Going to build a computer, rate my parts please

[industrialdonut]

So over the last 2 or 3 days, I have been searching everywhere online and asking in many different forums their opinions of the parts I have so far chosen to build a new gaming rig to play Battlefield 3 and eventually Arma 3 on. The parts I have selected, but not yet ordered are below.

AMD Phenom II X4 965 AM3 3.4Ghz 512KB 45NM 125W 4000MHZ $110
GIGABYTE AM3+ NVIDIA GeForce 7025/nForce 630a Chipset DDR3 1600 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard $50
Corsair 8 GB 1333mhz PC3-10666 240-pin Dual Channel DDR3 Memory Kit 8 Dual Channel Kit $42
Arctic Cooling UCACO-A64D2-GBA01 Alpine 64 Pro Rev 2 $16
Arctic Silver 5 Polysynthetic Silver Thermal Compound Paste 3.5g $4
OCZ ModXStream Pro 600W Modular High Performance Power Supply compatible with Intel Sandy Bridge Core i3 i5 i7 and AMD Phenom $64
Radeon HD 6950 $220
Tripp Lite P570-006 6ft HDMI to mini-HDMI, Digital Audio - Video Cable, 6' $4
ViewSonic VX2250WM-LED 22-Inch (21.5-Inch Vis) Widescreen Full HD 1080p LED Monitor with Integrated Stereo Speakers $120
(I put a space here so that you don't think I am buying 120 dollar speakers, that is the Monitor)
Asus 24xDVD-RW Serial ATA Internal OEM Drive DRW-24B1ST (Black) $20
Cooler Master Cooler Master Elite 430 Mid Tower ATX Case with Window $40
Logitech Keyboard K120 $12
Western Digital Caviar Blue 500 GB SATA III 7200 RPM 16 MB Cache Bulk/OEM Desktop Hard Drive $70


Since I needed to buy literally everything besides a mouse, I have added to my amazon shopping cart, literally everything I need.
If you guys see any compatibility problems with the parts I have selected, please tell me!! I am pretty new to working with computers and don't know a whole lot. Also, if all these parts are compatible (which is what I really need to know) how do you think it will run Battlefield 3? I'm sure that since the HD 6950 is in my list it will run pretty well, but I would really like some reassurance.
Thank you guys!

 

[quilciri]

Filling this out would help us help you better.
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/353572-31-build-upgrade-advice

Key questions would be where you are, what websites you are willing to order from and (not on the form) do you live near a microcenter?

There are better deals and stronger parts for the same $ depending on your answers.

 

[dudewitbow]

its moderately balanced out well for a budget i guess, though the motherboard could use work, as amd motherboards have more features per price compared to the intel counterpart luckily. the advantage of going amd route is being able to overclock at the budget builds, which should be taken advantage of.

 

[g-unit1111]

Knowing a budget would help to suggest a better system. That cooling system is honestly no better than the stock fan - you're just throwing money away. You also don't need the cable either. So that would save $30 right off the bat.

A HAF 912 will give you better air flow than the Elite 430 will, also.

 

[industrialdonut]

Ok here is the form thingy.
Approximate Purchase Date: Within 2 weeks

Budget Range: 600-800 Total

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, Battlefield and Arma 2 gaming

Are you buying a monitor: Yes



Parts to Upgrade: Everything, I am building a computer starting with nothing but money.

Do you need to buy OS: No, I have a CD with Windows 7.

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: I like amazon.com a lot, and I have not tried newegg ever because this will be my first computer build.

Location: Petaluma, California, USA

Parts Preferences: I would like to stay more on the AMD/ATI side of things.

Overclocking: Maybe a little bit, but I prefer not to.

SLI or Crossfire: No way.vcx

Your Monitor Resolution: I am getting a new 1080p monitor so whatever resolution I can go up to with that I will.

Additional Comments: I need to be able to run Battlefield 3 on at least High, preferably Ultra at around 40fps or higher.

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: I'm not upgrading I am building a new computer, to run Battlefield 3!

 

[dudewitbow]

to note about users who want to modify this, be aware that there IS sales tax if you are using newegg, so pick your parts accordingly(the pricer the price is on newegg, it will increase cost as a whole(i.e processors/mobo/gpu) for the most part)

what i have is:

CPU: Intel Core i5-2310 2.9GHz Quad-Core Processor ($179.98 @ Outlet PC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B75M-D3H Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($75.90 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($43.99 @ Newegg)
Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.55 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 560 1GB Video Card ($167.55 @ Newegg) (buy from NCIX, as its slightly more and you wont get hit by newegg tax, i chose 560 over 6870 in this situation as you specifically labeled BF3)
Case: NZXT Gamma Classic (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Amazon) (feel free to change case, was trying to push budget a tiny bit)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 520W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($69.64 @ Newegg) (its actually FS atm, so this price should be lower, then raised a bit due to tax)
Optical Drive: Sony AD-7280S-0B DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ Amazon)
Monitor: Asus VE228H 21.5" Monitor ($129.98 @ NCIX US)
Total: $784.57
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-07-20 22:43 EDT-0400)

then add in a mouse and keyboard. the reason why i kinda just went off into an intel build over an amd is that you wont see as much performance with the 965 be unless you will overclock it, which you sempt like you kinda dont want to do that sort of business. You dont have to follow the build i laid out, its just something i kinda built on spot knowing that tax does exist for california.

