Looking for advice on $1,500-ish Gaming/Photo Editing Build

JPDVM2014

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Jul 6, 2012
19
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18,510
Approximate Purchase Date: 1 month or so

Budget Range: $1,500-$1,800

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Photo Editing, Gaming, Web Browsing, Movie Watching

Parts Not Required: Mouse

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg.com, Amazon.com, I can make the drive to a Microcenter if they are cheaper.

Country: USA

Parts Preferences: by brand or type Intel CPU no preference other than that

Overclocking: Yes

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe, but probably not for a while if at all

Monitor Resolution: 2560x1440

Additional Comments: I'm looking for recommendations on a good 2560x1440 monitor in the 24-27" range. I was looking at the 27" Yamakasi Catleap monitors, but it seems to be hit or miss with the quality. I also need suggestions on a video card. I am looking at probably a GTX 670 or HD 7970. But i'm not sure if they are enough power for the resolution. I don't need to game with all the settings on high. Consistent frame rate is more important to me. I also will most likely not play many intensive games. Mostly MMO's (Guild Wars 2) and maybe some Counter-Strike: Source or GO, but I would like to be able to if I change my mind down the road.

These are the parts I have so far. I am only really set on the processor. I am open to suggestions to replace anything on this list. I'm still looking for a Fans, CPU Cooler, Video Card, Case, Keyboard, Monitor, and anything else I might need.

ASUS P8Z77-V PRO LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131819

OCZ ZT Series 750W Fully-Modular 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=N82E16817341052

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

Crucial M4 CT128M4SSD2 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148442

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

Seagate SV35.5 ST1000VX000 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148912
(Thinking about possibly getting two of these to run in a RAID 1 array?)
LITE-ON Black 12X BD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM SATA Internal Internal 12x BD Combo Model iHES212-08 LightScribe Support
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106451
 
Solution
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

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
$16.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204

COOLER MASTER Storm Scout SGC-2000-KKN1-GP Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
$79.99 and a $10rebate makes the final price $69.99.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119196

COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 EVO RR-212E-20PK-R2 Continuous Direct Contact 120mm Sleeve CPU Cooler...
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

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
$16.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204

COOLER MASTER Storm Scout SGC-2000-KKN1-GP Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
$79.99 and a $10rebate makes the final price $69.99.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119196

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

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 Vengeance LP 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 Desktop Memory Model CML16GX3M4X1600C8
$119.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233239

ASUS P8Z77-V LK LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS
$149.99 and a $20 rebate makes the final price $129.99.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131837

Antec High Current Gamer Series HCG-750 750W ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V v2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Certified 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply
$109.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371049

EVGA 04G-P4-2673-KR GeForce GTX 670 Superclocked+ w/Backplate 4GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
$484.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130785

Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 64-bit - OEM
$139.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116992

The total for the build as listed comes to $1431.90 and includes a GTX 670 with 4gb of video memory on it for the high resolution monitor. The list above does not include the monitor and the one that I would suggest is;

Dell UltraSharp U2711 IPS-Panel Black 27" 6ms HDMI Swivel & Height Adjustable Widescreen LCD Monitor with PremierColor 350 cd/m2 80000:1 (1000:1)
$749.99 and free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824260038

If you add in this monitor the price is $2181.89. I'm not sure if when you posted your original request if the monitor is to be included into the $1500-$1800 budget amount. The monitors that have the 2560x1440 resolution are fairly new and therefore expensive , I didn't see anything under $600.
What I would suggest is this , the Micro Center store will have lower prices on most of the items in this list so you could take the list with the prices and see what you can pick up from the Micro Center at lower prices and then get the rest online. Some of the online stores are bound to have a sale or rebate on the remaining items.
 
Solution

JPDVM2014

Distinguished
Jul 6, 2012
19
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18,510
Thanks for the input, that looks like an awesome build! I really like that Dell monitor, but idk if I can convince my wife to let me spend that much on a monitor! Lol. Only question I have, will I be missing anything getting the Asus P8Z77-V LK instead of the Pro? Besides built in wi-fi? I do like that it has UEFI. And that video card is great! I was really leaning towards the 670, but I like that the HD 7970 has 3 GB of memory. That card makes the point moot.
 
The Asus pro board has 2 more sata3 ports and 2 more usb 3.0 ports along with the built in wifi. It also has more in the way of raid support for the sata ports.
The ram and Pci-e slots are the same and both boards support SLI/Crossfire.
I think that you just have tyo look at the two boards and see if your going to use or need the features of the Pro board more than the LK board.