First Time Build

[Falcitone787]

Hello, I am looking to build myself a high-end gaming computer this holiday season. It will be used heavily for gaming with some light web browsing and writing papers mixed in. I am most interested in getting best possible gaming performance out of this build. I will be playing a wide variety of games such as Diablo 3, Skyrim(with mods), Battlefield 3, Starcraft 2, The Witcher 2, Xcom-Enemy Unknown, League of Legends, Crysis 2, Amnesia The Dark Descent, and possibly Assassin's Creed 3(depending on what the resolution and fps it will get on xbox 360 with the new engine). Can anyone come up with a build that includes all the hardware, a good OS, and a monitor for under $1600? Thank you for your help.

 

[AntiZig]

On a side note, out of the games you've listed the only ones that require significant hardware are BF3, SC2, Witcher 2 and Crysis 2 with dx11.

Here's something, I'm putting toghether almost identical build for myself.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($24.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($134.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Kingston 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($46.97 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($89.93 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 830 Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($104.98 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card ($349.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: NZXT Source 210 Elite (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling Silencer MK III 600W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($69.33 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NS90 DVD/CD Writer ($15.99 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Dell U2312HM 23.0" Monitor ($245.41 @ Mac Connection)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (64-bit) ($91.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1444.55
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

Obviously, if you don't like the case you can replace with anything that will fit hyper 212 height. Also, as you got about $150 to spare, you could also upgrade to 680 if you wish.

 

[Falcitone787]

On a side note, out of the games you've listed the only ones that require significant hardware are BF3, SC2, Witcher 2 and Crysis 2 with dx11.

Here's something, I'm putting toghether almost identical build for myself.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($24.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($134.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Kingston 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($46.97 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($89.93 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 830 Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($104.98 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card ($349.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: NZXT Source 210 Elite (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling Silencer MK III 600W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($69.33 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NS90 DVD/CD Writer ($15.99 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Dell U2312HM 23.0" Monitor ($245.41 @ Mac Connection)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (64-bit) ($91.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1444.55
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

Obviously, if you don't like the case you can replace with anything that will fit hyper 212 height. Also, as you got about $150 to spare, you could also upgrade to 680 if you wish.

I like this build you have posted for the most part. A few things though. The monitor you posted has an 8ms response time, will that not cause ghosting in team fights In LoL and Battle sequences in BF3?. Is 23in for a single gaming monitor a good size?(could/should I go bigger?). Lastly, I have read that the difference between the gtx 670 and the gtx 680 is quite small, and for the money the gtx 670 seems to be the better choice. P.S. Thank you for your help

 

[AntiZig]

I'm playing dota2 on that monitor with no ghosting.

You can go bigger, but the resolution will be bigger than 1920x1080, plus once you're above 23" the prices take a very steep turn

 

[Falcitone787]

Best answer selected by Falcitone787.