 

[DavidY]

Get a better power supply. 550-600 watt should be fine. XFX Core Edition 550 watt Pro Series (Seasonic). 620 watt Antec HCG-620 (Seasonic). PC Power & Cooling Silencer Mk3 S600 600 watt (Seasonic).

Dave

 

[industrialdonut]

to note about users who want to modify this, be aware that there IS sales tax if you are using newegg, so pick your parts accordingly(the pricer the price is on newegg, it will increase cost as a whole(i.e processors/mobo/gpu) for the most part)

what i have is:

CPU: Intel Core i5-2310 2.9GHz Quad-Core Processor ($179.98 @ Outlet PC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B75M-D3H Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($75.90 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($43.99 @ Newegg)
Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.55 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 560 1GB Video Card ($167.55 @ Newegg) (buy from NCIX, as its slightly more and you wont get hit by newegg tax, i chose 560 over 6870 in this situation as you specifically labeled BF3)
Case: NZXT Gamma Classic (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Amazon) (feel free to change case, was trying to push budget a tiny bit)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 520W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($69.64 @ Newegg) (its actually FS atm, so this price should be lower, then raised a bit due to tax)
Optical Drive: Sony AD-7280S-0B DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ Amazon)
Monitor: Asus VE228H 21.5" Monitor ($129.98 @ NCIX US)
Total: $784.57
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-07-20 22:43 EDT-0400)

then add in a mouse and keyboard. the reason why i kinda just went off into an intel build over an amd is that you wont see as much performance with the 965 be unless you will overclock it, which you sempt like you kinda dont want to do that sort of business. You dont have to follow the build i laid out, its just something i kinda built on spot knowing that tax does exist for california.

I'm bewildered how you managed to fit an i5 and a monitor into your rig while totaling only $40 more than mine so far.

 

[dudewitbow]

I'm bewildered how you managed to fit an i5 and a monitor into your rig while totaling only $40 more than mine so far.

essentially gpu, i cut back to a gtx 560. your original choice is stronger. though looking at your build, your monitor is cheaper then what i have so go with your if you are money conscious and put the rest into the gpu if you must.

 

[industrialdonut]

essentially gpu, i cut back to a gtx 560. your original choice is stronger. though looking at your build, your monitor is cheaper then what i have so go with your if you are money conscious and put the rest into the gpu if you must.

I just realized actually, our totals are the same, amazon for some reason decided to remove my mobo out of my shopping cart.

 

[quilciri]

to note about users who want to modify this, be aware that there IS sales tax if you are using newegg, so pick your parts accordingly(the pricer the price is on newegg, it will increase cost as a whole(i.e processors/mobo/gpu) for the most part).

You dont have to follow the build i laid out, its just something i kinda built on spot knowing that tax does exist for california.

Newegg charges no sales tax to most states. Here's all the info.

Does Newegg charge sales tax?

Newegg charges the appropriate state and/or local sales tax for any order shipping to California, New Jersey, and Tennessee. Sales tax for cell phone orders shipping to California and Tennessee are calculated before any instant savings are applied.

Most people on the forum here would highly recommend Newegg. A few other sites would come up in the bargain hunting. NCIX and tigerdirect fairly often.

Do you live near a microcenter? You can save a lot on your processor and motherboard if you do. For instance, they don't have the exact motherboard you've picked, but they do have a comparable gigabyte board.

this one.
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0366104

With their CPU+mobo combo deals, Your 965BE and that motherboard would cost you $115 total ($105 after a $10 mail-in on the board)!

Locations at the top.
http://www.microcenter.com/index.html

 

[dudewitbow]

Newegg charges no sales tax to most states. Here's all the info.

Does Newegg charge sales tax?

Newegg charges the appropriate state and/or local sales tax for any order shipping to California, New Jersey, and Tennessee. Sales tax for cell phone orders shipping to California and Tennessee are calculated before any instant savings are applied.

did you totally miss the statment that says that OP is in california...


Location: Petaluma, California, USA

thats why i stated watch out because if you are building for op, california has tax...

 

[quilciri]

No I didn't miss that. What I failed to do however, was see how far west petaluma is in california. The idea was to have an out-of-state friend or relative do the ordering for him if the best deals ended up from newegg. It's much less feasible however, since petaulma is near the coast.

also failed to check the california microcenter's, since i thought op would comment on that by now. You're 1h 45 min away from the santa clara microcenter, and if you have the time & means for that trip, the savings on the cpu/mobo alone would more than make up for the gas .

 

[quilciri]

The microcenter combo deal allows enough in the budget for a 7870. Submitted for your approval...

case: zalman z11 plus($63 @ microcenter, $53 after mail in rebate)
PSU: Seasonic M12II 620w 80+ bronze($70 @ NCIX)
Motherboard & CPU: 965 BE & Gigabyte GA-78LMT-S2P($115 @ microcenter, $105 after MIR - page 28)
Cooler: Coolermaster Hyper 212($28 @ NCIX)
RAM: Kingston HyperX 8gb(2x4) 1333($40 @ microcenter)
HDD: WD Caviar Blue 500gb($60 @ NCIX)
Optical: Samsung 22x DVDRW($16 @ microcenter)
Video: MSI twin Frozr HD 7870($270 @ newegg, $250 after MIR)
Monitor: LG 22" Class Slim LED backlit 1920x1080($115 @ microcenter)

$29.24 sales tax on the parts from microcenter (8.375%)
$22.60 sales tax on the part from newegg

Total $828.84 before mail in rebates, $788.84 after.

Have fun!