First timer- gaming pc with a $1500 budget

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D-Gold

Honorable
Jun 22, 2012
1
0
10,510
Approximate Purchase Date: sometime between July 15-20

Budget Range: Before rebates $1500.(willing to go to $2000 if by doing so gives a great performance boost)

System Usage from Most to Least Important: PC gaming, surfing the internet, adobe illustrator and photoshop

Parts Not Required: I need to buy everything

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg.com

Country: USA

Parts Preferences: I want to keep this case in my build http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119245 COOLER MASTER CM Storm Series Trooper (SGC-5000-KKN1) Black Steel / Plastic ATX Full Tower Computer Case

Overclocking: Maybe

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe

Monitor Resolution: 1680x1050

Additional Comments: It’s my first time building a pc so I am open to any suggestions. My goal is to try to build a gaming pc that can run somewhat new games like skyrim and Diablo III on about high or max settings and have other windows open at the same time(internet) without crashing. My current build is actually a little over $2000 so I would appreciate it if someone can help me find a cheaper alternative that won’t hinder the performance much. I was also wondering if the parts will be compatible with each other(sorry I am inexperienced to this sort of thing)
I also don't have a mouse, keyboard, or monitor so if you want to suggest a good type or name brand I would appreciate it.

COOLER MASTER CM Storm Series Trooper (SGC-5000-KKN1) Black Steel / Plastic ATX Full Tower http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811119245

ASUS Sabertooth X79 LGA 2011 Intel X79 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131801

VisionTek 900491 Radeon HD 7970 3GB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814129204


CORSAIR Professional Series HX850 (CMPSU-850HX) 850W ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 2.91 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Modular Active PFC ...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139011

Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 4000 BX80637I53570K
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116504

OCZ Agility 3 AGT3-25SAT3-120G 2.5" 120GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227726

CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CML16GX3M4A1600C9 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233197

Western Digital Caviar Green WD20EARX 2TB SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136891


LG Black 12X Super Multi Blue with 3D Playback & M-DISC Support SATA WH12LS39 LightScribe Support - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136241

Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 64-bit – OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116992
 
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ygryan

ygryan

Honorable
Jun 20, 2012
15
0
10,510
A good rule of thumb is never spend more on your GPU than on your CPU. Of course this is just a rule of thumb but it makes sense. You don't want to get a GPU that can do a ton but your CPU can't keep up with it.

That's a pretty sweet GPU you have there, the Radeon HD 7970, but I would want to match it up with something that would more likely utilize all of its potential. At least the i7-3770K or better yet the i7-3930K.

Either that or you might want to think of drawing back on your GPU and bring up your CPU to meet a little in the middle at like a i7-2600K.

If you are really looking for the best which it looks like you are trying, an improvement on you RAM would be cheap and yet effective. Get the Corsair C7's instead of the C9's. Only $65 more for the fast RAM of that form. Mushkin makes a cheaper C7 at $140.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233252 Corsair
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226283 Mushking

Great idea getting the SSD for specific programs or your OS.

If you wanted to save money I think you could step back your MOB, especially if you step back on your GPU a little. Actually now that I look at it, you MOB is LGA 2011 and the i5 you have picked out is LGA 1155. They wouldn't fit each other anyways.

My compatible suggestion for you is this:
i7-2600K $290
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115070
and a ASRock Z77 Extreme6 $175
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157295&Tpk=as%20rock%20z77%20extreme6

You could still get a pretty sweet GPU to complement those or even SLI/Crossfire 2 with the saved money.

I didn't notice and CPU cooling in your line up. You'd probably do best to at least have an after market heat sink fan for your CPU with high res gaming. If you are hoping to over clock at all you might even want to look into water cooling if necessary.
At the least:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099
At the most:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181017&Tpk=corsair%20h100

One last thought. I personally like the OCZ ZX Series 850W. It's $5 cheaper than Corsair and is fully modular which will help air flow in your case, though maybe your PSU choice which is mostly modular would fit perfectly in your case choice.

That's my thoughts for now. Look at the stuff and let me know if you have any thoughts or questions.
 
