Building my first Computer

[Colm]

Approximate Purchase Date: Mid 2012 (July or August)

Budget Range: under $1000

System Usage from most to least important: Gaming, Web Surfing

Parts not required: Monitor, Mouse, Keyboard, Speakers

Preferred website(s) for parts: Amazon/Newegg/TigerDirect

Country: USA

Overclocking: No

SLI or Crossfire: No

Additional Comments: This is my first time building a PC and I'm trying to go about it the best way possible. I've researched for a while now, reading a lot of forums and changing my mind an awful lot on what parts to use. I'm basically just looking for a nice gaming computer, able to run games like Skyrim, Dragon Age, Bioshock, Half Life 2, etc.. I'm looking to run these games on Medium - High settings, definitely not looking to run games on Ultra or anything like that, I just want something that can at least run them well, and not lag.

I've set up multiple builds and this is the best I've come up with that's within my budget range and not too over the top. Looking for feedback, any help is much appreciated.

Parts Considering:

Case: Rosewill CHALLENGER Black Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

PSU: XFX Core Edition PRO550W

Motherboard: MSI LGA1155/Intel P67 B3/DDR3/SATA3&USB3.0/A&GbE/ATX Motherboard P67A-C43 (B3)

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K Processor

RAM: Corsair Vengeance 8 GB ( 2 x 4 GB ) DDR3 1600 MHz

GPU: EVGA GeForce GTX 560 1024 MB GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 2DVI/Mini-HDMI SLI Ready Graphics Card

HDD: Western Digital Caviar Black 1 TB SATA III

Optical Drive: ASUS 24X DVD Burner

OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit

(if the links don't work i'll try and fix them, sorry)

 

[sosofm]

My advice is to wait and try to make a PC 2 week before the purchase. Because the prices can drop a little , Ivy Bridge is one the way , new Nvidia cards ,new Radeon video cards , new socket motherboards.And maybe your wishlist can drop the price , my advice is to wait.

 

[guanyu210379]

Yes, if it is possible foryou to wait, it is better to wait until the ivybridges are on the market.
You might want to consider those new ivybridges or might want to gain advantage of the price drop for the older procs and mobos.

My tips for your PC, if you decide to buy it now:
1. Consider to get an SSD
2. Consider also of getting an BR-writer instead of normal dvd burner
3. Consider to get Z68 mobo instead of P67
4. Find better PSU from Corsair, Tagan, Antec, Seasonic, SIlverstone or Enermax

 

[guanyu210379]

Yes, if it is possible foryou to wait, it is better to wait until the ivybridges are on the market.
You might want to consider those new ivybridges or might want to gain advantage of the price drop for the older procs and mobos.

My tips for your PC, if you decide to buy it now:
1. Consider to get an SSD
2. Consider also of getting an BR-writer instead of normal dvd burner
3. Consider to get Z68 mobo instead of P67
4. Find better PSU from Corsair, Tagan, Antec, Seasonic, SIlverstone or Enermax

 

[Colm]

I see, thank you both for the advice on waiting, I may just do that.

I have considered getting an SSD, so I may still look into that, just trying to stay within budget range and already spending double what I would on an HDD, but I might dish out the extra cash to get one.

I also considered getting a Z68, I believe it was... ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 would that be better?

The PSU was one of the things I was doubting, thoughts on CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX750 V2 750W?

 

[Colm]

Best answer selected by colm.