New Build Help Mobo/Ram/GPU/CPU

[-slash-]

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

Gaming (CS:S, Stalker CoP, Crysis, COD, BF3, lots of vram intensive games), Photoshop/Image editing, Web Browsing, Music/Video storage/playback, video streaming.

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

$800 or under tax/ship included. $800 is the high end, prefer to stay below.

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

U.S. East Wenatchee, WA

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.

I'm looking for a new Mobo, CPU, RAM, GPU, and Win7 64, and possibly an OS SSD and 1 TB drive as $$$ permits.

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

I am planning on buying a HAF 932 case used if at all possible, I have an Antec 650w PSU (circa 2008), 3 WD Blue 500GB Storage Drives (think one is going bad), CDROM, all perifs and 23" monitor

6) Will you be overclocking?

No.

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

23" Acer LED 1920x1080

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

Over the course of the net two months as $$$ permits and depending on deals.

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

I'd like as many Sata ports as possible. I run the CDROM and 3 Drives on Sata right now. I plan on scrapping one of my HDD's (I think it's bad, testing soon) and replacing it with a 1TB drive as 500gb is not big enough for music/video storage. I also want to implement a SSD for the OS. Raid would be preferred. A decent onboard audio.

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

I have Win XP Upgrade 32bit and need to go 64 bit BAD.

Basically I'm looking to upgrade my old LGA775 system I've had for years, see Sig. This is not sufficient enough to run Stalker CoP on high settings at 1920x1080 obviously! I'll be shopping for a HAF 932 full case (might get one this weekend) or similar full size case. I'm open to suggestions. I will also be shopping for a used GPU, not sure what I want/need yet so I do need help in that department. I would prefer to keep with a black or blue color scheme. Currently looking at

Mobo:
GIGABYTE GA-Z68XP-UD3P LGA 1155
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128506

Memory:
Mushkin Enhanced Radioactive 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226219

CPU:
Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072

GPU:
No idea? 260???

SSD Upgrade:
Corsair Force Series 3 CSSD-F60GB3A-BK 2.5" 60GB SATA III
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233223

HDD Upgrade:
Western Digital AV-GP WD10EUCX 1TB IntelliPower 16MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive

Again the HDD and SSD are as money permits. Thanks in advance.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136942

 

[E4g1e]

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

Gaming (CS:S, Stalker CoP, Crysis, COD, BF3, lots of vram intensive games), Photoshop/Image editing, Web Browsing, Music/Video storage/playback, video streaming.

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

$800 or under tax/ship included. $800 is the high end, prefer to stay below.

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

U.S. East Wenatchee, WA

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.

I'm looking for a new Mobo, CPU, RAM, GPU, and Win7 64, and possibly an OS SSD and 1 TB drive as $$$ permits.

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

I am planning on buying a HAF 932 case used if at all possible, I have an Antec 650w PSU (circa 2008), 3 WD Blue 500GB Storage Drives (think one is going bad), CDROM, all perifs and 23" monitor

6) Will you be overclocking?

No.

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

23" Acer LED 1920x1080

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

Over the course of the net two months as $$$ permits and depending on deals.

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

I'd like as many Sata ports as possible. I run the CDROM and 3 Drives on Sata right now. I plan on scrapping one of my HDD's (I think it's bad, testing soon) and replacing it with a 1TB drive as 500gb is not big enough for music/video storage. I also want to implement a SSD for the OS. Raid would be preferred. A decent onboard audio.

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

I have Win XP Upgrade 32bit and need to go 64 bit BAD.

Basically I'm looking to upgrade my old LGA775 system I've had for years, see Sig. This is not sufficient enough to run Stalker CoP on high settings at 1920x1080 obviously! I'll be shopping for a HAF 932 full case (might get one this weekend) or similar full size case. I'm open to suggestions. I will also be shopping for a used GPU, not sure what I want/need yet so I do need help in that department. I would prefer to keep with a black or blue color scheme. Currently looking at

Mobo:
GIGABYTE GA-Z68XP-UD3P LGA 1155
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128506

Memory:
Mushkin Enhanced Radioactive 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226219

CPU:
Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072

GPU:
No idea? 260???

SSD Upgrade:
Corsair Force Series 3 CSSD-F60GB3A-BK 2.5" 60GB SATA III
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233223

HDD Upgrade:
Western Digital AV-GP WD10EUCX 1TB IntelliPower 16MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive

Again the HDD and SSD are as money permits. Thanks in advance.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136942

Two months is still way too early to plan a build because prices and availability can change very significantly over that amount of time. First, the RAM that you selected is slightly too expensive, given that 8GB of RAM that performs equally as well on LGA 1155 costs between $35 and $42. And at its current $195 shipped price (or even $176 with the promo code), that motherboard is stupidly overpriced given its lack of UEFI and its use of only a Realtek LAN instead of an Intel LAN.

Finally, to play the very newest games at 1920x1080 at anywhere near maximum (or Ultra) settings, you will need to spend at least $250 for the GPU. Go for either a Radeon HD 6950 or a GeForce GTX 560 Ti 448-Core.

 

[Dangman]

As E4g1e noted, two months is far too early to plan a build. Especially considering that Intel is planning on releasing their new Ivy Bridge CPUs in April and motherboard manufacturers are releasing new motherboards with the Z77 chipset around that time frame. So your best bet for an up to date build list is to wait for the Ivy Bridge CPU release.

I do concur with E4g1e's criticism of your build so far. In addition to those, that SSD isn't a good choice for the money considering that more reliable, slightly faster, and slightly larger Crucial m4 64GB SSD costs the same right now:
$95 - Crucial M4 CT064M4SSD2 2.5" 64GB SSD

 

[-slash-]

I'm not too concerned with being 100% up to date. I'm still using an LGA 775 from 2008 or so, so the Sandy Bridge will be a huge stepping stone for me. Cost is playing a role my decision to be slightly behind the curve as well. I suppose waiting for Ivy bridge and reaping the benefits of discounted Sandy Bridge components would be in my best interest.

Thanks for the help so far, especially on the SSD.

 

[Dangman]

I'm not too concerned with being 100% up to date. I'm still using an LGA 775 from 2008 or so, so the Sandy Bridge will be a huge stepping stone for me. Cost is playing a role my decision to be slightly behind the curve as well. I suppose waiting for Ivy bridge and reaping the benefits of discounted Sandy Bridge components would be in my best interest.

Actually more than likely the SB components won't be discounted. Even if they were discounted, it would take several months for it to happen. Intel tends to release new CPUs at or near the price points of their current CPUs. As such, there's a good chance that there will be an IB CPU around the price range of the 2500K.

That's usually been Intel's strategy. The Core i5 2500K and Core i5 2400 were introduced around the price range of the Core i5 760 which was released around the price range of the Core i5 750 which was released around the price range of the Core 2 Duo E8400/E8500 which were released around the price range of the E6750 which was released around the price range of the Core 2 Duo E6420 which was released around the price range of the Core 2 Duo E6400. Pretty sure there's about a half-dozen CPUs I'm missing but you get the point.