New PC for Starcraft 2 & Battlefield 3

[Rimakes]

Hi!

I will be putting together a new system within next few weeks. This system will be used mainly for gaming, and to be more specific, mainly for Starcraft 2 and Battlefield 3. The budget for this system is around 1100-1200€ and does not include keyboard, mouse, monitor etc...

I've done some research over the past few weeks, and here's parts that I've come up with so far:

Case: Fractal Design Define Mini 80€
Motherboard: Asus Maximus IV Gene-Z 160€
CPU: Intel i5 2500k 190€
RAM: 4GB (2x2Gb) Kingston HyperX Grey DDR3 1600MHz 40€
GPU: Asus Radeon HD 6870 1GB DirectCu 160€
SSD: Corsair Performance 3 Series 128GB 220€
HDD: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 50€
PSU: Corsair AX 650w Modular 130€
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 64 OEM 100€

Total: about 1130€

The case I chose is basically smaller version of Define R3, and has enough features for my needs. I'm most likely to buy another 120mm fan to the front of the case, just to make sure that there's enough airflow to keep the interior of the case cool enough. The motherboard I chose isn't in fact out yet(?), but will most likely be released by the time I will be purchasing the components. The price tag on it is reasonable and it has a possibility for a crossfire setup in the future.

As you might know, Starcraft 2 is rather a CPU intensive game. According to many reviews and suggestions i5 2500k is more than powerful enough run SC2 on ultra settings and is also very overclockable. I've also heard that getting 8GB RAM is a bit overkill for gaming at the moment. Sure it's a possibility, but I'd rather save some money than buy something that doesn't increase the performance in games, particularly in SC2 or BF3.

HD 6870 is capable of running Battlefield Bad Company 2 1080p with some anti-aliasing, so I think it will also run Battlefield 3 1080p good enough. Anti-aliasing is a feature I'm ready to skip in order to play on otherwise highest settings and 1080p. I have also read that crossfire scaling on these cards is pretty decent, so getting another one of these cards is possibility in future. That's why I've also chosen a 650w PSU for my system, just to make it a bit "more futureproof."

So, what do you think? Is there something to improve, for example should I put in about 40€ more in order to get 8GB RAM? I'm also planning to purchase something like Corsair H60 CPU cooler to allow overclocking, since the stock cooler might not quite be up to it(?). Also, do you think the SSD I've chosen is "too big" for Windows 7, Starcraft 2 and Battlefield 3 with their associated files and stuff? Let me know if there is something to improve and I'll look into that.

PS. I have chosen some parts to maintain the overall red, black, grey and white color scheme of this build. Please try to keep this in mind when suggesting improvements!

[Fuzzykins]

Drop the quality of your motherboard down and get a more powerful graphics card like the 6970. If you stick with a Maximus on that low quality of a build, you will regret it.

[Deleted]

Drop the quality of your motherboard down and get a more powerful graphics card like the 6970. If you stick with a Maximus on that low quality of a build, you will regret it.

Indeed. You won't have any use for a motherboard of that quality for typical gaming. It's designed for multiple gpus and high overclocks.

Get an entry level p67, or mid range. Even Asus entry boards are more than enough for the average gamer.

And yes, your gpu is quite poor for that sort of budget. 6970 is probably the best bet.

Also your SSD is over the top. SSDs are a great luxury, but are only a luxury. They'll speed up boots times and loading time, besides that it offers no benefit to gaming at all. I'd downgrade it to something like 64gb drive for OS+a few games and put the extra cash into something more beneficial.