Gaming Build Advice for a first time builder

[Dr Clockworks]

Hello, everyone! As the title of this thread reads, I am needing some help with my build.

Purchase Date: As of right now I am planning on purchasing every part of the build during the second week in January.

Budget: I'd like to keep it at $1000.00 but if it seems like this isn't enough then I can go a little higher. So I'd cap it off at $1,200.00

System Usage: It will almost be entirely for gaming. The only games I won't play on it will be FPS. I'd rather play FPS games on a console. The majority of games that I will be playing will be MMORPG games, such as Star Wars: The Old Republic and Guild Wars 2. A few RPG games, such as Skyrim and The Witcher 2. And a few other games with interesting multiplayer like LoL and DoTa 2. I know that The Old Republic and Guild Wars 2 haven't been released yet so I guess with MMORPG games the most difficult to run as of right now would be Rift? I've been out of PC gaming for quite a while now so I'm not really sure.

Parts Not Required: Mouse, Keyboard, Speakers. The OS will be Win7 home 64 bit.

Country: United States

Parts Preference: I have almost no preference as of right now. I've been back and forth between AMD and Intel for the past 3 months that I feel that I really don't have a clue.

Preferred website: I'd really like to get everything from Newegg. I live in a very rural community so there are no retail shops that I know of where I could buy any of my components. Other than a Best Buy but from what I looked at they didn't have much of a selection of anything.

Overclocking: Maybe for the CPU but I won't OC anything else.

SLI/Crossfire: Maybe in the near future. But for now I am only looking to use one card.

Monitor Resolution: 1680x1050

Comments: I really want a large case. Plenty of room for future upgrades, fans, and a nice window to view it all. So far the Cooler Master HAF X is what I'm set on at the moment. If anyone has any opinions on it or a better case please do say so. Multiple large fans and LED's are a must. I do love my flashy lights.

I pretty much need advice on every component. I understand what each part does and I understand what most of the details on each component mean but since this is my first build I really don't know anything in terms of build quality or performance from certain brands as compared to others.

I really appreciate any help that I can get on this subject! Please let me know if I left anything important out or you may just ask!

 

[Dr Clockworks]

No, there isn't even one in my state.

 

[cutebeans]

This is really easy! Wait a bit.

 

[Dr Clockworks]

Yes, sir!

 

[cutebeans]

i5-2500k $215
http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=57962&vpn=BX80623I52500K&manufacture=Intel&promoid=1368

Asrock Extreme3 Gen3 $125
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271&Tpk=z68%20asrock%20extreme3%20gen3

G.Skill Ripjaws (2x4gb) 8gb $30
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231428

HIS 6870 $170
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161389

Seagate Barracuda 500gb $90
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000EY5F5C/ref=s9_simh_gw_p147_d0_g147_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=157WT8WBW0Q2G0A56H0Z&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846

Samsung DVD Burner $19
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151236

Antec 650w $74
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371044

+ Power Cord $6 since the Antec doesn't come with one
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812270406

HAF 932 $140 *Newegg Exclusive*
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119213

or this HAF 932 $160
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119160

CM Hyper 212 Evo $34 (Best Cooler for the price)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099

$903 before rebates after shipping. Do you need a wireless card or anything?

This will play any MMO at max. I would have suggested a better GPU but with your resolution, you will find no problems maxing most of the games out right now.

EDIT: Added the Antec 650w for SLI support of two 6870s.

 

[Dr Clockworks]

Wow, that was a very quick response! Thank you very much Cutebeans. If you don't mind, could you tell me why you chose each part? I'm very eager to learn as much as I can from other builders since this is my first time. How do you think this would fair in very crowded cities/towns/dungeons?

Is that HDD a 6.0Gb/s or 3.0Gb/s?

 

[Emelth]

^+1

Since you plan to OC get the Hyper 212+ or Hyper 212 EVO ($25-$35)

If you want to add another GPU get a 650W PSU (700W if you want a little more headroom) [Antec EarthWatts for $69, you will need to buy the power cable for it, but it only cost less than $10]
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371044

Any $20 ROM drive or go blu-ray if you want.

Should bring you to a little less than 1k.

Another option for you to look at could be this bundle deal but its not a Full Tower like you requested but your getting a 1TB HDD, a little better motherboard, and the same amount of RAM.

All you would need to do is grab a ROM drive and a GPU which will still keep you under 1k unless you want to buy 2 GPUs which should put you below 1.2k mark

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.755265&cm_sp=DIY_PC_Combos-_-755265-_-Combo

$633 for this bundle, add a ROM ($20), which will bring it to around $653. That give you enough to grab two 6870s if you wanted to or a single 560 Ti (however you would need to up your PSU to a 750W if you want ot SLI it for future reference)

 

[Emelth]

Wow that got editted faster then I thought

 

[cutebeans]

It's 3.0GB/s Don't worry, it doesn't offer much difference with the Sata 6.0Gb/s .

The i5-2500k is one of the best CPU atm right now for gaming.
Asrock Extreme3 Gen3 is a good board with good OC capabilities and supports crossfire at dual 8x which is pretty good.

