New mATX Build!

[Jon55]

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Gaming (Diablo 3, TF2, SimCity, Borderlands 2), general web browsing/office stuff
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
~$800 total
3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
Southern California (Fry's and MicroCenter nearby)
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, mobo, case, GPU, SSD
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
PSU: Seasonic S12II 620W EPS12V
RAM: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) 1.5v DDR3 1600, model: BLS2KIT4G3D1609DS1S00
HDD: 1TB Samsung Spinpoint F1
Monitor: ASUS 23" 1680x1050
6) Will you be overclocking?
Yes
7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
1680x1050 (will later be purchasing a 1080 monitor)
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Within the next week or so
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.
NO SLI/Crossfire whatsoever (I will never be running two GPUs in this setup), otherwise just the standard stuff is fine
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
Yes



I've done some research but wanted a second opinion from you guys (just to be safe). This is what I've picked out so far:
Case: Silverstone TJ08B-E (I love this case)
Mobo: ASRock Z77 Pro4-m
CPU: i5 3570K (or 2500K if MicroCenter has another one of those amazing deals on them again)
(note: I'll definitely be getting the CPU and mobo from MicroCenter since they always have the best deal on that stuff)
GPU: some kind of 7850 2GB
SSD: Samsung 840 240GB
I'll probably also need to get some kind of CPU cooler as well.

 

[tiraides]

Which games do you play and how many (visual) bells and whistles do you use?

What's the specific model number of your RAM? What's the voltage level?

 

[Jon55]

Which games do you play and how many (visual) bells and whistles do you use?

What's the specific model number of your RAM? What's the voltage level?

Diablo 3, TF2, SimCity, Borderlands 2. The RAM is listed as 1.5V, model #: BLS2KIT4G3D1609DS1S00. I updated the original post with those answers also.

 

[Dangman]

Man, dark blue does not work well with the gray background.

Anyway, I'd take a look at the MSI Z77MA-G45 or the Asus P8Z77-M if those are available at your Microcenter.

Besides that, looks ok to me.

 

[tiraides]

All of the parts you're considering together exceed your $500 budget. Can you spend more for this build?

Here's what I mean:

$190 - Intel Core i5-3570K (MC sales price)
$60 - Gigabyte GA-Z77M-D3H-MVP (includes MC instant $40 discount when purchased alongside processor)
$190 - Samsung 840 Series 250GB SSD (same at MC and Fry's; Amazon has it for less)
$100 - Silverstone TJ08-E (Fry's)
$30 - Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus (MC, will fit inside TJ08-E)
$200 - MSI Twin Frozr HD 7850 2GB

I didn't go with Danny's choices in motherboard (nor yours) because they weren't listed in the MC web store. Without knowing what's available in-store, I can't really offer my comments on which motherboard you should get.

 

[Jon55]

Man, dark blue does not work well with the gray background.

Anyway, I'd take a look at the MSI Z77MA-G45 or the Asus P8Z77-M if those are available at your Microcenter.

Besides that, looks ok to me.

Hah, yeah tried something different with the font color, and yes it does make my eyes bleed as well. I changed it back.

As for the motherboard, is there any particular reason to jump for the ASUS or Gigabyte boards you listed?

All of the parts you're considering together exceed your $500 budget. Can you spend more for this build?

Here's what I mean:

$190 - Intel Core i5-3570K (MC sales price)
$60 - Gigabyte GA-Z77M-D3H-MVP (includes MC instant $40 discount when purchased alongside processor)
$190 - Samsung 840 Series 250GB SSD (same at MC and Fry's; Amazon has it for less)
$100 - Silverstone TJ08-E (Fry's)
$30 - Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus (MC, will fit inside TJ08-E)
$200 - MSI Twin Frozr HD 7850 2GB

I didn't go with Danny's choices in motherboard (nor yours) because they weren't listed in the MC web store. Without knowing what's available in-store, I can't really offer my comments on which motherboard you should get.

Yeah I would definitely up the spending limit if it allowed me to get a much better part. Assuming that had MicroCenter had the ASRock Z77 Pro4-m, Gigabyte GA-Z77M-D3H-MVP, Asus P8Z77-M, or MSI Z77MA-G45 all in stock, would there be any one of those you'd recommend over the other?

 

[tiraides]

What's the most you're willing to spend on this system?

 

[Jon55]

What's the most you're willing to spend on this system?

I've upped it to ~$800 (and made those changes in my original post). I'm just looking for the best bang for the buck while not sacrificing quality (aren't we all?).

 

[tiraides]

I've upped it to ~$800 (and made those changes in my original post). I'm just looking for the best bang for the buck while not sacrificing quality (aren't we all?).

If you were to buy everything I listed earlier (more on those in a moment), you'd spend roughly $770 before taxes. Assuming that everything listed is in stock either at Micro Center or Fry's -- regardless, you would be visiting both places -- you won't have to look at NewEgg or Amazon to fill in any gaps.

Assuming that had MicroCenter had the ASRock Z77 Pro4-m, Gigabyte GA-Z77M-D3H-MVP, Asus P8Z77-M, or MSI Z77MA-G45 all in stock, would there be any one of those you'd recommend over the other?

All of those boards have similar features and (based on the few reviews that I was able to find) comparable overclocking capabilities. Danny Bui would not recommend the ASRock board due to prior [H] reviews that showed mixed performance (generally bad) from various ASRock boards. However, many users here have sung the company's praises.

The long story short is that I recommend going with whatever is available at Micro Center (you have to buy the processor and the motherboard at the same time to receive the $40 motherboard discount) that is cheapest. (If you're still confused, just listen to Danny.)