Help with i5 budget gaming build

I'm planning on building a budget i5 gaming rig. I'd like to spend around $700-800

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
gaming. RPGs, FPS games, etc. Running at 1980x1200 res

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
700-800 USD

3) Where do you live?
USA

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
case, cpu, mobo, ram, hard drive, PSU. Basically I need all the parts except monitor & optical drive

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
re-using monitor/tv, dvd drive

6) Will you be overclocking?
yes, a bit

7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
28" LCD and 40" LCD TV

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
this month

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? etc.
nothing special. SATA 6gb/s would be nice

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
I will re-use win 7 64bit


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I'd like to buy from newegg. Here's what I had planned out right now, but I'm sure I'm making some mistakes and could tweak this. I'd like to make it $50-75 cheaper too if possible, but not sure if thats feasible. Maybe there are some better combos I can take advantage of?

I am not factoring in price of mouse/keyboard into the build but I do need those items too. I am looking for a good wireless mouse/kb with decent range for some couch gaming.

link to pic of items as an overview:
comp build items Promo code not pictured (- $15)

Items:
Antec 300 Case $60

WD black 640gb Hard Drive (recommend me a 6gb/s?) $65

Nvidia GTX 465 (evga) graphics card $210

Corsair 650w PSU $90

4GB OCZ DDR3 PC1333 Ram $59

Core i5 760 2.8ghz + Asus P7P55D-E LGA 1156 mobo combo $338

Total: $822 - $40 MIR - $10 MIR - $10 MIR - $15 promo code = $747

Thanks for the help/suggestions! And am I missing any items I need for the base comp build?

To be honest, some of the components are too expensive for the performance:

1. The GeForce GTX 465 is not worth anywhere near its $210 street price (performance-wise). Worse, it consumes nearly as much power as the higher-model GTX 470. As such, it is priced significantly higher than the GTX 460 yet performs no better overall. (And aside from the few GTX 465s that can be "unlocked" to GTX 470s, the GTX 465 is simply a waste of money - and that eVGA is not one of those that are "unlockable".) That's what I call one of the poorest values in current-generation GPUs.

2. At $60, the Antec 300 case is overpriced. I would only get that case if it costs no more than $50.

3. I cannot recommend OCZ-branded RAM given its worse-than-average customer support. Worse, that particular RAM requires 1.65V just to run at even DDR3-800 speed, let alone DDR3-1333. (Compare this to the JEDEC standard DIMM voltage of 1.5V.) This severely degrades overclocking headroom; in fact, in the worst cases you might have to severely underclock the CPU just to run stably with this RAM. Plus, quality control of the OCZ-branded memory products have been iffy of late. Generally speaking, if a memory kit requires 1.65V just to even run at stock JEDEC memory speeds and timings, it is of low quality. There is a reason why OCZ-branded memory is so plentiful and cheap: Its memory products do not fully meet the official JEDEC standards.

I agree with E4g1e, but I have to ask: Can you hold off on this build for 30 more days?

I ask because Intel will be releasing new boards and processors based off its Sandy Bridge platform, and they'll be priced around the same as the current Lynnfield (Core i3/i5) processors and P55 boards.

However, if you must have this build now (by Christmas), I recommend going with AMD instead. The money that you save by going with an AM3-based board and Phenom II quad-core processor (compared to their Intel equivalents) could be used toward a better video card -- or even a cheap keyboard and mouse set.

Thanks for your comments. In reply:

1. the $210 price I agree is too much, but it has a $40 rebate and $15 off promo code so its actually $155. But if power consumption is high then I will definitely switch to 460.

2. Any suggestion for a similar case in the $50 range?

3. I will look for a better brand, thanks.

4. I do have a HD included. WD 640gb

@tiraides - I can definitely wait a month. Googling sandy bridge now..,

robotlegs said:

Thanks for your comments. In reply:

1. the $210 price I agree is too much, but it has a $40 rebate and $15 off promo code so its actually $145. But if power consumption is high then I will definitely switch to 460.

2. Any suggestion for a similar case in the $50 range?

3. I will look for a better brand, thanks.

4. I do have a HD included. WD 640gb

Click to expand...

The biggest problem with the Antec 300 case is roominess. It is relatively cramped, especially from rear to front. As such, it offers barely enough room to fit a regular ATX motherboard without major connectors being obstructed by the case brackets and frame. This complicates the installation of even internal hard drives and optical drives, especially if the installed motherboard has internal SATA connectors located at the front edge of the mobo. And this same cramped dimensions make installing anything above a low-end graphics card more difficult, and many high-end graphics cards might not even fit the case at all.

As for the WD Black that you selected, it is not one of the fastest hard drives on the market, even for the price. In fact, it is actually slower than several cheaper and smaller-capacity hard drives (sequential speed wise), not to mention most of the larger-capacity 7200 RPM drives. The WD6401AALS still uses 2 x 320GB platters with data stored throughout the entire disk surface, resulting in a relatively low areal density by current standards.

robotlegs said:

Thanks for your comments. In reply:

1. the $210 price I agree is too much, but it has a $40 rebate and $15 off promo code so its actually $145. But if power consumption is high then I will definitely switch to 460.

2. Any suggestion for a similar case in the $50 range?

3. I will look for a better brand, thanks.

4. I do have a HD included. WD 640gb

Click to expand...

1) Don't count rebates against your budget; there's no 100% guarantee that you'll receive it, and you can't "cash it in" at checkout. Start with the GTX 460 unless you're willing to spend a little bit extra on an AMD Radeon HD 6850 or 6870.

2) There are plenty of cases available under $50; just make sure that it supports at least two 120mm case fans and comes with at least one of them. A popular choice is the Cooler Master Elite 310; it offers more room for a lower price than the Three Hundred.

3) A good yet relatively inexpensive brand of RAM is G.Skill. You can also look for Patriot, Mushkin, Geil, and A-DATA. Though RAM with heatspreaders are nice, the heatspreaders aren't must-have.

4) Go with the Samsung HD502HJ instead. That drive uses a single 500GB drive platter that makes it faster than the 640GB drive that you chose earlier.

tiraides said:

1) Don't count rebates against your budget; there's no 100% guarantee that you'll receive it, and you can't "cash it in" at checkout. Start with the GTX 460 unless you're willing to spend a little bit extra on an AMD Radeon HD 6850 or 6870.

2) There are plenty of cases available under $50; just make sure that it supports at least two 120mm case fans and comes with at least one of them. A popular choice is the Cooler Master Elite 310; it offers more room for a lower price than the Three Hundred.

3) A good yet relatively inexpensive brand of RAM is G.Skill. You can also look for Patriot, Mushkin, Geil, and A-DATA. Though RAM with heatspreaders are nice, the heatspreaders aren't must-have.

4) Go with the Samsung HD502HJ instead. That drive uses a single 500GB drive platter that makes it faster than the 640GB drive that you chose earlier.

Click to expand...

For 4), another good alternative is the 1TB Samsung HD103SJ: It costs just $5 more than the OP's original choice of the (slower) 640GB WD Black WD6401AALS.

I agree with the HD103SJ recommendation; it's definitely worth the money.

And if you're worried about SATA III (6.0Gbps), don't be. None of the SATA hard drives available today can exceed the performance limits of SATA II (3.0Gbps), let alone reach the SATA III limits.

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I will wait a month for sandy bridge and then re-evaluate my build.