New Build

[Platipus]

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

Gaming. The next few games I will be playing are Diablo 3 and Guild Wars 2

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

$2200 I'm pretty flexible on this, so feel free to give some options even if they may take me a little over this budget. I would also like to buy everything at either online at Newegg or take a drive to Microcenter.

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

Addison, IL, 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.

• Motherboard, from what I've been reading I believe the new Z77 board would be the way to go, but I'm open to other ideas here.
• CPU
• RAM
• Storage drives, I'm very open to suggestions on this. I'm just not sure if an SSD is -worthwhile or not right now.
• DVD Burner
• Video card
• Case, fans also unless the case comes with them.
• PSU
• OS

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

- Monitor

6) Will you be overclocking?

No

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

24" monitor with a max resolution of 1920x1200

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

Very soon

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)? UEFI? etc.

USB 3.0 and SATA 6 would be nice.

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

No, I need an OS, I am going 64 bit for sure.

 

[Dangman]

How far are you from a Microcenter in terms of driving time?

 

[Platipus]

I'm not far at all, maybe 20-30 minutes depending on traffic.

 

[Dangman]

Awesome. That means that you can take advantage of Microcenter's CPU + mobo deals. Here's a prelim build:
$330 - Intel Core i5-3570K CPU + Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H Intel Z77 ATX Motherboard Combo
$96 - 2 x G.Skill Sniper F3-12800CL9D-8GBSR 2 x 4GB DDR3 1600 RAM
$125 - Crucial M4 CT128M4SSD2 2.5" 128GB SSD
$120 - Samsung Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$17 - LG GH22NS90B DVD Burner
$150 - Seasonic X750 Gold 750W Modular PSU
$100 - Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64bit OEM
----
Total: $938 shipped.

I deliberately left out the GPU for the following reason: Diablo 3 and Guild Wars 2 don't seem like very GPU heavy games. In fact, I'm willing to bet you can max out Diablo 3 with a $250 video card. The thing is that your budget easily allows for a $500 GPU. But it'd be waste to use a $500 GPU on games like Diablo 3 or Guild Wars 2. So are you planning on playing any other game?

Case wise, choose your own case. I recommend the following cases:
$100 - Corsair Carbide Series 400R ATX Case
$100 - Lian Li PC-7B Plus II ATX Case
$118 - Corsair Carbide Series 500R ATX Case
$120 - Fractal Design Define R3 Arctic White ATX Case
$120 - Fractal Design Define R3 Silver Arrow ATX Case
$125 - Fractal Design Define R3 Black Pearl ATX Case
$120 - Lian Li PC-9F ATX Case
$120 - NZXT Phantom PHAN-001WT White Full Tower ATX Case
$130 - NZXT Phantom PHAN-001BK Black Full Tower ATX Case
$130 - NZXT Phantom PHAN-002OR Black Finish w/Orange Trim Full Tower ATX Case
$140 - Antec P280 ATX Case
$140 - Antec Performance One Series P183 V3 ATX Case
$140 - Corsair Obsidian Series 550D ATX Case
$144 - Silverstone RV03B-WA ATX case
$150 - Silverstone TJ04B-EW ATX Case
$160 - Corsair Graphite Series 600TM ATX Case
$160 - Silverstone RV02B-W ATX case
$164 - Corsair Special Edition White Graphite Series 600T ATX Case
$178 - Silverstone RV02B-EW ATX case
$170 - Corsair Obsidian Series 650D ATX Case
$220 - Silverstone FT02S-W ATX Case
$230 - Silverstone FT02B ATX Case
$270 - Corsair Obsidian Series 800D CC800DW Full Tower ATX Case

 

[Platipus]

I tend to like to get a bit of lasting power in my GPU when I buy them, to be honest I was leaning towards a $500 one for that reason alone. As far as other games go, there's really nothing in the immediate future other than those 2 you mentioned.

Thanks for those suggestions, I'll probably take advantage of Microcenter once I finalize everything.

 

[Dangman]

I tend to like to get a bit of lasting power in my GPU when I buy them, to be honest I was leaning towards a $500 one for that reason alone. As far as other games go, there's really nothing in the immediate future other than those 2 you mentioned.

For the two games you mentioned, $250 video cards would fit fine.

But if you really want to spend $500 simply because you can, grab either the GTX 680 or HD 7970.

 

[Topweasel]

Pro tip. Don't build a 2200 system and not get an SSD. Heck most people will tell you to step down other items just to make sure you can fit in an SSD at a comfortable size for you. The specced out one specified a 128GB. If you can go higher I would recommend it. 256 seems like a sweet spot in size and price.

As for GPU, I don't know if a 680 or 7970 would have that much lasting power over a $100 cheaper 7950. I would suggest the Sapphire OC.

The only other thing I would mention is the build above leaves out a CPU cooler. For cost I would recommend the CoolerMaster 212+, or for upper end cooling capabilities, something like the N-14 or H100 would work well. I Personally love the H80 I put into my system. He also left out of the cases some really great ones. Probably do to aesthetics. Coolermaster makes a great enthusiast line of cases called the HAF series. The HAF X has great thermals and features, but a love it or hate it look. Same thing with their Storm series. So I would probably suggest looking over cases and tell us whether you are looking for a clean look, or a more rugged industrial look.

 

[Dangman]

Pro tip. Don't build a 2200 system and not get an SSD. Heck most people will tell you to step down other items just to make sure you can fit in an SSD at a comfortable size for you. The specced out one specified a 128GB. If you can go higher I would recommend it. 256 seems like a sweet spot in size and price.

Fair point. I was a bit conservative with the SSD. The Crucial m4 256GB is a solid choice.

The only other thing I would mention is the build above leaves out a CPU cooler. For cost I would recommend the CoolerMaster 212+, or for upper end cooling capabilities, something like the N-14 or H100 would work well. I Personally love the H80 I put into my system.

He wasn't overclocking so I saw little need for a 3rd party HSF. But if the OP want better cooling, the HSF you mentioned are fine choices. Personally if I had to go with a self-contained water cooler, I'd probably look at the Antec Kuhler 920 since it cools a little better and has a quieter pump.

He also left out of the cases some really great ones. Probably do to aesthetics. Coolermaster makes a great enthusiast line of cases called the HAF series. The HAF X has great thermals and features, but a love it or hate it look. Same thing with their Storm series. So I would probably suggest looking over cases and tell us whether you are looking for a clean look, or a more rugged industrial look.

They were there in the list at one point. It was a combination of changing personal aesthetics, price, and quality for the money that has made me later drop the HAF series from my personal list of recommended cases. I think a lot of the HAF cases are a bit overpriced for the quality you're getting and some of the higher-end models looks kinda ugly to me. Not to mention that some appear to be cramped or cluttered internally. I do agree that the HAF series generally have good cooling. Similar reasons for the Storm series exclusion but with a greater emphases on how cramped they appear to be and the little to no cable management features some of the Storm cases have.

With that said, I still recommend the HAF 912 from time to time when my main budget option is out of stock/unavailable and/or the HAF 912 costs $60 shipped.

 

[Platipus]

Really great info guys. Thanks a lot.

I'll probably take a step up to that 256 ssd, and I'll just have to make a decision on the video card. I think I'll probably just get a $400 one though.

As far as cases go, I prefer to go with function over fashion. I'm in the process of just going through the linked cases and see what I think works best for me.

Thanks again all. Much appreciated.