Gaming System ~$600.00 - Doable?

[dlwacker]

Hey everyone,

I haven't built a system since 2008 and a LOT has changed since then!! I'm thinking it will be best to build a system vs. pay for a prebuilt one, but I could be swayed either way. I do not have an OS license which is a pain, but it won't be a huge factor either way.

I just priced this up in Newegg and wondering what everyone's thoughts are. There are so many Intel i3 and i5 chips out these days that range in price, but don't seem to have much variance in actual performance, so input on that (and motherboard) is very much appreciated.

I'm looking to save as much $ as possible and plan on playing Diablo 3 and World of Warcraft on it and also having an HDMI out to my 50" tv to play 1080p BluRay and Divx.

Purchase date is within the next 2 weeks (as soon as tonight the price is right). I have 2 320gb Seagate HD's already and am all set with speakers, 24" Dell 2407WFP monitor with 1920 resolution. I'm also already set with a Synology NAS with RAID.

I would like the system to be fairly quiet since it is going to be in the main living room area in a smaller apartment. My old system was WAY too loud and I want to avoid that.

Here's what I've price up thus far, please let me know if I missed anything or if I should replace any items.

(the G.Skill RAM is free with the motherboard... it's the reason I picked it)
-----------

Qty. Product Description Savings Total Price
1


EVGA SuperClocked GeForce GTX 560 (Fermi) 01G-P3-1463-KR Video Card
Item #:N82E16814130664
Return Policy: VGA Standard Return Policy
$179.99
$169.99


1


NZXT Source 210 S210-001 Black “Aluminum Brush / Plastic” ATX Mid Tower Case
Item #:N82E16811146075
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
$39.99


1


OCZ ModXStream Pro 600W Modular High Performance Power Supply compatible with Intel Sandybridge Core i3 i5 i7 and AMD Phenom
Item #:N82E16817341017
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
$99.99
$74.99


1


ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX Intel Motherboard
Item #:N82E16813157293
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
$134.99


1


G.SKILL Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory
Item #:N82E16820231546
Return Policy: Memory Standard Return Policy
$41.99


1


Intel Core i5-2400 3.1GHz LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor
Item #: N82E16819115074
Return Policy: CPU Replacement Only Return Policy

$189.99


Grand Total: $609.95

 

[malbluff]

Couple of "thoughts"

Whilst that graphics card is more than adequate for what you are wanting to play, now, for what you are paying you could get a better HD7850, which would take you, reasonably well, to the next level.

That PSU is, at least, one of OCZ's better offerings, but would personally prefer offerings by Seasonic, XFX, or Corsair. You don't really need 600w, 500w would be adequate, so I'm thinking you may be able to get a 'prefered' make, in the mid 500's, for similar cost to the OCZ.

Whilst an i5-2400 will work fine with that motherboard, the Z77 was 'intended' to get the best out of an unlocked Ivybridge, like i5-3570K. Whether you are interested in overclocking, to want to make that 'jump', I would recommend, at least getting a locked Ivybridge, like i5-3450, or 3550. Better performance/features, more up to date, and make 'fuller' use of Z77 mobo. Not HUGE gains, but definitely worth it for what is virtually same price.