First time Builder -- new gaming build help

[Rucksteady]

Hi,
First time poster, previous lurker. This is a great community for help with pc build ideas, so I thought some of you might be able to give advice for a first-time builder.
I've been a gamer for years and have finally decided to take the leap and build a new machine. Based off of advice from this forum and others I've put together a list. I'd love to hear your comments and how I could improve. Keep in mind it's my first build so nothing extremely complicated please!

Approximate Purchase Date: Within 2 weeks
Budget Range $1200CAD max
System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming!, Movies/Youtube, Internets, Music (no video/sound editing required)
Are you buying a monitor: No.
Parts to Upgrade: New everything (except HDD, monitor, keyboard & mouse)
Do you need to buy OS: Yes
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg.ca / Amazon.ca / Tigerdirect.ca
Location: Toronto, Canada
Overclocking: Not sure.
Games to run: Skyrim, Fallout, Total War, Arkham City etc.. (no Crysis)

Parts List: http://pcpartpicker.com/user/Rucksteady/saved/#savedbuild_297555

CPU Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz Quad-Core $214.98
CPU Cooler Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing $29.99
Motherboard Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3 ATX LGA1155 $116.98
Memory G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 $57.99
Video Card EVGA GeForce GTX 660 2GB $219.99
Case Rosewill REDBONE U3 ATX Mid Tower $39.99
Power Supply XFX 550W ATX12V / EPS12V $73.99
Optical Drive Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer $17.99
OS Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) $89.98

Any feedback would be great.
Thanks in advance!

 

[tiny voices]

Your CPU and motherboard are old.
Get an i5 3570k
Get a z77 motherboard
Get 1600mhz RAM

Everything else looks good.

 

[Robert Pankiw]

I suggest using ca.pcpartpicker.com. I think that you are getting US prices, which aren't the same.

Why not spend a little more on your GPU? You have budget left over.

 

[Rucksteady]

Ok I replaced some parts based on all of your suggestions.

http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/HZ3U

CPU Intel Core i5-3570 3.4GHz Quad-Core $189.99
CPU Cooler Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing $28.45
Motherboard Asus P8Z77-V ATX LGA1155 $174.99
Memory Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 $50.40
Video Card EVGA GeForce GTX 660 2GB $209.99
Case Rosewill REDBONE U3 ATX Mid Tower $54.99
Power Supply XFX 550W ATX12V / EPS12V $61.72
Optical Drive Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer $19.99
OS Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) $99.99
TOTAL $890.51

Will this work well with current games?
And if I were to get a better GPU, any suggestions?

Thanks for your help!

 

[pete123edgar]

Here's a good build :

http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/HZJr

If you don't want to use the ssd, you can take it out and save more money, and upgrade for better case/power supply whatever you like. If you don't want to overclock you can buy the lock version and use the intel heatsink to save more money, though I usually like to suggest the unlock version because who knows, in the future you might want to try overclocking. Anyway its around $1160, remove the ssd and cpu unlocked version and its around $1000 with one the most powerful graphics card available.

 

[tiny voices]

Ok I replaced some parts based on all of your suggestions.

http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/HZ3U

CPU Intel Core i5-3570 3.4GHz Quad-Core $189.99
CPU Cooler Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing $28.45
Motherboard Asus P8Z77-V ATX LGA1155 $174.99
Memory Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 $50.40
Video Card EVGA GeForce GTX 660 2GB $209.99
Case Rosewill REDBONE U3 ATX Mid Tower $54.99
Power Supply XFX 550W ATX12V / EPS12V $61.72
Optical Drive Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer $19.99
OS Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) $99.99
TOTAL $890.51

Will this work well with current games?
And if I were to get a better GPU, any suggestions?

Thanks for your help!

This is a great setup. It will play games on high and max some games. You could get an hd 7870 for like $20 more if you wanted a sightly better GPU. The XT model is about $40 more and it is almost as good as a 7950.