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Why_Me

Why_Me

Polypheme
Jan 17, 2008
16,370
2,350
69,840

That cpu won't work with that board. You have a socket 1155 cpu and a socket 2011 board. Find a socket 1155 board (Z77) and match it up with the 3770K for your adobe if you think you will be doing that much photo and video editing, otherwise go with the 3570K,
 
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Why_Me

Why_Me

Polypheme
Jan 17, 2008
16,370
2,350
69,840
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

or...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703027 $109.99 - $89.99 after mail-in rebate card FREE SHIPPING
PC Power and Cooling Silencer Mk II 750W High Performance 80PLUS Silver SLI CrossFire ready Power Supply

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.959055 $349.98 save: $25.00 - $20.00 Mail In Rebates FREE SHIPPING
ASUS P8Z77-V LK LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS
Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 4000 BX80637I53570K

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099 $34.99
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=N82E16820231546 $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-8GAB

or...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231547 $94.99 FREE SHIPPING
G.SKILL Ares Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-1600C9Q-16GAB

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136533 $119.99 FREE SHIPPING
Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820171567 $118.99 FREE SHIPPING
SanDisk Extreme SDSSDX-120G-G25 2.5" 120GB SATA III 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 - $430
GTX 670

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204 $16.99
ASUS 24X DVD Burner - Bulk 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 DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986 $99.99 FREE SHIPPING
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236099 $159.99 - $149.99 after mail-in rebate card
Asus ML228H 21.5" 1920X1080 2ms Full HD LED BackLight LED Monitor Slim Design 250 cd/m2 10,000,000 :1 (ASCR)

http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-CA-9011111-WW-Vengeance-Analog-Headset/dp/B005QUQP7Q/ref=sr_1_3?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1340526969&sr=1-3 $69.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Corsair CA-9011111-WW Vengeance 1300 Analog Gaming Headset

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823109191 $47.99 FREE SHIPPING
Microsoft SIDEWINDER X4 Keyboard

or...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823126260 $54.99 FREE SHIPPING
Logitech Call of Duty: MW3 Edition G105 Black 6 Function Keys USB Wired Gaming Keyboard
 
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Thomas_89

Thomas_89

Honorable
Mar 21, 2012
178
0
10,710

This is rubbish. The Core i5 3570K is all you need and will easily keep up with that GPU. Only consider an i7 if you are doing heavy video/photo editing.
For your budget I would get this:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($33.50 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($129.37 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($46.99 @ Newegg)
Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($239.99 @ Amazon)
Hard Drive: Crucial M4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($119.00 @ B&H)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card ($399.00 @ NCIX US)
Case: Cooler Master Storm Trooper ATX Full Tower Case ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair 750W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus BW-12B1ST/BLK/G/AS Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 (64-bit) ($136.99 @ B&H)
Total: $1569.80
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
Note: you could do with a lower wattage PSU, this one will allow SLi in the future though.
 
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ygryan

ygryan

Honorable
Jun 20, 2012
15
0
10,510
Thank you all for your correction about bottle necking. I guess, as Thomas_89 says, my rule of thumb apparently is "rubbish".

I agree as well that 850w is unnecessary. A 750w would suite you fine even with sli/crossfire and oc. Save some money there. The two PSU suggestions Corsair & PC Power Supply are great. They are not modular which I just happen to like to keep the inside of my case a little less cluttered. A good 750w that is modular is the OCZ ZT $110/$90:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341052
or if you like Corsair, Corsair Pro HX750 $150/$130
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139010&Tpk=corsair%20hx750
 
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Thomas_89

Thomas_89

Honorable
Mar 21, 2012
178
0
10,710

Actually, your rule of thumb isn't that bad, it provides a guideline towards a balanced system. It was the second part that was rubbish. The thing is though, since nothing out there currently is significantly better at gaming than the i5 3570K it's a waste of money to spend more on the CPU for a gaming build. But spending more on the GPU does have a large impact. Also, gamers (on a budget) probably don't want a balanced build ;)
 
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