$1500ish Build. Few questions.

[cranked]

Approximate Purchase Date: This weekend

Budget Range: $1500ish

System Usage from Most to Least Important: General home computer use, gaming

Parts Not Required: KB, mouse

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Cheapest prices, using pcpartpicker at the moment

Countrye.g.: India) USA

Parts Preferences: Intel

Overclocking: Yes

SLI or Crossfire: No

Monitor Resolution: 1920 x 1080

Additional Comments: At the moment I am using a Pentium 4 3.06Ghz PC with 1 GB Rambus ram and (I think) a 4650 AGP video card, so I am looking to upgrade. I bought this computer about 7-8 years ago from Dell and, while it has served me well over the years for my needs, it is showing it's age big time. I think the mobo is going bad since I can't burn dvd's anymore, the USB ports work at their convenience and it's just slowed down alot during general use even after a reformatting.

I don't currently game with this PC for obvious reasons. I was playing TF2, albeit painfully slow and on low settings so I don't have any particular game in mind to play right now, but I would like to be able to start playing some.

I have already compiled a list of the majority of what I want. I spent the last two weeks reading almost every thread here so I am set on most of the build. Thank you all, by the way, for all the informative posts in the other threads that helped shape this build.

I should mention that I will have this computer for a long time. As you can see, I don't by new PC's often, although I did upgrade that dell a few times (more ram, newer gpu). So I want to get the lastest and greatest so I don't have to spend money on parts for a while.

Here is what I have right now: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/85yx

I am set on the IB i5-3570K w/ Z77 mobo and 8gb ram.
I was set on a Fractal MIDI that g-unit turned me on to, but I changed my mind to the 500R.

The few questions I have now are:

1. I have a 7850 selected now, is it really worth it to go to a 7950 or a 670 for the extra $140? I am having a hard time stomaching $400 for a graphics card, but I will if it's worth it. If so, should I go 670 or 7950 and which particular card should I get?

2. I know most people here recommend the crucial M4, but I have heard good things about the Mushkin Chronos deluxe MX and it's about the same price and I think faster? So does it really matter which one? Also, what's the difference between all of the 5 versions of the crucial M4 that newegg has listed? I can't tell even when comparing side by side.

3. That PSU I have selected: Great? Good? OK? Other options? Smaller size/Cheaper?

4. I need a monitor. Was thinking in the 23"-24" range. 1920x1080 HD. This is where I need the most help. There are too many options and I know nothing about monitors, so any suggestions are welcome. I have one selected on that pcpartpicker build, but I am not set on that one. Was hoping to stay around $200 so I can stay around $1500 for the overall build.

Thanks in advance for any and all help.

 

[gary1]

1. The 7850 should run almost every game on high/very high settings. You may have problems with a few games such as BF3, Metro, and Crysis as they are very demanding. But overall, it should be fine.

2. I would just go with the Crucial, 8gb of memory for 5$? Sure.

3. Great.

4. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236117

 

[Why_Me]

If no plans on adding another card later on then look at this board.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157296 $119.99
ASRock Z77 Pro4 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

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

http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Carbide-Tower-Gaming-CC-9011012-WW/dp/B005E983JW/ref=sr_1_5?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1336781723&sr=1-5 $116.16 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Corsair Carbide Series 500R Mid Tower Gaming Case CC-9011012-WW

 

[jsrudd]

You won't regret stepping up to a 7950 or 670 assuming you play games that are more demanding than team fortress 2. How well a game runs is at this point mostly dependent on the GPU and not the CPU.

 

[TheBigTroll]

the gigabyte z77x-ud3h and the msi z77a-gd55 or 65 are great motherboards too. i would also go for a 240gb chronos deluxe for more storage

 

[cranked]

OK, I have been thinking since I posted and I might as well spend the extra $140 on the newer gen card. No sense in skimping at that point. So, what would be recommendation, the 7950 or the 670?

Was kind of thinking of one of those EVGA 670's.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130782 Could overclock it myself or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130783 for $20 more it's already done for you.

Or other suggestions?

@TheBigTroll
That would put me over budget. Plus I will have a Barracuda for storage. Do you like the Chronos Deluxe MX 120gb for $120 or the Crucial M4?

@Why_Me
Thanks for that link for the cheaper price on the case. Maybe I will step down to the Pro4 if all you really get with the Extreme4 is SLI/CF ability.

@gary1
Thanks for the help and monitor recommendation.

Is that monitor the consensus or does someone else have another option to look at?

 

[gary1]

Get the standard EVGA or the MSI one.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127675

That monitor is very very good, just go on Newegg yourself and look in the 23-24 range of the ASUS monitors, find one that you like, they're all pretty good.

 

[cranked]

Ok, thanks for all the help everyone. I am ready to buy. Final build is here if anyone has any last minute suggestions:
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/85Pl

@why_me
I was thinking about going to the Pro4, but they dropped the extreme4 price to $129.99 so might as well get that for only ten dollars more and leave more options on the table.

 

[cranked]

Best answer selected by Cranked.