Need to build a new system ASAP, need help! first build

[SuperKyleee]

I've been PC gaming a long time and i've spent more than my fair share on cyberpower and the like growing up and now moneys tight but I graduate in may and I get office and windows free with the student discount and i cant pass that up! Also my pc is dead and I had to sink $300 to fix it so i'm at my absolute low.

here's what I want/need:

cpu:
i-3570k
($199 newegg)
motherboard:
not sure. I do not care about SLI as I do not have the money for two cards. I do not care about wireless. all I want is something compatible with my video card, 16gb 1866 ram (or 1600 if you guys talk me into it), a SSD drive for future proofing. I dont mind spending $20-30 more if the features are worth it, need some advice as its my first build as far as compatibility. I however WOULD like onboard 7.1 sound so I dont need a sound card! not an audiophile!
($???)
cooler: again, not sure here either if I need it or not. I'm not experienced in overclocking and its why I bust $300 on my current system after 2 years of having it. if anything i'll just by a good air cool case with a good cpu cooler and roll with that with maybe a slight overclock if anything.
($???)
video card:
Raedon 7970 (which version is best value/performance?)
($???)
SSD:
256gb or bigger.
this is my dilemma here. I want to future proof my hdd as most people are predicting HDD to be the bottleneck in 2 years ish. I really dont keep a lot of files on my PC besides games unlike most people. I would like slightly more than 256gb but 500gb is too big for my needs and much too expensive.
Unless someone can convince me its absolutely not necessary for future proofing demanding games that are going to be like 20gb in size.
($???)

case & aftermarket fans:
Something that has excellent air cooling. I'm a complete noob at liquid cooling so im totally OK with spending extra here to make the air cooling efficient.
($???)
psu:
I'm thinking 850w should be more than enough here to leave room for slight overclocking (nothing extreme)
($???)

RAM:
16gb 1866 ram (what's my best value/performance here?)
($???)

optical drive:
something cheapish,
($20?)


my maximum budget is around $1,200. I would like to get it below if possible but I know i'm bumping it up wanting a SSD and a 7970 bang for my buck video card. I dont need to factor in the OS or office because they're both going to be free.

If I can get it around $1,000 though i'd be thrilled.
I'm looking to shop through newegg.

Thank you guys so much for your input!!!! Again I really suck at installing power supplies or liquid cooling because i've never done it before that's why im going really simple, no SLI and air cool but to maximum effect.


edit/update:

If you guys think I could save a good bit of money by holding off on a component or two (like a video card) then I can wait as I dont graduate until may. but again with finals week during may and stuff I really dont want to be building a PC to hurry up and install os's and office lol rather have this done in march/april (birthday's in april 😛)

 

[tenaciousk]

Here is my suggestions ( i dont think you will need 16gb of ram but if you really want it, its this build.)

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($32.98 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme6 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($151.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($80.98 @ Amazon)
Storage: Kingston HyperX 3K 240GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($184.00 @ Adorama)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB Video Card ($229.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec Neo Eco 620W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224BB/RSBS DVD/CD Writer ($20.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1000.89
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-02-06 15:32 EST-0500)

 

[g-unit1111]

my maximum budget is around $1,200. I would like to get it below if possible but I know i'm bumping it up wanting a SSD and a 7970 bang for my buck video card. I dont need to factor in the OS or office because they're both going to be free.

There's no point in including Office in your budget anyways since you can get Open Office for free and it reads and writes all MS Office formats.

RAM:
16gb 1866 ram (what's my best value/performance here?)
($???)

You probably won't need RAM this fast and unless you're doing hardcore video editing you most likely won't need it.

this is my dilemma here. I want to future proof my hdd as most people are predicting HDD to be the bottleneck in 2 years ish. I really dont keep a lot of files on my PC besides games unlike most people. I would like slightly more than 256gb but 500gb is too big for my needs and much too expensive.

That's kind of a moot point - you can't really future proof anything as things are constantly changing - especially in storage and GPUs and CPUs. Get a 128GB SSD and a 500GB mechanical drive, you're set. You can always add more drives as your needs increase.

Try this for $1200:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($134.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($51.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: OCZ Vertex 4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card ($383.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 300R ATX Mid Tower Case ($82.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 600W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($22.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $1156.87
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-02-06 15:35 EST-0500)

 

[SuperKyleee]

Thanks you two a lot but i did a little digging into the student windows & office, turns out you can pay $5 each and "save" them for up to 24 months! Its an option at checkout. But to the 1 or 2 people who may encounter this scenario hope that lil advice helps ya out. I shall build in the summer to save some $$$ in the long run. There really needs to be like a paypal tip jar for posters as a sig option on these kind of forums i would throw a few dollars in for good build recommendations lol. Be back in a few months!

 

[cutebeans]

Lol, by summer time. Prices would have changed.

 

[g-unit1111]

Lol, by summer time. Prices would have changed.

Plus don't forget the new hardware that will be out.

 

[cutebeans]

^+1

G-unit1111 is angry that he wasted his time!

Now you must give him the best answer award! hahaha

 

[SuperKyleee]

Best answer selected by SuperKyleee.

 

[SuperKyleee]

bam. g-unit took my first best answer virginity. not entirely wasted, i got this thread bookmarked for the summer but i'm sure i'll have to revisit things if good tech comes out between now and then =] also nabbed a thermaltake 850w psu for free today so my future build will even be more affordable! muhaha.