Once Again---Noob System Build...Please Rate it, purchase imminent!

Concussive

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Okay peeps, I am a noob and I suck...Now that that's out of the way, I would like to submit my idea of my dream machine. Not too much, but not too little. I play mostly SCII, WOW, and Call of Duty, with a little bit of RIFT sprinkled in. I am tired of my old junk and am looking to upgrade with something new, but with my own hands for the first time...Read on!


Approximate Purchase Date: Within One Month


Budget Range: Approximately $1400


System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming! Duh!


Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg or whatever is the cheapest with good service



Parts Preferences: Prefer Intel and AMD products as those are what I have used in the past...everything else is up in the air...or whatever suggestions are the best


Overclocking: Yes


SLI or Crossfire: Maybe


Monitor Resolution:


Additional Comments: Don't care about noise because I have a dedicated room and I usually rock headphones because I have a bunch of kids...


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Case
Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16811129021

Power Supply (Just in case I want to add a second GPU, plus it matches the case)
Antec High Current Gamer Series HCG-750 750W ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V v2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Certified 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16817371049

Mobo
ASRock P67 EXTREME4 (B3) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16813157229

Processor
Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16819115072

Hard Drive x2
Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16822136533

RAM (maybe x2 but not really necessary?)
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL8D-8GBXM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16820231445

GPU (probably x2 when I get more dough)
HIS IceQ X Turbo H695QNT2G2M Radeon HD 6950 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16814161372

Optical Drive (Only because I have to...don't watch Blu-Ray...I have a Blu-Ray Player for that :sol: )
ASUS 24X DVD Burner - Bulk 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16827135204

So that's what I'm looking at now after a couple of weeks of comparisons and reading. I would like a good monitor as well...preferably a 27" monitor with as high a resolution as possible. Eat me up if this sucks or not...but please...be gentle! I would like to walk normally after this reaming...

Edit: I would be running Windows 7 Home 64-bit...if that is necessary. Thanks again! I'm very excited to get the ordering started!
 
Solution
The games you have listed favor Nvidia cards. This build includes a SSD, LED 2ms response time gaming monitor, and you can easily o/c that gtx 560ti and then add another one later on in SLI.

http://www.amazon.com/Antec-Mid-Tower-Gaming-Hundred-V3/dp/B004ALI5KC/ref=sr_1_10?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1314257041&sr=1-10 $99.99
Antec Mid-Tower Gaming Case Nine Hundred Two V3

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371049 $94.99 - $69.99 after mail-in rebate FREE SHIPPING
Antec High Current Gamer Series HCG-750 750W ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V v2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Certified 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271 $129.99 + $7.87 Shipping
ASRock Z68...
Pretty good. I modified the drive configuration to include an SSD, CPU cooler, lower latency memory, and made other minor changes.

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500k - $220

CPU COOLER: Hyper 212+ - $28

Motherboard: ASRock P67 EXTREME4 - $150

RAM: GSkill 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1600 1.5v 8-8-8-24 - $70

Graphics Card: HIS IceQ X Turbo HD 6950 2GB - $260 after MIR

OS / BOOT SSD: OCZ Agility 3 120GB - $165 after MIR

Storage Drive: SAMSUNG F4 2TB - $80

Case: Antec 900 - $100

Power Supply: XFX Core Edition 750w - $85 after MIR

DVD Burner: Samsung 22X DVD Burner - $21

$1179
 

x Heavy

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I have built on three seperate Antec cases and I have bled from cuts with every single one of them.

I am building into a Haf X case and it is so big and roomy I have not bled at all. Strongly suggest a HAF X. The V8 cooler and very big cards in SLI makes such a full tower mandatory. It even comes with wheels. Better to turn it around on the floor than to lift 70 pounds and set it down again to get at the other side. Also HAF X makes specific room for your cables OUT of the way BEHIND the entire Motherboard. Antec, it can be done but you will suffer again from limited space.

You will want a i7 2600K instead of a i5. You will want a Z68 board and socket 1155 unless you can explain exactly why you want a P67 board.

The rest of it I will examine and see where you are. My own system build has already exceeded 2500. Newegg is the most consistent and I trust them even if sometimes their prices are a little high or low.
 

x Heavy

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One more thing.

