First Build, $800ish range

[buzz454]

Approximate Purchase Date: This Week

Budget Range: Around $800

System Usage from Most to Least Important: gaming, surfing the internet, watching movies

Are you buying a monitor: No

Parts to Upgrade: New System

Do you need to buy OS: No

Location: Utah, USA

Parts Preferences: Already purchased a Z77 board and an intel chip
Overclocking: Maybe

SLI or Crossfire: Doubtful

Your Monitor Resolution: 1920x1200

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: Current puter is woefully out of date.

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This will be my first build and I'm pretty sure on my parts outside of the GPU and PS. Here is what I have so far:

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-D3H
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3 1600
HD: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB SATA
Case: Rosewill BLACKHAWK
PS: SeaSonic G Series SSR-550RM 550W 80 PLUS GOLD
GPU: XFX Double D FX-787A-CDBC Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition Black Edition 2GB

Games I am currently playing:

Borderlands 2
WoW
GW2
Dragon Age 2
Skyrim
Assassins Creed 3 or Farcry 3 (depending on the GPU I get)

I'm hoping there are no bottlenecks in my build and everything will work together well. I'm still pretty undecided on the PS and GPU. I would like to be around the $300 mark for both of those together though I can push up another $50 or so if I need to increase either. I have been looking at these other cards as well:

GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 660 at $210 with a rebate
GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 660 Ti at $280 with a rebate

I kind of went in the middle with the 7870 based on reviews and Tom's Hardware value review. It is listed at $230 after rebate. Is it worth it to save a bit and drop down to the GTX 660 or go up in price to the GTX 660 Ti? I don't want to spend money that I don't have to but when I'm already dropping money on this build if the gains justify putting out some extra money I would do it.

Are there any bottleneck issues with this build or anything I have overlooked in making sure the components are compatible? Will the 80 plus gold 550W be enough or should I bump up to a 650W? Also with the price differences in the GPU's is there one with better value than the 7870?

This will be my first build so I'm hopeful that I've got some quality parts and that I haven't overlooked anything here. Thanks for any feedback or advice.

 

[cutebeans]

I will help you make your decision.

The 7850 and 7870 both have problems when it comes to WOW.

So it's either you get a 7950 or 660ti for that.

 

[Deemo13]

I wouldn't go for the 16GB of RAM. I know I know you are going to say "well you have 16GB of RAM" That's because the RAM was so cheap that I just went for 16, since it was the price of the 8 of the same I was going to buy.

Also, if you want to overclock in the future, you are going to want to get and install a CPU fan while building your computer. Adding one later is alright, but its a massive pain.

 

[buzz454]

After looking over a few more things I think I will end up going with a 660ti. PNY has this on newegg at $250 with rebate
PNY XLR8 VCGGTX660TXPB-C GeForce GTX 660 Ti 2GB

It's a modest bump up, I'd rather have Assassins Creed 3 than Far Cry and it sits right on the edge of my budget.

I was debating on installing a CPU fan, I will probably use my $20 newegg gift card on something like this:
COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus

What is the reason to stay at 8GB of ram instead of bumping to the 16 when the prices are so similar?

Thanks to both of you for the input too.

 

[Deemo13]

Well, 8GB is $40 less. For some people, that's alot for something that really isnt needed. My computer in gaming never hits above 25% RAM useage even with alot of stuff open. It does help to have more when I am working on projects though.

 

[buzz454]

Best answer selected by buzz454.