Suggestions on ~$1000 gaming PC build

[celsius273]

Approximate Purchase Date: soon

Budget Range: ~$1000 before taxes

System Usage from Most to Least Important: gaming, image editing

Overclocking: Maybe

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe in the future

-----------------------------------------------------

Processor:
Intel i7-2600K 3.4Ghz

Motherboard:
ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271

Graphics:
EVGA 01G-P3-1561-AR GeForce GTX 560 Ti FPB (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130604

Memory:
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231428

Hard drive:
Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKX 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136769

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

Case:
Thermaltake V3 Black Edition VL80001W2Z Black SECC / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133094

Power:
CORSAIR Gaming Series GS600 600W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139023

Cooling:
(Is the stock fan good enough if I overclock CPU to maybe ~4Ghz?)


Comments/suggestions? Thanks!

 

[Zero_]

Check my sig.

 

[blazorthon]

Change the i7 for an i5. i7s do not perform any faster than i5s for gaming because their big performance advantage over i5s is their Hyper-Threading and that doesn't make a difference in games right now because games can't utilize that many threads. The money saved will pay for a much better graphics system or an SSD.

The GTX 560 TI is not exactly the card that I'd put in a $1000 gaming machine. That's more like for a $600 to $700 gaming machine. Switch it out for a Radeon 7870 or a GTX 670, depending on how much you want to spend.

For a CPU cooler, get the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus or Hyper 212 Evo (Evo has similar cooling performance, but is a little quieter). It can get you to over 4GHz on an Ivy Bridge i5/i7 or to around 4.5GHz on a Sandy i5.

 

[Why_Me]

Approximate Purchase Date: soon

Budget Range: ~$1000 before taxes

System Usage from Most to Least Important: gaming, image editing

Overclocking: Maybe

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe in the future

-----------------------------------------------------

Processor:
Intel i7-2600K 3.4Ghz

Motherboard:
ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271

Graphics:
EVGA 01G-P3-1561-AR GeForce GTX 560 Ti FPB (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130604

Memory:
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231428

Hard drive:
Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKX 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136769

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

Case:
Thermaltake V3 Black Edition VL80001W2Z Black SECC / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133094

Power:
CORSAIR Gaming Series GS600 600W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139023

Cooling:
(Is the stock fan good enough if I overclock CPU to maybe ~4Ghz?)

Comments/suggestions? Thanks!

Here's some obvious changes to look at. This has you purchasing from three different retailers but if your anything like myself you want the most for your money.

1) Faster - quicker H/D combo w/that Z77 board down below.

2) Better psu and one that will push dual cards.

3) Z77 board + Ivy Bridge cpu + new generation vid = PCI-E 3.0

4) 7850 > gtx 560 ti

5) Low profile RAM in case you ever decide to add an after market cpu h/s.


http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=AT-SP7850 $248.99 Free Shipping
Sapphire AMD Radeon HD7850 2GB DDR5 DVI/HDMI/2x Mini DisplayPort PCI-Express Video Card - 11200-00-20G

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.944624 $209.98 save: $20.00 FREE SHIPPING
ASRock Z77 Extreme4 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Western Digital Caviar Black WD5002AALX 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?Model=Z77%20Extreme4 <----- another look at that board along with the latest bios update

http://www.vortez.net/articles_pages/asrock_z77_extreme4_review,1.html <----- review of that board w/benchmarks

http://www.amazon.com/Intel-Core-3570K-Processor-BX80637I53570K/dp/B007SZ0E1K/ref=sr_1_8?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1336981111&sr=1-8 $228.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Intel Core i5 3570K Processor 3.4 4 BX80637I53570K

http://www.amazon.com/OCZ-80PLUS-Bronze-Performance-compatible/dp/B005A2RJOI/ref=sr_1_5?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1336976327&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=N82E16820231544 $46.99 FREE SHIPPING
G.SKILL Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-1600C9D-8GAO

 

[blazorthon]

Here's some obvious changes to look at. This has you purchasing from three different retailers but if your anything like myself you want the most for your money.

1) Faster - quicker H/D combo w/that Z77 board down below.

2) Better psu and one that will push dual cards.

3) Z77 board + Ivy Bridge cpu + new generation vid = PCI-E 3.0

4) 7850 > gtx 560 ti

5) Low profile RAM in case you ever decide to add an after market cpu h/s.


http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=AT-SP7850 $248.99 Free Shipping
Sapphire AMD Radeon HD7850 2GB DDR5 DVI/HDMI/2x Mini DisplayPort PCI-Express Video Card - 11200-00-20G

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.944624 $209.98 save: $20.00 FREE SHIPPING
ASRock Z77 Extreme4 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Western Digital Caviar Black WD5002AALX 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?Model=Z77%20Extreme4 <----- another look at that board along with the latest bios update

http://www.vortez.net/articles_pages/asrock_z77_extreme4_review,1.html <----- review of that board w/benchmarks

http://www.amazon.com/Intel-Core-3570K-Processor-BX80637I53570K/dp/B007SZ0E1K/ref=sr_1_8?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1336981111&sr=1-8 $228.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Intel Core i5 3570K Processor 3.4 4 BX80637I53570K

http://www.amazon.com/OCZ-80PLUS-Bronze-Performance-compatible/dp/B005A2RJOI/ref=sr_1_5?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1336976327&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=N82E16820231544 $46.99 FREE SHIPPING
G.SKILL Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-1600C9D-8GAO

That motherboard is way too expensive and a 7850 is a little weak for a $1000 gaming build (keeping the other motherboard would allow the GTX 670 to fit into the budget and it is more representative of what should be looked for in a $1000 gaming machine than the 7850 that has hardly more than two thirds of the performance of the 670). The 7850 is barely even an upgrade over the 560 TI.

 

[Why_Me]

That motherboard is way too expensive and a 7850 is a little weak for a $1000 gaming build (keeping the other motherboard would allow the GTX 670 to fit into the budget and it is more representative of what should be looked for in a $1000 gaming machine than the 7850 that has hardly more than two thirds of the performance of the 670). The 7850 is barely even an upgrade over the 560 TI.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271 <----- That's the motherboard that the OP has linked. It comes out to the same price as the one I linked seeing how the Z77 is free shipping and when you add the shipping cost from that Z68 board it's the same cost. So that makes no sense. Now factor in that I combo'd that board with a WD Black instead of the WD Blue the OP had and it comes out to the same price...because of the combo...

 

[blazorthon]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271 <----- That's the motherboard that the OP has linked. It comes out to the same price as the one I linked seeing how the Z77 is free shipping and when you add the shipping cost from that Z68 board it's the same cost. So that makes no sense. Now factor in that I combo'd that board with a WD Black instead of the WD Blue the OP had and it comes out to the same price...because of the combo...

Sorry, when I first clicked on the link it brought me to a different motherboard than it is now. Point about the faster graphics remains, the 7850 is not as good as the 670 and the 670 fits into the budget easily, so might as well include it.