~$800-1000 new build - a few questions, need suggestions please

[humblegroove]

Approximate Purchase Date: This week

Budget Range: $800-1000 after rebates

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming

Parts Not Required: Keyboard, mouse, monitor, OS, Boot drive (I have a Crucial M4 64GB SSD)

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg, Microcenter

Country of Origin: US

Parts Preferences: I lean towards Radeon when it comes to graphics cards, but am willing to expand my horizons if convinced.

Overclocking: In the future (Perhaps OC'ing graphics card if I get a Radeon 2 GB 6950)

SLI or Crossfire: No

Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080

Additional Comments:
Hello everybody!
I'm building a system to last me at least the next 3 years, mainly to play games such as Skyrim, Diablo 3, etc. I'm not particularly interested in SLI at the moment, and will only OC a bit down the road as I don't care that much about getting a few more frames per second...I'm just looking for a sollid machine that will play fast and make games look great. I've been perusing the forums for the past week or so putting this together. My budget is around $800-1000, and the lower the better, but I don't mind shelling out a bit more if anybody steers me in a particular direction. Thanks in advance for any help!

CPU:
Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072

***I am taking a trip to Microcenter on Monday to see if they are still offering deals on this CPU, and hope they are still offering a combo with a motherboard. If so, I will purchase at Microcenter rather than Newegg, but am listing it here on newegg for the sake of detailing my build***

That being said, I'm not quite sure what MOBO to get - and it partly depends on what Microcenter has - but it says online that all of the following are in stock at the particular Microcenter I am going to:

MOBO:
ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...na&AID=10521304&PID=4176827&SID=1lz3eam18ocqy
$124.99

OR

GIGABYTE GA-Z68A-D3H-B3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...-na&AID=10521304&PID=4176827&SID=utyj39jzk1vl
$128.99

Any other MOBO recommendations?

Graphics card:
HIS IceQ X Turbo H695QNT2G2M Radeon HD 6950 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity
$269.99

I am leaning towards a 1 GPU option, not that interested in dual GPU's. I have heard that it's possible to OC the 2GB 6950, but what I'm not sure is what particular 6950 to get. Is the HIS IceQ a good choice? Can I OC this one? Any other recommendations? If anyone wants to steer me in another direction for a similar 1 GPU option, feel free!

HDD:
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185
$49.99

RAM:
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL7D-8GBRH
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231402
$50.00

Power Supply:
PC Power and Cooling Silencer Mk II PPCMK2S650 650W ATX12V v2.2 / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Active PFC Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703026
~$80

Any other PSU recommendations? This looks like a solid choice for the price, but let me know if anybody has any other recommendations.

CASE:
COOLER MASTER HAF 922 RC-922M-KKN1-GP Black Steel + Plastic and Mesh Bezel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119197
~$90 on Amazon

Any ideas on the case? This seems like a solid choice as well, but also, I would value any other recommendations.

***Question: for the Core i5-2500k processor, and I do have the extra $30 to blow, is it worth it to get a cooler for the processor like the COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 right away?***


Thanks again everyone!

 

[phenom90]

hey... a very good build indeed... but for memory... why not get something quicker? these rams quite cheap these days.... i found one that only runs at 1.35v at 1600 mhz...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231479

so you don't sli/crossfire?? then probably the best wattage you can get for $80 dollars is this one

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153136

this ensures compatibility with a power hungry monster graphics card such as hd 6990 and gtx 590.... not to mention this model is a modular cable psu as well... it'll improve your cable management... even you going for single card forever... at least get a good 750watt to start with... you may often upgrade your gpu but not your psu... extra wattage to spare gives you peace of mind when you want to get a high end gpu to run in your system...

as for casing... the haf 922 is a very good case in its price range... just be sure to add another 200mm megaflow fan to its side panel... it doesn't include a side panel fan... a better case certainly the prices are starting from $130 to $140 range... such as rosewill thor v2... or antec df-85....

and for cpu cooler yes... the stock cooler that comes with the cpu is no good for keeping temp down... get a hyper 212 plus or this one...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181011

this one comes with two fans... so you don't have to buy another one...

 

[008Rohit]

Processor: Intel Core i5 2500k $219.99
HSF: CoolerMaster Hyper 212+ $27.99
Mobo: Asrock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 ATX $129.99
RAM: Gskill RipjawsX 2x4GB 1.5V CAS9 1600Mhz $54.99
GPU: EVGA SuperClocked 01G-P3-1567-KR GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 - $219.99
HDD: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 7200rpm $59.99 DVD: LG DVD R/W $18.99
Case: CoolerMaster HAF 922 $90
PSU: Antec NEO ECO 620C 620W Continuous Power - $49.99 (grab it!)

Total : $880 after rebates

* You can overclock the processor upto 4.5Ghz with the Hyper 212+ if you need. Basically turbo boost does its job pretty fine, still, if you are an enthusiast or freak then....

* I've saw the GTX 560Ti cruising over the HD 6950 in a few heavy games. The 6950 performs very well at high resolutions like 1080p though. The difference would be negligible at that res.

* Just your favourite case.

* The Antec Neo 620 for $49.99 would be a great buy for you. Grab it ASAP from newegg. (Oh wait! Does they ship to EU?)

* The mainboard offers PCIe 3.0 slots.

* The 1.5v ram is just the ideal one for Sandy Bridge.