Advice and compatibility check

[GRock84]

Hey guys,

I am building a system mostly for gaming. I'd say 98% gaming and the other 2% for everyday use (ie web browsing, music, etc). I want to have a good edge on gaming for the next 3-5 years (maybe a stretch i know) at least on the cpu & gpu end anyway. That is, decent overclock-ability to compensate whenever future games are a little beyond stock capabilities. On the gaming note, I want my system to run 60 fps @ 1920x1080 res preferably max'd out settings but i know that wont be possible forever so as long as I have 60 fps thats all that really matters. I don't plan on running my system OC'd from the start since it should run most of the games ill be playing at my preferred settings stock. Speaking of which, the games:

Borderlands 2 **
Skyrim (lots of gameplay and graphical mods) **
X3: Terran Conflict
Metro 2033
Crysis I, II, III (with mods) **
Diablo III
Grand Theft Auto 5
Devil May Cry
so on and so forth....
But thats about it.

** = most important on high settings

The setup currently:
CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H
GPU: Gigabyte AMD Radeon HD 7970 OC 3GB GDDR5 GV-R797OC-3GD
RAM: CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB)
SSD: SAMSUNG 840 Pro Series 128GB
HDD: WD Green 2 TB 7200RPM
PSU: CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX650
DVD: Sony 24X SATA Internal DVD+/-RW Drive
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 - Mid Tower

PartsPicker: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/B6Jl

If you have any ideas on saving money while achieving the same level of performance or better please let me know. I don't NEED the best of the best or brand names. However, I do NEED the 60 fps @ 1920x1080 and reliability. I also plan on installing windows on the SSD strictly for gaming and the another on the HDD for everything else to ensure my gaming isnt effected by installed programs and daily use. Any thoughts, concerns, ideas? All are welcome. And as stated before I'm happy to save a buck and still maintain performance. Oh and I'm going with Windows 7 not 8. Windows 8 seems mixed when it comes to performance and I am very familiar with 7 and don't care for metro and apps and all that jazz. So sticking with 7 for now.

Thanks!

 

[JMer806]

N00bBuilder are you smoking crack?? A GT630 is IN NO WAY better than a 7970. Not even sorta close. OP, get the 7970, it's just about the best GPU on the market today, unless you want to drop $1000 on a GTX 690.

I think your build looks really solid. For saving money, I'd recommend just price-shopping all of your parts to make sure you're getting the best deals, but really there's not much you can do. If you live near a Microcenter, you can save on your CPU and MOBO, maybe up to $100 since they do combo deals. The HAF 912 is a very solid case, I don't think you can really go much cheaper without seriously compromising on quality.

For your build itself:

- Get a Blue or Black drive instead of the Green. IMO the performance drawbacks of the Green aren't worth the power savings.
- The TX650 is a good PSU, but make sure you get the V2.

 

[GRock84]

Thanks guys for your replies! I really appreciate and I'll take your recommendations into consideration. I'm really excited to get started on this. It's my first build but I've been planning and researching for about a year now. So thanks again!

 

[GRock84]

Best answer selected by GRock84.