$1400 Budget Gaming Computer - Tweaks?

[Genesis557]

Approximate Purchase Date: within the month

Budget Range: $1400 base cost

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, music, storage (videos,pictures,music), web surfing, maybe a little word processing

Parts Not Required: keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, optical drive

I would like to cut costs somewhere or allocate money to other things. I may overclock in the future but not sure. Maybe SLI as well but might just upgrade the card when it gets dull.

Chosen parts so far: (Price so far: $1383.90)

CASE:
Thermaltake Level 10 GT (VN10001W2N) Black Steel SECC / Plastic ATX Full Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133188

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

VIDEO CARD:
EVGA GeForce GTX 570 HD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130613

POWER SUPPLY:
NZXT HALE82 HALE82-750-M 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817116015

RAM MEMORY:
CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145345

MOTHERBOARD:
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=N82E16813157265

CPU:
Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072

OS:
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986

CPU FAN:
COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 EVO RR-212E-20PK-R2 Continuous Direct Contact 120mm Sleeve CPU Cooler
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099

WIFI DONGLE:
Linksys AE1200 High Performance Wireless-N Adapter IEEE 802.11b/g/n USB 2.0 Up to 300Mbps Wireless Data Rates WEP 64/128-bit, WPA-TKIP and WPA2-Personal & Enterpise (AES/TKIP), WPS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833124429

 

[azeem40]

Great build, but if you get a 560ti 448-core and overclock it, it will match the performance of a 570 at a cheaper cost. Also, 560ti is a lot more cooler (in terms of temps and wattage used).

 

[jmsellars1]

I think if you give up on the idea of SLI and get a cheaper case you can get much better performance. SLI really won't be necessary on a single monitor anyway.

i5-2500k
8GB Mushkin Silverline
ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3
ASUS HD 7950 3GB
Crucial M4 128GB
Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB
SeaSonic M12II 520W
Coolermaster HAF 922
Coolmeraster Hyper 212 Evo

Total - $1388.91 (Newegg)

 

[thrakazog]

I would drop the over priced case. That's the biggest money saver right there. You can get a great case for cheaper from coolermaster or corsair. I would also go with a better PSU than NZXT, like corsair, seasonic, antec, etc...

 

[spagalicious]

Definitely entertain the idea of a different case if you want to cut costs. I think the Level 10 series as a whole is very overpriced. Not sure if you want something more flashy but if you want to get the most out of your $1400, I would go sub $120 on the case so you could allocate another $100 or so to a GPU.

Case ideas:

Rosewill THOR Full ATX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147053

Corsair Carbide Mid Tower
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139011

GPU ideas:

WAIT FOR KEPLERS TO DRIVE DOWN ATI PRICES

or

XFX 7950 3GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150590

 

[Why_Me]

@ the OP. That case is a total hose job and then some, that psu would never be recommended on here, the RAM is great if you plan on using it for a hair comb otherwise it's going to screw you with an after market cpu h/s seeing how it has those tall cake cutter heat spreaders, and the 570 is a power hog vs performance that sucks at over clocking.

This MSI 560 ti 448 core down below when over clocked comes close to running on par with a stock gtx 580. 560 series cards are on a newer die, run cooler, and use a lot less juice.

@ the OP...check this one out.

http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-Tower-RC-922M-KKN1-GP-Black/dp/B0026FCI2U/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1330291511&sr=1-1 $89.00 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Cooler Master HAF ATX Mid Tower Case, RC-922M-KKN1-GP (Black)

http://www.amazon.com/OCZ-80PLUS-Bronze-Performance-compatible/dp/B005A2RJOI/ref=sr_1_7?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1329900518&sr=1-7 $99.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
OCZ ZS Series 750W 80PLUS Bronze High Performance Power Supply compatible with Intel Sandy Bridge Core i3 i5 i7 and AMD Phenom

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

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072 $224.99 FREE SHIPPING
Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 3000 BX80623I52500K

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099 $34.99
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+

or....

http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-Hyper-Sleeve-RR-B10-212P-G1/dp/B002G1YPH0/ref=pd_bxgy_e_text_c $24.21 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25
Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 120mm Sleeve CPU Cooler, RR-B10-212P-G1

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231546 $44.99 FREE SHIPPING
G.SKILL Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-1600C9D-8GAB

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148840 $124.99 FREE SHIPPING $25 off w/ promo code EMCNHHJ38, ends 2/27
Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

http://www.amazon.com/Asus-24xDVD%C2%B1RW-Serial-Internal-DRW-24B1ST/dp/B0033Z2BAQ/ref=pd_sim_pc_1 $20.99 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25
Asus 24xDVD±RW Serial ATA Internal OEM Drive DRW-24B1ST (Black)

http://www.amazon.com/MSI-N560GTX-Ti-448-III-PE/dp/B006FCCOII $309.99 & 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

For front 3.0 USB ports then pair this case down below with that Asrock P67 extreme4 Gen 3 board you have in your build.

http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Carbide-Tower-Gaming-Computer/dp/B0055Q7BR4/ref=sr_1_5?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1330291831&sr=1-5 $99.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Corsair Carbide Series 400R Mid Tower Gaming Computer Case - CC-9011011-WW

For a modular psu then this one is a bargain...

http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Enthusiast-Certified-Performance-CP-9020003-NA/dp/B005E98FVS/ref=sr_1_16?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1330291981&sr=1-16 $113.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Corsair Enthusiast TX V2 Series 750-Watt 80 Plus Bronze Certified High Performance Modular Power Supply CP-9020003-NA

And a nice SSD that will fit in your budget.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148442 $149.99 FREE SHIPPING
Crucial M4 CT128M4SSD2 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986 $99.99 FREE SHIPPING
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM