Build around $900

[vietnow]

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Gaming.
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
Around 900 w/o tax shipping. The lower the better if there's a component that better price/performance.
3) Where do you live?
Los Angeles
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.
MB,RAM,CPU,Video Card, Case, Power Supply, HD, DVD Drive
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
None
6) Will you be overclocking?
If its doable with the setup.
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
24" 1920x1080
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
1 or 2 weeks
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.
Will be going for SSD at some later point so Sata6g would be good, USB3 also. Don't plan on doing xfire/sli.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
yes 64bit.

After looking around forum and some comparison shopping this is the list I came up with.

HAF922 97.99
Corsair TX650 89.99-15 rebate
MSI P67A-C43 119.99
Patriot 2x4GB 78
Core i5 2500K 179.99
CM Hyper 212 Plus 24.99
XFX 6950 1gb 230
Samsung DVD Burner 19.99
Samsung F3 1TB 59.99

Need some guidance in the following though, do I need bigger PSU? Could it handle CPU OC and 6950 unlock if I find a reference card.
Also see that most people recommend MSI boards so if its cheaper and can do everything I need wouldn't mind a recommendation.
Lastly can I skimp a bit on the video card? Plan on playing SW:TOR, dragon age, civ5, portal 2 like games. Not a big fan of FPS. Would like this to last a bit though, not a big fan of building rigs every year.

 

[Dangman]

Since you're in California, you really should be buying as many of your parts as possible from Amazon.com since they do not charge tax to CA residents and usually have free shipping. Newegg and Microcenter will charge you tax. So out of those list of parts, you can get the HDD and PSU from Amazon.com. Speaking of which, the 650TX V2 will be enough for that setup.

And swap the following:
Ditch that G.Skill RAM and go with two of this set of RAM:
$78 - 2 x Patriot PSD34G13332 4GB DDR3 1333 RAM

You haven't stated anything that would make that Asus mobo a good buy for you so you'll be fine with this mobo:
$120 - MSI P67A-C43 Intel P67 ATX Motherboard

Case wise, once you factor in the costs of those fans and the case itself, it's gonna be around $100. IMO, that HAF 912 + those two fans aren't worth $100. Not to mention that those fans won't work with the HAF 912 in the first place. So if you really want to stick with the HAF 012, get significantly cheaper 120mm fans for it (any will do) and get that case from Amazon.com.

However if you're willing to spend $100 on a case anyway, I recommend these cases instead:
$90 - Cooler Master CM690 II Advance ATX Case
$100 - Cooler Master HAF 922 RC-922M-KKN1-GP ATX Case
$110 - NZXT Whisper WHI - 001BK ATX Full Tower Case

GPU wise, yes you can drop down to the HD 6950 1GB card if you want to save some cash:
$230 - XFX HD-695X-ZNFC Radeon HD 6950 1GB PCI-E Video Card

 

[tonytnnt]

You haven't stated anything that would make that Asus mobo a good buy for you so you'll be fine with this mobo:
$120 - MSI P67A-C43 Intel P67 ATX Motherboard

If you want something more full featured, Microcenter's May Specials still has the Intel Core i5-2500k processor bundles on there. (Page 28 of their online ad.) Out of those four combos, the MSI P67A-GD55 is the one I'd recommend based on your usage. I don't know if they're still in stock though. That said, the MSI P67A-C43 that Danny linked to above is fine too. It'll also be a tad cheaper since you won't be paying taxes on the motherboard ordered from Amazon.

 

[Mercuri]

It's my understanding that Amazon has not been properly packaging the Samsung F3. Directron is another reputable parts seller that has good prices and won't charge you sales tax in CA.

 

[vietnow]

Above is the reason I'm not ordering them through Amazon, I rather spend extra 5 bucks and not have to worried about improperly packaged HD that I have to return multiple times.

This thread says that the 200s fit the 912 w/o any modification unless they are wrong. Though if the 200s are overkill guess I can get the 120s.

