[crowfm]

What is your budget?
I'd say between $1300 NZD, which is equivalent to around $1000 USD.

What is your resolution?
I'm not quite sure about this; I have not owned a desktop and only played at netcafes where the resolution for SC2 was around 1600 x (?) or 1920 x (?). I'm unclear whether this is vastly relevant to the different parts of the build (Please tell me!) - I would like to play on medium-high definition with no lags or frame drops. (I have a 20 inch HP LCD monitor that I may use, if it this info is relevant). I am willing to purchase a monitor that matches the video card requirements

What are you using it for?
Gaming (SC2, DOTA2, GW2, possibly other medium requirement games), not intending to do any streaming.

What is your upgrade cycle?
Probably 2+ Years, I plan to stick with what I get initially unless there are problems with it.

When do you plan on building it?
In the next two weeks

Do you plan on overclocking?
No.

Do you need an Operating System?
Yes,but don't include in the overall budget

Do you plan to add a second GPU for SLI or Crossfire?
No plans for this.

Where are you buying your parts from?
www.pricespy.co.nz
It is a New Zealand based hardware website.

Other Questions
I'm mostly concerned about the fps(?) and the smoothness of the games rather than the actual graphics (I dont need to play SC2 on extreme resolution, as long as it doesn't 'lag'). Which part determines this? which part needs more investment for this preference?

For the casing, . Also, something that looks decent

For the PSU, is having a higher wattage always better, or is too much not good for your computer?


After looking at numerous articles + looking at other builds, I put together (Blindly) a build, could you please check if this is ok? any suggestion? things I should add/remove?

CPU- Intel Core i5 2500k

Motherboard - Asus P8Z68-V/GEN3? (Not sure which Motherboards are compatible with i5, and not sure which is the best cost efficient wise)

RAM - Corsair Vengeance 4GB

GPU - ? (Want to have good performance, but then again... not sure which is the most suitable for my preferance.)

PSU - Corsair HX650 650W

Case - ANTEC 300 (I would prefer something that is easy to set up but looks good as well. I heard some cases are easier to handle the cables and so on)
HDD - Western Digital Caviar Black 32MB, 500GB

DVD Player - ASUS DVD/RW Drive

Please help me ASAP!

Edited by crowfm, 28 August 2012 - 02:55 PM.

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crowfm

A list for you to consider http://pcpartpicker.com/nz/p/fVHy

[phillpower2]

crowfm

A list for you to consider http://pcpartpicker.com/nz/p/fVHy

[crowfm]

Thanks for the reply,

So choosing the i5 3570K over i5 2500k is a better choice for me since I won't be overclocking?

As for the RAM it does not matter much about which company, as long as the memory size is the amount I want? or is the one you have chosen for me the best one there?

And for the PSU(Power supply), is 650W an overkill?/ 600W won't make a difference for gaming? (Actually, I don't really know much about PSU Watts and what the positives are for it being higher)

Thanks!

[phillpower2]

You are welcome

The 2500k is an outstanding CPU but the 3570k is an upgrade of the chip and so is more future proof, look at the price comparison though if there is a large price difference between the two then yes possibly choose the 2500k, you will also note that the MB that I suggested is the Z77 platform, that was suggested for the same reason as above as that it is the upgrade of the Z68 platform MB and again is more future proof.

One point that I will mention is the fact that you do not need the k version of either chip if you do not wish to overclock which you have made clear you will not be, to get you under your $1300 budget I suggest an alternative, less expensive but equally as fast (but locked CPU) http://www.pbtech.co...z=p&p=CPUIT3570

The Ram is a good brand, fast and a good price, also please note that to get the best out of your 64-bit Windows 7 you need 8GB and that is why it was suggested.

You can never have too much power available as the system will only draw what it needs, the opposite of one being under powered which will stress out and eventually blow your machine, the PSU that I suggested gives you some headroom in case you wanted to add a second HDD further down the line, it does not allow for adding a second video card but again you have told us that you have no plans for this.

All in all I think that if you swap the CPU to the i3570 and stick with the rest you will have all the performance that you require.