Mid level Gaming Build

[jzureich21]

Approximate Purchase Date: This week

Budget Range: (e.g.: 300-400) 700-800 After shipping and before rebates

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming

Are you buying a monitor: No



Parts to Upgrade: Everything except monitor. Brand new build

Do you need to buy OS: No

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg, Cheapest reliable site

Location: Toledo, Ohio USA

Parts Preferences: by brand or type: Leaning towards intel processor and no preferences otherwise

Overclocking: No

SLI or Crossfire: No

Your Monitor Resolution: 1920 X 1080

Additional Comments: I want a rig that will give me the most gaming potential for my buck. I am fairly unconcerned about noise level and how the system looks.

Here is what I picked out but this is my first time building so suggestions are very much appreciated!

Motherboard: MSI Z77MA-G45 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6 GB/sec USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS $115

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130647

CPU: Intel Core i5 2400 $190

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115074

Graphics Card: Radeon HD6950 2 GB $200

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102987

PSU: ANTEC High Current Gamer Series HCG-900 900W $130

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371050

Memory: Corsair VENGEANCE 8 GB (2X 4GB) 240-pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 $54

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233144

Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0 GB/s 3.5" $90

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148840

Case: ANTEC 300 Illusion Black Steel ATX Mid Gaming Tower $60

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129066

Total Cost: $840 with no tax or shipping and $35 in potential mail-in rebates

 

[geofelt]

Some thoughts:

Do you live near a microcenter?
If so, they will sell you a 3570K for that same $190, or a 2500K for $170.

My rule of thumb for a balanced gaming system is to spend twice your cpu budget on the graphics card.
Here, you are 1:1


Nice psu, but way overkill. Today's 28nm cards only need a 500w psu.

Buy low profile ram. 1.5v ram does not need any heat spreaders at all. Tall ones can interfere with oem coolers.

Buy a $20 cm hyper212. Even if you will not OC, it will keep your pc cooler and quieter than the stock intel fcooler. It will be easier to install too.

 

[avenseth12]

I agree you have way too much money in your PSU. Look at something like these:

Rosewill HIVE Series HIVE-650 650W Continuous @40°C, 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified, Modular $84
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182132

CORSAIR Builder Series CX600 V2 600W $69
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139028

CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX650 V2 650W $89
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139020

Use the additional money and put it into a GPU like this:

SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB $299
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102981