$1700 Gaming System

[joethesupercow]

Approximate Purchase Date: ASAP

Budget Range: Under $1800

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, streaming video, programming

Parts Not Required: Mouse

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg.com

Country: USA

Parts Preferences: Best performance for the price

Overclocking: Eventually

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe as an upgrade later

---

Hey guys, I've just been working on this system and I had a few questions/was looking for some pointers. Here's what I've got so far (pluses are shipping costs, minuses are rebates):

CASE: COOLER MASTER HAF 922 RC-922M-KKN1-GP Black Steel + Plastic and Mesh Bezel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case $99.99 - 10 = 89.99
OR Antec Three Hundred Illusion Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case $69.99

CPU: Intel i5-3750K Ivy Bridge CPU 3.4Ghz $225

MOBO: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard $134.99 + 8.00 = 142.00

PSU: CORSAIR Enthusiast Series CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready 80 PLUS Certified $109.99 + 6 = 116.00
OR Rosewill CAPSTONE Series CAPSTONE-750 750W Continuous @ 50°C, 80 PLUS GOLD Certified, $109.99

GPU: EVGA 02G-P4-2680-KR GeForce GTX 680 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card $499.99 + 8 = 508

OPTICAL DRIVE: Asus 24xDVD±RW Serial ATA Internal OEM Drive DRW-24B1ST (Black) $18.99 + 7 = 25.99

SSD: Kingston HyperX 3K SH103S3/90G 2.5" 90GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) $109.99 - 10 = 99.99

HDD: Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKX 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive $79.99

MEMORY: G.SKILL Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-1600C9D-8GAB $44.99

COOLING: COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 EVO RR-212E-20PK-R2 Continuous Direct Contact 120mm Sleeve CPU Cooler $34.99

MONITOR: Asus VH238H Black 23" Full HD HDMI LED Backlight LCD Monitor w/Speakers 250 cd/m2 ASCR 50,000,000:1 $174.99 - 10 = 164.99

KEYBOARD: LITE-ON SK-1688U/B Black 104 Normal Keys USB Wired Standard Keyboard $19.99 + 7 = 27

WINDOWS: $100

TOTAL: $1659.00

So here's my questions. First off, Ivy Bridge is here, but it seems like the overclocking performance is subpar. Should I go ahead and go with it anyway, or should I just go with the old i5-2500k standby? If I do decide to got with Sandy, is it still worth it to get the Z77 chipset on my mobo? Also, is a 650W power supply enough for a system like this? What would I need if I decided eventually to add a second 680? What is the weakest link in this PC right now? CPU? RAM? HDD? Also, I don't know anything about monitors, so any advice I could get on that front would be awesome. My budget for a monitor is about $200.

Thanks a lot guys, I'm looking forward to hearing from you.

 

[Why_Me]

You can find these parts on newegg also.

http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Carbide-Series-Gaming-Computer/dp/B0055Q7BR4/ref=sr_1_4?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1335685707&sr=1-4 $99.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Corsair Carbide Series 400R Mid Tower Gaming Computer Case - CC-9011011-WW

http://www.amazon.com/OCZ-Series-80PLUS-Performance-compatible/dp/B005A2RJOI/ref=sr_1_5?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1335685776&sr=1-5 $89.99 & 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=N82E16813157293 $134.99
ASRock Z77 Extreme4 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116504 $249.99 FREE SHIPPING
Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 4000 BX806237I53570K

http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-Hyper-212-RR-212E-20PK-R2/dp/B005O65JXI/ref=pd_cp_e_0 $34.95 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO CPU Cooler (RR-212E-20PK-R2)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231544 $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-8GAO

http://www.amazon.com/Sony-AD-7280S-0B-Internal-Drive-Black/dp/B0057FRTPW/ref=pd_cp_e_0 $17.99 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25
Sony AD-7280S-0B 24x SATA Internal DVD+/-RW Drive (Black)

http://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Barracuda-3-5-Inch-Internal-ST1000DM003/dp/B005T3GRNW/ref=sr_1_6?m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1335686168&sr=1-6 $99.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Seagate Barracuda 7200 1 TB 7200RPM SATA 6 Gb/s NCQ 64MB Cache 3.5-Inch Internal Bare Drive ST1000DM003

http://www.amazon.com/Kingston-SSDNow-120GB-Solid-KW-S2120-4B/dp/B007B6YP9I/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1335686396&sr=1-3 $129.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Kingston SSDNow V+200 120GB SATA III 6Gb/s 2.5 Inch Solid State Drive KW-S2120-4B

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004Q0PT3I/ref=s9_simh_bw_p65_d0_g65_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-3&pf_rd_r=0WBXYJWVFWJRT3TRSJST&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1341187182&pf_rd_i=229534 $99.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64bit (Full) System Builder DVD 1 Pack

http://www.amazon.com/ML228H-22-Inch-Ultra-Slim-Widescreen-Monitor/dp/B00413PHEQ $149.00 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Asus ML228H 21.5" 1920X1080 2ms Full HD LED BackLight LED Monitor Slim Design 250 cd/m2 10,000,000 :1 (ASCR)

Total: $1,133.87 *not including shipping and rebates


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127662 $369.99 - $349.99 after mail-in rebate card FREE SHIPPING 5% off w/ promo code MSI425, ends 4/30
MSI R7870 Twin Frozr 2GD5/OC Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 Video Card

http://www.overclockers.com/msi-r7870-twin-frozr <----- review w/benchmarks of that MSI 7870

or...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125418 $359.99
GIGABYTE GV-R787OC-2GD Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card

http://www.guru3d.com/article/gigabyte-radeon-hd-7870-oc-review/ <----- review w/benchmarks of that Gigabyte 7870

or...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121624 $349.99
ASUS HD7870-DC2-2GD5 Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/HD_7870_Direct_Cu_II/ <----- review w/benchmarks of that Asus 7870



http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?Model=Z77%20Extreme4 <----- a better look at that Asrock board

http://www.corsair.com/pc-cases/carbide-series-pc-case/carbide-series-400r-mid-tower-case.html <---- another look at that Corsair 400R

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236099 <----- that same monitor @ newegg

 

[l0v3rboi]

If you're keeping the gtx 680 and sli in the future, get at least an 850W PSU. You can also check out Radeon 7970 for a card that is slightly cheaper but with relatively similar performance.

 

[joethesupercow]

Best answer selected by joethesupercow.