Stop trying to match a power supply. Start adding up the amount of watts used by everything INSIDE your computer and then get a power supply capable of feeding that much plus a few hundred more watts. I myself run with no less than 750 and still have a 10 year old machine with a 550 antec psu that is doing well.
 

gogetta

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I actually just ordered this case for myself today. It just looked more inviting than the Antec Nine Hundred as far as inside of the case and cable management goes.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147107

Also, I wouldn't plan on running 2 6950's in Crossfire with only 750 watt PSU.

Good luck - I'm doing the same thing you are doing, mainly for BF3, but also for SC2. I've been playing for over a year now with Low graphics settings, time to realize its potential!
 

x Heavy

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As did BFBC2. I had to wait about a month until a patch was released.. it was not fun loading into a battle that has been in progress 1.5 minutes.
 

Concussive

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Not necessarily. Although it would be nice to fit it inside the $1400. I guess my concentration is more on the best parts I can get that will last a few years until it's time to upgrade again. The monitor was not really included in the beginning but after seeing what sadams04 came up with I could probably fit a monitor in no problem in the original budget.
 

Concussive

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That is rather interesting. Everything I have read says that for gaming purposes the i5 2500k is just as good for gaming as the i7 2600k (unless I misunderstand, which is completely possible). For the extra $100 bucks I can put that into some other component. I can afford to spend the extra, but does it really do anything more for me besides a marginal increase in framerates? All I do is game and I suppose I don't do anything else that would require the extra computational horsepower....Let me know. And I can't tell you why I want a P67 board other than lots of people have it and they say good things about it...(Sorry, I told you I was a noob). I'll look into the Z68 though. Thanks for the tip.
 

Concussive

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Wow. I like what you did there. One thing though, about the SSD. I see these getting press and after reading about them, I'm not sure I need one. If it is advisable, I would get one, otherwise I would use the cash to get a gangster monitor or an even better video card. That's pretty nice though and I appreciate those changes. That's hard core.
 
The games you have listed favor Nvidia cards. This build includes a SSD, LED 2ms response time gaming monitor, and you can easily o/c that gtx 560ti and then add another one later on in SLI.

http://www.amazon.com/Antec-Mid-Tower-Gaming-Hundred-V3/dp/B004ALI5KC/ref=sr_1_10?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1314257041&sr=1-10 $99.99
Antec Mid-Tower Gaming Case Nine Hundred Two V3

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371049 $94.99 - $69.99 after mail-in rebate FREE SHIPPING
Antec High Current Gamer Series HCG-750 750W ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V v2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Certified 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271 $129.99 + $7.87 Shipping
ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.694806 $264.98 FREE SHIPPING
Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K
CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Low Profile Desktop Memory Model CML8GX3M2A1600C9

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065 $27.99 FREE SHIPPING
COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1 "Heatpipe Direct Contact" Long Life Sleeve 120mm CPU Cooler Compatible Intel Core i5 & Intel Core i7

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148442 $207.99 FREE SHIPPING
Crucial M4 CT128M4SSD2 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185 $59.99 FREE SHIPPING
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118039 $19.99 FREE SHIPPING
Sony Optiarc CD/DVD Burner 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model AD-7260S-0B - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127594 $239.99 - $219.99 after mail-in rebate card FREE SHIPPING
MSI N560GTX-Ti Twin Frozr II GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986 $99.99 FREE SHIPPING
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236099 $169.99 - $154.99 after mail-in rebate card FREE SHIPPING
Asus ML228H 21.5" 1920X1080 2ms Full HD LED BackLight LED Monitor Slim Design 250 cd/m2 10,000,000 :1 (ASCR)

Total: $1,415.88 *not including shipping and rebates

http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?Model=Z68%20Extreme3%20Gen3 <---- a better look at that ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3
 
Solution
You might consider the Antec High current either 1000 or 1200 if you are having 2x video cards. I started out with one 1200 and ended up with 2 it seemed like I just kept adding and if you start out too low on the power supply you might run into a wall later on and it always ok to have extra to start.
 

Concussive

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Hey everyone, thanks for the replies. After reading through all the suggestions, I still haven't quite gotten exactly what I'm going to do, but I will repost in a couple days to show what I get. Some of this junk is confusing...Anyway, Thanks again to everyone who replied!