First post, first build

[efirmage]

Hey all, I'm looking to build my first PC and was wondering if you'd give me some feedback on what I have selected. I've been a Mac user almost exclusively, but at this point am fairly platform agnostic. I want to better understand PCs and build something that will be used as a gaming platform and a home media center. The display will be a 1080p HDTV, but I'd like to allow for higher resolutions than that should I choose to run a 27" monitor from it.

I don't plan on doing any overclocking as my expectations are fairly low--the best performing rig I've used is an iMac with 3.4 GHz i7 with the AMD Radeon 6970M, but as I don't know much about it I'd like to leave that option open.

Noise concerns aren't too big a worry, as it will be in a large room at least 8 feet away.

I'd like to keep it around $1,000. My entire budget is near $2,000 including TV (I'm planning on the Panasonic TC-P50S60 which is $650).

Anyway, here's the build:

Fractal Design Arc Midi R2
Intel i5 3570k 3.4 GHz
Gigabyte GA-Z87X D3H
EVGA P4-2662 GTX 660
SeaSonic M12II 650AM (I ran the build through PC Part Picker and the estimate was 350w, so depending on feeback I could go down on this)
Crucial Ballistix Sport 2x4 GB
SanDisk Ultra 128GB SSD
WD 2TB Caviar Black
Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus
Pioneer Electronics USA 15x SATA Internal BD/DVD/CD

~Total: $1,124.91

+ $60 for DVD/BD, eventually I'll probably add in a 4TB WD Red for movie rips.

I know very little about motherboards, but both Gigabyte and ASUS have been recommended to me. I have heard about some QC issues with ASUS, but I have their N66U router and it is incredible. I'm wondering what the best choice would be for that.

Also as mentioned, this might be overkill for the PSU, so I'd love some feedback on that.

Would this graphics card be able to run most games at 1080p on high @ 60FPS? I'm thinking Skyrim, Borderlands 2, Diablo 3, Witcher 2.

I have a copy of Win 7, so that's not a concern, but I will need to add in a wireless keyboard and mouse. any recommendations?

Would love to know your opinions, and THANK YOU!

 

[Termie]

Welcome to the forums, efirmage!

You've put together a great build. I can give you just a few tweaks to the system.

(1) You should probably go with a newer "Haswell"-based system at this point, which means the i5-4670K instead of the i5-3570K, along with a Z87 board. There's nothing wrong with Asus, in fact I recommend it over Gigabyte. I'd go with the Z87-A to keep the budget down.

(2) You've picked out a very good power supply, but it's true that it's much more capacity than you need. If you're getting it on sale it's a fine pick, but otherwise, you simply don't need it. I've had very good luck with the Corsair CX series. Nothing fancy, but they work. I'd go with the 500W model in your case.

(3) Right now, you can get a GeForce 660Ti for not much more than the 660, and I'd go with that pick for the games you mentioned.

Also, for a bargain price on a solid keyboard/mouse combo, check out the Logitech Mk520, which can be had for $40 for the set.

 

[mfenn]

The build as listed will not work. It has a Socket 1155 CPU and a Socket 1150 motherboard. You'll either want to change the CPU to a Socket 1150 like the 4670K or the motherboard to a Socket 1155 board like the ASRock Z77 Pro3. You won't miss much by going with the older platform.