Ya I checked the bundles and none of the i5 ones were available anymore so think I'll go with that board/ram. And guess I'll look around for that card see if any deals around.
OK, checked out amazon case and its 2bucks more so I'll save like 4 dollars and I'd rather pick it up and not worry about it since I'm going there anyway. Though rest of the recommendations are good, looks like that should be good though.

Total now is 846 + some cheap fans. Looks nice.

 

[Jon55]

And swap the following:
Ditch that G.Skill RAM and go with two of this set of RAM:
$78 - 2 x Patriot PSD34G13332 4GB DDR3 1333 RAM

Is that RAM overclockable at all? I know he said "if its doable with the setup", but I'm mostly just curious myself, and I know the RAM you linked doesn't have the fancy heatsinks.

 

[Dangman]

This thread says that the 200s fit the 912 w/o any modification unless they are wrong. Though if the 200s are overkill guess I can get the 120s.

Hmmm, on close inspection, thost 200mm fans do say they're compatible with HAF cases. And that is backed up by user reviews on Newegg. Hmm, honestly I would flip a coin betwee the HAF 912 + two 200mm fans and the HAF 922. Both costs the same and the end result would still get you two 200mm fans and a 120mm fan.

Is that RAM overclockable at all? I know he said "if its doable with the setup", but I'm mostly just curious myself, and I know the RAM you linked doesn't have the fancy heatsinks.

Well with the Sandy Bridge CPUs, you don't need to OC the RAM at all as the RAM is not touched at all when overclocking the SB CPUs. As such, you can OC to 5Ghz and still be fine with regular ol' DDR3 1333 RAM.

 

[jsteinm1]

EMCKEKD39

Promo code for the TX650-V2, expires 5/12

 

[Jon55]

Well with the Sandy Bridge CPUs, you don't need to OC the RAM at all as the RAM is not touched at all when overclocking the SB CPUs. As such, you can OC to 5Ghz and still be fine with regular ol' DDR3 1333 RAM.

That's awesome, I wasn't aware of that. So there's no need to really buy the more expensive "OC friendly" RAM anymore (ones with huge heatsinks)?

 

[Dangman]

That's awesome, I wasn't aware of that. So there's no need to really buy the more expensive "OC friendly" RAM anymore (ones with huge heatsinks)?

Yeah, no need besides epeen or if that more expensive RAM costs the same as regular RAM.

 

[Jon55]

Yeah, no need besides epeen or if that more expensive RAM costs the same as regular RAM.

Hm, I guess I'm just a little confused. I've just been reading up on RAM for Sandy Bridge. I'll buy that it isn't as important or that it can be worked around. I'm am sure that it is still possible to speed up the RAM.

I think the difference is that with the previous generation (i5 760) you can control the RAM without limit but the CPU multiplier is limited to 1 over the standard 21 to 20. With the new K chips you can raise the multiplier more and keep the RAM at the same speed. Am I close at all on that?

 

[Dangman]

Hm, I guess I'm just a little confused. I've just been reading up on RAM for Sandy Bridge. I'll buy that it isn't as important or that it can be worked around. I'm am sure that it is still possible to speed up the RAM.

I think the difference is that with the previous generation (i5 760) you can control the RAM without limit but the CPU multiplier is limited to 1 over the standard 21 to 20. With the new K chips you can raise the multiplier more and keep the RAM at the same speed. Am I close at all on that?

Yes it is possible to speed up the RAM if you wish.

Almost close. With the previous gen Lynnfield and Nehalem CPUs, you could not raise the multiplier at all unless the CPU was part of the "K" series line (yes they had K series too) or the Extreme Edition line. With the Core i5 760 and similar CPUs, overclocking of the CPU usually required that the RAM speed be increased as well as they were connected to one another.

With the current SB "K" chips, the RAM isn't part of the equation at all. So what you said regarding the SB K chips is true.

 

[Jon55]

Interesting. Danny, thank you as always.