Tech Savvy Sages---Help with Build, Please!!!

[obiwontonton17]

Hello,
My friend gave me an i5 2400 and 2 packs of kingston 4gb ddr3 1600 ram. I have $1200 to spend (that has to include the mouse pad, if you know what i mean). The "rig" will be used to play mmorpgs and maybe old games like Heroes of Might and Magic V. Very unlikely that it would be used for Skyrim, but a possibility. I know next to nothing about overclocking, other than the cpu given to me is locked. Anyone help me with a build that doesn't waste $$$ on gpu processing power or have too much of a power supply, cooling tubes, etc? Should I just sell the i5 2400 and get a new cpu?

You are indeed our only hope!

 

[ChestR0ckwell]

If you dont care about overclocking, id say stick with that processor. Not too much different than a some of the best i5s out there...

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/FgTC
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/FgTC/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/FgTC/benchmarks/

CPU Cooler: SilenX EFZ-92HA2 54.0 CFM Fluid Dynamic Bearing CPU Cooler ($10.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus P8H61-M LE/CSM R2.0 Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($64.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.14 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card ($369.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Apollo Black NP ATX Mid Tower Case ($77.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Cooler Master eXtreme Power Plus 500W ATX12V Power Supply ($39.98 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224BB DVD/CD Writer ($17.98 @ Outlet PC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $731.03
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-02-22 17:53 EST-0500))

This is what I would get if I wanted to save some money for a monitor/keyboard/etc.

I don't consider myself an expert PC builder though, so take that with a grain of salt.

-C.R.

 

[obiwontonton17]

Thank you for the quick help, C.R.! I know people hate on the OEM fan on the 2400, but if I don't overclock do I still need the CPU cooler? It's $10.99 so I'll get it if you think it will help.

Also, this gpu is about $100 cheaper than the one you listed: MSI GeForce GTX 560 Ti 2GB Video Card. Is the GTX 670 worth the extra money? I really don't know and couldn't find good comparisons for the two cards.

 

[ARICH5]

the CM extreme series are horrible psu's...antec, corsair or xfx brand.

 

[ChestR0ckwell]

Thank you for the quick help, C.R.! I know people hate on the OEM fan on the 2400, but if I don't overclock do I still need the CPU cooler? It's $10.99 so I'll get it if you think it will help.

Also, this gpu is about $100 cheaper than the one you listed: MSI GeForce GTX 560 Ti 2GB Video Card. Is the GTX 670 worth the extra money? I really don't know and couldn't find good comparisons for the two cards.

Yeah that 560 is fine upon further inspection, and i'd through that cooler in there just in case. Ill admit I'm currently in love with the 670 for its perfomance/cost ratio...but it may just be overkill for what your trying to do, IF your saying Skyrim is the very top end of what your PC might do.