First gaming rig - $1300 budget

[xXNeonBlurXx]

Hi all,
I am looking to build a gaming system to play games such as Far Cry 3, Black Ops II, Borderlands 2, Skyrim etc.
Things I will be using the rig for, in order of most important to least important: Gaming, Basic Internet use, Music.
I have done all my gaming on a low end laptop, but that is going to change.
My budget is $1300 but if needed I can go up to $100 over.
I am going to be putting together the system around december 14th, as it is my birthday.
I live in Adelaide, South Australia.

I will be buying a monitor, but I already own a keyboard and mouse.
I already have speakers and a headset, so that won't be a problem.
I do not want to use Crossfire or SLI because of the driver issues and other problems my mates have run into when using this kind of setup.
I have never overclocked before but I may do some small adjustments in future.
I would like to run a resolution of either 1680x1050 or 1920x1080, whichever you recommend.

I have done some basic research for about 2 weeks now, and I have decided on a processor, and have been looking at a gpu and mobo as possible options:

Sapphire 2GB 7870 OC PCI-E VGA Card

Intel i5-3570K LGA1155 IVY Bridge Boxed CPU

AsRock Z77-Extreme4 Intel Z77 ATX Motherboard

I do not want an SSD, only a single HDD. 7200 RPM is a must, and WD is preferred.

Thanks.

 

[Novulux]

Is this the only site you are buying from or are you open to other ones such as PCCaseGear?

 

[xXNeonBlurXx]

As long as they ship to Australia, yes.

 

[Novulux]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.00 @ PCCaseGear)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($35.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($139.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($46.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($99.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card ($325.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Case: NZXT Tempest 410 Elite (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($95.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast 650W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($112.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NS90 DVD/CD Writer ($22.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Monitor: Samsung S22B300B 60Hz 21.5" Monitor ($135.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 3-Pack (64-bit) ($99.00 @ Scorptec)
Total: $1336.00
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-11-26 14:44 EST+1100)


Some of these can be purchased at your original site linked, but this is just a convenient list of parts. The case and ram are really up to preference as their are many different ones in similar price ranges...

 

[xXNeonBlurXx]

Okay,
1: Is the cpu cooler necessary, as I will not be doing any OC until about 6 months, and I am on a strict budget?
2: Is it okay to pair the 7950 with the i5-3570k, will the gpu be bottlenecked?
3: I disagree with the case, could you recommend another one, preferrably one with an emphasis on airflow, I do not care about noise.
Thanks for helping!

 

[xXNeonBlurXx]

Oh I forgot, one other thing,
Is gigabyte really the best manufacturer to go with in terms of cooling and performance? (Again, I don't care about noise)

 

[Novulux]

Okay,
1: Is the cpu cooler necessary, as I will not be doing any OC until about 6 months, and I am on a strict budget?
2: Is it okay to pair the 7950 with the i5-3570k, will the gpu be bottlenecked?
3: I disagree with the case, could you recommend another one, preferrably one with an emphasis on airflow, I do not care about noise.
Thanks for helping!

Sorry for the late response:
1. The CPU cooler is not essential, and I suppose you can put off the purchase until later.
2. No bottleneck, the i5-3570k is powerful.
3. This is a really difficult question for me to answer since cases are always biased towards certain user preferences.
Here are two cases in the same price range:
http://www.mwave.com.au/product/sku-aa12513-bitfenix_raider_midtower_case
Review of this case: http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Bitfenix-Raider-Case-Review/1463/7

http://www.mwave.com.au/product/sku-aa12436-corsair_carbide_series_400r_case
Review of this case: http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Corsair/Carbide_400R/6.html

4. Gigabyte is a decent brand, and I would've linked a cheaper Sapphire card, but it was out of stock on the original website you linked to.
Here's a review of the same card: http://www.techspot.com/review/496-amd-radeon-7950/
Here's a picture of the temperature testing if you are lazy:

 

[xXNeonBlurXx]

Wow thankyou so much, you didn't have to go to all that effort, aha!
I was also thinking that maybe in future when I save up some cash I could swap out the gpu for a higher end nvidia model just for the sake of newer games and the use of PhysX in games like borderlands 2. I can live without it for sure, but it would be nice to give a little performance boost next year ish. Would a gpu like a 670, 680 or 690 still go nicely into this build?

 

[Novulux]

Wow thankyou so much, you didn't have to go to all that effort, aha!
I was also thinking that maybe in future when I save up some cash I could swap out the gpu for a higher end nvidia model just for the sake of newer games and the use of PhysX in games like borderlands 2. I can live without it for sure, but it would be nice to give a little performance boost next year ish. Would a gpu like a 670, 680 or 690 still go nicely into this build?

Well the 690 is actually a dual GPU or SLI card. As for the other two, yes the power supply should support it as far as power requirements go. I do believe that the next generation would have arrived before you find the HD 7950 lacking regardless.

 

[xXNeonBlurXx]

In that case, I'm happy. Haha.
Is that everything, or am I missing something?

 

[xXNeonBlurXx]

Also, I have decided on the BitFenix RAIDER Mid-Tower Case because of it's excellent airflow and air filters on every intake.

 

[xXNeonBlurXx]

Best answer selected by xXNeonBlurXx.