First time builder (i5-2500k build) $1700 need help and advice

Approximate Purchase Date: 1 to 2 weeks from now.

Budget Range: $1700 would like to get it lower if possible.

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, Gaming, Internet, some movies, standard usage (MS word etc)

Parts Not Required: keyboard, mouse,

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg.com

Country: (e.g.: India) USA

Parts Preferences: Intel is what I'm used to and know. Though I have nothing against AMD, I've never had an AMD system and know nothing about them from experience.

Overclocking: Yes-Absolutely

SLI or Crossfire: Yes- will start off with one card but in future will add another. Maybe about 6 months time if things haven't changed to much.

Monitor Resolution: 1280x1024, 1440x900, 1600x1200, 1680x1050, 1920x1080

Additional Comments: This is truly my first build so it's safe to say In can use any help and advice I can get. I don't have a lot of time to do research but have been reading as much as possible. It's time for me to get a good gaming system and I play all sorts of them. Will be playing BF3, Aion, Crysis, and other demanding games. Right now my concerns are making sure I've got the right parts to continue to add more in the near future of 6 months. Also the I5-2500k for OC and hopefully get it up to 4.5 but we shall see. The posted budget is what the cost is at right now. If I can get it down without hurting performance then that would be great. If there are other parts I should look into or replace but keep the cost the same then I would like to know that as well. Any input to help this become reality will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819115072

ASUS P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813131790

EVGA 012-P3-1576-KR GeForce GTX 570 (Fermi) DS Superclocked 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814130740

OCZ ZT Series 750W Fully-Modular 80PLUS Bronze High Performance Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817341052

COOLER MASTER HAF 932 Advanced Blue Edition RC-932-KKN3-GP Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case with USB 3.0
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811119213

Noctua NH-D14 120mm & 140mm SSO CPU Cooler
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835608018

G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820231428

Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKX 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822136769

ASUS 24X DVD Burner - Bulk 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827135204

ASUS VS248H-P Black 24" 2ms HDMI LED Backlight Widescreen LCD Monitor 250 cd/m2 ASCR 50,000,000:1
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6824236153

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6832116986

Over all looking for good performance and like I said I will add more later. This is also the reason for the full tower and Noctua CPU cooler. This comes to just a little over $1700. So what do ya guys think? I eagerly await your response. Thanks to all. Oh, will add 60 gig SSD later as well.

Reply to EagerBuilder23

24" is kind of an odd size monitor. 23" is the most common and popular. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6824236175

The Noctua cooler is also a bit overkill IMO. I think the Coolermaster Hyper 212 Plus or EVO would serve you just as well. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] per+212%2B

Other than that it looks good.

------------------------------ The power supply is the most important component in any computer. Without a good quality one, you usually wind up with a really expensive door stop.
Reply to tlmck

Thanks for that info. Do you think the Hyper 212 would still be good enough with dual GPU's? My main concern is just heat and other things I will be adding in the near future. Thanks for the monitor suggestion, think I will make that change.

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to EagerBuilder23

With that case and that GPU in SLI you shouldn't be too concerned with over heating. If anything (for more piece of mind) I think that case will allow you to add extra 120mm fans for extra cooling. They are pretty inexpensive.

Reply to LOBOBAST

Also if you get the Hiper 212 and get an extra $100 or so you can add a 120GB SSD for for you boot and games.

Reply to LOBOBAST

EagerBuilder23 wrote :

Thanks for that info. Do you think the Hyper 212 would still be good enough with dual GPU's? My main concern is just heat and other things I will be adding in the near future. Thanks for the monitor suggestion, think I will make that change.

They Hyper will be fine. With a front intake and a top and rear exhaust fan, heat should be no problem

------------------------------ The power supply is the most important component in any computer. Without a good quality one, you usually wind up with a really expensive door stop.
Reply to tlmck

On top of 2ms, I would get a 120Hz monitor if I were you. You'll need it for online games like BF3.

Message quoted 1 times
Message edited by Kanivakil on 02-10-2012 at 01:09:32 AM

Reply to Kanivakil

Excellent! Thanks guys for the help. An SSD 120gb for $100? Maybe I'm taking that to seriously lol. What would be the best SSD for this set up. I know some brand(s) have had issues in the past. Not sure which so I wont mention a manufacturer. Getting the Hyper 212 will help with getting that SSD for sure.

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to EagerBuilder23

EagerBuilder23 wrote :

Excellent! Thanks guys for the help. An SSD 120gb for $100? Maybe I'm taking that to seriously lol. What would be the best SSD for this set up. I know some brand(s) have had issues in the past. Not sure which so I wont mention a manufacturer. Getting the Hyper 212 will help with getting that SSD for sure.

Let me clarify. That's assuming you drop down to the Hyper 212 and using the $40 or so left over and adding it to another $100 or so lol...to get a 120GB SSD for around $145-200 depending on brand of course.

OCZ Agility 3 120GB for only $136 after mail in rebate at newegg.

The best one right now is the SAMSUNG 830 Series 128GB for $219. They did have it on sale a while back for only $189 which is a pretty cool deal.

Message quoted 2 times

Reply to LOBOBAST

LOBOBAST wrote :

Let me clarify. That's assuming you drop down to the Hyper 212 and using the $40 or so left over and adding it to another $100 or so lol...to get a 120GB SSD for around $145-200 depending on brand of course.

OCZ Agility 3 120GB for only $136 after mail in rebate at newegg.

The best one right now is the SAMSUNG 830 Series 128GB for $219. They did have it on sale a while back for only $189 which is a pretty cool deal.

