Hello everyone. I know nothing about computers and I'm going to build one. I'm planning on spending 1000-1500. 1200 would be the sweet spot, as I'd like some new headphones too.

I watched the Tested video and looked up the parts, but many of them don't appear to be current anymore/for sale new. I found an article at Lifehacker that seemed just what I wanted, but thought I'd solicit advice from the bombers first. It's from October 2012, so maybe things have changed a lot since then?

This is a gaming PC mostly though I would do some Maya/zBrush work with it too.

• The case: Corsair Carbide Series 400R - $99.99
• The power supply: CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX650 V2 650W High Performance Power Supply - $89.99
• The motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-UD5H LGA 1155 Intel ATX Motherboard - $189.99
• The CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4Ghz Quad Core Processor - $229.99
• The memory: G Skill 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1333 RAM - $36.99
• The storage: Crucial M4 128GB SATA III MLC SSD - $109.99 + Western Digital WD Black 1TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s Hard Drive - $109.99
• The graphics card: AMD Radeon HD 7950 - $309.99 OR NVidia GeForce 660 Ti- $299.99
• The optical drive: ASUS 24x CD/DVD Burner - $20.99

What do you think? Is there anything this build leaves out? Are there any parts/cables I may need that wouldn't come with these components? All thoughts and advice welcome. I have two monitors (1680x1050 + 1920x1080) and I'm not really thinking of buying a new one. Ideas for a reasonable mouse and/or headphones would be cool too, if you got em.

I recently built an incredibly similar PC. I can tell you to rethink the PSU.. My first one was the exact same model as yours, but made strange high-pitched crackling noises constantly and my computer would shut down occasionally. I RMA'd it and got a TX750, and though my PC didn't shut down at random anymore, the PSU was the loudest part of my system. That's not normal.

After some research I came under the impression that Corsair outsourced their lower-end models, so I bit the bullet, got an AX750 and it's been a dream. I really didn't want to take chances with the hardware that is powering my entire rig.

I went for the 660ti (MSI Power Edition) because I have more faith in NVidia's drivers and stability, though the 7950 will be slightly more powerful and probably OC better. For some perspective, I've been playing Witcher 2 on ultra (without ubersampling, which will destroy even the highest-end PC's) and Sleeping Dogs with everything except MSAA on ultra, which is set to normal. It seems to handle everything perfectly at 60fps until AA is cranked, which I believe is due to the 192bit bus.

Also, since you're getting the k edition of your CPU and the Z77 motherboard, I'd get an aftermarket cooler instead of the stock one that comes with the CPU so you can keep safe temps while OC'ing. You can get a fine one for 30 bucks. What this is is a heatsink/fan combo that sits on top of your processor.

Seems pretty good to me. I'm not up on video cards, so I couldn't tell you which to pick. As far as your monitors, you should get either an HDMI or DVI cable for each depending on what they use.

As far as mice go, I'm happy with my Logitech G400. It's cheaper than the G500 and does everything I want it to do.

Not really into headphones for gaming myself, so I can't help you there either. Other than that, seems like after the thing is finished, you'll be ready to play whatever you want.

I would go with the 660 ti but that's just cuz I'm more inclined towards nvidia

Seems pretty solid. Looks like the processor you've picked out has a K at the end which means it's unlocked. If you think you're going to overclock your processor, check out some third-party cooling fans. If not, you should be perfectly fine as-is.

The RAM you have picked is 1333; most people are going with at least 1600, it's debatable whether it will make any difference but the price should be within $1 so it's not really worth skimping on.

I would get a bigger SSD.

AMD is giving away better games right now, as long as you are interested in Crysis 3 and BioShock Infinite the 7950 is the way to go.

Looks solid. You can probably save ~$40 and go with a cheaper mobo. If you don't plan to mess with the bios (e.g. overclock) then your run of the mill $130-150 motherboard will more than do. Also upgrade the RAM speed to 1600, which is the standard for builds today.

Just wanted to give a mini congratulations on those specs - usually, when embarking on their maiden PC voyage, people tend to go overboard with crazy amounts of RAM and the best CPU they can afford, when in reality, in most games, an i7 would offer diminishing returns over an i5. The 3570K is about the best choice for price/performance at the moment, and when you feel comfortable after having built the PC and owned it for some time, just add an aftermarket cooler to the CPU and overclock it.

Finally, for GFX card, I'd go with the 7950, for the better free games, and also the fact that it copes better with higher resolutions than the 660ti, due to its greater memory buswidth/bandwith (completely forgotten the term). Have fun building it!