Help for first Gaming Rig!

[ariapos]

Hey guys, I have been wanting to build my first PC for a while and am finally going to make my dream come true. I think I have pretty much have found a good selection of components but being a first timer and with no experience I am looking for a little help. I would just like to make sure that these parts are the best I can have or if there is anything else you would recommend that would be better. I have no clue if these parts are compatible, so if someone could tell me if they are or tell me how to check, it would help a lot. The parts I chose are down below. (All the reference links will be from newegg to make it slightly easier for me.)

I will be using the computer to store media as well as gaming (mainly: Diablo 3, call of duty, Battlefield 3, Crysis) and to do work for uni.

I have a limited budget however am ok with going a little over

Case: COOLER MASTER HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119233&Tpk=haf%20912

Power Supply: COOLER MASTER Silent Pro M2 720Watts http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171067

Motherboard:ASRock Z77 Extreme4 LGA 1155 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157293

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116504

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099

Memory: CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233180
Should I be going for 16gb? or is there better ram for the same price?

Video Card: Should I buy a GTX660ti or a HD7950? Also is it worth it to spend the extra money on these cards oppose to the GTX660 or a equivalent ATI card?

Storage: Seagate Barracude ST31000524AS 1TB 7200 RPM http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 38566&SID=

SSD: Kingston HyperX 3K 120GB SSD http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820239045

Optical Drive: LITE-ON DVD Burner http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 38566&SID=

Basically what I am stuck on is if these parts are all compatible and if I can do better for around the same price or if I can save a little bit of money by getting a cheaper gpu that wont sacrifice much performance.

Thanks

 

[Outlander_04]

you dont need a 720 watt psu. 500 watts is enough for that build so save some money

The 7950 and 660ti are very close . Id buy whichever one was cheaper ...with a decent cooling fan

The HAF doesnt have a front USB 3 ports . Use some of the money you save on the PSU to fit an Antec 300 TWO into the build

 

[ariapos]

Thanks Outlander_04

What would be the next best card to these two in terms of performance? all i require is to be able to play diablo 3 COD and battlefield @1080p would I be able to save money here?

Would there be anything else you would recommend?

Thanks once again

 

[Kamen_BG]

Your build is pretty good but there is still room for improvement.
I made you a PC that is a severely improved version of the one you made and it doesn't cost a lot more.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-2600K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($269.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI P67A-GD80 (B3) ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($74.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($158.39 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card ($329.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Rosewill BlackHawk ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Rosewill Capstone 750W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($102.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $1186.28
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-11-25 03:08 EST-0500)

Ill compare the two PC's part by part.

CPU More powerfull, more overclockable CPU which consumes more electricity and does not support PCI-E 3

Motherboard Higher-end motherboard, packed with features which uses an older chipset therefore it doesn't support PCI-E 3

Memory Specification wise both memory kits are equal.The only difference is that the Vengeance kit looks better while the ripjaws are shorter which makes them easier to fir under a big air cooler

Hard Drive - The hard drive used in this build is much more reliable than the one you listed.It's also a bit faster, and a bit queter.

SSD - The Samsung 840 250GB is a very, very fast SSD.Much faster than the HyperX and its also in stock.

Graphics card - I chose a card which is currently out of stock but when it comes in stock it will be a hell of a deal.
If you can't afford it however i suggest you look into either a GTX 670
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007Z33SYA/?tag=pcpapi-20
Which isn't really that much slower

a HD 7950 - which is a bit slower than the GTX 670 at stock but has a nice cooler which allows it to reach higher performance when overclocked
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-video-card-gvr795wf33gd

Or a HD 7870 which is a lot cheaper than the cards on top making a good budget alternative
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-video-card-gvr787oc2gd

Here's an article comparing the performance of the cards i mentioned.
http://hardocp.com/article/2012/11/12/fall_2012_gpu_driver_comparison_roundup/8



CASE - The case i used in the build is also very very good.It's a much better part than the HAF 912 both in terms of build quality and accoustic/cooling performance.

Power Supply - I included a very high quality 750 Watt unit which supports Crossfire/SLI and has very high efficiency.

And the real CON in this build is its price im pretty sure it's more expensive than the build you made but im also sure that its worth every penny more.