First Time Gaming Rig Build Advice

[jddudes]

Hello everyone, this will be my first time building a gaming pc. I won't be doing the physical build, but was thinking to get a experienced friend do it for me. I compiled a list of hardware from Newegg and have been doing some of my own research on high-rated hardware great for gaming and just overall great performance. My budget cannot go over $1250 and I am looking for a high-performance gaming computer setup. I would like to know if the selected hardware would be a good choice, the pros, the cons, and compatibility of hardware all together. I would like my first build to be wise and lasting. Thank you.
Here is my list:

- RAIDMAX Raptor ATX-823BR Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

- ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM

- Seagate Barracuda ST31000524AS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

- EVGA 02G-P4-2680-KR GeForce GTX 680 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

- SeaSonic S12II 620 Bronze 620W ATX12V V2.3 / EPS 12V V2.91 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply

- G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL

- GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-D3H LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

- Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 3000 BX80623I52500K

- COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1 "Heatpipe Direct Contact" Long Life Sleeve 120mm CPU Cooler Compatible with Intel 1366/1155/775 and AMD FM1/FM2/AM3+

=Grand Total: $1,170.56

 

[J_E_D_70]

I'd get the evo over the 212+.

Might look elsewhere for a case. I had a raidmax last time and it was junk. Look at antec, corsair, HAF.

Can save some by getting 95% of the performance at 75% of the price by going 670. Or get a 7970 and free games.

 

[scragnoff]

Hi jddudes!

Take a look at the Excellent and Oustanding Tiers at Logical Increments. The link can be found at my signature below. The Excellent Tier totals to $1043 and the Oustanding Tier totals to $1198.

Both tiers also have SSDs which can greatly improve your system's performance.

 

[jddudes]

I'd get the evo over the 212+.

Might look elsewhere for a case. I had a raidmax last time and it was junk. Look at antec, corsair, HAF.

Can save some by getting 95% of the performance at 75% of the price by going 670. Or get a 7970 and free games.

That is very true, the 670 isn't much slower and possesses only a little less performance compared to the 670. I probably would not go with AMD video cards, just my specification. I haven't fancied AMD video cards much. As for the 670, it would be a good option to look at. Will I get much less performance with a 670, possibly EVGA, with my setup compared to the setup with a 680? Regarding the case, the case is fairly new and the reviews seem great. The only issue is some plastic around the front seems to be flimsy to some. Will look into other cases. Do you have any in mind with great looks, similar price, and relaible? Thank you.

 

[jddudes]

Hi jddudes!

Take a look at the Excellent and Oustanding Tiers at Logical Increments. The link can be found at my signature below. The Excellent Tier totals to $1043 and the Oustanding Tier totals to $1198.

Both tiers also have SSDs which can greatly improve your system's performance.

Thanks for the reply. I have looked into this chart. I want to say it is the Falcon Guide. I did look into the second to last tier and kind of went by those guidelines with my choice of hardware. The price is lower than the second to last tier, most likely because I did not select the exact tier options.

 

[jddudes]

Hi jddudes!

Take a look at the Excellent and Oustanding Tiers at Logical Increments. The link can be found at my signature below. The Excellent Tier totals to $1043 and the Oustanding Tier totals to $1198.

Both tiers also have SSDs which can greatly improve your system's performance.

I was also considering going with a HDD with 1 TB or so because of lower prices and a good amount of space and a SSD to boot from. Would that be a good option? Thank you.

 

[scragnoff]

Yes, that would be a great combination - the SSD for the OS and applications, and the HDD for documents and other media, like videos and music files.

 

[jddudes]

Yes, that would be a great combination - the SSD for the OS and applications, and the HDD for documents and other media, like videos and music files.

Would a 64GB SSD be big enough to run the operating system and applications? I was looking at a:

ADATA Premier Pro SP900 ASP900S3-64GM-C 2.5" 64GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

 

[J_E_D_70]

It would hold windows, office, and a few other smaller programs. Need to leave open space as much as possible.