Intel Core i5-2500K / GeForce GTX 680 Build
Recent Posts
October 2018
September 2018
March 2018
February 2018
December 2017
November 2017
October 2017
September 2017
- Charity:Water Completion Report #8
- ASUS STRIX X299-E Gaming / Inwin 805 Infinity Build
- Fractal Design Define C TG / MSI X399 Gaming Pro Carbon Live Build
- X399 Build - ASUS ROG ZENITH EXTREME / Threadripper 1950X
August 2017
July 2017
June 2017
May 2017
- Cooler Master MasterCase Maker 5t Live Build
- Fractal Design Focus G Live Build
- Corsair Carbide SPEC-04 Live Build
- Charity:Water Completion Report #7
April 2017
- BitFenix Portal / MSI Z270 / GTX 1080 Ti mITX Live Build
- ASRock Z270 SuperCarrier Build
- Inwin 901 Mini ITX Live Build
March 2017
- $1600 Gaming PC Build - ASRock X370 Fatal1ty Gaming K4 / Ryzen 7 1700
- Asus CROSSHAIR VI HERO / AMD Ryzen 7 1800X Live Build
February 2017
- $1250 Gaming PC Build - ASUS STRIX B250F Gaming / i5-7500
- ASRock Fatal1ty Z270 Gaming-ITX/ac Mini ITX Live Stream Build
January 2017
- Kaby Lake Build - Gigabyte Z270X Gaming 7 / i7-7700K
- Kaby Lake Build - MSI Z270 Gaming Pro Carbon / i5-7600K
December 2016
- MSI Pick Your Dream Holiday PC Giveaway
- $1500 Gaming PC Build
- Build Troubleshooting Live Stream
- Corsair Crystal 570X RGB Live Build
November 2016
- Corsair Crystal 460X RGB Live Build
- NZXT S340 Elite Build and Giveaway
- $560 Entry Level Gaming Build
- Fractal Design Define Mini C Gaming PC Build
October 2016
September 2016
August 2016
July 2016
June 2016
- $1000 Great Gaming Build
- Fractal Design Gaming PC Giveaway
- Live Stream: MSI X99A and GTX 1080 VR Gaming Build
- Charity:Water Completion Report #6
May 2016
- Live Gaming Performance with Overwatch
- $1200 Content Creator Build
- Live Stream: $600 Entry Level Gaming Build
- Charity:Water Completion Report #5
- Asus Q&A Live Stream
- Dreamhack Austin 2016
- Live Stream: Philip's Dreamhack Build
April 2016
March 2016
February 2016
January 2016
November 2015
October 2015
- NZXT Hue+ Unboxing With Johnny Hou
- $730 Office/Productivity Live Build
- MSI B150M Mortar Live Build
- PCPartPicker / Corsair Q&A Live Stream
- Xeon Graphic Design Live Build
- Fractal Design Define S Build
September 2015
- $700 Core i5-4460 Gaming Build Video
- $650 FX-6300 / GTX 960 Build
- 30TB NAS Build Live Stream
- NZXT S340 Razer Edition Build
- Dual Xeon Rendering Build Live Stream
- Custom Cable Sleeving - Part 1 - Extensions
August 2015
- HTPC Software Install Guide - Windows 10 / Kodi / PowerDVD
- A10-7870K / GD09B HTPC Build
- Skylake / Z170 Build #2
- Skylake / Z170 Build #1
- Asus PCDIY / PCPartPicker Live Stream
July 2015
June 2015
- AMD Radeon R9 Fury X Released
- AMD Radeon R9 / R7 300 Series Released
- NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti Released
May 2015
- AMD A10-7870K Godavari Release And Build Livestream
- Charity:Water Completion Report #3
- Multi-CPU Support, ECC, Registered RAM & More
March 2015
February 2015
November 2014
October 2014
September 2014
- Updated September Build Guides
- NZXT S340 Build
- Colossus Micro Thermal Benchmarking
- September Build Guides
August 2014
July 2014
June 2014
May 2014
April 2014
March 2014
February 2014
January 2014
December 2013
November 2013
- Amazon Prime Support Added
- Micro Center Bundle Support Added
- Welcome Aboard Daniel Harding and Jack Followay, Jr.
October 2013
August 2013
July 2013
June 2013
May 2013
April 2013
March 2013
- The Rapidly Rising Cost Of RAM
- Saved Part List Permalinks And Comments
- Parametric Price Alerts
- New Part Categories: Case Fans, Thermal Paste, Speakers, And Wired/Wireless Network Interfaces
January 2013
- Let's Talk: PCPartPicker Discussion Forums Now Available
- Intel Xeon E3 Series CPU Support Added (With Compatibility Guidance)
December 2012
November 2012
October 2012
September 2012
- Support For Favorites, Case / Motherboard USB 3.0 Compatibility Added
- Price Comparisons With Sales Tax
- New Integrated Power Supply Calculator, Power Supply Efficiencies
August 2012
July 2012
- Support For Sound Cards Added
- Site Improvements And Feature Updates
- PCPartPicker T-Shirts For Sale To Benefit Charity:Water
- Thank You - From Side Project to Full Time
April 2012
- SSD vs. HDD Boot Time Comparison
- Intel Core i5-2500K / GeForce GTX 680 Build
- Intel Pentium G620 / NZXT Source 210 Build
March 2012
Post
The PCPartPicker Build Series highlights different computer builds several times a month. Sets of components are assembled, benchmarked, and reviewed, covering different price points and use cases from basic browsing to gaming.
For this build, I am assembling the following system:
This build provides a capable gaming machine that handles current games with ease. By pairing an Intel Core i5-2500K processor and a Hyper 212 EVO CPU cooler, we can extract even more performance by modestly overclocking the system.
For gaming builds, the Intel Core i5-2500K is the dominant favorite. Excellent performance, great overclocking potential, and a modest price make this an almost unbeatable choice for a gaming CPU.
With good cooling, a relatively small footprint, and a convenient handle on top, the Cooler Master Storm Scout case is an interesting candidate for LAN events. For a case this size, cooling is certainly adequate. While the side panel window has mounts for two 120mm fans, the height of the Hyper212 EVO CPU cooler effectively blocks one from being used. Also be warned that the plastic expansion slot latches are extremely fragile - applying a small amount of pressure in the wrong spot caused one to break.
(Benchmarks for this build will be posted soon.)
CPU
CPU Cooler
Motherboard
Memory
Storage
Video Card
Power Supply
Case