Building a new PC!

[Cosima]

Hello!

This is my current situation: I currently own a four year old computer (3.0 GHz duo processor from Intel, GTX 260 graphics card, 1TB harddrive, 8GB DDR2 RAM, etc). For a long time I've planned on building a new one, and now when I finally found myself a job I've got enough money to do so.

However, there's one thing that complicates things a bit: In two-years time I'll be joining the army and staying there for six years. This means that in two-years time, the computer will most likely either be placed in my dad's basement to never ever see sunlight again, or sold to whoever is willing to buy it.

What I'm looking for is basically a computer that'll serve me well for the two years I have left until joining the army. I spend most of my time on the computer playing World of Warcraft, Call of Duty (MW1, MW2, MW3), StarCraft 2, and editing photos.

This is the build I've been looking at, including a monitor:
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 Plus Midi Tower
CPU: Intel® Core i5-3570K Processor, cooler: Hyper 212 Evo
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77-D3H
RAM: Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1600MHz 8GB
PSU: Corsair TX V2 650W PSU
SSD: Crucial m4 SSD 2.5" 128GB
HDD: The same 1TB harddrive I currently have in my old PC (is this a valid option? Would it hinder the build in any way?)
GPU: ASUS GeForce GTX 560 1GB
Monitor: Acer 27" LED S271HLAbid

Problem is, I would prefer to spend a lot less money than what the above build costs, but I'm not able to figure out how and where to cut down on my spendings. I havn't locked in on any products, so I'm willing to change the entire build if anybody has a decent suggestion. I guess around $1000 + monitor would be a decent price, a bit less would be ideal. I'm basically just looking for something that can:
- Run the games mentioned above, as well as upcoming games such as Black Ops 2 and Crysis 3 (not the highest graphics here, I would assume), with decent FPS and graphic quality.
- GPU must have HDMI-input (I assume this is the best way of connecting a montior to a GPU these days, quality-wise?)
- Cost me as little as possible.

I would like the Acer 27" monitor because well, it's big, fast and cheap. I would also prefer to have an SSD to put some games on.

Any suggestions?

[Schmiggy]

- GPU must have HDMI-input (I assume this is the best way of connecting a montior to a GPU these days, quality-wise?)

I would like the Acer 27" monitor because well, it's big, fast and cheap. I would also prefer to have an SSD to put some games on.

Any suggestions?

To my knowledge, standard DVI cable delivers the same quality as a HDMI cable, the main difference being that HDMI transmits audio too. So unless you're planning on hooking your computer up to a TV and you don't have a surround sound system, you might as well just stick with DVI and not limit your options.

As for the monitor, seeing as it's 1920x1080, a gtx 560 would most likely be sufficient. I've got a 27" at the same resolution using a gtx 580 and can run almost any game with every setting on ultra without hiccups.

Shouldn't be any issues retaining your current hard drive, might be nice though to back everything up and format the drive to start with a clean slate (I'm kind of fussy with that kind of thing).

I can't really offer any more advice beyond that, I stopped keeping up to date with the latest pc parts when I got my PC 2 years ago and probably won't bother until a game comes out I can't run properly.

[demonskies]

Asus 7850 $219 GTX560 vs 7850 Benchmark
Asrock Z77 pro3 $95
Seasonic 520 $69-79 depending on modular or non

If you are only planning on running a single card video setup the Asrock z77pro3 is a great solution and its about 30 cheaper than the board you listed. The 7850 is newer technology, lower power consumption, and exceeds the 560 in many areas for about 30 cheaper also. The seasonic 520 is 10-20 cheaper and would power your system just fine. Overall that could save you ~$70

[Deleted]

Hmm Why you need so big monitor get 21,5-24 inch instead?? if you want to save some money

[yurano]

You can reduce the costs of several components
Case - $40 should be sufficient
CPU - i3-2XXX or i3-3XXX cuts out $100
Motherboard - previously mentioned Asrock motherboard would cut $20
PSU - you can get away with a 500W PSU. I'm a Seasonic fan and would recommend the S12II 520 which would save you $20

[lockblock]

You can reduce the costs of several components
Case - $40 should be sufficient
CPU - i3-2XXX or i3-3XXX cuts out $100
Motherboard - previously mentioned Asrock motherboard would cut $20
PSU - you can get away with a 500W PSU. I'm a Seasonic fan and would recommend the S12II 520 which would save you $20

In addition to that I would probably cut the ssd as well, but only if that old 1TB hdd is performing decently.(70+ MBps average)

[dklol]

1. 27" monitor withou 1440p resolution is stupid, because you will see every pixel and need to go further away, just take a 22-24" one and you can sit on a normal distance and thus have the same actual size^^
And just take the DVI cable that comes with the monitor normally, there is no difference in quality over hdmi.

2. If you don't plan on overclocking now or the day a 3570k won't be enough on stock clocks, then take a cheaper one.

[Cosima]

Not all parts are available in the store I plan on buy the hardware from, but with the parts I did find I came up with this build that's slightly less expensive than the previous one:

Case: Cooler Master Elite 310 Black
CPU: Intel® Core i5-3450, cooler: Hyper 212 Evo (Will the added cooler even be needed, unless I'm overclocking?
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77-D3H (possibly looking for a cheaper one, but I can't seem to find the ones recommended earlier in my store)
RAM: Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1600MHz 8GB
PSU: Corsair CX V2 500W
SSD: Crucial m4 SSD 2.5" 128GB
HDD: Same 1TB harddrive I currently have in my old PC
GPU: ASUS Radeon HD 7750 1GB GDDR5 V2
Monitor: BenQ 24" LED RL2450HT

[yurano]

Hyper 212 Evo (Will the added cooler even be needed, unless I'm overclocking?
GPU: ASUS Radeon HD 7750 1GB GDDR5 V2

The heatsink is unnecessary. In my mind, there are 2 functions of the heatsink: 1) Allows for Overclocking, 2) Reduces the temperature of the CPU which increases lifespan.

I think you can get away with using your GTX 260. The 6850 is 40% faster than the 260, but also 40% faster than the 7750.
260 vs 6850 http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/318?vs=291
7750 vs 6850 http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/539?vs=614