Need Advice For Gaming Budget PC - $650

[tutn91]

Approximate Purchase Date: Today or some times this week

Budget Range: $600-700 before rebates, preferably $650

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, surfing the net, movies, music, MS office word processing

Parts Not Required: keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, OS

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg.com

Country: US

Parts Preferences: Intel for CPU, for other components I don't have a preference as long as it is known to work well

Overclocking: No

SLI or Crossfire: No

Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080

Additional Comments: I would like to build a gaming PC to play games such as: Guild Wars 2, Diablo 3, Skyrim, Fallout New Vegas, Deus Ex, possibly Battlefield 3 on relatively high settings with decent FPS. I would also prefer components that will allow the least minimal upgrades for a couple of years and that would allow me to play some games coming out in the near future, i.e. Borderlands 2, Bioshock Infinite and varies MMOs. The PC should be preferably quiet.

I have been looking at parts on newegg and have come up with this so far:

i5 2500k 3.3ghz combo with Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000 500gb 7200 RPM - $281.98
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.926440

Rosewill Green Series RG530-S12 530W Continuous @40°C, 80 PLUS Certified, Single 12V Rail, Active PFC - $44.99 (-$5 promo for today 5/09)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182199

ASRock H61M/U3S3 LGA 1155 Intel H61 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard- $66.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157236

SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 6870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 combo with CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) - $ 199.98
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.927544

LG DVD Burner - $16.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136236

As for the case I am stuck between these two:
Rosewill CHALLENGER Black Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - $49.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147153

Rosewill Blackbone Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - $33.99 ( -$6 promo for today 5/09)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147023&nm_mc=EMC-IGNEFL050812&cm_mmc=EMC-IGNEFL050812-_-EMC-050812-Index-_-ComputerCases-_-11147023-L030D

Total = roughly $650 depending on the case


Would these all be compatible and would the PSU be sufficient for this particular gaming rig? I am open to suggestions and advice and would be willing to downgrade certain parts or possibly upgrade certain parts.

 

[tekman42]

If it was me...and you have managed to pick out some fantastic combo hardware deals there...VERY,VERY, nice deals but ONE HUGE THING.

I would in NO WAY use the stock cooler and I would upgrade the case to this...it's $20 bucks more and it's OUTSTANDING in cooling performance.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119197

I would also add this at $35 for unparalled performance and since you said gaming...this covers ALL bases and is exceptional at removing heat and letting your system and cpu stay a lot cooler under load conditions...hours of gaming produce a lot of heat and the cooler you keep that cpu...the longer the entire system lasts and the better it performs!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099&cm_sp=Cat_Fans_%26%2338%3b_Heatsinks-_-Hot_Item-_-35-103-099

This is just a tad bit over your budget but both items have free shipping and the case has a $10 dollar rebate as well.

These would blend in very well with your needs and budget and provide OUTSTANDING performance for years to come with a lot of room for upgrading to whatever you want at a later date!

 

[dudewitbow]

dont use an h61 mobo with an unlocked cpu. the h61 set is not meant for overclocking

 

[tutn91]

Would you guys recommend an i5 2400 rather than the i5 2500k to bring the cost down since I am not going to be overclocking?

@ dudewitbow, I am new to building computers so I don't quite understand what you meant. If the i5 2500k is not recommended for an h61 motherboard what do you think would be a good fit for a reasonable price to fit my budget?

Thanks for the answers guys!

 

[tekman42]

What is meant is that the H61 chipset is meant for things like Home theater pcs and it doesn't allow for the cpu to turbo clock itself...the P,Z,and X series chipsets allow the K and regular version cpus to ramp up (turbo) to a set overclock automatically...provides extra performance but ONLY when load demands more processing power...it automatically downclocks back to stock once the load on the cpu is removed thereby saving your utility bill a few bucks.

Since you don't overclock and don't plan to...the K version of the cpus...ie 2500 vs 2500K....the k version is designed to maximize the overclock so the reason to spend the money on a 2500K is for the overclocking abilities of the cpu...(the 2500K is a veritable BEAST of an overclocker)...since you don't plan on overclocking...why spend the extra money for a cpu that is specifically designed to overclock...instead the regular 2500 is a better fit for your intended useage...no sense spending money on a feature you do NOT plan to use.

Either cpu will fit your motherboard but it's a waste of money to purchase the overclockable 2500K and put it in a motherboard that doesn't really allow overclocking...instead save your money and use the (non K) version cpu that performs extremely well and addresses your needs for LESS money.

Nice job dudewitbow...couldn't of said it any better...no sense wasting money on features you won't be able to use!!