I chose the 6870 since it is one of the best bang for buck GPU. I would have suggested a better card but seeing your monitor resolution is 1680 x 1050 ( which is a great resolution btw). You don't need the higher cards as you won't be playing too much demanding games. You will play every MMO at MAX.

The Antec 650w will be capable of supporting OC and crossfiring of 2 6870. Added a power cord because antec earthwatts doesn't come with one.

HAF 932 is a huge monster of a case and more or less the same with the HAF X with a few features missing of The HAF X but it's still one of the best FULL size tower.

CM Hyper Evo is one of the best cooler right now. You can get your i5-2500k to 4.5ghz easily.

HDD and DVD Burner is the cheapest you can buy. Don't worry though, it's still a great quality HDD and DVD drive for the price.

 

[cutebeans]

Wow that got editted faster then I thought

 

[Dr Clockworks]

Wow.. this page filled up insanely fast. Much faster than my expectations.

What do you guys think in terms of Crossfire with that card? Too much overkill, maybe? And how about RAM? I've always been told that going over 8GB is overkill because most of it beyond that won't be used but perhaps I'm wrong?

 

[Emelth]

hahah

 

[Emelth]

Many of us here debate wether or not to get 8GB vs 4GB. RAM doesnt make a difference in "gaming" but the prices are so cheap that if you can afford it why not just grab it then for later on cause you never know what know when your gonna need it.

 

[Dr Clockworks]

Ahh, I see. Oh, Cutebeans, do you think that you could try and find the parts that aren't listed on Newegg on their website? I'd much rather buy all of my parts from the same place so I can hope to get them all in the same shipment.

Also, does anyone have any opinion on what they might think is a better case than the Cooler Master HAF 932 Advanced?

 

[Emelth]

A case that beats the HAF will be pretty hard to find for its price but what exactly are you wanting to see on your case?

 

[Emelth]

Oh you can get the i5 2500k on Newegg but it will be a little bit more expensive ($10 or so)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072

Edited: added link

 

[custombuild]

Always go for the overkill on the ram why?

ok here goes i have a 24gig set on my 980x why ok, well heres my most simple comment yet, are computers not ment to multi task the more memory the more you can multi task that i5 and the better overall proforance you should get from your cpu ensure dual channel on each channel wheteher its sets of 1gig 2 gig or 4 gig single channel is for bums.

overkill its the 21st century look at most of our computers on these forums 🙂

 

[Dr Clockworks]

Well, like I said in my first post, I really want tons of room and plenty of enormous fans. Those were the main reasons I went for the HAF X. I still might just go with the HAF X because.. well It's beautiful. Windows and lights are preferred. Haha, I hope I don't sound so childish with wanting to get a flashy computer case but since it's my first build I really want to impress and remember this for a very long time.

Plus, since I live in such a rural community, if you have a computer that has a very fancy outlook and you built it yourself.. well, you are looked on as a genius. I'm not saying that this is what I am trying to achieve in building this but I would looooove to see peoples reactions.

 

[Emelth]

Trust me a case is the most important part of the build to the person cause for us builders we want to show it off 😛 so we know and dont worry about it the HAF X is a great case as well I love blue LEDs so I stick with cases that have them even when I'm making builds for others unless the specifically ask for a different color

 

[Dr Clockworks]

I haven't really been able to decide on weather I would like to have Blue or Red LED's. Haha, possibly even purple. How long do you believe this build would last me in years?

 

[Emelth]

Always go for the overkill on the ram why?

ok here goes i have a 24gig set on my 980x why ok, well heres my most simple comment yet, are computers not ment to multi task the more memory the more you can multi task that i5 and the better overall proforance you should get from your cpu ensure dual channel on each channel wheteher its sets of 1gig 2 gig or 4 gig single channel is for bums.

overkill its the 21st century look at most of our computers on these forums 🙂

I'm happy for you to have so much RAM, most of us that are here every day helpping people out with builds debate every month or so on RAM. I was the most recent that I can recall of that posted a new topic about it. But its a waste of money for those of us who dont NEED it, which makes it pointless. We would much rather put it towards a better GPU or CPU.

 

[Emelth]

I haven't really been able to decide on weather I would like to have Blue or Red LED's. Haha, possibly even purple. How long do you believe this build would last me in years?

Depends on the games that come out I would say 2-3 years with adding/upgrading GPUs.

 

[Dr Clockworks]

As of now, I really can't think of any other games that would come out during 2012 other than Guild Wars 2. So I think I'm safe with this build for at least 2 years.. so that's great.

Could you guys tell me what makes this motherboard a great decision for this build?

Edit: The reason I ask this is because the one thing that I struggled with the most in deciding my components in earlier forms of my first build was the Motherboard. All I ever found were mixed reviews and I really didn't know who to listen to.

 

[Emelth]

Z68 motherboards are the best of two different types of motherboards (the H67 and the P67)

Its got two PCEI 3.0 connections (3.0 is new)
Is got two USB 3.0 as well, eight total USB 2.0 slots, and 1 eSata slot

More expensive boards would just have either more USB 3.0, and more PCIE 3.0 slots

 

[cutebeans]

You can buy all of the parts listed at newegg .

I just chose cheaper shops online. The i5-2500k is sold out though.