First Time ~$1000 Build, How did I do?

[TheTrain]

I already have what I believe to be a decent build picked out, I just wanted some advice on how it looks to be for the cost. I was aiming to be able to play Skyrim on Ultra with Graphics mods installed on pretty smoothly(30+ FPS), will this do that or something close?

I am also wondering if there is a certain time of the year prices of some computer components tend to drop in price?

Approximate Purchase Date: Early August

Budget Range: $900-1100(may go $1200 if it is significantly better) USD Before

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming/Watching T.V. and Movies->Web surfing. I want a gaming rig that can double as my main movie/tv watching center(Probably just watching Netflix/Hulu/other streaming sites not hooked up to cable).

Parts Not Required: just a wireless mouse I already have....

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: I've used Newegg/Amazon quite a bit and feel comfortable with those, but not to worried about using other websites so long as they're reliable to get a part for cheap. Also live relatively close to a Microcenter so I can go there to pick up some parts

Country: U.S.A.

Parts Preferences: No real preference except for the case I have selected in my build below

Overclocking: Maybe in the future, I liked to have the option

SLI or Crossfire: No

Monitor Resolution: The higher the better! I don't have one I can use currently so the 1920 x 1080 I have picked out seems enough for me
Additional Comments: (e.g.: Need to have a window and lots of bling, I would like a quiet PC)

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PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($121.50 @ Newegg)
Memory: Patriot Signature 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($42.99 @ Newegg)
Hard Drive: Samsung Spinpoint F3 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Hard Drive: OCZ Agility 3 60GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($44.99 @ Microcenter)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7850 2GB Video Card ($239.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Cooler Master Storm Scout ATX Mid Tower Case ($68.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Corsair 550W ATX12V Power Supply ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Monitor: Acer S231HLbid 23.0" Monitor ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (64-bit) ($98.99 @ B&H)
Keyboard: Lite-On SK-1788/BS Wired Standard Keyboard ($14.97 @ Newegg)
Total: $1112.38
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)

 

[loops]

seems fine, some dont care for the SSD you picked.

You could get a lil nutty and pull off a 670 but that would not be "balanced."

 

[Ironslice]

You forgot an Optical Drive
I don't like that PSU; too expensive and not better than a CX600 V2.
RAM doesn't have good reviews, get this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231461
Keyboard is kind of meh, but if you don't mind, then go for it.

Other than that, looks good

 

[starburst]

First off, i wanted to mention amazon's dumb shipping fees. I was looking to get that gpu off amazon too because it was a little cheaper, but then i went to see how much they were going to charge me for taxes (even though its free shipping) and it came to be like $20 in taxes. So just watch out for that. Second of all i went and saw if that memory would match the motherboard (since i am looking to get the same mb for my build) and it wasnt recommended by asrock. (http://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/Z77%20Extreme4/?cat=Memory) just match the model numbers of the ram you selected with a listed model number on that page to see what matches with what. The ram suggested above is recommended for this board.

One last thing, a 60gb ssd really ain't going to do you much good. The memory will go by so fast. The most games you can fit on there is about 7 or 8. I would just wait till you get the money for a 128gb or more.

 

[TheTrain]

Thanks for the better RAM card recommendations guys.

You forgot an Optical Drive
I don't like that PSU; too expensive and not better than a CX600 V2.
RAM doesn't have good reviews, get this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231461
Keyboard is kind of meh, but if you don't mind, then go for it.

Other than that, looks good

I just picked a basic keyboard that was cheap and would work. Thanks for the PSU recommendation saved me $30

Also I don't really think I'll need an optical drive, all the games I have can be digitally downloaded and I have a laptop that already has all my music and such on it that I won't feel like moving over which I'll continue to use for school.

One last thing, a 60gb ssd really ain't going to do you much good. The memory will go by so fast. The most games you can fit on there is about 7 or 8. I would just wait till you get the money for a 128gb or more.

Thank you for the advice. The reason i went with the small 60GB SSD was mainly just to install my OS on and possibly web browser. From what I understand writing to an SSD many times isn't good. Would that mean it is better to keep the same few games on it for a long period of time rather than changing the games that are on it every month or so to go with what I'm playing right? Is the amount of "damage" done by this behaving negligible for the most part?

