First Time Builder, budget around $1500, need help

[armandjordan58]

Approximate Purchase Date: This month or next (May or June)

Budget Range: $1,500 max, includes shipping and tax.

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Most important is gaming. Trying to build a great gaming pc, mainly to play Shogun 2 Total War: Fall of the Samurai in maxed out settings. And to future proof the system.

Parts Not Required: Do not require a mouse, keyboard, speaker, and monitor. Will try to get a 1080p monitor later on.

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: NewEgg

Country: Live in the USA

Parts Preferences: no preference really... as long as the part from the manufacturer doesn't break down in a few months.

Overclocking: I'm a noob at this. Will hopefully learn more about overclocking.

SLI or Crossfire: Don't really know a lot about what these are.

Monitor Resolution: current monitor is 1440x900, but will upgrade it to 1920x1080

Additional Comments: Feel free to give me advice to change parts. Maybe a different GPU...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116504
CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131821
MoBo: ASUS SABERTOOTH Z77

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102962
GPU: SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 7950 3GB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231309
RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065
Heatsink: COOLER MASTER Hyper 212

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148725
Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda Green ST1500DL003 1.5TB

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021
Case: Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204
DVD Burner: ASUS 24X DVD Burner

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005
PSU: CORSAIR Enthusiast Series CMPSU-650TX 650W

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

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148442
SSD: Crucial M4 CT128M4SSD2 2.5" 128GB

All of these above products add up to $1,694.65, tax and shipping included.

CART
http://secure.newegg.com/Shopping/ShoppingCart.aspx?Submit=view

I'm a noob at this, never have built a computer before besides installing a GPU. Recently watched a video on how to build a computer by NewEgg and was I guess inspired to build a computer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPIXAtNGGCw

Please tell me if all these parts would be compatible with each other. And if I should change parts. Thanks Alot!!
And tips for new builders!

 

[azeem40]

Since you're not CF/SLIng, get a MOBO with only one PCIe 3.0 slot, like the Pro4 Gen3 Z77 ASRock Board.

 

[armandjordan58]

Thanks for the reply! I took your advice and yeah kind of unnecessary to get a mobo with multiple pci slots since i will not use SLI or CrossFire.

So I picked this

MoBo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157306

Updated Cart
http://secure.newegg.com/Shopping/ShoppingCart.aspx?Submit=view

How about the GPU or CPU. Can I get a better deal by going with a nVidia? or a AMD cpu? all I want is to future proof and play Shogun 2 Total War: Fall of the Samurai maxed out. Thanks!!

 

[azeem40]

NOTHING beats the i5-3570k/2500k in gaming. Right now, NVIDIA has no comparable to the Radeon 7950 until the GTX 670 comes out in July or so.

 

[boulbox]

MOBO/CPU:GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-UD5H with i5 3570k - $414.98
This mobo is pretty great, seen a lot of my friends happy with it's look and performance.
Case/PSU:CORSAIR Professional Series HX650 with Corsair 500R - $239.98
really love this case still using one now(take this PSU over yours because its modular which means it will be more organised)
HDD/Burner:Seagate Barracuda 1TB and ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X - $104.98
1Tb in my opinion is a lot for gaming bought 2 tb 3 years ago and still haven't used half of 1Tb yet(i am a hardcore gamer don't doubt it)
Ram:G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB @ 1600 - $46.99
doubt u will need 16GB of ram just get 8Gb at 1600 speed a lot more useful not to mention faster than your 16GB(note: only get more than 8GB if you are going to do some kind of programming or run a server)
SSD:just use the one that you found cruical is a very good brand for SSD
OS: same as SSD
Heat Skin:COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 EVO - $34.99
Evo is a bit better compared to hyper i would say spend the extra money. if you want u can just save yourself some money and go with the hyper
GPU: a 7970! - $479.99

$1421.90 not with tax and shipping yet hope you have a great time and yes this build will run all your needs

 

[armandjordan58]

Nice, will stay with Intel then. Is SSD a big necessity? because I might not get it and maybe change the Radeon 7950 to a Radeon 7970, nvidia 680 or 690? Thanks!

 

[azeem40]

SSD isn't necessary, but I can say with honesty that the SSD was the best decision I ever made. My OS load times have been cut by over 400% (was 40 seconds and now is 10 seconds).

 

[boulbox]

SSD is not a necessity its a luxury. it boots up your computer a lot faster than a HDD

don't get it if you don't want to i bought myself a 200 gb(estimated) and load most of my games on it pretty fast (WoW, LoL, Hon, SC2)

 

[armandjordan58]

Wow, thanks. Greatly appreciate the help.

But i think i will pass on the SSD, save more money for a monitor. And keep the 7950

Thanks boulbox, those combos were great. Saved money on it too.

 

[Why_Me]

http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Carbide-Series-Gaming-Computer/dp/B0055Q7BR4/ref=sr_1_4?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1336209760&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 <----- another look at that case

http://www.corsair.com/pc-cases/carbide-series-pc-case/carbide-series-400r-mid-tower-case.html

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207013 $74.99 FREE SHIPPING 10% off w/ promo code XFXS10, ends 5/6
XFX Core Edition PRO550W (P1-550S-XXB9) 550W ATX12V 2.2 & ESP12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.910387 $354.98 save: $15.00
ASRock Z77 Pro4 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 BX80637I53570K

http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?Model=Z77%20Pro4 <----- another look at that board

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099 $34.99 FREE SHIPPING
COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 EVO RR-212E-20PK-R2 Continuous Direct Contact 120mm Sleeve CPU Cooler Compatible with latest Intel 2011/1366/1155 and AMD FM1/AM3+

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231546 $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-8GAB

http://www.amazon.com/Gigabyte-Mini-Displayport-PCI-Express-Graphic-GV-R795WF3-3GD/dp/B007581QHG $399.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Gigabyte AMD Radeon HD 7950 3GB GDDR5 DVI-I/HDMI/2x Mini-Displayport PCI-Express Graphic Card GV-R795WF3-3GD

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820211588 $104.99 FREE SHIPPING
ADATA S510 Series AS510S3-120GM-O 2.5" 120GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.937168 $104.98
Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM

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

 

[aicom]

Wow, thanks. Greatly appreciate the help.

But i think i will pass on the SSD, save more money for a monitor. And keep the 7950

Thanks boulbox, those combos were great. Saved money on it too.

I'd consider stepping up from a Green (5400 RPM) HDD to a 7200 RPM if you're going to be using it as your primary drive, since you won't be getting an SSD.

 

[armandjordan58]

Best answer selected by ArmandJordan58.