First time builder, $1000 - $1500 gaming desktop

[nuke1986]

Hello everyone,

I've always bought premade systems and have recently realized how much money i wasted doing this. Thus i am finally going to bite the bullet, spend a few hours googling and put one together myself:

Approximate Purchase Date: tomorrow hopefully

Budget Range: $1000 - $1500

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, internet

Parts Not Required: keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, OS)

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg.com

Country of Origin: USA

Parts Preferences: No preference

Overclocking: Maybe

SLI or Crossfire: No

Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080 or 1920x1200

Additional Comments: N/A


Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072

EVGA 012-P3-1570-AR GeForce GTX 570 (Fermi) 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130593

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231314

Western Digital Caviar Black WD1502FAEX 1.5TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136793

LG CD/DVD Burner Black SATA Model GH22NS70 OEM - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136238

Corsair Enthusiast Series TX750 V2 750W ATX12V v2.31/ EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC High Performance Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139021

As for the mobo i am pretty sure the Z68 is the best choice for me but there is a $100 range between these 3 models and i have no idea what the difference is or what i need...

GIGABYTE GA-Z68A-D3H-B3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128502

GIGABYTE GA-Z68XP-UD3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128512

ASUS P8Z68-V PRO LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131730


And please forgive me in advance for the stupidity of these questions....

1) Are all these parts compatible?
2) Is the PSU large enough?
3) Do i need to get any cables to connect any of the components or will they be included?
4) Any glaring omissions? Important parts i will need that are not on the list?
5) Do i need any type of network card?
6) Will this system be compatible with a 3d monitor and the nvidia glasses?
7) Should i add a sound card if i will be playing with surround sound headphones almost all the time?

Obviously i know i will need a case but assume that any full size tower will work with just about anything so i more concerned with getting the right components. But if anyone knows a relatively cheap one with good ventilation/cooling feel free to suggest it.

Thank you all very much in advance for the help, it is much appreciated.

 

[aznshinobi]

Check out my $1000 build here:
http://www.squidoo.com/electronicandmore
Now you may say that you don't want to SLI/CF now, but later on it'll be benefitial so always leave that option open. As for the reason for the 560 Ti TFII OC I suggest. It performs at the level of the 570 but for cheaper.
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/graphics/2011/01/27/msi-geforce-gtx-560-ti-1gb-review/1

 

[chesteracorgi]

Yes the components are compatible.
No you do not need more power.
I recommend that you add an SSD.
The WD Caviar Black is a good drive, but if you go SSD I'd opt for a cheaper green drive (Samsung or Hitachi) for storage.
Plan to pay extra for a 3D monitor.
Cables should be included with the mobo but if not they are cheap.
You shoud get an aftermarket CPU cooler.
I recommend the Corsair Graphite 600T case.
No network card is needed because a LAN should be on board the mobo.
I recommend a sound card to take the stress off the CPU & mobo.

 

[genghiskron]

yet another opinion: $1500 is enough for a complete build with i5-2500k, 2x hd6950 2gb / gtx 560 ti, and a 128gb SSD. And thats how id do it. Id be happy to provide a detailed build if interested.

 

[g-unit1111]

No you still wouldn't come close to that, you'd need about $2K for that build but here's a detailed one if this suits:

Case: Corsair Carbide Series 400R - $99.99
PSU: Corsair Enthusiast Series TX-750 V2 - $104.99
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD3P - $179.99
CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K - $219.99
Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212+ - $29.99
RAM: 16GB Kingston Hyper X Gray PC 1600MHz (4 x 4GB) - $54.99 each ($104.99)
SSD: 128GB Crucial M4 - $227.99
HD: Seagate Barracuda 2TB - $139.99
Video Card: 2X XFX Radeon 6950 2GB - $249.99 each ($499.98)
Optical: Lite-On 12X Blu-Ray Burner - $79.99
Keyboard / Mouse: Logitech MX520 - $49.99
OS: Windows 7 Professional - $139.99
Monitor: Asus VE247H - $179.99

Total: $2117.83

 

[nuke1986]

Thanks for all the help everyone, I am definitely narrowing it down but i have just a few more questions...

First of all, I will be going with an ssd drive in addition to the HDD.

As for the gpu, i would love to go with an ati because of the performance to price ratio but gaming in 3d is an essential to me, so i have to go nvidia i believe. Correct me if i'm wrong.

Also i definitely see that the 560 ti sli is the better choice over the single 570 but now im wondering something else. The 560 ti is priced at $205, whereas the 560 is priced at $165, so i have 2 questions:

Is the ti version worth the extra cost? Also is a gigabyte or MSI card just as good as an EVGA even though they're cheaper?

Additionally, is 750W still enough power now that im going SLI?

And just one last thing. I believe the z68 is the mobo im going to go with but the problem is there are like 8 different variations to choose from ranging from $110 to $250. I think i figured out that x16/x8 is better than x16/x4 cause the 2nd card runs faster or something like that right right? But other than that the only difference i see is the more expensive ones say UEFI BIOS instead of touch BIOS. So what do u guys think would be better suited to my needs, between these 3 for instance, since i obviously dont want to spend more if something cheaper is all i need (the first one has 3 pci slots unlike most of the more expensive ones which i thought was weird.)

GIGABYTE GA-Z68A-D3H-B3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128512&cm_sp=Pers_StoreTopSellerMore-_-13-128-512_8_TS_-_-1_20_13-128-512__

GIGABYTE GA-Z68XP-UD3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128512&cm_sp=Pers_StoreTopSellerMore-_-13-128-512_8_TS_-_-1_20_13-128-512__

ASUS P8Z68 Deluxe LGA 1155 Intel Z68 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131753&cm_sp=Pers_StoreTopSellerMore-_-13-131-753_22_TS_-_-1_20_13-128-512__