I'm looking for an outside review before I go about purchasing my first home-built gaming rig. No peripherals are included as I have what I need for the near future. (upgrades to come)

Processor-Intel i5-2500K 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost)
Mobo ASUS-P8Z77-V LK LGA 1155 Intel Z77
Case-C.M. HAF 922
GPU-EVGA GTX 560
RAM-Crucial Ballistix 8GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1866 (PC3 14900)
HDD-WD Caviar Black 1TB
No SSD for now, that's an upgrade option to happen within the next year
CPU cooler-CM Hyper 212+
Optical Drive x2
PSU-CORSAIR HX Series HX750 Open to options on this, I am also considering going to other sources for a PSU but the point is I am looking for a modular 750+W PSU to allow for add-ons


I'm a little on the fence about the GTX 560 vs the 560ti. For my near term needs the GTX 560 is more than sufficient but in the interest of not upgrading the card for the next couple of years will the additional 60 bucks be worth it?

My immediate uses for this rig will be Dawn of War 2, Rome: Total War and others in that series ( and Rome 2 upon its release), various FPS, Borderlands 2 upon its release...etc

Upgrades wishlist
SSD
replacement fans (if case fans prove noisy)
additional HDDs for RAID and additional storage
possible blu-ray drive (don't have any now so no point)
New peripherals-monitor, mouse, keyboard etc...

I think getting the $100 range of 120GB SSD and then pick up a cheap 500gb that would be best. Everything else seems great.

This PSU: NZXT HALE82 HALE82-750-M 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Certified 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Power Supply is vheaper and NZXT had a great warranty where they crosship another if your PSU goes out.
$125.

GPU: get the 560ti from EVGA with the money saved so far. %^)ti is way better...

Hope this helps..

Thanks, now to sell this to the budget conscious wife

I'm no expert, Maximinus Thrax, but I have some opinions from my recent build experience, and my planned GPU upgrade.

To second Mikagmann2 - Don't underestimate the significance of an upgrade to an SSD .... Omg, I never would have figured it, but there is no going back once the wonder of a boot SSD is experienced. Must ... Have ... SSD.

On to the GPU ... if you are considering a few dollars more for a 560ti under a cost limited scenario, perhaps you should consider a few dollars less for something comparable or maybe even better ... An AMD 6870. I'm torn between the 6870 and the 560ti and haven't even considered the 560, because from what I've read it's about equivalent to the 6870, but more expensive. I welcome any argument on the subject as I would like to make the most informed decision for myself.

Good luck - hope my input helps.

I'll have to give it a look over, thanks for the input.

The GTX 560 Ti will outperform the 6870 in most scenarios (though the 6870 outperforms a base GTX 560, all day long); a GTX 560 Ti 448-core is an even better performer, but the price is noticeable.

Hello Operator brings up an excellent point, though: The 6870 is highly-affordable and can run pretty much anything that you'll be playing. I can't speak to the performance of Rome 2 since we haven't yet been given an opportunity to benchmark it, but most other games won't have a problem. Metro might beat it up a little - Battlefield 3 might be run on high instead of max, but in the end, you're saving a few bucks and the loss in performance is minimal and often game-specific.

The great thing about video cards is that they're extremely modular, which makes them easy to upgrade later. You want a strong core system (motherboard, CPU, SSD) that you can rely on for years, and after building this, you can continue upgrading the GPU when gaming advancements dictates.

To sum things up: I highly encourage an SSD purchase and, if the SSD runs you over budget, definitely don't feel bad about a drop to the 6870.

One thing I want to ask: Why the 2500k? You could get the newer 3570k for $10 more and it will perform a little better. It also has a strong IGP (integrated graphics processor) in the event you ever need to live without a GPU. Here's a link to that CPU: www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116504

It's worth considering, but if $10 will break the bank, it's not worth going over.

I chose the 2500K because at the time I did the initial shopping (been a little while) the price gap was much wider. In fact, a buddy of mine did a build within the past month and I believe he also looked at the 3570K and the gap was wider than he was willing to pay at the time...

10 bucks is worth it

Order placed with the 560 ti and the 3570K, I appreciate your help and I'll be sure to get some pics up of the finished product later this week.

The worst part is it'll be a few days before I get home and am able to build this thing...

Sweet! That's definitely the worst part about any build, haha. The wait is well worth it, though.

Let me or Mik know if you run into any software installation or assembly questions during the process!

I'll be sure to do just that, thanks again!