1000$ gaming rig: Is it good?

You don't really need 16GB of RAM for a gaming build - that isn't the place to spend money. If you can get a Radeon 7870 GHz edition over a reference 660 - much better card.

Also get the 212 Evo instead of the 212+. Much better cooler. Otherwise everything else looks good.

Maybe consider the Corsair 300R as your case over the Antec 300 but that's a preference thing.

I'll also throw the HAF 912 into the case mix. Surprisingly awesome case for the price.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($214.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme6 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($159.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($64.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: A-Data Premier Pro SP900 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB Video Card ($194.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 400R ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX ProSeries 750W 80 PLUS Silver Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($84.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Lite-On IHAS324-98 DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $934.90
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-12-15 00:23 EST-0500)

try this build.

also chances are that of you already having a computer is highly likely so you can pretty much just reuse the Optical drive to install win7/8 or anything of that matter. Or you can just download and install from a USB. Just a few ways to save money

the 7870 GHz is on a great sale and not to mention a great brand with an awesome cooler.

NOTE: buy the ASrock extreme6 from Newegg and get free ram.(pretty much making it the same price as ASrock extreme4 and getting more benefits)

Case is preference, i like the 400R, nice and sturdy case with good cable management

also if buying OS use this combo from newegg(you still get the free ram)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?Ite...

also the graphics card comes with hitman and far cry 3

Thanks for the replies everyone!
I'll switch out the cooler to the 202 EVO and the motherboard for the extreme 6 version.

I sort of quite like Nvidia over AMD, so I prefer the gtx660, but what are the performance differences? From what I searched, they're about the same, but if you get the hd7870, its slightly better, but then its also a bit pricier...

Also, I got 16gb of ram, because the motherboard already came with 8gb ram for free!  

Any other recommendations?

i would just use the 8GB of ram and not even buy the extra 8GB of ram to save money.

in a gaming build 4GB should be enough but we go for 8GB of ram because the price is at a great price point

the 7870 would be a better choice, it has a higher BUS(256) and can overclock like a beast not to mention this 7870 GHz is on a great sale and can keep up to par with 660 ti

The i5-3570K is selling for $190 at tigerdirect.com, The Zotac GTX 660 2GB for $170 at newegg.com

def bouldbox choice is better, and includes a better ps and videocard, id go with that personally  

If you're playing on resolutions 1080p or above, that 660's 192-bit bus rate will bottleneck performance.

What games will you be playing anyway?

Also, ADATA SSDs are known to have high failure rates and/or early deaths. While I won't really trust consumer reviews, there's quite a handful of them to conclude something's really wrong with the drive; not to mention - it's SandForce, BSOD instances and crippled performance with incompressible data.

boulbox's build is below your $1000 budget anyway, do yourself a favor and invest on a non-SandForce drive preferably Samsung 830 or 840 Pro, OCZ Vertex 4, or Crucial M4.

i personally havent have a problem with my ADATAs but i guess it depends on what time you would have gotten it and what firmware you have inside.

I would also invest on a something like a marvel drive but i just saw the Adatas price and thought it was a pretty solid choice

Thanks for the replies,

I'll take the HD7870 now... but what about PhysX? I like Nvidia, because it has the PhysX feature that is really cool in Borderlands 2. About how much faster is the HS7870 compared to the gtx660? If its above 10% or so, im definetaly taking the HD7870.

Also, the games that I will be playing are games like Battlefield 3, Skyrim, Assassins creed, Far cry 3 and the alike. Maybe also some race games, but im not so concerned about that.

Also, I'm not such a huge fan of SSD's because they're relatively expensive for the size you get and I prefer the space I get...
Is the SSD really worth it? If it is, I'm probably changing my whole plan to Boulbox's plan, because it seems better than mine.

Thanks once more!  

pysh x isnt that important atm, im unshur of how many games support it, and having a seperate card for that seems like a waste.

id say a good bit faster in games the 7870 to the gtx660, for the price the gains worth.

well yeah ssd is totally worth it heres a cheap one that works great, the speed is so fast, its not even funny.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

crucial m4 128gb i got the 256gb version and is mad fast  

enjoy

Thanks everyone!
Now I got everything I need know to build my new PC...  

good, keep us updated, pm me if u need more help sincerely the iceclock