First Build - Gaming - $1,100 to $1,300 - Thoughts?

[Storyteller1]

Approximate Purchase Date: This week or next.

Budget Range: $1,100 to $1,300

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming (Skyrim & Civ 5 now; Diablo III later), internet, some MS Office use. Probably some photo-editing. Perhaps guitar/music recording & editing.

Parts Not Required: Keyboard, speakers, mouse, monitor.

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Amazon is preferred, as we have Prime (free shipping), but I'm open to Newegg as well.

Country: USA

Parts Preferences: Intel CPU req'd. ASUS mobo preferred. Open on most other. Maybe slight preference for Nvidia GPU.

Overclocking: Maybe later.

SLI or Crossfire: No.

Monitor Resolution: Piss poor right now, but will upgrade very soon. Just haven't found a 20" or 21.5" model I want yet.

Additional Comments: While I've been into computers since 4th grade (early 80s), this will be my first build. Space and noise aren't really a concern. Wife and I would like to be able to play games on high settings, though, and our laptops just won't do that. Mostly I'm wondering whether it's worth the additional $50 to step up to a Sapphire Radeon 6970. Also, would I be better off utilizing a low-profile version of the Corsair RAM?

Selected components as of five minutes ago:

CPU: i5 2500k ($220)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004EBUXHQ/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

GPU: EVGA GTX560 Ti 448 ($290)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0069RZ0LW/ref=ox_sc_act_title_4?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

MOBO: ASUS P8Z68-V/GEN3 ($185)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005UDITT6/ref=ox_sc_act_title_5?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

RAM: Corsair Vengeance 8gb 1600mhz ($49)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004QBUL1C/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

PSU: Corsair HX Pro 750w 80+ ($144)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0029F21LK/ref=ox_sc_act_title_7?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Case: Cooler Master HAF 922 Mid-Tower ($89)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0026FCI2U/ref=ox_sc_act_title_6?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

HDD: Seagate Barracuda 500gb ($85)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005CT56R6/ref=ox_sc_act_title_8?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Optical: Lite-On 24x SATA DVD Writer ($26)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002SIMPXM/ref=ox_sc_act_title_9?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

OS: Win7 Pro / Builder's DVD ($140)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004Q0T0LU/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

What says the gallery? Am I good on the compatibility angles? Should I bump up the GPU to the 6970?

 

[Cripple13]

Looks good to me. My only suggestion is grabbing an SSD as a boot drive. A 60gb one will work fine, if you have the extra cash try to get a 120gb.

On that note also, do you have an older hdd you can use? If so I would recommend it and use the money you saved on the ssd.

One suggestion would be to check newegg for combos and if your components have free shipping, they do that with a lot of components

 

[Storyteller1]

I've considered the SSD route, but sort of figured that could wait until I see how much a decent monitor is going to cost me. I dunno -- I may still grab an SSD. Just depends if that last-minute urge strikes.

 

[Cripple13]

It is the single best upgrade you can do to any pc, and it is ridiculous to not buy one with a new build unless it's a tight budget. I highly recommend it, if not on the initial purchase as soon as you have the $$.

 

[Storyteller1]

Duly noted. I'll give the SSD some more thought. The "older" HDDs I already have are pretty old, though. How much longer they'll go is up to debate.

Anyone have any thoughts regarding my GPU issue? Stick w/the 560ti (1.2gb), or go to the Radeon 6970 (2gb)?

 

[Cripple13]

Both are solid choices, search for some benchmarks around tom's, I know there are plenty of articles about them. Either way you won't be disapointed

 

[hapkido]

The best buy right now looks like this Gigabyte gtx560ti for $210. That will be plenty for games like Skyrim and Civ 5.

You are also really overspending on some of your components, specifically the PSU and OS. 750W is overkill for a single GPU. 500-550W will be plenty for your needs. Unless you need specific features in Win 7 Pro (like domain support), just get Home Premium.

 

[Storyteller1]

Thanks for the ideas. Regarding Win7 Pro, it's what I have on my laptop, and I've grown comfortable with it. I'm going to slide down a notch or two on the PSU, and go with the Corsair 550w modular model.

Since the PSU is cheaper, I'm off to take a second look at SSDs.

 

[hapkido]

Thanks for the ideas. Regarding Win7 Pro, it's what I have on my laptop, and I've grown comfortable with it. I'm going to slide down a notch or two on the PSU, and go with the Corsair 550w modular model.

Since the PSU is cheaper, I'm off to take a second look at SSDs.

Windows 7 is a business OS:
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/products/compare

Save yourself the money and get Home Premium. It's the same OS minus 3 features nearly no home users will need.