GPU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130604
250

CPU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072
220

OS:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986
100

MOBO:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131759
170

MEM:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231314
44

CASE:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147153
50

FAN:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065
29

HD:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136075
80

PWRSUP:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151095
80

Total: $1023




1. Does everything check out right? I did the research myself but I want to double check everything is compatible and of reasonable choice.

2. Should I ship from Newegg.com? (shipping accidents + money concern) Or do I buy at a local retailer such as Fry's?

3. Should I overclock? I'm a complete newbie and I'm going for a good gamer performance from my PC. In other words, I bought this PC for longevity and quality, is it worth messing around with overclocking and how much will it improve my gaming experience?




The feedback I get from this community is invaluable, if I skipped this and tried to buy blindly from a retailer who knows where I would have ended up. Any and all responses are greatly appreciated, thank you.

 

[the_god]

Bump, eagerly awaiting any responses!

 

[e56imfg]

Wow, really nice selection! But it seems the Maximus Gene-Z is out of stock (just in my area??). The only thing is the PSU, 620w is a bit of an overkill for a 560 Ti and a 2500K. A 550w PSU will be sufficient for your needs.
YES, OVERCLOCK!! I wouldn't understand why anyone would get a 2500K and a Maximus Gene without OCing!

 

[the_god]

Awesome reply, I'll start researching the correct way of overclocking, maybe a medium gain will be sufficient to keep longevity concerns at bay.

I chose a 620w PSU because I will eventually SLI the gtx 560ti card, or maybe just upgrade later to a beastly card.

And yes, the MOBO has been in and out of order a lot today, its currently showing they have some in stock now (USA-Cali)

Thanks so much for your feedback, I'm excited about overclocking the CPU now but I've heard that it won't have a huge affect on gaming performance, can you confirm this?

 

[e56imfg]

If that mobo is out by the time you buy your parts, get the ASRock Extreme3.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271 - ASRock Extreme3

OCing the GPU usually has a noticeable effect in gaming but as for the CPU, it really depends what kind of game your playing. If you're playing something CPU heavy like BF3, BFBC2, TF2, L4D2, etc., there will be a performance gain.

 

[g-unit1111]

I chose a 620w PSU because I will eventually SLI the gtx 560ti card, or maybe just upgrade later to a beastly card.

620 should be plenty - you might want to go 700 just to be on the safe side if you plan to OC.

I wouldn't go with the Maximus IV just because it's a micro ATX board and you're building a full size system - that will severely limit your options if you plan to run SLI in the future.

This would be a better board for the money: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128506

Or if you want to stick with Asus go for this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131792

HD:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822136075
80

That's a really small HD for the price - for an extra $20 you could upgrade to the 500GB model and have more than enough to spare.

CASE:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811147153
50

I'm in the minority here - I'm not a fan of Rosewill by any means. My go to cases for the price are the Cooler Master HAF 912 and the Antec 300.

3. Should I overclock? I'm a complete newbie and I'm going for a good gamer performance from my PC. In other words, I bought this PC for longevity and quality, is it worth messing around with overclocking and how much will it improve my gaming experience?

It's all up to you - I usually don't since I'm still a student and I don't really have the money to replace if something goes wrong, I build systems and I generally like to play it safe with my builds.

2. Should I ship from Newegg.com? (shipping accidents + money concern) Or do I buy at a local retailer such as Fry's?

Ugh, I hate Fry's with a serious passion. They resell a lot of broken and returned merchandise so it's literally take your chances when you buy from them. I really like Newegg because they're really honest about what they can and cannot sell, and they have the best RMA and support department I've ever dealt with, Fry's doesn't - they're really hesitant to take stuff back and they never service what they sell.

 

[e56imfg]

The Maximus Gene-Z has enough room between the two PCI-e slots for 2 560 Ti's to get fresh air. It is also part of the ROG series so it's meant for gaming and it is built with the best quality parts. HDD prices are insane because of the flood in Thailand so it really depends how badly you need storage. The HAF 912 is a excellent case but I personally do not like Antec or any of their cases (but maybe it's just me). I actually had experience with a Antec 300 and it wasn't a good one. It is loud case with not so great cooling performance. If you don't want to OC (or don't know how), don't do it and get a H67 with a non-k 2500 to save some money. But if you do know, 2500K is beastly at OCing.

 

[the_god]

First off thanks g-unit1111 and e56imfg for your responses, extremely helpful.

Soo I'm starting to hear two different opinions about the MOBO's. I would really like to save some more money somewhere and that H67 seems like the right place to do it, along with saving 10 bucks on i5-2500.

My only concern is if i want to upgrade any part of my PC or do SLI in the future will i be fine with this 100 dollar board? Especially when you consider audio, will it be a big difference from the audio provided by the ROG card and the H67 board? Probably not enough to pay 60ish dollars hopefully.

Also, should i sign up for the free shipping 30 day trial from New Egg to save cash or just pay it?

One more thing, is there a notable difference between

GPU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130610

VS.

GPU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125401

 

[the_god]

Also, is my RAM out of the range of a H67 board?

RAM:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231314

 

[e56imfg]

If you really want a H67, go with these two options.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130598 - MSI
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138308 - Biostar

I wouldn't recommend a H67 mobo because with a Z68, you could upgrade to a 2500K, 2600K, or a 2700K (if one so desires) later on. You can not OC with H67 mobos and they usually aren't meant for SLI. If you desire to SLI, get the ASRock I previously linked or the Gigabyte mobo the g-untit1111 linked. If you want to go the non-OC way, get the H67, a non-K 2500 or a 2400 for $20 less.

Not a big difference in audio, just less audio ports for 7.1
Ask someone else about the 30-day thing, but by the looks of it, it seems fine and it's free for 30 days so I don't see why not. If you have like $2 of shipping, just pay for it.

The EVGA 560 Ti is pre-OCed and the Gigabyte one is at stock speeds. I don't see why you would need a pre-OCed card if you could do it yourself for a better price.

 

[the_god]

I see, thanks a lot for your input.

Down to the decision making...

Coming from a gamer standpoint, will i see more performance (and is it worth it overall + over time) if I overclock to safe levels on both CPU and GPU?

This will dictate if I get a cheaper H67 or the Z68 MOBO. And, should I get the Z68 or the ASRock for the future SLI option? Or is it cheaper for me to get a better single card later on and plug it into the H67. Plus, will the RAM i chose work out on the H67?

As always, thanks for your time and consideration for the feedback.

 

[e56imfg]

Settling for the ASRock Z68 is the better, more future-proof option. You could go SLI and all types of RAM will be compatible with this mobo. If you want to upgrade to a Ivy Bridge in April, you can keep the same ASRock mobo and get a i3 2100 for now, and save up for a 3570K that will be released in April. Take note the Ivy Bridge platform isn't suppose to have a huge increase in performance over Sandy Bridge, just a increase in business apps and it's really power efficient (77w TDP Max).

So to sum up your options, get a ASRock Z68 mobo and either settle for a i3 2100 and upgrade to Ivy Bridge later, or get a i5 2500 or 2500K now and be done (unless you have enough money for a 2500 now and a 3570K in April).
For the cheap option, get a H67 board with a i5 2400 or 2500 and get a better single slot solution (although 560 Ti is a great card already that can max BF3 if one desires).

The RAM will work but at a lower speed (but RAM speed doesn't effect the system performance that much anyways) on the H67. Save money and get lower speed RAM if you're going for a H67.

So really, it's whether you want to be future proof and upgrade to better comments in the future.