My Cousin's Build

Hey guys, my cousin is looking to build a computer. He's going to be using it for gaming, video rendering, and streaming. He's going to be cannibalizing hard drives and optical drives, so he doesn't need those. His budget is between $600 and $700 though, so I'm not sure if we can fit an SSD in there.

The graphics card and capture card are going to be the two most important parts of the rig, since it's going to be used primarily for gaming and recording video game footage.

This is what we've come up with so far. He's just going to be doing a little more research before he makes a final decision. Tell me what you think:

CPU: Intel Core i5 3570K - http://www.microcenter.com/product/388577/Core_i5_3570K_34GHz_LGA_1155_Processor

MOBO: ASRock Z77 Extreme 4 - http://www.microcenter.com/product/387554/Z77_Extreme4_LGA_1155_Z77_ATX_Intel_Motherboard#

RAM: 8GB Crucial Ballistix Sport @1600mhz CAS 9 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148544

PSU: Thermaltake Toughpower XT TPX-575M - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153125

Case: NZXT Tempest 210 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146084

Case Fans: I have 5 Cooler Master Sickleflows lying around that I'm not using anymore, so I'm going to let him take them off my hands.

.Capture card: Hauppauge HD PVR2 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815116084

GPU: We haven't decided on this yet, but I've suggested the Radeon HD 6850, 6870, 7850, and 7870 so far. He's going to be thinking the build over and looking at all the parts for a few more days before he makes his final decision.

That brings the total to around $500 before we throw the graphics card in there. If you think my math is a little wonky, it's because Micro Center has good deals to begin with, and they're going to take $50 off in addition to that for buying a CPU with a compatible motherboard. I would like to see him spend the extra $200 on a Radeon HD 7850.

What do you guys think? Any suggestions?

You could do an AMD phenom 965 or AMD Vishera 6300 instead and use a 7870.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147160 has usb 3.0 is cheaper

 

 

 

 

 

That's true, but I think the only way we would go AMD with this build is if we could get him an FX 8350 because he's going to be doing a lot of rendering.