My first new build in about 10 years

[djosbun]

Hello all-
I started building systems in 1999, but have been using a laptop for the past bunch of years. My son, who is 10, uses my work Dell i3 that I bring home on the weekends (8gb RAM but integrated graphics) to play Team Fortress 2, as well as other games. For Christmas he wanted a newer computer, since the family laptop is almost 8 years old (Dell that has never had a hardware failure). So i'm building him a nice mid-range box for his Christmas present, as well as a 'family' present. I think I did a pretty good job on selecting the items from NewEgg:

Intel i5 3570k Ivy Bridge
Asus P8Z77-V LK mobo (Z77 chipset)
16gb G.Skill Ares memory (2x- 8gb, low profile to clear cpu cooler)- I wanted 16gb for my high def video editing
Diamond Radeon 7850HD 2gb video card (I used to use Diamond mobos, vid cards and modems back in the day, before they closed shop. Seems they've reopened!)
Crucial M4 128gb SSD (for Windows 7 64 and my Sony Vegas 8 video editing software)
1tb Seagate Barricuda 7200rps SATA 6 (for all other storage and iTunes)
Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo cpu cooler
Corsair CX600 power supply, 600w
HP 23" LED IPS monitor (was only $199 for an IPS screen, plus HP gave me another $15 off)
Sony Optiarc DVD burner
Cooler Master HAF 912 case (my son picked this case out)
200mm + 120mm Cooler Master blue LED case fans
Logitech Ultra-thin illuminated keyboard
Logitech T650 glass 5" touchpad (my son loves touchpads)

This should be a really good family computer that will not be subjected to graphics-intensive games (like Black Ops 2, Crysis, etc) and should be futureproof for at least 5 years.

Dave

 

[butremor]

I don't know if you're planning to overclock, but if not, you can save a little by getting i5-3470 and H77 mobo.

 

[admbautista]

Seconded on that. I think you are not planning to overclock so save some bucks by buying a h77 mobo and go with i5-3570. Everything else is fine if your on budget.

 

[larrym]

and if you don't overclock, you will not need that cooler either. The stock one the CPU comes with will be fine.

 

[wanderer11]

Everything looks good. Is your son going to play more intensive games than TF2? If not then that is fine. If so, then get a better gpu. 7870, 660ti, 7950, etc. Also, you don't need 16 GB of RAM right now. Couldn't hurt to have, but if having less RAM means you get a better video card then do it.

 

[djscribbles]

If you don't plan to OC, as others have said drop to the locked core i5, get an h77 mobo, and drop the CPU cooler. Put the saved money towards upgrading to a 7870, the extra GPU power will help keep up with modern games over the years (although the 7850 will work great for tf2 and will be nearly as good, so pocketing the cash isn't a bad option either).

If you've got a little extra budget, upgrading from the haf912 to the haf922 has a lot of benefits (room behind the mobo, led fans with physical switches, and if i remember right it had better toolless drive bays and thicker metal), but both are nice cases; current newegg pricing has the haf922 at 15$ more considering the shipping on the 912 and the rebate on the 922.

 

[djosbun]

I may end up doing some slight overclocking, which is why I went with a better CPU cooler. I don't see my son playing more advanced games for at least 12 months, which is why I decided on the 7850. Anything more powerful than that would be wasted money. When he starts playing more advanced games, then i'll upgrade the card at that time. I figure the 7850 is plenty powerful enough for web-based games like TF2. It is a mid-range card, so it's perfect for this application.

As for the 16gb, it is not a waste of money. As I stated in my original post, I do lots of high-def video editing in Sony Vegas Pro (not the lite version, but the full $600 version). Having 16gb of RAM helps cut down render times significantly.

I ordered everything last Friday, and it'll be arriving tomorrow. Thanks for everyone's input, and I hope you all have a great Christmas.

Dave