Help with building a high end gaming pc

[Primal]

Hey guys, first post here. Everyone seemed very knowledgeable about computer so i thought i might give you guys a shot at helping me out. I'm looking for a good desktop pc. my budget could be anywhere from 800-1.2k. I'm looking for a pc that can run visually demanding games such as starcraft 2 on high or ultra settings, 30+fps, while also listening to music, chatting on skype, or processing a video. I am also looking for a set up that supports dual monitors. I was thinking 8gb+ RAM and a SSD (not sure what type/how big) Also a quick question: is a SSD good to have as your main hard drive, but save all video/music/etc files on an external hard drive?
I found this thread
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/352463-31-gaming-computer-budget-sweat
had a lot of good information that got me thinking.
So basic requirements are...
8+GB of RAM, if you think i need more, say why and then how much more.
A good hard drive, be it SSD or regular. Tell me the benefits of SSD.
Dual monitor support.
Also there are a few other things i would like to purchase along with my computer.
1. Good gaming keyboard. (I might already have one picked out but suggestions are appreciated)
2. Good gaming mouse (^^^)
3. OS? windows 7 64 bit?
4. webcam (720p+ for a good value)
5. monitor suggestions! Also, what resolution should i go for?

Anything I missed? feel free to ask. I have a feeling I will be posting around a lot more

 

[Primal]

I suppose this may help.

Approximate Purchase Date: Within 2-3 months

Budget Range: as before, 800-1.2k

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, Video processing

Parts Not Required: umm none haha

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg.com seems good but if you have cheaper I'd love to hear
Country: USA

Parts Preferences: I like Nvidia for GFX
Overclocking: Yes

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe. Why or why not should I?

Monitor Resolution: see above.

Additional Comments: ^^^

 

[inzone]

COOLER MASTER Storm Scout SGC-2000-KKN1-GP Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
$79.99 and a $10 rebate makes the final price $69.99

Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 4000 BX80637I53570K
$229.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116504

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+
$30.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099

Western Digital Caviar Green WD10EARX 1TB IntelliPower 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
$94.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136939

CORSAIR XMS3 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMX8GX3M2B1600C9
$46.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233202

ASRock Z77 Extreme4 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
$114.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157293

SeaSonic M12II 650 SS-650AM 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active PFC Semi-modular Power Supply
$119.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151106

Intel 330 Series Maple Crest SSDSC2CT120A3K5 2.5" 120GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
$129.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820167121

EVGA 02G-P4-2676-KR GeForce GTX 670 FTW LE 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
$409.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130802

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

The total for this build comes to $1346.91 and will do everything that you required in your initial post. As for a monitor this would be a good choice;

ASUS VW246H Glossy Black 24" 2ms(GTG) HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 ASCR 20000:1 (1000:1) Built-in Speakers
$199.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236049

It has really good feedback and seems to be very popular.

 

[Primal]

I think most of the parts listed there are reasonable. But what about the graphics/video card? Doesn't that seem a bit expensive? Also: can anyone explain the benefits of a SSD?

 

[inzone]

It is but it's a top quality video card capable of running any game on high and rendering video and if you think that it's too expensive then a lesser quality card can be chosen if that's what you want to do.

MSI N570GTX Twin Frozr II GeForce GTX 570 (Fermi) 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
$249.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127682

The benefit of having a SSD is that the red/write speeds are so fast because there are no moving parts that it makes the overall speed of the computer much faster. Programs open in the blink of an eye and the game maps load extremely fast. Most people have a 120gb SSD as thier boot drive and have the OS a game and some programs and the rest is on the regular HDD.

 

[Primal]

Allright thanks for your input. I've looked and I've decided on a AMD FX-8150 CPU, with that I've looked around for a different motherboard.
I've found this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131754&Tpk=Asus%20m5a99x
Any ideas on different motherboards? Also... Would a lower end graphics card be able to support dual monitors?

 

[inzone]

You will be very disapointed as were everyone else that bought the bulldozer cpu from AMD , it just cannot compete with an intel cpu for anything that is for gaming or video work. The only good thing that cpu is good for is server work in processing data requests. Don't be fooled by the eight cores and the high stock speed , when it comes to gaming and video rendering or video editing Intel blows it out of the water. Here is a cpu gaming chart and notice at what level the 8150 is at and how many Intel cpu's are better rated.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-cpu-review-overclock,3106-5.html

 

[azeem40]

That chart doesn't give a reason why they used that hierarchy, but you are right that AMD cannot compete with a SB/IB CPU. SB/IB has better clock to clock performance.

 

[unksol]

Avoid AMD for highend gaming. they just can't keep up with Intel.

the GTX670 or HD7970 are both good, if out of budget get a HD7850. Any modern gpu can run to.monitors. if you want to use 2 monitors for gaming though you need a powerful card

In general you want the best gpu you can afford, then if yih planned ahead you can SLI/crossfire with another in a couple years to "double" performance and save cash.

 

[azeem40]

The Radeon 7970 does very well on 2 monitors.

 

[Primal]

I'll look into that, thanks guys.

 

[Primal]

What do you guys think about the gigabyte wind force gtx 670?
It also comes overclocked.

 

[Primal]

Allright! After a lot of research, I have changed my build to look something like this.

CASE:

COOLER MASTER Storm Enforcer SGC-1000-KWN1 Black SECC / ABS Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case ATX PS2 / EPS 12V (optional ) Power Supply
$79.99 before rebate.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119240


CPU:

Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 4000 BX80637I53570K
$229.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116504

COOLER:

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+
34.99$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099
MOBO:

ASUS Maximus V Gene LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX
$194.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131830

GRAPHICS CARD:

ASUS HD7870-DC2-2GD5 Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
$329.99 (before rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121624

POWER SUPPLY:

OCZ Fatal1ty 750W Modular Gaming 80Plus Bronze Power Supply compatible with Intel Sandy Bridge Core i3 i5 i7 and AMD Phenom
$109.99 before rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341041

MEMORY:

CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9R
$54.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233180

SSD:
OCZ Vertex 3 VTX3-25SAT3-120G 2.5" 120GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
109.99$ (before rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227706

HDD:

Western Digital Caviar Green WD10EARX 1TB IntelliPower 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
$94.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136939

MONITOR:
(still not sure but a good sale going on right now)
ASUS VW246H Glossy Black 24" 2ms(GTG) HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 ASCR 20000:1 (1000:1) Built-in speakers
$174.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236049

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


THAT is a grand total of $1,515.89
add all the rebates and you save $120 if you count DiRT as $60.
overall I think that these parts will look absolutely beautiful with each other. They all have a red/black theme and I feel it will look very nice. As far as I can tell there aren't any compatablility issues, my power supply should have enough power. My case comes with 2 200mm fans and one 120mm fan, along with the heat sink cooler on top of my CPU. Ended up with 300$ over my budget, but should be a monster computer. Feel free to post any suggestions if I missed anything... Prices are subject to change, so maybe when i get enough money in a month or two, it could actually be cheaper! Feel free to ask why I chose a particular item, annnnnnd thats it!