$1500 Gaming PC

[mrwhit30ut]

Hi Toms here's my idea for a new gaming PC. I intend to build this at the end of march, when I move into my new house, in the US. I will be gaming on a 1600 x 1200 screen until I get either a 1080p TV or Monitor. I intend on overclocking and eventually adding a watercooling loop. Also CFX will be needed when a game can best the 7950. Also, if anyone knows the projected release date for the MSI Twin Frozr III version of the 7950 If you could post, because I would much rather get that one.

Here's the Build (PC PartPicker)
Part list permalink / Part price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($179.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Xigmatek GAIA SD1283 56.3 CFM CPU Cooler ($32.98 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI Z68A-GD65 (G3) ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($167.86 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($47.99 @ Newegg)
Hard Drive: Crucial M4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($160.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card ($478.47 @ CompUSA)
Case: Corsair CC650DW ATX Mid Tower Case ($154.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 650W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($151.29 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-222AB DVD/CD Writer ($19.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $1394.54

So what do you guys think? And I have to give props to PCpartpicker as it makes choosing parts and building PCs much easier.

 

[g-unit1111]

Looks pretty good - but I will say I *HATE* the Xigmatek Gaia - way too many loose parts, junk thermal paste - it fried a motherboard I was using. Get the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo instead: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099

And then get this for your motherboard - much better quality than MSI: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128512

And then a 128GB SSD is fine but you should look into getting a secondary storage option at some point.

Otherwise everything looks good.

 

[mrwhit30ut]

Okay, Gaia being changed to hyper 212 evo.

And, I don't like that motherboard, the colors, they make my eyes hurt. Much better quality than MSI? In what ways. I think MSI makes good quality stuff.

Yes I will get a 1TB HDD, they are just to expensive right now.

 

[Blakexeal]

Cheaper motherboard with colors you might prefer. It's all the rage right now for cost effectiveness. Also it claims to have what your GPU requires: 2 x PCIe 3.0 x16 slots although I can't verify that. It's only mentioned in the details.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-Motherboards%20-%20Intel-_-ASRock-_-13157271&AID=10440897&PID=3938566&SID=

Take the saved money and go from 7950 to a 7970?!

Also change your power supply as corsair has a 15% discount code currently on newegg. Maybe up your wattage with the discount to leave room for overclocking.

 

[g-unit1111]

Okay, Gaia being changed to hyper 212 evo.

And, I don't like that motherboard, the colors, they make my eyes hurt. Much better quality than MSI? In what ways. I think MSI makes good quality stuff.

Yes I will get a 1TB HDD, they are just to expensive right now.

I realized that was a poor choice for motherboard. MSI doesn't have the best reputation around here - people either really love them or really hate them, there's no in between. I personally have not had a lot of good luck with their products - the most recent motherboard I tried was the 870A-G45 and it died on me after only three days of owning it.

Try this one instead - it's Gigabyte quality but the color scheme is a lot better: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128498

 

[mrwhit30ut]

Sorry, but I have a vendetta against Asrock.

 

[azeem40]

If you can spend $40 more, get the ASUS P8Z68 V Pro/Gen3.

 

[Blakexeal]

A vendetta against ASRock?

 

[mrwhit30ut]

Reasons for not upgrading to a 7970, The small performance gains are not worth $100 to me. I would need to upgrade to a higher PSU in order to do a CFX setup later which will take me over buget. Also I think I just get the MSI GD 65 at my local tiger direct, and if it doesn't work I will just return it and get a new one. Ah nevermind, sorry I keep editing this post, I think I'm just going to go for the Asus Z68V Pro.

 

[Blakexeal]

Asus has some really good looking mobos.

 

[mrwhit30ut]

So, I figured by the time I need to upgrade my gpu setup to a CFX setup, I will just buy a new PSU. So could I run my system with an HD 7970 with the current 650w PSU?

 

[g-unit1111]

So, I figured by the time I need to upgrade my gpu setup to a CFX setup, I will just buy a new PSU. So could I run my system with an HD 7970 with the current 650w PSU?

Yeah that should be fine - I think the minimum requirements for a 7970 are a 550W PSU so 650 should be plenty.

 

[Blakexeal]

PSU will probably have better resale value later on when you go to make the swap as well. Their prices don't fluctuate much, like video cards can in a 1-2 year time frame.

 

[mrwhit30ut]

Okay, so I got that. Good. Thanks toms. Hopefully nothing new comes out so I dont have to redo this post, but until then I will keep updating my parts and when I get about a week from build time I will do a final check.

 

[mrwhit30ut]

Best answer selected by MrWhit30ut.

 

[Mousemonkey]

This topic has been closed by Mousemonkey