UPDATE! I can grab all these(HDD, monitor, SSD) parts for $350 for the next ~36 hours. Just want to make sure they're all up to snuff before I place the order, though if nobody replies in time I'll just go ahead with it.

Errr, that HDD is tempting, but I'm going to advise avoiding it... it looks unreliable and has quite poor reviews. I'm fearful of a hard drive crash if you get that.

Monitor looks like a fantastic deal!

The SSD is pretty reasonable at that price, I'd go for that as well. Not bad finds overall, though I still wouldn't recommend the HDD.

First of all, thanks for the timely reply! Second, nice catch on the HDD. I totally forgot to read the reviews yesterday. You guys recommend Western Digital and HGST, correct? I'll keep an eye out for sales on them.

After reading reviews on that SSD, I'm very hesitant about picking it up. It seems it has a ton of reliability issues as well, though that seems to be the case with most SSD's. Would you recommend waiting for a deal on a Force, HyperX 3k or M4(or something else)? They generally seem to be more reliable.

I'm probably going to order the monitor and Logitech G500 mouse($51) today, and depending on your reply, possibly the SSD.

EDIT: Just saw that the 120gb Kingston HyperX 3k is $90 after MIR, so I'm gonna order that instead. I'll have to get a new mounting bracket though, their blue one doesn't match my red/black scheme.

WD, Hitachi, and Samsung are all on my list of preferred brands (personally) for HDDs. Not necessarily in that order.

Yeah, if you have the money to spare, the Kingston HyperX 3K is absolutely the better choice here. I've personally used that one and reviewed it and haven't had issues with it. You could always paint the mounting bracket, if you're the DIY type, though it'd cost you probably an extra $20 just to buy some nice metallic spray paint from an autoshop and a solid clear coat.

I think the HyperX 3K or FORCE are equally powerful -- I've used both extensively and have personally enjoyed them (they also seem to be what most enthusiasts are preferring right now, with only Intel being held to higher standards - though that's out of budget).

Logitech's mice are good. I've used a lot of mice in my gaming career, but the G5 (I believe the predecessor to the G500) has lasted me the longest and been my favorite.

The Kingston SSD looks like a good deal to me

As always your advice is excellent and much appreciated.

Alright so, all the stuff came in but we're in the middle of a move so I haven't opened any of the boxes yet. I get paid tomorrow which means I'll have enough money to buy the rest of the peripherals I need, ~$350 for cpu/mobo and ~$400 for a graphics card. The reason I give prices instead of parts is because I think I want to use an Ivy Bridge cpu and a 600 series gpu, but I'm not sure which. I figure if I'm building an entirely new system from the ground up I might as well make it current gen, right?

On the cpu/mobo side, I'm stuck between the i5-3550 and the i5-3570k. OC'ing is not a huge concern for me but part of the reason I'm building my own PC is for the hands-on experience(will be studying for/taking the A+ exam and other certs in the near future) so having different options to explore is always welcome. I suppose the mobo depends on which cpu I go with...H77 for 3550 and Z77 for the 3570k, if I'm not mistaken?

As for the video card, there are recent rumors of the 660ti coming out mid-August and I guess I'm not sure if I should wait to see how that performs/effects the market. At the same time however, I need a card before GW2 comes out on the 25th(will pre-purchase) and the Planetside 2 beta isn't far off either. I had the idea of buying the EVGA 570 now and when the 660 comes out step-up to either it or the 670. The only problem with that plan is that I won't be able to go AMD if they have some crazy deals leading up to/after the release of the 660. Also, I'd be out of a card until I got them swapped, assuming they require you send in the old card before you can get the new one.

As you can see, I'm in a bit of a conundrum here. Any suggestions?

Apparently the i5-3570k is on sale for $215, making it the clear winner in my eyes as the 3550 is only $5 less(and the 2500k is $5 more for that matter). I'll be pairing it with the ASRock Pro4 in your Ivy Bridge build, unless you have any other suggestions.

I've decided to just go ahead with the ASUS GTX670, as opposed to whatever other harebrained scheme I could come up with, which makes this my pretty-much-complete build(still minus HDD for now). Barring some act of God, I'll have everything ordered by tomorrow and hopefully I can put everything together properly next week.

Jellybones,

I recently purchased an i5-3570K, and was fortunate enough to have a Microcenter in my area. If you haven't yet taken the plunge and are able to arrange an in-store purchase, you can pick up that chip for $189.00. They were also running a sale that took an additional $50 off when the purchase was combined with a Z77 motherboard (I don't know if that sale is still current).

Good luck on your build - how exciting!

Hello, Hello Operator. Unfortunately for me, the closest MC is 6 hours away but thanks for the tip! Maybe it'll help some other lurker get a great deal. How're you liking the 3570k?

Bummer. That was a nice sale price.

I'm impressed that without a discrete GPU I can still successfully start pretty much any game, but I'm still getting a feel for how well it can perform (watching discrete GPU deals to add one to the system). I'm not too savvy on this stuff, but I'm pleased with it so far. I'm glad it will give me an opportunity to experience some fundamentals of overclocking (virgin).

Sounds like we're in the same boat then. I've been on the lookout for a good GPU sale for a week or two now, but it looks like I'll be ordering one by Monday at the latest, whether it's on sale or not. The Planetside 2 beta was announced to start next week, and I have to play it.