Gaming build to replace my 5 year old rig

[moneyjacket]

I've been researching components for a few weeks now and I think I've got a solid list here, but I figured why not let the experts offer their advice before I throw down $1200. So here it is.

ViewSonic VX2453mh 24inch monitor $199.99

MSI GTX 560ti $249.99

Corsair 650w Enthusiast $89.99

Asus P8P67 PRO REV $164.99

Kingston 8GB DDR3 1600mhz $54.99

Western Digital 500GB Caviar Black $99.99

Cooler Master Hyper 212+ $24.99

Intel Core i5 2500k $219.99

Cooler Master Storm Enforcer ATX Mid Tower Case $72.99

Total comes to $1177.91
$30 in mail in rebates brings it to $1147.91

I look forward to seeing what a much more experience builder thinks about my proposed build. The cooler doesn't say it fits an 1155 socket, but I read that 1156 and 1155 are interchangeable as far as coolers go, I've also seen others using this cooler on the i5 2500k. The other thing I'm curious about is if I could benefit from a similar priced p8pz68 mobo, from what I understand the z68 just supports onboard graphics which wouldn't help me at all.

 

[nofun]

Make sure you include the OS in your calculations if you need to buy a new copy of windows.

 

[moneyjacket]

good call, thanks for the reminder

 

[casualbuilder]

Asrock makes a P67 GEN 3 MoBo i believe for $125, very good MoBo, as they are the sister company to ASUS.

I would upgrade your case to a full tower if you could. It allows for bigger HSF's and larger gpu's. cooler master makes a HAF 932 series if you like their style, or AZZA 1000 series is a decent case. I believe

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146054

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811517004

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146073

These are all good cases, and will allow you some very good breathing room for future purchases. With the MoBo i suggested, you should have the headroom to stay within budget.

Lastly, i would recommend upgrading to the EVO version of the Hyper 212+. If you dont mind noise, the Thermaltake Frio OCK 0575 is a beast!.

 

[vx53c]

I too believe you should either go AsRock or wait for gen3 on asus. AsRock have extreme4 gen3 and extreme3 gen3 on both p67 and z68. Personally i would go for the z68.
viewsonic is "ok" asus and samsung even better.
If you are not going to OC your cpu hard the hyper 212 is alright. If you want to reach magic 5k or somewhere close to that consider a better cooler. My favorite being the Xigmatek Aegir

 

[vx53c]

Also while buying a new computer you simply can't ignore the ssd. it is a practically a crime. From a 30giga even if just for caching or actually bootup drive, you surely wont regret it.

 

[casualbuilder]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236102

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236117 My Choice

 

[casualbuilder]

I would like to see him upgrade to a better gpu before an SSD. SSD's really have no bearing on gaming, and the benefits of an ssd over a GTX580 in gaming are non existant.

Keeping that in mind though, the Crucial M4 is the best out there, and a good price. you can get a 128GB for $200. Again, over a 7200rpm drive, its not worth it to sacrifice your gpu for this in a gaming rig.

 

[vx53c]

It also depends on the games they are going to play. For instance an mmo will load faster each level at each zoning. I also enjoy faster load times in games i die or i have to save/load constantly. What casualbuilder mentions rings true, but i really find it a shame to build a new rig for 1000$ or more and leave an ssd out of it.

Other than that, ye, get a better gfx card before considering a big ssd. Maybe the gtx 580 is an overkill for a budget and a 6950 will do nicely.

 

[casualbuilder]

very true about OverKill vx53c, however, we have to remember too that this is not just tower specific parts. He has $300 coming out solely for monitor and OS. So, really, its just a $900 budget. Very tight imo for any GTX5xx or SSD. I would look at going with a 6950 like stated above, and possibly an SSD if you can squeeze it, but probably not.

 

[nordlead]

Asrock makes a P67 GEN 3 MoBo i believe for $125, very good MoBo, as they are the sister company to ASUS.

The $125 board is the Z68 Extreme3 Gen3. They have a Extreme4 gen3 for both P67 around $160, and Z68 around $200 or so. I haven't received my Extreme3 Gen3 yet, but it seems to have all the features I need (SLI, Overclocking, USB3.0, SATAIII, and so forth).

From a purely gaming standpoint, the Z chipset has no benefits. However, if you transcode video, or want to use the SSD caching the Z chipset is worth it.

As for the SSD, while I can appreciate their benefits and really want one, I think they are way to expensive still. The only ones that I think are affordable are typically the ones with issues that newegg is clearing out (they all seem to have 2 eggs).

 

[casualbuilder]

i would agree with you on Price to Performance benefit on the SSD. a good 7200rpm with 64Mb cache is plenty fast enough, especially if 2 are in a RAID0 configuration. SSD's need to come a lot closer to the $0.85/GB ratio for me to even think about spending $200 on an SSD.

 

[moneyjacket]

Thanks for all the feedback. So maybe I will go with the Asrock gen3 z68, it's almost $40 cheaper than the one I have listed and it sounds like it can utilize a SSD better. I don't think I will buy the SSD right off the bat, but probably in a month or two. The 23" Acer monitor looks like a solid buy as well, and saves me another 20 bucks. I'm planning on overclocking but I don't feel the need to push towards 5k, I would be willing to put the $60 savings into a better cooler and bigger case. The xigmatek aegir is almost $70 and I'm not planning to overclock to the extreme, maybe I could find a cooler somewhere in between the aegir and hyper 212. Looking at 560ti vs 6950, they look pretty equal. Would you suggest going with the 2gb 6950? looks like it would be 20 bucks more than the 560ti if I go with XFX, I had a good experience dealing with XFX on my build 5 years ago.

I do like to play mmo's. I also like shooters, real time strategy, and rpg's.

Thanks for the help.

 

[vx53c]

As recently revealed 1 or 2 gb on the 6950 don't matter unless you wish to unlock it into a 6970. Thing is, even if you would unlock, just OCing it as 6950 is faster.
560ti is good, pretty much en-par with the 6950 but not really. This debate is long and fanboys of each brand will support the strengths of each card. Personally i like the 6950. Newer, cooler, great overclocker.

 

[moneyjacket]

Best answer selected by moneyjacket.