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Building First Gaming Computer, Welcoming Advice

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Kerfuffle

Junior Member
As the title says, i'm building my first gaming computer and would like any suggestions or advice that you are willing to give. Thank you in advance for any help.

Here are some details i'm looking for:
Approximate Purchase Date: March (still got a lot of research to do)

Budget Range: $2000-2750 after shipping

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, Everyday use

Are you buying a monitor: Yes (dual screen)

Do you need to buy OS: No

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg.com, amazon.com (preferred but not necessary)

Overclocking: Yes

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe



Current Setup:
Motherboard -
Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H LGA 1155 Intel Z77
$189.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128545

Cooler -
Noctua NH-D14
$80.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608018

Graphics Card -
ASUS GTX680-DC2T-2GD5 GeForce GTX 680
$539.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121634

RAM -
G.SKILL Ares Series 8GB DDR3 1600
$49.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231548

Hard Drive -
Seagate Barracuda 7200.14 ST3000DM001 3TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache
$159.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148844

Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache
$79.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148840

SSD -
Samsung 840 Pro Series 256GB
$249.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147193

Case -
Corsair Special Edition White Graphite Series 600T Mid Tower
$179.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139005

Monitors -
ASUS VS229H-P Black 21.5”
$149.99 x 2
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236205

Monitor Stand -
Planar 997-5253-00 Black Dual Monitor Stand for LCD Displays
$109.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824995006

Keyboard -
Razer DeathStalker RZ03-00900100-R3U1
$79.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823114028

Razer Blackwidow Ultimate
$139.99
http://www.amazon.com/Razer-Blackwidow-Ultimate-Mechanical-RZ03-00381900-R3U1/dp/B008U5ZNIG

Mouse -
CM Storm Inferno
$39.40
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003ZMF26W/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=hhmsquiddiscount-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B003ZMF26W

Razer Mamba
$129.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826153080

Mad Catz R.A.T 9 Professional Wireless Gaming Mouse
$148.50
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003CP0BHW?tag=gamingmice00e-20

Speakers -
Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 THX Certified Computer Speaker System
$179.99
http://www.amazon.com/Klipsch-ProMedia-Certified-Computer-Speaker/dp/B000062VUO

AudioEngine A2
$199.00
http://www.amazon.com/Audioengine-Premium-Powered-Desktop-Speakers/dp/B000VKEFN2/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1357460312&sr=1-1&keywords=Audioengine+A2

Optical Drive -
LITE-ON DVD Burner
$16.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106289&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

Power Supply -
SeaSonic X Series X-850 (SS-850KM Active PFC F3) 850W GOLD Certified Fully Modular
$159.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151102

Extra Fans - $100


Thank you!

MOD EDIT: repost - Zap
 
Last edited by a moderator:
For that kind of money, you will want a single 2560x1440 panel like Dell U2713HM instead of two 1080p screens. It's just pretty pointless to spend $2K+ for a 1080p gaming rig, you can get maxed out settings and smooth framerates with $1600-1700: e.g. mfenn's $1000 midrange build + aftermarket cooler + better motherboard + OS and peripherals.

Since you're planning this out for March, it is absolutely pointless to pick specific components just yet. Deals come and deals go, new products will pop up (HD 8000 and GTX 700 series cards!) and existing ones may be discontinued. It may also be worth waiting until Intel Haswell is released which should be out around April and offer nice improvements to Ivy Bridge all around - including overclockability, I've read.

What I'd do: put this on ice until March, then check out the news on Haswell's release date and decide if it's worth building Ivy Bridge. If it is, come back here and we'll sort you out 🙂
 
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Keep reading the build posts here, it will help you quite a bit on prices as you get closer. Agree that your options could be much greater 60+ days from now.
 
Agreed with both of the above posters.

Out of curiosity, why are you buying one 3TB drive and one 1TB drive along with an SSD?

Edit: Or are those two options you're considering?
 
Since you're planning this out for March, it is absolutely pointless to pick specific components just yet. Deals come and deals go, new products will pop up (HD 8000 and GTX 700 series cards!) and existing ones may be discontinued.

I agree. I started early because I'm new to this so I'm trying to learn more about computers and figuring out what I want my computer to be able to do.

Out of curiosity, why are you buying one 3TB drive and one 1TB drive along with an SSD?

No, I plan on getting 3+ drives. 3TB for storage, SSD for operating system and games, 1TB either as encrypted drive or Linux.
 
What I'd do: put this on ice until March, then check out the news on Haswell's release date and decide if it's worth building Ivy Bridge. If it is, come back here and we'll sort you out 🙂

Yep, we'll still be here. 🙂 OP, you should hang out and read threads in the meantime. That'll give you a good feel for what's good and what isn't.
 
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