 

[mousseng]

Just a quick note on the Corsair CX600: the Corsair CX-V2 (and GS) series of power supplies are based off of a PSU platform by CWT called DSA. DSA is not as good as the Seasonic S12 that the original CX-V1 line was based off of, but it's not far behind (it's pretty good). The thing is, the DSA platform only reaches a maximum of 500W maximum output - so this "600W" Corsair PSU is actually a 500W PSU.

It'll still do you fine, but you'll be pushing it a bit. If you've got the budget for it, you could get this power supply or this one. Both are rebranded Seasonic units - top notch.

The reason you're going to want an optical drive is so you can install Windows 7, by the way. You can get your drivers and such off the internet, but you'll need the disc for W7.

Also on the SSD, if you're just looking to speed up your PC's overall responsiveness, a small boot drive will do just fine. You won't have much room left on it (and apparently filling it up all the way can slow it down?), but it'll still make things snappier. The "damage" done to them by rewrites are pretty much negligible now - sure, over the years it'll get slower, but it's not going to explode.

 

[TheTrain]

Jthis one.

Cool, that PSU might actually save me a little bit of money since its 15% right now. And there's also the MIR which would be a nice little present if it worked.

Also, what do you mean by a small boot drive? Just a small 32GB SSD?

Any cheap reccomendations for an optical drive?

 

[mousseng]

Also, what do you mean by a small boot drive? Just a small 32GB SSD?

Nah, I mean that 60GB. You're not gonna get much more than W7 and a few apps on that thing.

Any cheap reccomendations for an optical drive?

How about this one? It seems popular. Not sure what's giving me that idea, though.

 

[TheTrain]

Haha thanks for that. And that's what I was intending with the 60GB SSD, at least untill they're get super cheap in the hopefully-not-so-distant future

 

[loops]

After messing around with your budget, It really is a balanced rig. Only counter I could think of was this, but gives up some things to get a 7950. For the sake of it:

newegg:
1

SAMSUNG 22X DVD Burner SATA Model SH-222BB/BEBE - OEM
Item #: N82E16827151244
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy


$14.99
1

NZXT Source 210 S210-001 Black “Aluminum Brush / Plastic” ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Item #: N82E16811146075
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy


$39.99
1

Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKX 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Item #: N82E16822136769
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
-$10.00 Instant


$84.99
$74.99
1

Acer S231HLbid Black 23" 5ms HDMI LED-Backlight LCD monitor Slim Design
Item #: N82E16824009255
Return Policy: Monitor Standard Return Policy
-$60.00 Instant


$199.99
$139.99
1

Antec BP550 Plus 550W Continuous Power ATX12V V2.2 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply
Item #: N82E16817371016
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
-$30.00 Instant


$79.99
$49.99
1

IMC IMC-black USB 2.0 Card Reader
Item #: N82E16820717001
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
-$9.99 Saving


$9.99
$0.00
1

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM
Item #: N82E16832116986
Return Policy: Software Standard Return Policy


$99.99
1


GIGABYTE GV-R795WF3-3GD Radeon HD 7950 3GB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
Item #: N82E16814125414
Return Policy: VGA Standard Return Policy
Patriot Gamer 2 Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model PGD38G1600ELK
Item #: N82E16820220558
Return Policy: Memory Standard Return Policy
-$12.00 Combo


$413.98
$401.98
1

AMD Gift - AMD Gaming Evolved Three For Free Coupon
Item #: N82E16800995122
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
-$99.99 Saving


$99.99
$0.00
1


Intel Core i5-3450 Ivy Bridge 3.1GHz (3.5GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 2500 BX80637I53450
Item #: N82E16819116506
Return Policy: CPU Replacement Only Return Policy
BIOSTAR TZ77B LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS
Item #: N82E16813138352
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
-$20.00 Instant
-$12.00 Combo


$309.98
$277.98
Subtotal: $1,099.90

Hay, on the upside it comes w/ 3 games http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16800995122