Need advice on ~$700 gaming PC

[ddillonhr]

Hello everyone, First time builder, looking to replace my old computer with my tax refund. I have put together a list of things I think would work well for now but I know all of you will have suggestions on how to lower the cost or a better replacement for the same price.

Approximate Purchase Date: 1-4 weeks
Budget Range: 600-700

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, surfing the web, streaming video

Parts Not Required: Have Keyboard, Mouse, Monitor, Power Supply, Speakers

Monitor
Acer X223Wbd Black 22" 5ms Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 2500:1
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009145

Power Supply
PC Power and Cooling S61EPS 610W Continuous @ 40°C EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply compatible with core i7
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703005

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg or Frys

Country: US

Parts Preferences: Larger Case for easy access and prefer to go with intel for cpu and nvidia for gpu but gpu im less strict on

Overclocking: Maybe, im open to it but new at it

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe

Monitor Resolution: Current Monitor max resolution is 1680 x 1050

Additional Comments: Just looking for a compute to make on the cheap now that i can upgrade easier later The games I would be playing in the near future on this are Skyrim, Red Alert 3, Minecraft, World of Warcraft, EVE Online, Starcraft 2, C and C generals 2, The new Simcity, Civ5, and Diablo 3.

MB- ASRock Z68 Extreme 3 Gen 3 $121.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271

CPU- Intel Core I3-2100 $124.99 ($110 with promo code)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115078

GPU- Sapphire Radeon 6870 1GB $159.99 ($149.99 with rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102948

RAM- G Skill Ripjaw 8GB (2x4GB) $46.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231314

HD- WD Cavier Blue 500GB 7200 RPM $84.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136769

CD/DVD Drive- Asus 24x $19.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204

Case- Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower $59.99 ($49.99 with rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119233

OS- Windows 7 OEM 64 BIT $99.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986

Any suggestions would be appreciated. I would love to keep the Motherboard for upgrading to a I5-2500k down the line or the Ivy bridge way later GPU not sure about I like Nvidia more but it seemed like a good deal

 

[ddillonhr]

Also, does anyone think the I5-2500k will go down in price soon. $205 seems like a pretty good price on newegg right now

 

[ddillonhr]

Another question. How does this video card compare to the Geforce cards around the same price and for the cost is this the best card at that price.

 

[adgjlsfhk]

For your question about the I5-2500k it is currently $179 at microcenter.
Also check out this link. Go with the $600 build but add the motherboard from the $850 build.
https://sites.google.com/a/bsdvt.org/computer_parts/

 

[Proximon]

The 6870 is slightly stronger than the GTX 560.

Good list.

 

[smokeydude]

wow, your build is almost identical to what i planning on building but i would recommend you get a 20$ cpu fan and i like the GTX 560 because i think nvidia has much better driver support

 

[azeem40]

For your question about the I5-2500k it is currently $179 at microcenter.
Also check out this link. Go with the $600 build but add the motherboard from the $850 build.
https://sites.google.com/a/bsdvt.org/computer_parts/

With tax it is $195, but still a good deal.

 

[adgjlsfhk]

Unless you want to overclock above about 4.5 GHz, an aftermarket cooler is unnecessary. Also I just found this great deal on a 6870.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102986