First build, looking at around $1,300

[Betsu no Shiro]

Approximate Purchase Date: Around May 25, 2012

Budget Range: ~$1,300-1,400 after rebates

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, watching movies, photo editing, word processing

Parts Not Required: Keyboard, mouse, monitor, OS (already have a copy of W7 from the school)

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg, Amazon, any else that has good deals

Country: United States of America

Parts Preferences: None

Overclocking: Maybe... I'm not really sure how to overclock properly

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe in the future

Additional Comments: Only specifications are I'd like 16GB of RAM, and a SSD boot drive, or perhaps just the fastest non-SSD drive possible.

This will be mainly for gaming, obviously. Looking to play Diablo III, Skyrim, Metro 2023, and Crysis 2 on as high of settings as possible.

I'm excited about this, thanks for the help in advance!

EDIT: Oh! it's important to note I'd like to have Bluetooth connectivity for my Playstation or Wii controller, as well as my bluetooth headset.

 

[g-unit1111]

EDIT: Oh! it's important to note I'd like to have Bluetooth connectivity for my Playstation or Wii controller, as well as my bluetooth headset.

Don't waste your money on getting a motherboard with a Bluetooth module - just get a cheap Bluetooth USB adapter from Logitech or something like that. That way if the adapter goes bad you just replace the adapter. If the motherboard goes bad you have to replace the whole motherboard - and that isn't fun believe me.

Here you go:

Case: Antec 1100 - $99.99
PSU: Corsair TX650 V2 - $89.99
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H - $159.99
CPU: 3.4GHz Intel Core i5-3570K - $249.99
Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo - $34.99
RAM: 8GB Kingston Hyper X Grey 1600MHz 1.5V - $69.99
SSD: 64GB Crucial M4 - $79.99
HD: 1TB Seagate Barracuda ST - $99.99
Optical: Lite On DVD Burner - $17.99
Video Card: EVGA Geforce GTX 670 - $399.99

Total: $1,297.90

 

[Betsu no Shiro]

Wow this looks quite good, I just read the Tom's review on that GTX 670, and it sounds spectacular. Hoping it can max out Max Payne 3 and Skyrim, I haven't gotten those games yet (and I'm pretty sure the former hasn't come out for PC yet.) Initially I was thinking something more like the Radeon 7950, but that's quite a convincing review.

The only thing is, and I know it's more than I need, but I do want 16GB of RAM. But I think going a little over budget won't be much of a problem. And I'll take your advice on the bluetooth. I was thinking as much anyway.

 

[g-unit1111]

Wow this looks quite good, I just read the Tom's review on that GTX 670, and it sounds spectacular. Hoping it can max out Max Payne 3 and Skyrim, I haven't gotten those games yet (and I'm pretty sure the former hasn't come out for PC yet.) Initially I was thinking something more like the Radeon 7950, but that's quite a convincing review.

The only thing is, and I know it's more than I need, but I do want 16GB of RAM. But I think going a little over budget won't be much of a problem. And I'll take your advice on the bluetooth. I was thinking as much anyway.

Well it depends on what your needs are - if it's a strictly gaming system you'll most likely never need beyond 8GB. If you're going to be using it for additional things like CS5 then you'll need the extra RAM.

The 670 is powerful enough that it'll max out any game you throw at it for the next several years and it uses about 1/2 the power that the 580 and 480 did - a 750 will be more than enough to run SLI. On a gaming build the GPU is the most important part and you don't want to skimp or compromise if you can help it. If the 670 is too rich for your blood then the Radeon 7870 like I have is an excellent choice.

 

[Betsu no Shiro]

670 certainly isn't too rich. I'll just have to see when it's time to actually order parts, but I wanted to try and get the best bang for the buck out of the GPU.

Yeah, that's why I need the extra RAM. I'm going to get in to video editing and rendering in the future as well. I appreciate the build, any chance there's a quality tower that can fit the parts for slightly less? I don't care about it being flashy.

 

[Betsu no Shiro]

Sheesh, it's already sold out (the 670!) Decent alternative?

 

[mmilner1]

Sheesh, it's already sold out (the 670!) Decent alternative?

wait on it there are no decent alternatives, or at least until AMD decides to drop its price.

 

[Betsu no Shiro]

wait on it there are no decent alternatives, or at least until AMD decides to drop its price.

Will do. Hopefully it'll get back in stock before I start my build. About two weeks til.

 

[g-unit1111]

Sheesh, it's already sold out (the 670!) Decent alternative?

Yeah there really isn't - the demand for these cards is unlike anything anyone's seen in a while - you could always run off the onboard video until they get it in stock.

 

[Betsu no Shiro]

Yeah there really isn't - the demand for these cards is unlike anything anyone's seen in a while - you could always run off the onboard video until they get it in stock.

If it's really that good I'll pay slightly more than its worth if necessary upon build date. It's still in stock in a couple of places, albeit for more than Newegg.

 

[Why_Me]

http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Carbide-Tower-Gaming-Computer/dp/B0055Q7BR4/ref=sr_1_4?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1337023759&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 along with links to professional reviews

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207016 $137.99 - $127.99 after mail-in rebate card
XFX PRO750W XXX Edition Semi-Modular 80Plus Silver 750 Watt Power Supply

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.944652 $209.98 save: $20.00
ASRock Z77 Extreme4 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003 1TB 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_7?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1337043320&sr=1-7 $228.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Intel Core i5 3570K Processor 3.4 4 BX80637I53570K

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=N82E16820231545 $92.99 FREE SHIPPING
G.SKILL Ares Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-1600C9Q-16GAO

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118067 $17.99
Sony Optiarc 24X DVD Burner, Bulk Package 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model AD-7280S-0B - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226236 $102.99 FREE SHIPPING
Mushkin Enhanced Chronos MKNSSDCR120GB 2.5" 120GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007709%20600315498%20600311820&IsNodeId=1&name=GeForce%20GTX%20670 $400
gtx 670

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0054L9PWO/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_2?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B002UVNW5W&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0055CMN8SKRH6PS838E4 $27.75 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
ASUS(PCE-N15) maximum performance Wireless-N Network Adapter ( 300Mbps Transmit / 300Mbps Receive) with PCI-E interface, Include Full Height and Low Profile bracket, WPS button Support

Total: $1,352.46 *not including shipping and rebates

 

[g-unit1111]

If it's really that good I'll pay slightly more than its worth if necessary upon build date. It's still in stock in a couple of places, albeit for more than Newegg.

What I like about Newegg is that they're really honest in terms of pricing - they don't jack up or hose you on items that are in unusually high demand.