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Looking to make a custom PC

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I've been looking into getting a new PC for gaming. Some games I'm trying to play are Diablo 3, Guildwars 2, and Skyrim, hopefully running on full graphics at 1680x1050. I had a couple of questions about what would be best to get my desired outcome for running these games. I set my limit at about 1000$-1200$. So far I have my customized PC on CyberPowerpc.com as:

Motherboard: MSI 970A-G45 AMD 970 Socket AM3+ ATX Mainboard w/ OC Genie II, Winki 3, 7.1 Audio, GbLAN, USB3.0, SATA-III RAID, 2 Gen2 PCIe X16, 2 PCIe X1 & 2 PCI
Case: NZXT Tempest 210 Mid-Tower Gaming Case
Cooling Fan: Corsair Hydro Series H60 High Performance Liquid Cooling System 120MM Radiator & Fan (Dual Standard 120MM Fans (Push-Pull))
Processor: AMD FX-4100 3.60 GHz Quad-Core
Memory: 8GB (4GBx2) DDR3/1333MHz Dual Channel Memory
Video Card: 2X NVIDIA Gefore GTX 550 Ti 1GB in SLI Mode
PSU: 700 Watts - Standard Power Supply - SLI/CrossFireX Ready
Hard Drive: 500GB SATA-III 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache 7200RPM HDD
OS:Microsoft® Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit
Price: 885$

Would a 4GB (2GBx2) DDR3/2000MHz Dual Channel Memory work better than the 8GB (4GBx2) DDR3/1333MHz Dual Channel Memory?

Would a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 1.2GB 16X PCIe Video Card work better than the 2X NVIDIA Gefore GTX 550 Ti 1GB in SLI Mode?

Also, are there any other modifications anyone could suggest to better the PC? And would everything I stated here work together, or would there be any conflicting problem.

More about : make custom

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You cant SLI or crossfire using that motherboard anyway . It only has a single slot suiatable for running a graphics card . But that wont be a problem to achieving the FPS and image quality you want .

Firstly ditch the water cooler . Its not better or quieter than a decent air cooler and costs a lot more . The CM Hyper 212 evo costs $30 .

Replace the graphics card with a Radeon 7850

And the power supply with a 500 watt unit

You dont NEED 2 x4 gig of RAM , but it wont hurt to have it if you use your computer for other things besides gaming

Best solution

First of all, don't use Cyberpower. Buy the parts off of Newegg and build it yourself. It's really easy and Newegg has tons of guides and youtube videos on how to do it. Tom's Hardware does too.

I always suggest one video card initially because if you want to upgrade later on then you can add a second one.

Generally, you don't need to go any higher than 1600 MHz RAM, most CPU's only support up to 1333 or 1600 anyway.

I wouldn't go with AMD for processor because they aren't very good at gaming. A dual core Intel performs better than an eight core AMD processor in games.

This is what I would do for a little bit more:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($38.98 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($114.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Low Voltage Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($51.99 @ Newegg)
Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 570 1.25GB Video Card ($259.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair 650W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (64-bit) ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $997.89
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-06-14 01:43 EDT-0400)

Ironslice said:
First of all, don't use Cyberpower. Buy the parts off of Newegg and build it yourself. It's really easy and Newegg has tons of guides and youtube videos on how to do it. Tom's Hardware does too.

I always suggest one video card initially because if you want to upgrade later on then you can add a second one.

Generally, you don't need to go any higher than 1600 MHz RAM, most CPU's only support up to 1333 or 1600 anyway.

I wouldn't go with AMD for processor because they aren't very good at gaming. A dual core Intel performs better than an eight core AMD processor in games.

This is what I would do for a little bit more:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($38.98 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($114.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Low Voltage Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($51.99 @ Newegg)
Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 570 1.25GB Video Card ($259.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair 650W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (64-bit) ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $997.89
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-06-14 01:43 EDT-0400)



Would everything here work with the games I already stated and maybe some that require a bit more graphical power, such as Battlefield 3 and future games? There is also a chance I would upgrade my monitor in the future to an HD monitor, so would these games also run on Ultra (or highest settings) at 1920x1080?
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Okay, was just making sure of that. But are you completely opposed to a dual GPU? If I did in the future need to upgrade the GPU is it best to get another of the GTX 570 and use SLI, or should I just upgrade to a GTX 670? I figured this way I wouldn't have to get rid of what I already have and still be able to upgrade.

Few other questions, are you completely certain that everything you suggested will work together perfectly? Are all connector wires included with each of these.

I am a bit nervous about doing this, being that it is my first time building my own PC, and that I will be spending about 1000$ on this. I just want to make sure everything will work together.

I have watched a video on building and setting up a PC, it makes me feel a little more comfortable, but still a bit nervous.

IF you do get from cyberpower, do not get a "standard" PSU... its a recipe for disaster. a Corsair 850W (if you intend to xfire/SLI) or a 750W if not will be more than adaquate.

Go intel PCU. i like the i5 3570k if you must have the latest, but the i5 2500k will be 99% as good for less price.

Get an air cooler. EVO 212 or Thermaltake FRIO if you plan on OC'ing.

Make sure your mobo (z68 if you get the 2500k, z77 if you go with the 3570K) says SLI/Xfire ready. Also, get one GPU card thats good enough to play games on high now. because down the line 2 years or so when that card isnt enough anymore as games evolve, then you can buy the same card (this time on the cheap since its dated) and SLI/Xfire it then. extending the life of your computer a few more years.

Yes everything should work fine. And in case you want to upgrade you can add a second GTX 570 which will save you money and be better than a GTX 670. The only thing is that you will need a more powerful power supply. If you want to get that power supply now so that you don't have to later, get this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Everything is 100% compatible, but be aware that sometimes, even with Cyberpower parts can arrive damaged because of shipping. If something isn't working properly, you have to find out what the problem is and get an RMA (replacement).

Good luck with everything.
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