Need Advice on Parts Selection

[Plasmid]

Hello guys I will be ordering these computer parts in about 2 days from now. I'd like to know your opinion and would like some suggestions.

Thanks in advance

Approximate Purchase Date: Two/Three days from now (1/30)

Budget Range: 529 dollars (Strict) before rebates

System Usage from Most to Least Important: GAMING (BF3, Bioshock 1 & 2, Crysis 1 & 2, Far Cry 2, Stalker (Call of Prypiat and Clear sky) !!!!!! and school of course (word)

Parts Not Required: Mouse , keyboard , monitor , power supply (corsair vx450w 3 yr old), and hard drive (6 months old)

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Amazon (no taxes) maybe Tiger Direct

Country: U.S California (no where close to a micro center )

Parts Preferences: Intel, XFX, EVGA, and Asus.

Overclocking: no

SLI or Crossfire: no

Monitor Resolution: 1280 x 1024

Additional Comments: I'd like parts that have the best warranty (that is honored of course)

Here are my parts selection.

EVGA GeForce GTX 550 Ti FPB 1024 MB GDDR5

Windows 7 home premium 64 bit

Lite-On LightScribe 24X SATA DVD+/-RW Dual Layer Drive

Kingston Technology HyperX Blu 8GB 1333MHz DDR3

ASUS P8H61-M LE/CSM Intel H61 Chipset DDR3

Intel Core i3-2100 Processor 3.1GHz 3 MB Cache Socket LGA1155

NZXT Technologies Source 210 Computer Case (Black)

 

[tlmck]

Nice mid-low gaming rig. You may have to reduce settings on some games, but they will still play fine.

Also check the pricing on Newegg. It may be less expensive. They also have CA locations.

 

[acerace]

That's a PC I wish to build for. Other than that, this PC is nice!

 

[Aeradom]

Best thing I've seen that close to $500... It's looking at posts like these that I wish I had a spare hard drive lying around. The 500 GB Hard Drive I'm looking would push this build above $600. Sad times we live in ladies and gentlemen.

Edit: Oh and for $5 you can upgrade your processor to the 2120, which will give you a little more performance for not much cost. And considering both of these are locked, every little bit could help I suppose.

http://www.amazon.com/Intel-i3-2120-Processor-Socket-LGA1155/dp/B004KZDV8E/ref=pd_vtp_e_5

Edit Edit: I can't believe the "List Price" for the the 2120 is $181.50. Amazon Lies!

 

[tlmck]

Best thing I've seen that close to $500... It's looking at posts like these that I wish I had a spare hard drive lying around. The 500 GB Hard Drive I'm looking would push this build above $600. Sad times we live in ladies and gentlemen.

Edit: Oh and for $5 you can upgrade your processor to the 2120, which will give you a little more performance for not much cost. And considering both of these are locked, every little bit could help I suppose.

http://www.amazon.com/Intel-i3-2120-Processor-Socket-LGA1155/dp/B004KZDV8E/ref=pd_vtp_e_5

Edit Edit: I can't believe the "List Price" for the the 2120 is $181.50. Amazon Lies!

There will be no benefit to the 2120 for gaming, especially at this level. He would need to step up to an i5 to see noticeable improvement.

I bought my 2100 as a placeholder for a 2500k. However, it handles everything I throw at it so I am going to hang on to it for a while.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-cpu-overclocking,3077-5.html

 

[geekapproved]

I would suggest you upgrade your monitor first, at 1280x1024 all those parts are a complete waste.

I also suggest the 2120 for a couple bucks more.

http://www.amazon.com/Intel-i3-2120-Processor-Socket-LGA1155/dp/B004KZDV8E/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1327795349&sr=1-1

 

[Plasmid]

Thank you tlmck, acerace, Aeradom for reaffirming me that my parts selection was appropriate. At the end I ended up spending 545 or about 15 dollars above my budget. I replaced the gtx 550ti with a gtx 460 v2 1gb which is a little bit faster than a hd 6850 according to futuremark. Did the change last second before my parts were shipped.

So this is what I got was

windows 7 64bit oem
nzxt gamma case
evga fpb gtx 460 v2 1gb 192 bit (bought from tiger direct 149.99)
8gb of kingston blu ram
dvd drive lite on
Asus motherboard ASUS P8H61-M LE/CSM
Core i3 2100