< $1000 Gaming PC: looking for opinions

[ch1719]

Approximate Purchase Date: ASAP

Budget Range: $800 - $1000

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming (WoW & Skyrim on highest settings)

Parts Not Required: Keyboard, Mouse, Speakers

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg.com

Country: United States

Parts Preferences:
BIOSTAR A880G+ AM3 AMD 880G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138283

Antec BP550 Plus 550W Continuous Power ATX12V V2.2 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371016

EVGA 01G-P3-1556-KR GeForce GTX 550 Ti (Fermi) FPB 1GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130625

AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ965FBGMBOX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103727

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231314

Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKX 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136769

ASUS 24X 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 DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204

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

Overclocking: Maybe

SLI or Crossfire: Don't know what this is...

Monitor Resolution: Not sure...looking to have a 23" monitor.

Additional Comments: I've never built a PC before, and I want to know if the parts I have selected are sufficient for gaming on high settings, or if any of them are overkill. Right now, the total for the above parts comes to around $650.

I'd like to have enough left over for a decent monitor (at least 23") and a case (something relatively quiet).

Thanks for your suggestions!

 

[g-unit1111]

I would scrap that whole build. Biostar is a terrible motherboard manufacturer, the 550TI will *NOT* play Skyrim on ultra settings, and the 970T is easily eclipsed by the i3-2120.

Try this:

Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 - $59.99 ($10.00 MIR)
PSU: Corsair Enthusiast Series TX650 V2 - $89.99 ($10.00 MIR)
Motherboard: Asrock Z68 Extreme 3 Gen 3 - $129.99
CPU: 3.1GHz Intel Core i5-2400 - $189.99
RAM: Mushkin Enhanced Silverline 1333Mhz 8GB (2 x 4GB) - $42.99
HD: 500GB Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB - $84.99
Optical: Lite On Bulk DVD Burner - $17.99
Video Card: EVGA Geforce GTX 560TI - $249.99 ($15.00 MIR)

Total: $870.92 - $35.00 MIR = $835.92

The difference will give you more than enough room to buy a nice 22" - 24" monitor like the ones Asus and Acer offer. Try this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236059

 

[azeem40]

Go with the above, but there are more good manufacturers of monitors than he suggested.

 

[g-unit1111]

Go with the above, but there are more good manufacturers of monitors than he suggested.

How about this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824116447

 

[azeem40]

I didn't mean your monitor suggestion was bad. I meant that asus and acer aren't the only good monitor manufacturers.

 

[g-unit1111]

I didn't mean your monitor suggestion was bad. I meant that asus and acer aren't the only good monitor manufacturers.

That's certainly true.

 

[ch1719]

I would scrap that whole build. Biostar is a terrible motherboard manufacturer, the 550TI will *NOT* play Skyrim on ultra settings, and the 970T is easily eclipsed by the i3-2120.

Try this:

Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 - $59.99 ($10.00 MIR)
PSU: Corsair Enthusiast Series TX650 V2 - $89.99 ($10.00 MIR)
Motherboard: Asrock Z68 Extreme 3 Gen 3 - $129.99
CPU: 3.1GHz Intel Core i5-2400 - $189.99
RAM: Mushkin Enhanced Silverline 1333Mhz 8GB (2 x 4GB) - $42.99
HD: 500GB Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB - $84.99
Optical: Lite On Bulk DVD Burner - $17.99
Video Card: EVGA Geforce GTX 560TI - $249.99 ($15.00 MIR)

Total: $870.92 - $35.00 MIR = $835.92

The difference will give you more than enough room to buy a nice 22" - 24" monitor like the ones Asus and Acer offer. Try this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236059

Ok so I'll concede with the CPU, Motherboard, and Video Card, but what was wrong with my optical drive, RAM, and PSU choices?

Also, the above build doesn't include the OS, which will bring the total to $935...not enough left over for a monitor. Thanks for the help so far! I still have a lot to learn..

 

[azeem40]

When getting a monitor, consider the distance you will be viewing at. If 1 to 2ft away, get a 23" monitor.