Gaming desktop for $1,000usd?

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k. bridges

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I'm looking to build my first gaming computer. I would like to be able to play SWTOR, Mass Effect 3, Shogun Total War, etc on high settings. I do not need a monitor, keyboard, or mouse. I can recycle my old DVD drive, but those are so cheap I'd prefer a new one, maybe a BR drive.

I've seen several builds around this price point, but I have a few questions.
Most builds that go slightly over my price point have a graphics card for around $300. Could I just buy a top of the line last years model for half than and upgrade in a couple years?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130625
Noise is also an issue for me. We never really turn the computer off and previous graphics cards tend to constantly make a lot of noise even when the computer isn't being used.
The Intel 2500k Sandybridge keeps coming up. It is more than just the 2500k, is that a place to save money or just pony up the extra?
Do I need to buy anything to assemble the computer? I believe I read somebody mention a CPU glue?
Should I wait x amount of time for new products coming out that will drive prices down?
I have a 4 year old Dell 22" monitor that works fine. Is there any reason to upgrade it? (not included in the price of this build)

Thank you!
 
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There is no difference between the 2 2500k's, there is only one 2500k in existence, not sure what you're talking about. Also the 550ti isn't close to and never has been top of the line, it's a low end gaming card, idk if it can even play BF3 @ 1080p. Also new products don't hardly mess with prices, when it comes to like the 2500k, when the next version comes out which is like 10% faster and runs on 77w instead of 95w, i doubt it will effect the price much if any, they'll just put the next at like 260 or so.
 
Here's a build (from Newegg w/out links) that comes out to just over $1000 without any combo deals and before shipping. May be useful to use as a base. Obviously the case is more personal preference. For current gaming, an i3 would do very well, but an i5 quad-core would be more future-proof. SSD is only 64GB, would have to rearrange if you wanted a larger one. A smaller HDD may be enough for you, you may want to spend just a tad more for a slightly beefier PSU, and you may not even need a blu-ray reader. Again, just a base to get an idea. Also didn't include an aftermarket cpu cooler, OS, monitor, or peripherals. Tower only. If you wanted to spend a little more on the CPU, a 2500K would give you more overclocking potential for later on. Blah blah...

Motherboard - ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 LGA 1155 (122)
CPU - Intel Core i5-2400 Sandy Bridge 3.1GHz LGA 1155 (190)
Memory - G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 1600 (47)
SSD - Crucial M4 CT064M4SSD2 2.5" 64GB SATA III MLC (80)
HDD - SAMSUNG EcoGreen F4 2TB 32MB Cache (160)
Optical 1 - LG 22X Super-Multi DVD Burner Black (16)
Optical 2 - SAMSUNG Black Blu-Ray Reader (60)
PSU - Antec NEO ECO 620C 620W - (70)
Video Card - GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 560 Ti 1GB - (210)
Case - Cooler Master HAF 912 (60)

Total - 1015
 
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Thanks for that build! Why is a solid state drive important? 64g seems awfully small to me. Is it that much better than a 7200rpm drive?
 
It's a ton faster, like you'll bot into windows in ~30 secs or so, but 60-64gb's costs over 100 bucks, i'd put that into something else really for a 1000 buck build, although it is nice to have. But if you leave it, the HDD has to change, he chose a green drive which it doesn't say, but are always 59/5200rpm's, which will make booting and loading programs pretty slow in comparison to a 7200rpm. Also i think blu-rays read DVD's too, so both would be pointless. Then put some of that to a better psu, antec neos are fine but they aren't one of their better models. Then the rest of that would go to the OS, windows is pretty essential, and costs 100.
 
I especially recommend the Crucial M4, my M4 128GB is a fantastic drive. Yes, you want an SSD because they're a lot faster! My Blu-Ray drive can read and play Blu-Ray discs, burn and write DVDs, and burn and write CDs, so you only need the one drive, and I'd go for a Corsair TX PSU.
 
Would it be difficult to do to buy an new 124gb SSD and also install my old HD into the new computer? I would save the OS, games, etc on the SSD and use the old one for pictures, movies, music, etc?
 
k. bridges said:
Would it be difficult to do to buy an new 124gb SSD and also install my old HD into the new computer? I would save the OS, games, etc on the SSD and use the old one for pictures, movies, music, etc?
Click to expand...

Not at all difficult. I'm just going to assume your old HDD is Sata (Sata anything), and if so it would work fine.
 
That's basically what ssds are made for, the main things you will use the most, then you store documents, pics, vids, music, etc. on the hard drive
 
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