Building my first gaming computer

[marcuswhite]

1. Budget & Location
1500$ in Canada will probably purchase in mid July

2. Aim
Playing games, mostly FPS / ActionRPG, no video editing or computational intensive tasks.
3. Monitors
Will start out with 1 and in the future add a 2nd one only for FSX. 1080p around 19 inches, nothing beyond 24 inches. I do need some suggestions for a monitor. 
4. Peripherals
Will need a mechanical keyboard only. OS will be Windows 7 64bit
5. Why are you upgrading?
It's a new build since I don't have a gaming desktop

6. Other requirements?

Mostly quiet. No SLI in the future, but do plan to overclock the CPU. Could I get away with a 550W PSU?

 

PCPartPicker part list

 

CPU:  Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor

CPU Cooler:  Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM  Liquid CPU Cooler

Motherboard:  Asus Z87-PRO ATX  LGA1150 Motherboard

Memory:  Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory

Storage:  Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk

Storage:  Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive

Video Card:  EVGA GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card

Case:  Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case

Power Supply:  SeaSonic 650W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply

Operating System:  Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 (OEM) (64-bit)

 

Thanks for the feedback!

 

[gts250ftw]

id go with a cheaper motherboard and a cheaper psu...also you can cut the ram in half since 8 gb is enough for gaming

which should be able to afford you a gtx 770 :) you may have to dig into you case budget but heh thats what id do

 

well id like the 16 gb of ram but thats because i dont game much but i would like to have it for video editing....but since you game id deff recommend a better graphics card...

 

 

also for not that much more you can get a 2tb drive :D

i think they sell for 99$ but thats in the us tho ...

[extremescouter]

You could definitely get away with a 550w power supply, as Linus used one with a 4770k and a GTX 780 in a build guide. For the graphics cards, I would suggest going for an AMD 7950 or 7970, as AMD cards are hard to beat right now for price to performance ratio. Also, for purely gaming, you only need 8gbs of RAM, if that. 

[MJOLNITR VIPER]

This is my recommendation for your system. Much more GPU power and 8GB of ram because that's all you need for gaming.

forgot the link, second time I did that today.

http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/13t99

What is your budget for the monitor?

As for a keyboard wait a little bit for the new Duckies to ship and get one of those. The build quality on them is just plain amazing they also have lots of back lighting options and key switch options.

If you have questions on why I changed certain parts just quote this part of the post and ask.

[ANIMAL_ORIGIN]

If you don't plan on SLi/Crossfire then get yourself a micro-ATX board. You could also get away with a lower wattage PSU.
Also, I'd recommend you push for a 660Ti rather than a 660.
Get a 7950 if you plan to overclock it, because that thing is a BEAST overclocker!

Asus Gryphon Z87 (micro-ATX)
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131977

[marcuswhite]

Thanks for the quick response from everyone, I forgot to mention why I choose the Z87 pro board, I needed wifi, my router is connected to my WHS 2011 machine and the modem in the basement.

 

Are there any issues with on-board motherboard wifi?

 

I'm really tempted by the AMD Graphics cards too, they do come with some games  :D​ 

 

For a monitor about 200$, just anything 1080p will be fine

[ANIMAL_ORIGIN]

Thanks for the quick response from everyone, I forgot to mention why I choose the Z87 pro board, I needed wifi, my router is connected to my WHS 2011 machine and the modem in the basement.

 

Are there any issues with on-board motherboard wifi?

 

I'm really tempted by the AMD Graphics cards too, they do come with some games  :D​ 

 

For a monitor about 200$, just anything 1080p will be fine

Just get a PCIe WiFi card then. Honestly, I don't see the point in spending $40+ just for onboard WiFi

[asusfan]

I think its a good choose of build, only thing i see could be improved is get a 660 ti with atleast 3 gig of onboard ram for the graphics card,

 

and no offence everyone else but this guy said he will be running FSX Microsoft flight sim X) so yes 16 gig of DDR3 ram would be recommended, its so heavy on ram, clock speeds, graphics etc,

 

how about a cyborg V5 gaming keyboard, i have one and its nice for the price.

 

A 24" monitor is perfect size, LCD LED ones are pretty cheap now.

[ravihadz]

.

[MJOLNITR VIPER]

I'm really tempted by the AMD Graphics cards too, they do come with some games  :D​ 

 

For a monitor about 200$, just anything 1080p will be fine

The AMD cards do come with games, so its a little extra free stuff to go with the system 

 

As for a monitor for around $225 you can get the Asus PB238Q, great IPS monitor with lots of features to make it a great deal for students, programmers or digital artists. It also has great gaming ability, no ghosting problems or noticeable input lag. 

[WoodenMarker]

Here's what you could do: http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/13Hr2

 

A 3570k is a better bang for your buck right now considering how much cheaper it is than the 4670k. It's not that much slower anyway.

The NH-D14 is a great cooler. Go with the h100i if you'd like but the NH-d14 is quieter than the h100i's pump noise.

The caviar black is wasting money when you are already using an ssd. A seagate barracuda will do the job at a lower price.

The 7950 and 7970 are close in performance when both overclocked. The 7950 is $100 cheaper and a better bang for your buck.

No need to get gold psus. A bronze psu-- the cx600 will do.

Asus makes great monitors--I got this one for my uncle and it's pretty good.

The G710+ is an awesome mechanical keyboard. I use one myself. It has mx brown keys which is sort of between a rubber dome's softness and a mx blues click. This keyboard is more of a clack. 

 

Have you tried any mechanical keys yet? It's best to try them out before you rush ahead and buy one you might not like.

 

No need to spend more money than you need to.

[VVR4ITH]

You should post again when you're closer to buying.  Deals change very quickly, and there could also be new items available.

[marcuswhite]

Thanks everyone for your input and feedback, it's very well appreciated.