Hey all,
First time poster here, but I've been lurking for a bit. This is the situation. I am going to be building a gaming computer within the next 12 months. I am currently a nursing student and my beautiful and awesome wife has told me that I may upgrade my current five year old HP (which I have maxed out on upgrade capabilities). After doing some shopping around, I've come to the conclusion that building one myself will be cheaper and I'll truly get what I want. So, true to my nature, I've been pouring over reviews, articles, forums picking out components to get the most bang for my buck. Now, I realize that things may change by the time I actually am able to put everything together. However, being able to show my wife an estimated cost will help us set up a budget.
![:) :)]()
Anyway, this is what I'm thinking about.
Approximate Date of Purchase: Within 6-12 months, but let's assume I will be buying it within the next couple weeks.
Budget Range: Under $2000... the lower the better obviously
System Usage: Gaming, School Work (Word/Excel/PowerPoint), Some Movies, Surfing the Web
Are you buying a monitor: Yes 24" or 27"
Preferred Websites: I like newegg, but I am open to suggestions. Good return policy/customer service a must
Location: Eastern North Carolina, USA
Overclocking: Yes
Crossfire/SLI: Maybe in the future
Monitor Resolution: 1920 x 1080 or 1920 x 1200 (Based on monitor I presume)
Additional Comments: I realize there is no true "future proofing" when building a computer, but I would like the most capability for upgrade that I can muster. I do want to do some moderate overclocking, but sticking to air cooling. I prefer a full tower. I am a big guy with big hands, and working in small cases have been dangerous to my fingers before. The quieter the better, but performance/bang-for-the-buck take precedence. I have only had nVidia cards before and I am very much a fan of their driver updates/support. I've heard ATI is not as good, but I am open to arguments/suggestions.
Components:
CPU:
Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 1155
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
MoBo:
ASRock Z77 Extreme4 LGA 1155
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
RAM:
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
SSD (Boot Drive/Some Games/Popular Programs)
SanDisk Extreme SDSSDX-120G-G25 2.5" 120GB SATA III Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
HDD (Storage)
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=N82E168...
GPU:
EVGA GeForce GTX 670 FTW 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
PSU:
Rosewill HIVE Series HIVE-750 750W Continuous @40°C, 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified, Modular Design, Single +12V Rail, ATX12V v2.31/EPS12V v2.92, SLI Ready, CrossFire Ready, Active-PFC Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Heatsink/Cooler
Phanteks PH-TC14PE_BK 140mm UFB (Updraft Floating Balance) CPU Cooler
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Optical Drive:
Sony Optiarc 24X DVD Burner
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Monitor:
I need recommendations here. First off, for gaming (mostly RPG/MMOs/RTS/Some FPS) would you recommend 24" or 27"? Also, I've looked at the Asus and the Samsung brands. For this type of gaming, is a IPS screen worth it or will a TN screen work ok?
Case:
This has been hardest for me, because it is mostly about aesthetics. The rest of the components I can do some number crunching and evaluate benchmarks. Not as much here. Anyway, I've been looking at the following.
COOLER MASTER HAF 932 Advanced
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
COOLER MASTER HAF X
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
NZXT Phantom PHAN-002OR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
COOLER MASTER CM Storm Series Trooper
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
I want good performance (ie. good airflow/cooling), but for a case I am getting the idea that it really comes down to what is pleasing to the eye. Any thoughts/recommendations?
Thanks in advance for any advice/tips/recommendations.
Jonathan