Gaming build for $1000 including OS & monitor - gift for my son

[Maxmom]

I want to get my 14 year old a gaming computer for his birthday. He plays Mindcraft, Starcraft, DayZ for sure and probably others that I don't know about. I've peiced together this parts list from reading a ton of forum posts. Are any of these components junk? Is there any place in here where I can save money? We live in Alaska so shipping costs could become a problem. I'll get a monitor locally. Thanks for the help!

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-V LK ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($54.98 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Scorpio Blue 500GB 2.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.93 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 660 Ti 2GB Video Card ($276.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 600W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($59.99 @ Microcenter)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($15.98 @ Outlet PC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $860.82
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-03-13 15:14 EDT-0400)

 

[bodeen2012]

only problems i see is.
1. no case
2. if he is going to overclock than he needs a aftermarket cpu cooler like this one
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

 

[TheBigTroll]

i opted for no overclocking on the rig to fit in a SSD. you see a much larger speed increase by using a SSD than overclocking.
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Ju81

-i wouldnt use a laptop hard drive. 5400rpm drives are slow compared to a 7200rpm model and a SSD
-got the 7950 instead. comes with 2 free games which is always a bonus. and they arent crap games either
-better power supply

should be good.

 

[g-unit1111]

i opted for no overclocking on the rig to fit in a SSD. you see a much larger speed increase by using a SSD than overclocking.
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Ju81

-i wouldnt use a laptop hard drive. 5400rpm drives are slow compared to a 7200rpm model and a SSD
-got the 7950 instead. comes with 2 free games which is always a bonus. and they arent crap games either
-better power supply

should be good.

I'd personally get a better video card before I got an SSD but that's just my theory. I do agree about the laptop HD though.

I'd do this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3350P 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($175.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock Z75 Pro3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($76.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($53.45 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 660 Ti 2GB Video Card ($304.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 520W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($72.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($15.98 @ Outlet PC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $910.34
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-03-13 17:05 EDT-0400)

 

[TheBigTroll]

the 7950 is faster than the 660ti

 

[Maxmom]

I changed the video card and power supply to save a little money and I picked a cooler looking case. Does this still look okay? Thanks for the help!

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3350P 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($175.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock Z75 Pro3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($76.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($52.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($67.99 @ Microcenter)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 660 Ti 2GB Video Card ($293.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master Storm Enforcer ATX Mid Tower Case ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 600W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($59.99 @ Microcenter)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($15.98 @ Outlet PC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $903.88
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-03-13 18:58 EDT-0400)

 

[TheBigTroll]

id still slot in the SSD

the 7950 is a better value overall. get that instead

the xfx 550w is a much more superior power supply. wouldnt cheap out on that

id save my money for a SSD instead of getting a cooler looking case. its whats inside that matters

 

[g-unit1111]

id still slot in the SSD

the 7950 is a better value overall. get that instead

the xfx 550w is a much more superior power supply. wouldnt cheap out on that

id save my money for a SSD instead of getting a cooler looking case. its whats inside that matters

If it's strictly gaming then yeah I'd stick with the 7950. If it's gaming and other applications I'd get the 660TI.