Returning builder... please check my components. $1500 budget- Thanks

[Hookster264]

My brother has asked me to build him a new gaming computer. His budget is $1500 and needs to include tower, monitor, speakers and keyboard. Please check these components for quality at price and compatibility. Thanks. He uses it primarily for gaming, but will play some music and DVDs too.

Newegg.com - Rosewill BLACKHAWK Gaming Case $89.99
Newegg.com - ASUS AM3+ AMD 970 Motherboard $114.99
Newegg.com - AMD Zambezi 3.3GHz AM3+ 95W Six-Core $149.99
Newegg.com - ARCTIC COOLING 120mm A30 CPU Cooler $49.99
Newegg.com - Mushkin 2.5" 120GB SSD $114.99
Newegg.com - Seagate Barracuda 750GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA HDD $89.99
Newegg.com - G.SKILL Sniper Series 8GB DDR3 1866 $59.99
Newegg.com - EVGA SuperClocked GeForce GTX 570 (Fermi) 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 $299.99
Newegg.com - XCLIO GREATPOWER 850W 96Amps on 4 +12V Modular Active PFC PSU $129.99
Newegg.com - LITE-ON 24X DVD Writer Black SATA w/ LightScribe $22.99
Newegg.com - Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit $99.99
Newegg.com - Cyber Acoustics 30 Watts 2.1 Speaker System $33.99
Newegg.com - HANNspree 24.6" Widescreen LCD Monitor $199.99
Newegg.com - Logitech MK200 Black USB Wired Mouse and Keyboard Combo $24.99

Total price $1,481.86 + shipping

My concerns:
Are the above components similar in speed/quality? Is there any obvious bottleneck with those components?
Is 8 Gb RAM sufficient? Is 16 Gb over kill?
Is formatting an SSD drive similar to formatting the magnetic HDD?
I've had good luck with the Xclio PSUs in the past... Is there a more reputable PSU around the same price?

 

[Nukem]

couple of things...

This PSU might be better... 750 is more than enough for future use as well
Newegg.com - OCZ ZT Series 750W Fully-Modular 80PLUS Bronze High Performance Power Supply compatible with Intel Sandy Bridge Core i3 i5 i7 and AMD Phenom

also, personally... I would not get an SSD, and take the money for a GTX 580 (but that's just my opinion)

8GB of ram will be more than enough
see the SSD tutorial within TF to see how to format/load it.


but all in all, it looks like a nice build. Let's see some pics once you get it built.

 

[patonb]

If this is gaming, 6 cores is not needed.

Youre better off with
Newegg.com - AMD FX-4170 Zambezi 4.2GHz (4.3GHz Turbo) Socket AM3+ 125W Quad-Core Desktop Processor FD4170FRGUBOX

That setup needs only 650W.. which can save you cash.

 

[PP Mguire]

Get a 2500k setup instead and I would definitely keep the SSD. Not trying to be rude to Nukem in any way, but people who don't own an SSD seriously have no idea what they are missing.

Get this CPU instead.
Newegg.com - Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 3000 BX80623I52500K

This motherboard.
Newegg.com - ASUS P8Z77-V LK LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS

This PSU.
Newegg.com - CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX650 V2 650W ATX12V v2.31/ EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC High Performance Power Supply

And get the vanilla version of the GTX570. The superclocked 570s have a 50/50 chance of needing an RMA due to faulty VRMs.

This is simply a suggestion but you can save an extra 20 bucks on this LCD.
Newegg.com - ASUS VS248H-P Black 24" 2ms HDMI LED Backlight Widescreen LCD Monitor 250 cd/m2 ASCR 50,000,000:1

I own 2 Asus LCDs and can vouch for their quality.

 

[Hookster264]

I went with the ASUS monitor PP Mguire recommended. Thanks. I too have an ASUS monitor. I currently have the MS236H 23".
I went with the unclocked 570 to avoid possible RMA issues. The 580 is such a big jump in cost.
I'll stay with 8Gb RAM and will also keep the SSD on the list. He's okay with it and I'm curious to see one run.

My brother wants to stay with AMD. The Quad core is only $10 cheaper than the Six-Core. Is the six that much over kill to be worth saving $10, or is it work the $10 since I am sill under his budget?
Will the OCZ power supply that Nukem linked work with the AMD Zambezi processor? It says it is compatible with the AMD Phenom.

Thanks for all the feedback. This is why I keep coming back to this forum.

 

[patonb]

The quad core is also 1Ghz faster almost, 3.3Ghz vs 4.2Ghz, which is better for gaming, as most games don't tax out a cpu.

In games its Ghz over Cores.

 

[Hookster264]

Okay thanks. I'm going with the quad core 4.2Ghz.

There are so many specs for each component that matter. I'm glad I posted my items here before purchasing. I'm sure I was bound to miss a few details.

Is there going to be an issue with getting the OCZ PSU since I'm getting the AMD Zambezi CPU? The OCZ says it is compatible with the AMD Phenom. It still meets all the ATX standards right?

 

[PP Mguire]

I highly recommend getting the Corsair I suggested over the OCZ. OCZ has a good OEM but the quality of Corsair's PSU's is top notch.
If you decide to stick with the OCZ, yes it'll work fine with AMD.