My First Build

[Arete12]

So I have been doing a lot of research the past few days to build my first computer, my understanding of computers is fairly basic but working on that. The goal of this build is I bought The Old Republic today and my current computer can barely play it on minimum settings so time to do that much wanted upgrade. And when I was doing my research on this stuff, Tom's Hardware kept popping up with a lot of the answers, so hopefully I can use your expertise just a little bit more. Thankyou in advance.

So here is what I have so far:

CPU: Intel i5 2500k http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072

Motherboard: ASUS P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131790

GPU: EVGA Geforce GTX 560 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130604

PSU: CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX750 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139021

HDD: Western Digital Caviar Black 750GB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136794

RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231314

Case: COOLER MASTER HAF 932 Advanced http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119160

Optical: ASUS 24X DVD Burner http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204

Wireless Adapter: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833166038

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

- Now I do have a couple of concerns and these are
1. I have a friend who claims to know a lot about computers and keeps pushing me toward a AMD Phenom II X6 1090T Black Edition.... Would it really be that big of a difference either way? and if so which way?
2. Is everything I have compatible?
3. I would like to try my hand at overclocking once I learn more about it, will this set up work? with the stock heatsink? and where should I start as far as overclocking goes?
4. What can I expect when i build this? what should I look out for keeping in mind this is my first time?
5. Lastly are there any areas I could save some money, like maybe I'm thinking i need more then I actually do, I am at the upper level of my budget with this.

 

[Why_Me]

What's your budget and monitor resolution and when do you plan on purchasing?

 

[Arete12]

Oh sorry about that, Budget is $1200 or under, Resolution is 1920x1080, and purchase date is as soon as my taxes come back so about a week maybe 2

 

[andrewcarr]

When I pick parts I like to order right away because the next day prices may go up, sales end.

If your budget is that high you should be able to get two 560Ti or one 7950.

The i5-2500k is far superior to that phenom ll.
Yes everything is compatible but I would add in a CPU cooler http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065
You can save money on the motherboard HDD and lastly I am thinking you don't need that wireless adapter. I would much rather have a cable.

 

[Why_Me]

Oh sorry about that, Budget is $1200 or under, Resolution is 1920x1080, and purchase date is as soon as my taxes come back so about a week maybe 2

Here's a few idea's to look at.

http://www.amazon.com/Gigabyte-GeForce-Mini-HDMI-Graphics-GV-N560OC-1GI/dp/B004KM49WO $234.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 560 Ti 1 GB GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 DVI-I x 2 / Mini-HDMI SLI Ready Graphics Card, GV-N560OC-1GI

This card down below runs on par with the gtx 570. It's the 448 core version of the gtx 560 ti.

http://www.amazon.com/MSI-N560GTX-Ti-448-III-PE/dp/B006FCCOII $289.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
MSI N560GTX-Ti 448 Twin Frozer III PE/OC - NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti (448 Cores) PCI-E 16X Graphics Card

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148840 $124.99 FREE SHIPPING
Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099 $34.99 FREE SHIPPING
COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 EVO RR-212E-20PK-R2 Continuous Direct Contact 120mm Sleeve CPU Cooler Compatible with latest Intel 2011/1366/1155 and AMD FM1/AM3+

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106289&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-RSSDailyDeals-_-na-_-na&AID=10521304&PID=4176827&SID=199ki8obz3nrd $17.99 FREE SHIPPING
LITE-ON DVD Burner - Bulk 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model iHAS124-04 - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119224 $99.99
COOLER MASTER HAF 922 BLUE RC-922M-KWN2-GP Black ATX Mid Tower Computer Case with Side window

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271 $121.99
ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

or...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131792 $179.99
ASUS P8Z68-V/GEN3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS

or...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157265 $149.99
ASRock P67 EXTREME4 GEN3 LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220570 $41.99 FREE SHIPPING
Patriot Signature 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory with heatshield Model PSD38G1600KH

 

[andrewcarr]

Keep CPU i5-2500k

Add the CPU cooler- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065

Memory- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231428

Optical- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136240

Are you sure you want a case that expensive, not a cheaper model?
Case http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119233

Motherboard- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128488

GPU- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102962

PSU- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139029

HDD- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148767

OS- same as yours listed

This total is a little bit over but it is much more capable than the previously mentioned systems. $1,277.90 before shipping $1,289.70 with shipping but you can get $45 in rebates making it come to $1,244.70
I'd rather spend a bit more to get a computer you aren't making exceptions on when picking parts even if its a bit over. So when it comes to a case that one is good but if it doesn't have the looks that you like you can upgrade that so figure in about another $50. To deal with that you would then have to stop down on GPU power (or just pay the difference) to either a 570 (which will be better than the 560Ti 448 core) or an 6970. Both of those are about $320 so you get back $130 giving you $175 to spend on a case.