700-800 Dollar Gaming Build

Hey guys,

I miss having a desktop and want advice on the best bang for your buck on a new build with a budget of 700-800 (the lower the better.) I need something to last me at least 4 years and in those 4 years be well suited for future gaming. I don't need to play games at high performance settings, medium would be fine with me as I don't have time to game as much anymore (unfortunately). I want something that will be built for gaming and entertainment mainly. I was thinking Z68 so I have the option of upgrading CPU in the next 2 years if i need to.

Approximate Purchase Date: by next week

Budget Range: (700-800) Before / After Rebates

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming/Entertainment,

Country: USA
Parts Preferences: Asus Mobo since it is highly regarded and Intel CPU. Everything else I want something that is trusted and will not fail

Overclocking: Maybe

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe, i want a GPU that will last me at least 2 years

Monitor Resolution: for now enough for 1920x1200

Additional Comments: Windows 7, I would like room to upgrade to ivy bridge, Please make case/fan/PSU recommendations as I don't have much experience in that.

I know my budget might be low but it is limited due to me being a student. However, I do care about quality and would like get tested, high quality hardware that fits my budget.

I want something that is somewhat future proof.
Thanks again

Here is the build I came up with so far.

Motherboard: P8Z68 DELUXE/GEN3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813131792

CPU i5 2500
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819115073

GPU: 560i

RAM: 8GB Vengenance

HD: 64GB SSD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820148441

HD 250GB 7200 rpm
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822136279

Optical Drive: Asus Blu-ray DVDRW

PSU: ???
Fan: ???
Case: ???

THank you. I have a question tho. I would rather have the Z68 mobo because of future upgrades and spend a little less on the video card. Is the 560i I have listed good enough for at least the next 2 years.

Intel Core i5-2400 - 189.99

ASUS p8z68-v LX - 124.99 (10.00 MIR)

GSkill Ripjaws X Series 8gb - 39.99

Corsair Builders Series 600w (same 49.99 after MIR and offers more power if needed in the future)

ROSEWILL Challenger - 54.99

SAPPHIRE Radeon 6850 - 134.99 (15.00 MIR, since you arent concerned about ultra settings this will more than suffice)

Seagate Barracuda 500gb HD - 84.99

ASUS Blue-Ray Drive - 57.99

TOTAL = 757.92 + 7.33 Shipping - 45 MIR = 725.25

If wanting to do the 560ti than using this:
GIGABYTE GV-N560OC-1GI GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) - 224.99 (20.00 MIR)

TOTAL = 847.92 + 10.10 Shipping - 50.00 MIR = 808.02

Check out my $900 build here:
http://www.squidoo.com/electronicandmore
Just drop the SSD and you'll be at $800.

I suggest the 2500K just so you can overclock in the future, and a 750w so you can SLI in the future as well. The board I suggest is an Asrock but for good reason. It's a cheap board, but has the features of more expensive boards. It runs Tri-SLI/CF (Capable) at 8x/8x/4x which is better than most boards specially some high priced Asus's. It's a Gen3 board so it supports Ivy Bridge and PCI 3.0 if you have an Ivy Bridge chip installed. Plus it's got SATA 3 and USB 3 (Not a huge feat).

No need, the fans that come with the HAF 912 are sufficient.

Well, if you MIGHT Overclock in the future, I would get the i5-2500k.