New Build - Thought/Suggestions

[blacklabel8829]

I am finally in a financial state where I can build a rig and stop trying to make games playable on my laptop.
I am still on a budget though, so don't get any crazy ideas. Trying to stay under $1,000 if at all possible.

I have been working on this wishlist for what seems like forever as I research parts and read content-filled reviews. This is my final setup and wanted to see if anyone had thoughts or suggestions on this configuration before purchases are made.

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-UD5H LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Memory: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory
Storage: Western Digital WD Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
Video Card: EVGA 01G-P3-1561-AR GeForce GTX 560 Ti FPB (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
Case: Rosewill CHALLENGER Black Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Power Supply: CORSAIR Builder Series CX600 600W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply
Optical Drive: ASUS 24X DVD Burner

The other bits:
Monitor: Asus VE228H 21.5" Full HD HDMI LED BackLight LCD Monitor w/Speakers
Wireless Card: ASUS PCE-N15 PCI Express 300/300Mbps Transfer/Receive Rate Wireless Adapter

EDIT: Added budget amount.

 

[Sumukh_Bhagat]

Get a i5 3570k, its new stuff.

And if you can then get a Radeon 7850 instead of GTX560 Ti

 

[MauveCloud]

You haven't specified your budget, but pairing a Sandy Bridge cpu with an Ivy Bridge motherboard is an odd choice. Since you haven't selected an aftermarket cooler for your cpu, I'm guessing you don't plan to overclock, so you might be better off with a Core i5-3470 and an H77 motherboard, such as the ASRock H77 Pro4.

 

[blacklabel8829]

You haven't specified your budget, but pairing a Sandy Bridge cpu with an Ivy Bridge motherboard is an odd choice. Since you haven't selected an aftermarket cooler for your cpu, I'm guessing you don't plan to overclock, so you might be better off with a Core i5-3470 and an H77 motherboard, such as the ASRock H77 Pro4.

Thanks for pointing that out. Edited origial post to include budget, which is me trying to stay under $1k if at all possible.

My thought process on the Sandy Ivy combo was saving money but being able to have a board that would ready for an Ivy eventually when upgrade time comes. I also came to this conclusion because people were saying an overclocked 2500k would be just as fast as a Ivy but stay cooler. Every forum I've seen people were suggesion the 2500k over any of the 3000s. I haven't really seen anything saying not to do this, thoughts?

I do not plan to overclock at this point, I'm very casual PC gamer (for now). That doesn't mean I won't think about it eventually. In that case I had this cooler saved in my wishlist as well: COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus

 

[blacklabel8829]

Get a i5 3570k, its new stuff.

And if you can then get a Radeon 7850 instead of GTX560 Ti

The 3570k is only $10 more, seriously considering switching to this now.

 

[Sumukh_Bhagat]

If you will not Overclock More than 4.3 Ghz. Its a waste of k processor.
You'll see no Boost until that much overclocking.

And I guess you are a Newbie at that.

So get a i5 3470 and a H77 Mobo.

And use the Saved Money on GPU like GTX660\7870.
Which will give you a Big Boost in gaming.

And 3470 and 3570k are same at stock Speeds in terms of Gaming

 

[MauveCloud]

I think you should try to find benchmarks for the games you actually intend to play - I found this page where for one game, a 3570k at stock slightly outperformed a 2500k oc'ed to 5GHz:
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cpus/2012/05/01/intel-core-i5-3570k-cpu-review/6
I also suggest against relying purely on personal experiences from others about the 2500k running cooler when oc'ed - see if you can find a review that proves it.

 

[blacklabel8829]

Also, a friend has almost convinced me just now to shell out another $20 for this:

EVGA SuperClocked 02G-P4-2662-KR GeForce GTX 660 2GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

 

[blacklabel8829]

If you will not Overclock More than 4.3 Ghz. Its a waste of k processor.
You'll see no Boost until that much overclocking.

And I guess you are a Newbie at that.

So get a i5 3470 and a H77 Mobo.

And use the Saved Money on GPU like GTX660\7870.
Which will give you a Big Boost in gaming.

And 3470 and 3570k are same at stock Speeds in terms of Gaming

Definitely a noob at OC, but I also won't be playing things like BF3 or Crysis as I am not a fan of Online FPS. Lot's of RPGs or co-op/single player FPS. But hey, I still want those looking gorgeous.

I'll have to do some research on the H77 mobos. But until then, how doesa 3470 with a GTX 660 sound with my current setup? Basically just diverting funds from CPU to GPU.

 

[blacklabel8829]

Ok, after doing some comparisons with my currently selected mobo I am wondering why the H77 switch?

The most noticable things I see is that I will be losing PCI Express 3.0 x16 slots, PCI Express x1 slots, USB 3.0 ports, mSATA, and eSATA. It is really worth saving $80-100 to have a less upgradable mobo?

The H77 I was looking at was the ASRock H77 Pro4/MVP LGA 1155 Intel H77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

 

[Sumukh_Bhagat]

i5 3470
MSI B75 Mobo
MSI GTX660

Thats my Build.
Very same to yours, I can Max all games at 1080p @ very good fps

And that Mobo is good.