Budget Gaming Rig Help

[Rezion]

Little bit of an intro:

It has been roughly 5 years since I have upgraded my gaming rig. I am running an E6750 and 8800GT currently, and think it is about time to upgrade.

I hopped on a deal this morning for:
Intel Core i5 2500K Quad Core Unlocked Processor LGA1155 3.3GHZ Sandy Bridge 6MB $231.84
Pricematched to $179.99. Hopefully it goes through.

So from this, I need some help. I do not need top of the line, but I want a build that will last me another 4-5 years without trouble.

I do want to have a decent HSF on this, to keep everything cool, but know nothing about them. I know that size may be an issue, so it would need to fit in my Antec P180. I already snagged some Arctic Cooling MX-2 Thermal Compound, on that $2.99 deal.

I do not have a microcenter anywhere near me, and Fry's is an option, but a bit of a drive. I would refer to buy all online, and with that I am willing to wait for certain parts for a couple weeks if deals are known to be coming.

Finally, I have a couple standard HDD's for storage. I have never used solid state drives, but was considering it if there is room in the budget, if you guys think it is worth it. If there is no real need, leave it out, and save me some money =)

Any help/advice is greatly appreciated, thanks.


1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc

-Gaming, school work.

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?

$700-$800 with shipping hopefully. Some wiggle room if there is a nice step up for a small increase in price. (This includes the CPU i already purchased. So, after that: ~$520-$620 left)

3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.

US, Oregon, Beaverton

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.

-CPU (Just bought 2500k)
-RAM
-Mobo
-Video Card

-Cooling? Heatsink?

Unsure:
-PSU (See 5)

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.

-Case: Antec P180
-Monitor: 23" Widescreen monitor running at 2048x1152
-USB Mouse and Keyboard
-Optical Drive
-HDD's (Not SSD)

Unsure:
PSU: Corsair HX520W Modular
Will this PSU be enough for a new build?

6) Will you be overclocking?

-Most likely not.

7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?

2048x1152

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

ASAP or next couple of weeks. Willing to wait for any specific BF deals, or buy as soon as Monday-Tuesday this week.

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video? etc.

It has been 6 years since I built my last rig, and I am not completely sure if I need any specific features. I will have to rely on you guys to tell me what I need. Probably no need for Crossfire or SLI.

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?

Windows 7 64-bit, legit copy.


Again, thanks for any help.

 

[Dangman]

Prelim setup for now:
$145 - MSI P67A-GD55 Intel P67 ATX Motherboard
$42 - G.Skill Ripjaws Series F3-10666CL9D-8GBXL 2 x 4GB DDR3 1333 RAM
$280 - XFX HD-695X-CDFC Radeon HD 6950 2GB PCI-E Video Card
---
Total: $467 shipped

Your current PSU should be fine.

 

[Rezion]

Thanks for the quick response Danny Bui. A couple questions, and don't take this as me questioning your choices.

Why that video card specifically? How does it compare to similar priced Nvidia cards? And what is the difference between that card, and this:
SAPPHIRE 100312-3SR Radeon HD 6950 Dirt3 Edition 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity

Is it the brand? Sapphire vs XFX?

And do you have any suggestions as far as heatsinks are concerned?

Again, thank you so much.

 

[tiraides]

With your limited budget, the 6950 is the best bang-per-buck card you can get. It's recommended over its Nvidia equivalent, the GTX 560 Ti, as it has more memory for games that need it. Danny went with XFX over Sapphire as XFX has better warranty and customer service. Sapphire is considered (in the US, at least) a low-tier company. In the long run, however, you may want to consider buying a second (ideally identical) card for CrossFire. At your monitor's resolution, you would probably benefit from it to some degree.

If you're not going to overclock at all, then you'll be fine with the stock Intel HSF. Otherwise, the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus is a good choice.

 

[Rezion]

Thanks for the clarification tiraides, I appreciate it.

One question on the RAM. This deal just popped up at 12:01 AM from Newegg:
CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) for $34.99.

Now, is the corsair RAM better, and with this deal, a better choice?

And a question about the MSI Mobo. I was reading the reviews on Newegg, and there is apparently some known possible problem with the MSI P67 boards dying. Should this be a concern?

 

[Dangman]

Thanks for the clarification tiraides, I appreciate it.

One question on the RAM. This deal just popped up at 12:01 AM from Newegg:
CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) for $34.99.

Now, is the corsair RAM better, and with this deal, a better choice?

It's not really better since the tall heatsinks on that Corsair RAM will limit a lot of 3rd party HSF. However it'sa good deal if you're using the stock HSF.

And a question about the MSI Mobo. I was reading the reviews on Newegg, and there is apparently some known possible problem with the MSI P67 boards dying. Should this be a concern?

I have not heard of such an issue being really widespread yet. I don't think it should be a concern. But you are welcome to go find another motherboard if you wish.

 

[Rezion]

Thanks for the help guys. I think I am set on what I am getting.

If you happen to know whether that Mobo or GPU are going to be cheaper come later this week, i.e. BF or CM, let me know.

Again, thanks for everything.

 

[Rezion]

I have a follow up question if Danny Bui or Tiraides have time.

If I do decide to overclock and possibly add a SSD down the road, is this MSI board still the best choice, or would you have a different suggestion?

 

[Dangman]

The MSI is still the best choice.

 

[Rezion]

Okay, I will stick with it then. Thanks for all your help.