Need help with new gaming PC! First time builder!

[thecolombianjesus]

Hey guys. So I've decided that I would like to make my own custom gaming PC, judging by the fact that I am getting bored of console and it seems like PC gaming is just completely taking over. I have done TONS of researching on different parts, and I have picked the parts that I think will fulfill my needs. I have a $1000 budget and am looking to build a high end gaming PC that can also do things like render videos, good video playback, etc. Here's the link to all the parts I have selected so far:

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/xFcV


As you can see, I have yet to choose a GPU. The reason for that is because I am stuck between the MSI GTX 660 TF OC or the GIGABYTE GTX 660. They are both very similar, and I have read tons of reviews on both and a lot of them are saying that the GIGABYTE is the better choice, however there are also those who say the opposite. Which one do you guys think is better? The games I will mostly be playing are Guild Wars 2, League of Legends, ARMA II, and Battlefield 3. I want to get at least 50+ FPS average on BF3 with Ultra settings.

Another reason why I haven't chose a GPU yet is because I was originally going to get a GIGABYTE HD 7950. However, my PSU is only SLI ready, and the PSU I chose has gotten some very good reviews and has long durability. It is a Tier 2 PSU, and for 620W for under $90 is a steal. Therefore, I was thinking about going along the path of getting a GTX 660 now, and then upgrading to another GTX 660 to run dual GPU's. If I ran dual 660's, would it run better than say a HD 7970 or GTX 680? Please, if you can just help me out with this it is much appreciated.

Also, one more thing. If you know any parts that are better than the ones that I have chosen that are around the same price or even CHEAPER, then please tell me. I am looking to save as much money as I can here. I would love to hear all of your opinions on these parts. I will begin to buy my parts at the end of the month, so I still have time to make my final choices.

I appreciate it guys! Thanks in advance!

 

[djangoringo]

In my opinion this is what you should do : http://pcpartpicker.com/p/xFzn

A 660 ti from asus, which is really good, drop the mobo for the asrock z77 extreme 4, same features, supports SLI, Crossfire too, has 4 SATA III ports, etc, more power phases, overall it's better.
A xfx psu with 650w, it's at a good price, it's also made by seasonic.
And a switch from the 1TB hdd for a 1.5TB seagate.
If you prefer amd, then just get the best value 7950, which is the sapphire : http://pcpartpicker.com/part/sapphire-video-card-1003522l

 

[CMac019]

In my opinion this is what you should do : http://pcpartpicker.com/p/xFzn

A 660 ti from asus, which is really good, drop the mobo for the asrock z77 extreme 4, same features, supports SLI, Crossfire too, has 4 SATA III ports, etc, more power phases, overall it's better.
A xfx psu with 650w, it's at a good price, it's also made by seasonic.
And a switch from the 1TB hdd for a 1.5TB seagate.
If you prefer amd, then just get the best value 7950, which is the sapphire : http://pcpartpicker.com/part/sapphire-video-card-1003522l

The Ti is about $80 more but with a $1000 budget I'm sure you can fit it in, maybe even a 670 since I know you can find better deals than what pcpartpicker crurrently says. Microcenter has really good combo deals on the 3570k and asrock extreme4 right now if you have one nearby

 

[djangoringo]

If you check the changes that i made, it fits 1000$ either with the 660 ti or the 7950.

 

[thecolombianjesus]

How's this? http://pcpartpicker.com/p/xGc5

Is the AsRock Extreme 4 better than this GIGABYTE Mobo? Because a lot of reviews were complaining about a lot of the AsRocks coming damaged. Plus that the GIGABYTE overall just had better performance. I also like the GIGABYTE Mobo because it goes with my overall case design (I'm going to add blue LED case fans). I'm also not too keen on getting a Seagate HDD as I've read tons of bad reviews on those. 1 TB is plenty for me, and its WD which is always reliable.

Another question: Is the Sapphire 7950 better than the GIGABYTE 7950? If so, how?

Thanks for the replies!

 

[djangoringo]

Both are good, it's been reported that gigabyte is locking the voltage in the 7950 and 7970, i rather get the sapphire one.
Also the asrock z77 extreme 4 is fine, complains on doa happens a lot in all mobos, the asrock has more power phases, more sata ports, better usb 3.0 speeds, and the funny thing is, it's cheaper.
Also you can get a 1.5TB seagate in NCIX, reliability is the same.

 

[thecolombianjesus]

I think I'm going to go with this: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/xLNl

I hear really good things about Gigabyte motherboards, and after thinking about it and researching SLI/Crossfire, a lot of people say that it's better to just run a single GPU. So I went with the Gigabyte Z77X D3H since it only has 1 PCIe 3.0 slot, which is all I really need, and is like $15 less, which helps a lot in the long run. I'm going to go with that Sapphire 7950 that you mentioned, because it seems like a really solid GPU, and for $280 for a 7950 is a great buy.

Thanks for the input! It helped a lot and I also learned a couple things. Really appreciate it!

 

[djangoringo]

That's fine, that gigabyte as also two pcie 3.0 slots when it's an ivybridge cpu.
Well since you prefer gigabyte mobos, get that one, but the asrock is better for the same price, but everyone has his own tastes, that one also good for its price.
You're all set it seems, good luck with your build.