$1600 Build

[Gisei]

Okay, this is my first time building a pc, and I hate myself for not doing it 10yrs ago. I've put together a list of parts, but would like the community's advice.


Approximate Purchase Date: Not decided.

Budget Range: $1600, lenient

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming

Parts Not Required: Only part I have for reuse is a mouse.

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: I like newegg, but cheaper is better.

Country: US

Parts Preferences: None. I know basics, but not enough to distinguish brands.

Overclocking: Maybe

SLI or Crossfire: Yes, either after purchasing or in the future.

Monitor Resolution: I was thinking this. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236117


Case: NZXT Phantom Full Tower
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146068

Motherboard: BIOSTAR LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138355

Processor: Intel Core i7 2600K
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115070

Graphics Card: Geforce GTX 580
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500232

RAM: 2 x 4GB Kingston
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820104296

Hard Drive:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136769

Power Supply:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341018

Optical Drive:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136240

Keyboard: I like the Alienware brand, but not sure if it is worth $80.


I need a compatibility check. How well could this rig handle games? I'd like to know if there are alternatives that could make it cheaper without hurting performance too much, or increase performance without much of a price increase. What kind of cooling set up would I need? Fans or water? Any kind of advice or suggestions are welcomed.

 

[traumaiv]

for fans everyone recommends gentle typhoon ap-15s.

for keyboard at the 80$ price range id go with the cm storm quickfire as its mech. keyboard, it has a different feel compare to reg. keyboards its more clickty and clacky i personally paid 150 for my mechanical keyboard and i loved it but its all about opinions.

biostar is more entry level.

if just gaming here is this: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/7E8D

if you can obtain win7 a different way then itd make it a lot better and you could spend 150-200 on a watercooling kit from xspc as the switch 810 is one of the nicest pre configed watercooling cases.

 

[Cold_War]

Go for a Corsair 400R. It is a fantastic case, is $90 and with that NZXT full tower is really just a waste of space.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139008

With that system you will want 8GB of memory, to get good results in games. The speed of the RAM does not make difference in performance (it is miniscule) just if it is dual channel or higher DDR3. Here is good memory for $40:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220557

I would spend $10 and buy a i7-3770 (or K if your overclocking) it matches the performance of the i7-3930K and actually comes close to the $700 i7-3960X.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116502

 

[Cold_War]

Just to let you know as well I would go for fan cooling. Water cooling is not only expensive to buy, it is expensive to maintain too, and fan cooling is a lot less of a hassle. Here is good fan cooling for $35:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099

If the temperatures get too high or if you overclock you can make it have dual fans too for quicker heat dispersal.

 

[Why_Me]

http://www.amazon.com/OCZ-Series-80PLUS-Performance-compatible/dp/B005A2RJOI/ref=sr_1_5?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1335805455&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/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.910431 $374.98
ASRock Z77 Extreme4 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
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.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?Model=Z77%20Extreme4 <----- another look at that board

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/Windows-Premium-64bit-System-Builder/dp/B004Q0PT3I/ref=pd_cp_e_2 $99.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64bit (Full) System Builder DVD 1 Pack

Total: $892.87 *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.amazon.com/gp/product/B007JLFVNO/ref=gno_cart_title_4 $349.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
ASUS HD7870-DC2-2GD5 Radeon 2GB DDR5 VGA/DVI/HDMI/DisplayPort GPU Tweak Utilities PCI-Express 3.0 Graphics Card HD7870-DC2-2GD5

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

http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Carbide-Series-Gaming-Computer/dp/B0055Q7BR4/ref=sr_1_4?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1335826538&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.corsair.com/pc-cases/carbide-series-pc-case/carbide-series-400r-mid-tower-case.html <----- another look at that case

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)

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