New gaming PC for $1500 to $1700

[efngn]

Approximate Purchase Date: Maybe a little past Christmas (sorry), probably waiting for new Intel processers.

Budget Range: $1500 to $1700, but open to suggestions, before rebates and after shipping

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, surfing, possibly movie streaming/watching, text editing 😛

Are you buying a monitor: Yes, does not need to be uber color accurate, but has to be high-def



Parts to Upgrade: I guess everything over time, eventually

Do you need to buy OS: Yes


Preferred Website(s) for Parts: What ever ships in the US for normal rates. Please not some shady Chinatown place.

Location: New York, New York, Manhattan

Parts Preferences: Intel processer, at least i7, Nvidia 680 graphics card, or something similar in 2013. I want speeeed.

Overclocking: Maybe, down the line

SLI or Crossfire: *Has no idea what this means*

Your Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080 or 1920x1200

Additional Comments: Doesn't have to be uber quiet, but not noisy. Has to be semi-attractive. Mostly playing WoW now, but wanting to move into other CPU-intensive games. Also needs to be able to run Minecraft ( 😱 Hersey!) at high-res texture packs; 512x512, 1024x1024, etc

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: I currently have a old 2007 iMac and have moved father into gaming. I love Apple, but I need more raw power.


Just would like to hear some ideas. I also would like to hear speaker, monitor and keyboard suggestion. I am going to by a Razor Naga mouse. Must have surround sound 7.1.

Also, if you have any gaming headset recommendations, I would love to hear them, just don't include them in the price.

Edit: I am a total computer-building newb. Any general advice would be welcomed.

 

[TheBigTroll]

ill get you something near uber colour accurate

crossfire/sli is adding another video card to double GPU performance. dont need it right now but might be useful in the future

true surround sound headsets are pretty bad from my opinion. tiny earbud sized drivers are never good. something like a corsair vengeance 1300 which is a simulated 5.1 setup is probably more optimal. plus, they are very comfortable which is nearly the most important thing

included very nice keyboard as well.

with keyboard and monitor, racks up to 1700
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/opHj

 

[boulbox]

Come here

http://www.microcenter.com/site/stores/yonkers.aspx

should be worth the while to drive there

i5 3570k and get Gigabyte UD3H for a very nice price(should be around $300 original price will be around $100 more if buying from newegg/amazon)

i5 3570k is $170 UD3H is $50 off if bought with i5 3570k

gaming head i recommend these
(note that the 7.1 surround sound is just a gimmick and most of them are pretty bad)
http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-PC-360-Headset-Gaming/dp/B003DA4D2U/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1353378541&sr=8-1&keywords=sennheiser+pc+360

http://www.amazon.com/Plantronics-GameCom-780-Surround-Headset/dp/B006ZS5ATM/ref=sr_1_1?s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1353378556&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.com/SteelSeries-Siberia-Full-Size-Gaming-Headset/dp/B002Q8IHDQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1353378601&sr=8-1&keywords=steelseries+siberia+v2

and if none of these fit your tastes just find one that is an overear Headset(most comfy out of the other choices) and if you have no need for a mic get regular studio headset which are pretty beast and of course you can add a mic later if needed

EDIT:
forgot to put my build! woops

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($26.29 @ NCIX US)
Memory: Samsung 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: A-Data Premier Pro SP900 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($184.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 3GB Video Card ($429.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master Storm Stryker (White) ATX Full Tower Case ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX ProSeries 850W 80 PLUS Silver Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($119.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Sony AD-7280S-0B DVD/CD Writer ($18.99 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Samsung S24B350HL 23.6" Monitor ($159.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (64-bit) ($91.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1237.20
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-11-19 21:32 EST-0500)

 

[efngn]

Wow guys, that was a quick and greats response. I however would like to know if i should upgrade to an i7 or get the i5 and upgrade later?

Edit:

Also, in terms of gaming headsets, I am looking for a overear headset. Thanks!

 

[Hiii]

I heard something about the amd HD 8000 cards coming in december, if this is true i think you could come back in december and ask about a build again, i hope that if someone knows something about this, (s)he can point it out.

 

[boulbox]

there is no performance increase from moving up to an i7 games don't use hyperthread(or at least not a lot) so an i5 is more than enough even on high end gaming machine.

 

[TheBigTroll]

8000 cards are not supposed to come out until at least january

why not around ear? over ears tend to have smaller drivers

 

[boulbox]

8000 cards are not supposed to come out until at least january

why not around ear? over ears tend to have smaller drivers

over ear is around ear.

headsets consists of on ear(hate them) and over/around ear

and yes on ears usually do have small drivers and they are not very comfy

 

[TheBigTroll]

got mixed up with over ear. thanks bro

 

[efngn]

Best answer selected by efngn.