Building first gaming desktop, advice/help with build list...?

[I Hunt Demons]

Hey guys, sorry if this thread is not in the right place, I could not find a specific place for rig building. Anyways, I have compiled a list thanks to ibuypower.com, and I was wondering if this would be a good machine that will give me enough bang for my buck. I'm ultimately looking to play Skyrim maxed out graphically with an intense mod list (including graphical re-textures, and HD mods/skins). I'm not increadibly familiar with AMD configurations, however, I know AMD to be signifigantly cheaper than Intel. I'm looking for any advice, hardware recommendations, or help that you are willing to give and/or share.
The total cost would be about $1087

Here is the build list I am looking at:

Case
NZXT Guardian 921 RB Gaming Case - Black w/ Blue Light
Case Lighting
Cold Cathode Neon Light - Blue
iBUYPOWER Labs - Noise Reduction
None
iBUYPOWER Labs - Internal Expansion
None
Processor
AMD FX-8150 CPU (8x 3.60GHz/8MB L2 Cache)
iBUYPOWER PowerDrive
None
Processor Cooling
Liquid CPU Cooling System [AMD] - Standard 120mm Fan
Memory
8 GB [2 GB X4] DDR3-1600 Memory Module - Corsair or Major Brand
Video Card
AMD Radeon HD 7850 - 2GB - Single Card
Motherboard
ASUS M5A97 -- AMD 970
Power Supply
500 Watt - Standard
Primary Hard Drive
1 TB HARD DRIVE -- 32M Cache, 7200 RPM, 6.0Gb/s - Single Drive
Data Hard Drive
None
Optical Drive
[12X Blu-Ray] LG BLU-RAY Reader, DVD±R/±RW Burner Combo Drive Black
2nd Optical Drive
None
Flash Media Reader / Writer
12-In-1 Internal Flash Media Card Reader/Writer - Black
Meter Display
None
USB Expansion
None
Sound Card
3D Premium Surround Sound Onboard
Network Card
Onboard LAN Network (Gb or 10/100)
2nd Monitor
None
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty Service
Mouse
1 x Razer DeathAdder High Precision Optical Gaming Mouse
Keyboard
1 x Razer Lycosa Gaming Keyboard

[SirSlaughter]

OOH OOH! I KNOW! PICK ME!

If you build this from scratch from teh ground up you will save yourself a lot of money. Granted your warranties will have to be with each part manufacturer instead of a whole computer covered but if you know what you are doing and you now how to take care of a PC then you will be fine. Now I had an i3 2120 and it was paired with my Nvidia gtx 560ti, now with that alone I was able to decimate skyrim and still am. I upgraded to an i7 3770K but I still have the same graphics card. If you want to play Skyrim maxed out you don't have to look far. They didn't make it a taxing game even with the mods. I am happy for that. But obviously you are gonna want that kind of performance with every game you have so let's get on with the flame war:

AMD: I know a lot of fans of these guys are gonna bash me hard and come after me with torches and pitchforks soon But I must state facts; The processors may be cheap and they do overclock well, But they can't hold a candle to Intel very well right now. They get the job done and there is no doubt about that. However, the performance comparisons just aren't that good. But a processor like the one you got there will do some real but kicking in the game department anyway.

Graphics card: That is a decent card you chose but be warned about the driver updates. Nvidia pumps their updates out nearly weekly if not only a few days after a games release. You will do just fine with it for years to come but if there is some sort of error or problem in the game that is cased by your car be ready to sit and stare at your game case for a bit .

Power supply: now it only comes with a 500? Well I don't know way too much about wattage and power consumption with PCs anyway so bleh I am stuck there.

And look out with that cathode light. I know a lot of guys here use them but I had 2 sets and they all died on me the same day. Probably just brand or something but look out for it.

Other than that I would just say check if you can get these pieces individually and build it yourself from the ground up. Ibuypower makes its money by charging supercharges for pretty colors and being built for you already. But a warranty is never a bad thing so If you are unsure you can build a computer without killing it in the process from static or something than I say ok sure you can go with this.

[I Hunt Demons]

Cool, thanks for the help, SirSlaughter!

I will try and see what I can piece together from Newegg, and other sites. Could you maybe give me a few other sites to check out for parts?
Also, if I am running a liquid cooling system, do I need a reservoir? because I am not sure if the pump that I chose comes with a reservoir.

I also cannot believe that a quad core processor can decimate games! that will save me a ton of money, and I'm assuming that my RAM is fine...?

Also what do I need to pay attention to when checking for compatibility issues with parts?

[Luciel]

You will need a better PSU, it´s as simple as that, don´t skimp on it. Go for one with an 80+ certificate, and make it 600w, you´d prob be fine with an 80+ 500w, but might be cutting it short

[Big V]

Well from the list you have compiled their would be a few minor things i would go little bigger with if your budget will allow it.
And their is nothing wrong with going AMD. I have always been an AMD fan myself. More bang for you bucks. Plus look at who holds the Guinnus book of records for fast cpu it's AMD with the bulldozer chip.

1. The power supply I would go with a larger wattage unit. This way it will allow for hardware upgrades down the road like vid cards that require more power. Plus for the small amount a larger unit would cost you now vs having to buy a whole new larger unit down the road if needed when you do an upgrade could save your wallet huge. I have a 550watt unit in my case and wish i had went larger when i built this system myself.

2.Also I would look at maybe doubling the memory you have if the board will handle it. Memory has come way down in price from what it use to be several years ago and is one of the cheapest performance upgrades

I would also do some checking on a few other sites like newegg, tigerdirect, fry's electronics, for price's you may get some better deals

[SirSlaughter]

Just to clarify when I say it will decimate games I mean certain games use CPU intense coding such as Oblivion. Your GPU can be top of the line, But if you walk into the imperial city with a dualcore or something expect some lag. Some games use the CPU for ragdoll and such. Certain Benchmarks also test your CPU with physics tests as well. So A quad and up is a great idea. And yes that Bulldozer chip is a beast. So choose wisely and try to up the memory to 16GB This way when you render games you should be just fine. TAM is an essential part to game playing as well. And as for the watercooler: It depends on what you are going for. Are you doing a closed loop or something else. A good and easy way to go about Water cooling is get a Corsair. Anything else requires a bit of know-how that I sadly do NOT know...yet. I have seen videos and instructions but until I put it into practice I am clueless. That and a serious water cooling system is expensive and tedious.

Try to go wth maybe a Corsair 100 or 80.
Go with a 80+ GOLD not BRONZE Power supply. Gold means it passed the best tests. If you want better cable management then go modular so You can have a cleaner case.
If you can't decide on water cooling then Air cooling can get you very very far. I have a Thermaltake SpinQ on my 3770K and I have overclocked it and it ran at 4.2 GHz just fine. But my fallout would crash sometimes so I set it back and now it is better, But I am still learning so A little tweaking with RAM and CPU stuff and I should be set.

But anyway, listen to these guys, They know their stuff...except for BigV...AMD fanboy is what he is! LOL (just kidding V)