Why spend so much on a SSD? 830 64GB ($109 Newegg) is good enough, especially on a $1,700 build.

Message edited by Kanivakil on 02-10-2012 at 01:33:48 AM

Reply to Kanivakil

Kanivakil wrote :

On top of 2ms, I would get a 120Hz monitor if I were you. You'll need it for online games like BF3.

Hhhhmmm, that bit of info on the monitor slid by me. Obviously this changes things a little bit. Can you make a suggestion on a 120Hz monitor? I'm looking at them and the ones I'm seeing are more than what I have currently selected. If I keep what I have right now, what am I looking at as far as perfomance or potential problems?

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to EagerBuilder23

LOBOBAST wrote :

Let me clarify. That's assuming you drop down to the Hyper 212 and using the $40 or so left over and adding it to another $100 or so lol...to get a 120GB SSD for around $145-200 depending on brand of course.

OCZ Agility 3 120GB for only $136 after mail in rebate at newegg.

The best one right now is the SAMSUNG 830 Series 128GB for $219. They did have it on sale a while back for only $189 which is a pretty cool deal.

I figured that's what you were getting at lol. I did change the cooler to the coolermaster Hyper 212 and added an SSD. The difference in costs is not enough for me to not get an SSD.

Reply to EagerBuilder23

EagerBuilder23 wrote :

Hhhhmmm, that bit of info on the monitor slid by me. Obviously this changes things a little bit. Can you make a suggestion on a 120Hz monitor? I'm looking at them and the ones I'm seeing are more than what I have currently selected. If I keep what I have right now, what am I looking at as far as perfomance or potential problems?

$1,700 is too small of a budget for a 120Hz monitor. You are just going to have to deal with a slower monitor until you have enough for a good monitor to be competitive with online multi-player games.

Message quoted 1 times
Message edited by Kanivakil on 02-10-2012 at 02:01:43 AM

Reply to Kanivakil

Kanivakil wrote :

$1,700 is too small of a budget for a 120Hz monitor. You are just going to have to deal with a slower monitor until you have enough for a good monitor to be competitive with online multi-player games.

Well, the whole idea of making this system is quite obvious and I understand what you're saying about the budget. So, I would rather do things the right way the first time around. Of course I will add other things internally later but if I'm going to get the right monitor then I would rather get it now. Reading up on a guide at the moment. Any recommendations would be helpful. Thanks.

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to EagerBuilder23

EagerBuilder23 wrote :

Well, the whole idea of making this system is quite obvious and I understand what you're saying about the budget. So, I would rather do things the right way the first time around. Of course I will add other things internally later but if I'm going to get the right monitor then I would rather get it now. Reading up on a guide at the moment. Any recommendations would be helpful. Thanks.

Go to Newegg, click on your preferred monitor size (23" is my suggestion), click on 2ms, and then click on 120 Hz. I usually look at the reviewers rating and read them and then go to other websites or google the item to see what they have to say about the product as well. I do this with all products before I purchase it.

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to Kanivakil

Kanivakil wrote :

Go to Newegg, click on your preferred monitor size (23" is my suggestion), click on 2ms, and then click on 120 Hz. I usually look at the reviewers rating and read them and then go to other websites or google the item to see what they have to say about the product as well. I do this with all products before I purchase it.

Well, it's come down to two monitors. Without turning my brain into mush this is what I have come up with. Granted my budget went up a bit but it's still enough in my range and not going to break the bank so to speak. There's no led back light on one of them but oh well. Let me know what anyone thinks of the monitor. Reviews seem to be pretty good.

ASUS VG236HE Black 23" 1920x1080 2ms Height, Swivel & Tilt Adjustable Full HD HDMI Widescreen LCD 120Hz 3D Monitor 400 cd/m2 100,000:1
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6824236104

Acer S273HLbmii Black 27" 2ms Full HD HDMI LED BackLight LCD Monitor Slim Design w/Speaker 300 cd/m2 ACM 12,000,000:1
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] r%20S273HL

Message quoted 1 times
Message edited by EagerBuilder23 on 02-10-2012 at 03:58:23 AM

Reply to EagerBuilder23

EagerBuilder23 wrote :

Well, it's come down to two monitors. Without turning my brain into mush this is what I have come up with. Granted my budget went up a bit but it's still enough in my range and not going to break the bank so to speak. There's no led back light on one of them but oh well. Let me know what anyone thinks of the monitor. Reviews seem to be pretty good.

ASUS VG236HE Black 23" 1920x1080 2ms Height, Swivel & Tilt Adjustable Full HD HDMI Widescreen LCD 120Hz 3D Monitor 400 cd/m2 100,000:1
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6824236104

Acer S273HLbmii Black 27" 2ms Full HD HDMI LED BackLight LCD Monitor Slim Design w/Speaker 300 cd/m2 ACM 12,000,000:1
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] r%20S273HL

The Acer would be a good choice but it is too big. It depends on what type of gaming you want to play. If you want to be competitive online, 27" is too big; you can't see everything at once. And besides, resolution is much more important than screen size.

With the process of elimination, we only have three choice: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] name=120Hz

Now you have to do the research throughout the web. Then you make the choice.

I'd go with the first one on the list, the SAMSUNG S23A950D; 3D would be awesome. So, if you want to do it right as you said...you're going to have to save and put up with a slow monitor and play single player games like Skyrim.

Message edited by Kanivakil on 02-10-2012 at 04:18:34 AM

Reply to Kanivakil

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