Computer Building advice

[Starwulf]

So, I'm considering building a new computer soon, and I figured I'd come to the forums and ask for advice on the parts I've selected. Pertinent Information: I live in the U.S, the computer is pretty much solely for browsing the net and gaming, I don't need a harddrive as the one in my current comp is less then a year old and is 750 Gigs and I don't need more space then that.

The main help I'm looking for, is pricing, as my Google-Fu(and Subsequently my shopping skills) are fairly poor, and I imagine that the parts I've picked out might be able to be found elsewhere cheaper(I only looked on Newegg). If you can find a similar item for a part that performs the same but is cheaper, feel free to suggest that as well.

The parts:

Motherboard:(I found a few for this, I'm not sure which yet)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188096

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130596

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131773

Processor:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115074

Graphics Card:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121446

Memory:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145325

PSU:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817812013

Case:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811322006

And, last but not least, I found Windows 7 Home edition 64-Bit for $100.00

The rough price for all of that, after rebates is right around 895, so If you can find deals that are cheaper but still the same part(or again, similar enough that performance is the same), please suggest them. If you find something that performs a bit better for the same price, please also suggest.

[Grinner]

What's your current computer's specs?

You might be able to shave a couple hundred off if you can reuse a few parts.

[Reluctance]

What sort of gaming are you talking about? If it's just light, casual stuff, you can probably get by with integrated graphics. Worst case scenario, you can always upgrade your graphics card down the line.

Wait literally a week. Google "Ivy Bridge" to see why. They're only releasing the high-end chips now, but the i5 3570K isn't much more pricey than the processor you're looking at. When combined with something like this (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138356) (the only major difference between Z77 and Z75 only coming into play if you have a SSD), the savings on the motherboard make up the difference, before the savings you might get by being able to overlook the discrete card.

Case and PSU seem a bit much for what you need. Of course, it's all a question of how much you expect to be upgrading the system over its life. If you expect more tinkering as time goes on, it might be better to start with the pricier component than to have to throw a cheaper one and upgrade down the line.

[Starwulf]

What sort of gaming are you talking about? If it's just light, casual stuff, you can probably get by with integrated graphics. Worst case scenario, you can always upgrade your graphics card down the line.

Wait literally a week. Google "Ivy Bridge" to see why. They're only releasing the high-end chips now, but the i5 3570K isn't much more pricey than the processor you're looking at. When combined with something like this (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138356) (the only major difference between Z77 and Z75 only coming into play if you have a SSD), the savings on the motherboard make up the difference, before the savings you might get by being able to overlook the discrete card.

Case and PSU seem a bit much for what you need. Of course, it's all a question of how much you expect to be upgrading the system over its life. If you expect more tinkering as time goes on, it might be better to start with the pricier component than to have to throw a cheaper one and upgrade down the line.

Hehe, definitely not light Casual stuff, so no integrated graphics card. Skyrim, Diablo 3, Civ V, HOMM VI, similar RPGs and empire/building sims.

The case is fairly necessary, as, due to circumstances, my computer case sits next to a heat-duct, and in the wintertime, playing Skyrim, I've seen comp temps average 145, with spikes up to 165(F, not C). The PSU I'm actually thinking Of just re-using my current one, as it's no more then a year old, and is a 700 Watt.

@ Scotchland: PSU and HDD are the only parts I'll be able to re-use, along with my CD/DVD Drive, as my current comp is 5 years old, and wasn't really top of the line when I bought it then. dual Geforce 9600 graphics card, DDR2 800 MHZ Ram(3 gigs), ancient processor(not even an i3) and MOBO(The MOBO doesn't even support DDR3 Ram)

[Ninjadeadbeard]

Integrated graphics won't cut it if the computers meant to be a gaming pc. I went through all this only a few months ago. I ended up with a top-notch computer, but it took forever.

My advice? Never buy off-brand, even if it's cheaper. My computer was down for months because the chuckleheads I got it from would take a look at the smoldering ruin I sent them, dent the case, and send it back. I ended up gutting the whole thing and re-building from scratch. You look like you're on the right track (although I personally prefer AMD motherboards).

Edit: Ah, ninja'd

[Reluctance]

If you want the airflow, more power to you. Depending on what you're comfortable shelling out, either an aftermarket heatsink or straight-up water cooling might serve you better. Poke around some of the options here (http://www.newegg.com/Store/Category.aspx?Category=11&name=Fans-Heatsinks) and see if anything suits your fancy.

