Is this a decent gaming PC?

Hello esteemed members of TSR.

I'm rather new to the world of PC gaming, having been a console luddite for the last several years. I'm more a casual gamer, so don't need games on maxed out settings, but I would like to play games like the Witcher 2 so that they look reasonably attractive and smooth.

Having done a bit of research I'm ready to make the jump into PC gaming, but was hoping if someone with a bit more experience could help me out first.

Here's the specs of the PC I plan on buying:

Intel Core i5 2500K 3.30GHz 2nd gen processor, not the latest, but still very good for gaming, barely any difference with the i7
ATI Radeon HD 7850, 2048MB Graphics Card this graphics card is very very good, good for price, good for overclocking and will play anything now maxed out on full hd, will last a good few years.
8GB DDR3 RAM depends on the brand and speed
500GB HDD Hard Drive

Question 1) Is the above a good gaming PC? Are there any games out there today that this sytem would have trouble with?

Question 2) What's the approximate lifespan of a machine like this before it begins to struggle with newly released games?

Question 3) Is the above system a bit over-kill for my needs? How much would I be limiting myself if I were to downgrade to a slower processor (i3 2500K) and an older graphics card (HD 6850)?

Thanks in advance. Most helpful answers get a few points of positive rep, for whatever that's worth.

It shouldn't struggle with anything out their to be honest.

On maxed out settings and full hd, I would say 2 years as it can be overclocked........after that, you probably have lower the settings to high, then medium and so on. Though by than the 7850 would be cheaper, so crossfire would be good and will keep it going for a while on good settings. Games at most ever utilise 4 cores.

If your screen isn't full HD, and smaller resolution it is likely to play games on top settings longer.

Don't go for an i3, i5 is where it's best.........6850 is best pound for pound graphics card out there, 7850 is good value for money with the performance it gives.

What about the motherboard, power supply, case, etc?

Thanks for the detailed response. I notice that the 6850 is around £100 less than the 7850. Do you think I'd be hugely disadvantaged if I went for the 6850 over the 7850?

The rest of the specs for the system are as follows:

- Case: Antec 300 Gaming Case
- Power Supply: OCZ ZS 650w PSU
- Motherboard: Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard
- Cooler: Prolimatech Panther CPU Cooler
- RAM: 8GB DDR3 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit
- Hard Drive: 500GB HDD
- Sound: Realtek 7.1 Channel Sound (On-Board)
- Optical Drive: LG DVD+/-RW SATA Drive

I must admit, I'm clueless when it comes to what one should look for when buying a motherboard/power supply/etc.

Thanks for the detailed response. I notice that the 6850 is around £100 less than the 7850. Do you think I'd be hugely disadvantaged if I went for the 6850 over the 7850?

It would completely depend on what you play, ATi Radeon HD 4850 1 GB is the recommended graphics card or higher for Witchers 2, so a 6850 should play it maxed out, 6850 is available from £84. 6850 will do generally well in the current gaming market on intense games like mw3 and bf3 around high settings on a reasonable screen....http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/pc-components/graphics-cards/xfx-hd-6850-1005635/review

The rest of the specs for the system are as follows:

- Case: Antec 300 Gaming Case thats a good case, well-known
- Power Supply: OCZ ZS 650w PSU good power supply, has quite a bit of overhead room for expansion
- Motherboard: Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard well-known and good motherboard
- Cooler: Prolimatech Panther CPU Cooler never really heard of it, have you looked at Cooler Master Hyper 212 or Arctic Cooling Freezer 13 Pro or Gelid Tranquillo
- RAM: 8GB DDR3 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit make sure you get low profile ones to fit under the cooler
- Hard Drive: 500GB HDD
- Sound: Realtek 7.1 Channel Sound (On-Board)
- Optical Drive: LG DVD+/-RW SATA Drive

I must admit, I'm clueless when it comes to what one should look for when buying a motherboard/power supply/etc.

You did a decent job, where are you getting them from?

Yeah a 6850 will not max Witcher 2. 6850 is a midrange card and W2 is one of the most demanding games to max.

You'll run it at high no problem though.

i thought the latest patches sorted out most of the graphics issues which was giving most users lower fps.

I have no problem running the game on max -ubersampling on my 5870 but soon as I enable ubersampling my fps goes down the drain :\

If you forget the sampling than it should be fine, coupled with an i5.