$1200 Build review

[darksilver]

Hello everyone I am hoping to hear your input about my first build.

Approximate Purchase Date: within the next couple weeks

Budget Range: $1200

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, watching movies, internet surfing.

Parts Not Required: None

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg, amazon

Country: USA

Parts Preferences: Intel, Nvidia

Overclocking: No

SLI or Crossfire: No

Monitor Resolution: 1920x1200

Additional Comments:
Is Usb 3.0 recommended? i plan to have this pc for 5 to 7 years.
Its going to be the family pc.
I dont want any expensive ssd.

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CPU: Intel Core i5-2500
CPU Cooler: Stock Cooling
Motherboard: GigaByte Z68AP-D3 Intel Z68 Chipset DDR3 ATX Mainboard
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
Hard Drive: Barracuda 7200 SATA 3Gb/s 500GB Hard Drive
Video Card: Evga Gtx 570 Superclocked
Case: Haf 912 or In Win Mana 136
Power Supply: 850 Watts - CoolerMaster Silent Pro Gaming 80 Plus Power Supply
Optical Drive: LG 12X Blu-Ray Player & DVDRW Combo Drive
OS: Microsoft® Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit
Monitor: 24" Widescreen 1920x1080 Asus VS247H-P LCD
Total: $1208 (after mail in rebates)

 

[440bx]

I think it looks pretty good. The thing that I think could be improved upon based on the money you are spending are:

1. If you are not overclocking, you really don't need an 850 watt PS unless you anticipate using more than one video card in the future. (but you won't be able to use SLI because the board doesn't support it) Potentially, you could save yourself some money by picking a 600 to 650 watt good quality PS.

2. I don't know what Gigabyte was thinking when they included a serial and a parallel port in the I/O panel. Short of industrial applications, I don't think there are very many people using those ports anymore. I'm uneasy about a motherboard that includes obsolete technology in its I/O panel. You may not feel the same way but, I'd look for something a little more "up to date".

 

[Chaz21]

I agree that the PSU is a little overboard for your intended use. Other than that your build looks great. I especially like the 912 case (but then I'm partial cause that's what I use).

 

[darksilver]

Best answer selected by darksilver.