As far as other buying options, all I can suggest is looking around any nearby computer stores and seeing if they have any parts you'd otherwise pay shipping on. Amazon's the only other retailer I can think of that might compete. Even then, while it's worth taking a few quick glances for comparison, the only reason they're competitive for me is because I use their Prime service. And that mostly because I find their instant video service to be a cheaper Netflix alternative.

[factotum]

Are you married to the idea of an Intel CPU? Last time I upgraded my machine I went for an AMD X3 running at 3.2GHz, which was cheaper than the Intel stuff; I've run Skyrim just fine at 1920x1080 on this rig.

[tyckspoon]

If you're not planning on overclocking, you could use a cheaper brand and/or slower variety of RAM without significant sacrifice; the quantity is generally more relevant than the quality once you've achieved a sufficient baseline quality of manufacture. I've been running a couple of kits of G-Skill (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231314) without any trouble. High-speed/ultragamer-style RAM kits mostly come into play when you need something that can handle the very high and/or unusual clockrates that your system will try to use when you overclock the CPU. (Also when did RAM get cheap again? I think that's less for a 2x4 kit than I paid for the 2x2s currently in my box..)

If your current PSU is a reliable brand, keep using it. Good ones are really quite durable, and 700w is more than enough power for any sane computer.

You'll probably want to invest in an aftermarket heatsink+fan for your CPU, especially with the particular heating situation you've described; Intel has been getting better with their shipped-in-box coolers, but the aftermarket ones still outperform them handily in everything except fan noise. (You still pay a pretty hefty premium for a design with excellent cooling + very low noise.) It's possible to spend a couple hundred dollars on this, but you can get good (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103064&cm_sp=Cat_Fans_%26%2338%3b_Heatsinks-_-Weekly_Deals-_-35-103-064) performance (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835106184) for about 30 dollars. (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233081)

[Starwulf]

If you're not planning on overclocking, you could use a cheaper brand and/or slower variety of RAM without significant sacrifice; the quantity is generally more relevant than the quality once you've achieved a sufficient baseline quality of manufacture. I've been running a couple of kits of G-Skill (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231314) without any trouble. High-speed/ultragamer-style RAM kits mostly come into play when you need something that can handle the very high and/or unusual clockrates that your system will try to use when you overclock the CPU. (Also when did RAM get cheap again? I think that's less for a 2x4 kit than I paid for the 2x2s currently in my box..)

If your current PSU is a reliable brand, keep using it. Good ones are really quite durable, and 700w is more than enough power for any sane computer.

You'll probably want to invest in an aftermarket heatsink+fan for your CPU, especially with the particular heating situation you've described; Intel has been getting better with their shipped-in-box coolers, but the aftermarket ones still outperform them handily in everything except fan noise. (You still pay a pretty hefty premium for a design with excellent cooling + very low noise.) It's possible to spend a couple hundred dollars on this, but you can get good (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103064&cm_sp=Cat_Fans_%26%2338%3b_Heatsinks-_-Weekly_Deals-_-35-103-064) performance (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835106184) for about 30 dollars. (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233081)

Thanks for the advice, especially about the aftermarket heat-sink, that's definitely a good idea, and a 30 dollar one wouldn't stress the budget. I think I've decided to go down to 1600MHZ RAM, as advised by several people on a similar thread I posted over on Bethsoft forums(I like to get a wide range of advice) and of course, by yourself as well. The Heat-sink thing is the first time it's been mentioned, and after talking it over with my wife, it definitely appears as though we really don't have any other option for where we place the case, so the Heat-Sink might be a brilliant idea!

The PSU is a 700 Watt Antec that I bought from ye-olde Best Buy last year when my previous PSU fried.

As for the processor, I kind of am married to the idea of an Intel processor, I'm not a fan of AMD anymore(which, up to a few years ago, I used to be). It kind of seems as though they are falling behind a good deal, their latest line of processor that were supposed to be the equal of the sandy Bridge processors were a failure in that department. I think I may be waiting now though, for at least a week, and see if the 2500k processors come down in price, as several people have recommended that, especially if I want to try my hand at OCing(and even if not, I've gotten several recommendations for the the power and quality of the 2500ks).