First PC Build....Newbie here...

[RSTitleExaminer]

Approximate Purchase Date: Next couple of weeks

Budget Range: $1000 - $1200 before shipping (or taxes)

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Possible Home Theater PC, streaming/downloading movies, surfing the net, gaming...

Are you buying a monitor: No

Parts to Upgrade: All new parts.

Do you need to buy OS: Yes

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg.com, possibly local Micro Center down the street.

Location: Dallas, Texas, United States

Overclocking: Yes

SLI or Crossfire: No.

Your Monitor Resolution: Will be connecting my PC to my Panasonic P60ST50 plasma (1920 × 1080p)

Additional Comments: I'm just looking for a little advice on...

1) Lowering my cost by purchasing parts which may cost less, but be on par, or better than parts on my current build list, or

2) Get parts recommendations which perform better for the same price point as parts on my current build list.


And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: I replaced my motherboard and power supply on my old Dell Inspiron 545s, and added more RAM (from 6 to 8 GB) and my 3 year old machine is humming. I'm not at all PC gamer, but maybe I may give it a try if I put together a solid build. I also want something fairly future proof.

Here's my build list so far. The things I feel I need most help with is the video card, and power supply. I know I can buy a very cheap video card and play and stream movies just fine, but if I do take up the gaming habit, I don't want to be worrying that my $50 card can't handle strain. I went with something a little more pricey, but all suggestions will be welcome.

As for the power supply, I know I want something 80 plus certified, but not sure what brand to go with.

And I hope you folks are gentle....please remember, I'm a newb. Here we go:


SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 7770 GHz Edition 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card ( 11201-00-20G)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102967

Rosewill REDBONE Black SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147159

ASRock Z77 Pro4 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157296

Edit: Antec EarthWatts EA-650 GREEN 650W ATX12V v2.3 SLI Ready CrossFire Certified 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371044

Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 4000 BX80637I53570K

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116504

OCZ Agility 3 AGT3-25SAT3-120G 2.5" 120GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227726

Edited: Kingston HyperX Blu 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model KHX1600C9D3B1K2/8GX

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820104262

Seagate Barracuda STBD2000101 2TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.5" Internal Hard Drive

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148910

LITE-ON Black 12X BD-R 2X BD-RE 16X DVD+R 12X DVD-RAM 8X BD-ROM SATA 12X Blu-ray Burner with Blu Ray 3D Feature IHBS112-04 - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106369

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986

COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1 "Heatpipe Direct Contact" Long Life Sleeve 120mm CPU Cooler Compatible Intel Core i5 & Intel Core i7

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065

 

[TopMark]

Very nice build. I cant find anything wrong with it.

 

[geekapproved]

That psu is a horrible choice, it's not even bronze rated and very overpriced.

I'd recommend a quality 450-550w psu, at least 80+ bronze rated.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207013 This one is built by Seasonic and has a 5yr warranty.

You don't need 16GB of ram, 8GB is more than you'll use.

The weak link is definitely the video card, but if your not much of a gamer then it will do.

 

[RSTitleExaminer]

That psu is a horrible choice, it's not even bronze rated and very overpriced.

I'd recommend a quality 450-550w psu, at least 80+ bronze rated.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207013 This one is built by Seasonic and has a 5yr warranty.

You don't need 16GB of ram, 8GB is more than you'll use.

The weak link is definitely the video card, but if your not much of a gamer then it will do.

The PSU I chose was based on probably needing more wattage down the road because of adding more hard drives, other components, overclocking, etc....

Forgive my ignorance, but will 550w get me by?

As for the RAM, I think I'll go with 8. All the research I've done says I don't need more, and I guess I should avoid being the guy who says he has 16 gigs for the sake of having 16 gigs. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[geekapproved]

That computer will pull probably 225w. You have plenty of room for upgrades.

I'm running 7850 (110w) with a i3 (65w) on a 380w psu. I was running HD5850 (150w) and I plan on upgrading to a Ivy Bridge Quad (77w) soon.

My calculations are that with a Ivy quad and my 7850 my pc pulls around 225w.

When you upgrade cpu's and gpu's these days, they require less power than your old one, not the other way around unless your going from very low end to very high end.

A 550w gives you plenty of room for overclocking and a gpu upgrade. Since your not even a gamer, I doubt your going to go out and buy the highest end most power hungry video card on the market, and even if you do, by then it will be much more efficient than todays cards.