Help me build <$1000 Sc2 Gaming Rig?

[Heinstar]

I'm currently building a dedicated Gaming Rig optimized for Sc2 and my budget is around $1000. I prefer to keep it under $1000 but it can go up to maximum of $1500 and doesn't matter how long my Gaming PC lasts if it's worth the money in the long run.

I'm going to use a single monitor in 1920x1080 resolution. And I'm going to play Sc2, DotA 2 and HoN majority of the time. I will also try out other games like LoL, Skyrim, Dragon Age II, GW 2, Tera, WoW and Diablo III.

I'm planning to buy these components:

CPU: Intel Core i5 2400 $195 – PCCG
Mobo: ASRock H61 U3S3 $77 – PCCG
RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3(1600?) $65 – PCCG
HDD: Samsung SpinPoint F3 1TB HD103SJ $54 - PCCG
GPU: MSI GeForce GTX 560 Ti Twin Frozr II OC 1GB $255 – PCCG
Case: Antec 300 $58 – PCCG
PSU: Antec Neo Eco 520W $69 – PCCG

Total: $773 + $74 shipping = $847

I'm trying to buy everything from this site: www.pccasegear.com so that my shipping fee will stay the same.

If I was to go for a Intel i5 2500K setup I'd need to pay at least extra $117:
Asrock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 $138 - $77 = $61
Coolermaster Universal Hyper 212+ $32 = $32
Intel Core i5 2500K $219 - $195 = $24
Total: $117 extra to go for Intel i5 2500K setup

So I don't see any reason for me to pay extra $117 to go for the 2500K setup since it would probably only last maximum of 1 year longer. But by then I would already be upgrading my 2400 to ivy which will be much more powerful than 2500K for a cheaper price.

It's a bit too under budget but:
1. this Gaming Rig should be sufficient for competitive Sc2 gaming.
2. my next upgrade will likely be GPU first then CPU. So I won't need to replace the Mobo, RAM, PSU or Case for a long time.
3. I can just upgrade to ivy bridge when 2400 becomes obsolete from the $117 that I saved.
4. It's only going to be played in 1920x1080 resolution on a single monitor.

So few questions:

1. Do you agree with this setup been cost effective? Or do you have suggestions for better components?

2. With this much saving I could probably shell out $117 to get 2500K but it's not worth it is it?

3. I keep hearing that i5 2400 is enough at least for competitive 1v1 match in Sc2. But will OCed 2500K give an slight advantage? It would be nice to have consistent 60+ fps during the whole match but does it help you play better? I decided not to get the 120hz monitor since I heard that 60 fps is enough for Sc2. How much fps is too low/unacceptable to be playing Sc2 competitively?

Any help is appreciated, cheers.

Note:
- I know that 1600 RAM won't benefit from H61 Mobo, but that's the only good value RAM I could find from PCCG. Do you think this one is better? G.Skill Ripjaws X F3-10666CL9D-8GBXL (2x4GB) DDR3(1333MHz) $55
- I'm getting 560Ti instead of HD6950 since I heard that Blizzard games performs much better on NVIDIA Graphics card.
- this Gaming Rig will only be used for gaming.

 

[pro-gamer]

the 2500k will give you happy performance than 2400 pay little more for 2500k setup

 

[jjb8675309]

^yeah spend the extra 20-30 bucks and get the 2500k or you will regret it, everything else looks good

I think you can do little bit better in the psu dept. but for 70 I think you can do a bit better

 

[jjb8675309]

the h61 boards just suck imo, not for a gaming rig even though the 2500k will run you more money overall Id still buy it, you dont even know if you will need a IB chip not to mention their price, personally Id get the 2500k ; although either will suffice

2400 or 2500k will both last a pretty long time for a gaming rig imo, at least a few years unless you are upgrade happy (like myself)

shoot for that matter my 955 sin my sig (check below) plays sc2 perfectly smooth at 1080p and ultra for the most part 60+

if you are a professional gaming you should no doubt get the i52500k and probably eventually gtx 560ti sli, at least thats what Id do if I was a "pro gamer"- just sayin

 

[jjb8675309]

how about this psu:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371044

you would be good for gtx 560ti sli if you so chose in the future

 

[Heinstar]

imo I think buying a single GPU is more cost effective since:
- needs cheaper PSU
- needs cheaper Case
- the next gen sweet spot cards will provide excellent value

As for going with 2500K, I saw this benchmark for Sc2: http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/core-i7-2600k-990x_9.html#sect2

1. It shows that 2500K at stock speed(3.3GHz) can get 51.4fps in 1680x1050 resolution.

2. It gets additional 18fps when it's OC to maximum of 4.7GHz in 1680x1050 resolution.

3. I'm guessing that the 2400(3.1Ghz) will be slightly worse than 2500K at stock speed(3.3GHz) so it would get like 50.7fps in 1680x1050 resolution.

So by paying extra $117, I'll probably get additional 20fps in Sc2 with OC 2500K. Do you still think this is a worthy upgrade?

 

[jjb8675309]

yes for sure, then stick with that and a single powerful gpu such as a gtx 560ti and up