Need a final check of my first build

[kevinduan]

Hey guys, I think I have my build ready to buy. Can you guys review my build make sure I'm getting the most for my money and that everything works? I also have some particular questions regarding my monitor. How is a 1600x900 res monitor for gaming? I'm thinking about getting a 1680x1050 but I couldn't find one that was good and cheap. My specs are listed below, Thanks!


PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/eIse
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/eIse/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/eIse/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($159.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: ASRock Z75 Pro3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($43.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.98 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 6950 2GB Video Card ($189.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 430 ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: CoolMax 600W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NS90 DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Acer S201HLbd 60Hz 20.0" Monitor ($94.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $731.90
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-08-15 16:48 EDT-0400)

 

[jak3676]

Looks good to me - fairly even build, decent GPU and CPU power for 1600x900 and even up 1920x1080 should be OK, but maybe with some lowered details.

An SSD may help a bit, but then if you're going to spend another $75 I'm not it'd help more than stepping up to a 7850.

 

[mInInOwA]

This actually looks like a great build, nice processor and motherboard, even a decent video card, apart from the case. Word of advice - I've had some encounters with the Elite 430 and the overall impression left was not the best at all. When I was trying to put the side panel back into its place, it twists, rather than slides into it's place and after that, it has to be pushed further just so the screws could be tightened. (I tried everything, before I turned to force, it's just that the case has really poor built quality and there simply was no other way how I could possibly get the side-panel shut). The case has this cheap nuance about which I wanted to warn you about. However, seems like this isn't a problem to a lot of people Judging by the reviews of the Elite 430 over at newegg. Besides the case, the build looks great.

 

[mastrom101]

Looks good. I would opt for a better PSU though. Corsair and PC Power& Cooling are good

 

[kevinduan]

Looks good. I would opt for a better PSU though. Corsair and PC Power& Cooling are good

Oh sorry that's my bad. I didn't actually choose that PSU I just put it in there as a "filler". The PSU that I chose is OCZ ModXStream Pro 600W Modular High Performance Power Supply compatible with Intel Sandybridge Core i3 i5 i7 and AMD Phenom. Do you know if that's any good?

 

[mastrom101]

Yah that's a decent PSU. Other than that looks good Good Luck on your build.