Now to give you a run down of my choices for the build for you and explain the details. Core i5 3570K. For those who know me and have me do their builds, you’ll know that it’s just about the best processor you can get for the money today. With plenty of performance, top notch overclocking capability and enough horsepower to run any game you throw at it, the choice is a no brainer.
Cooler - Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo
$30 cooler that will work magic. Seriously though, at this price, there’s no cooler out there can that beat this thing.
Motherboard - Gigabyte Z77X-D3H
Ever since Intel’s introduction of the Z77 chipset, motherboard giant Gigabyte has made huge leaps in in improvements on their motherboards all the way from the budget end to the extreme high end and the Z77X-D3H is a perfect example of what kind of top quality products can be achieved.
With support for PCIe 3.0, SATA 3 6Gb/s, 8 channel integrated audio, Gigabyte’s fully digital power delivery system, and ultra durable 4 features, it’s got a lot going for it.
Memory – 8GB Corsair Vengeance 1600MHz DDR3 Low Profile 1.5v
I'm back to my usual memory configuration, and sticking to it! With excellent reliability, great performance, a low profile and an amazing price, there really isn’t a better option on the market.
GPU - SAPPHIRE VAPOR-X HD 7970 GHz EDITION 3GB GDDR5
We’re building a gaming PC today, so that means we’re going to splurge a little on graphics and what better graphics card than the SAPPHIRE VAPOR-X HD 7970 GHz EDITION.
The card provides top notch performance with extremely high efficiency, so you’re guaranteed to be getting a ton of performance without a lot of energy or creating a lot of heat either. With SAPPHIRE VAPOR-X HD 7970 GHz EDITION, you’re also getting SAPPHIRE legendary Vapor-X cooler, which will provide excellent cooling that allows you to do a little overclocking to improve performance if you’re feeling adventurous.
Storage - Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200RPM
For your build today, we’ll be going with a Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200RPM hard drive, which if you asked me one or two years ago would’ve probably been my ideal choice when building a new gaming computer.
Nowadays, I think every PC should include an SSD period. They’re waaaaaaaaay faster and they draw less energy, but unfortunately they do cost a significant amount more than a traditional hard drive.
Boot Drive – Crucial m4 128GB SSD
TSince you have some extra budget laying around, I’d definitely suggest going with a 128GB Samsung 840 Pro or 128GB Crucial m4 in combination with a 1TB Seagate Barracuda. This will allow for plenty of hard drive space for storage while OS and application files may be placed on the SSD for that extra top notch performance.
PSU - Corsair TX650 V2
Once again, i will be falling back on our trusty Corsair TX650. High quality Seasonic made power supply for a great price to boot. The case is personal choice you can change that if you do not like it.
CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($144.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial M4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 3GB Video Card ($445.91 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 500R White ATX Mid Tower Case ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast 650W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Asus VS247H-P 23.6" Monitor ($166.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $1495.80
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-03-07 23:50 EST-0500)