Approximate Purchase Date: Black Friday/Cyber monday
Budget Range: $1000-1500
System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, photoshop, minor audio/video encoding, internet
Are you buying a monitor: No
Parts to Upgrade: N/A
Do you need to buy OS: Yes
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Any
Location: Herndon, VA
Parts Preferences: Intel CPU & NVIDIA
Overclocking: In the future, yes
SLI or Crossfire: Maybe
Your Monitor Resolution: 1920x1200
Additional Comments: I want this build to last about at least 3-5 years before I have to upgrade anything. I need a case that my toddler (15mo) can't destroy physically, which is why I've decided to look at the more rugged full size cases.
And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: I can barely play any of the recent games on the lowest graphical settings and it's driving me crazy! My wife has finally agreed to let me build a new pc...
PCPartPicker part list:
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/lzHx
Price breakdown by merchant:
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/lzHx/by_merchant/
Benchmarks:
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/lzHx/benchmarks/
CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($169.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($26.82 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Asus SABERTOOTH Z77 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($229.99 @ NCIX US)
I'm stuck on which to choose for the mobo, one of my friends recommended the ASUS Maximus because there was something about the warranty being better w/overnight shipping in case there needs to be an RMA. Also, I have been looking at ASROCK Extreme4/6 but I'm really not sure which is the ideal one for me to choose.
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($50.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: OCZ Agility 3 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($74.99 @ Microcenter)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Galaxy GeForce GTX 660 Ti 2GB Video Card ($296.98 @ NCIX US)
I saw in the TH $1000 build they went with the GTX 670 but that's about $100 more than the 660ti. Is it really worth that cost for the performance and longevity?
Case: Cooler Master Storm Trooper ATX Full Tower Case ($144.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 750W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1134.73
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
Even though not everyone will see this, I just wanna say first thanks to everyone on TH for all the free information that is going out there. I learned a lot and it helped reading articles and posts that helped me me narrow down a lot of choices out there.
I've tried to keep my budget closer to $1000 but I'm pretty much at an impasse here. I'm conflicted on which parts are the most important to get high quality first and which I can get acceptable quality and upgrade to something better later on. So I'm trying to keep the cost loss at upgrading later to a minimum.
Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.