Search
Sign in with
Sign up | Sign in

First Build - Need suggestions

Tags:
Last response: in Systems
Share

Alright guys I'm planning on building my first PC at the end of august and I was hoping i could get some input on my choices.

The main uses for this PC will be gaming and regular internet browsing. I rarely ever do any video editing.

My budget for this build is $800 since i'm currently in university and between tuition fees, bus tickets, and food, this is all i could put aside for my build.

GOALS
I know my budget is smaller than most of the other builds that i see on this forum but i would still like my pc to run games at good settings and not require any upgrades for a while.

Also I'm looking for a PC that I could easily overclock once performance starts lagging.

Alright, so here is what i have so far:

Case:
Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

HDD:
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD3200AAKS 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Video Card:
ASUS EAH4850/HTDI/512M Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Power Supply
OCZ GameXStream OCZ700GXSSLI 700W ATX12V Power Supply 100 - 240 V - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Memory
CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Motherboard
ASUS P5Q-E LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

CPU
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cache
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...


Total price = About $780

I'm not sure if this setup will be able to use crossfire with 2 4850s.

I don't really want to have a crossfire setup so I was wondering if anyone had any tips on how i could get a 4870 into my system becuase that is the card that i really wanted to get.

More about : build suggestions

Register or log in to remove

All good choices. Yes it can do Crossfire.

Get a P5Q Pro, save $20.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131299&Tpk=P5Q%2bPro

Upgrade to 2x2GB RAM and to WD6400AAKS if you can.

Stick with the HD 4850, it's better bang for the buck than the HD 4870. To get a HD 4870 on that budget you'd have to make cuts elsewhere, like getting a crappy PSU or a case with bad cooling, or a slower CPU, etc. You're really better off with what you've got now.


Edit: OK, if you insist, you can have a HD 4870 on that budget if you get a GA-EP43-DS3L and a Sonata III with 500W PSU.



Thx for the replies guys, and yes aevm I was thinking abotu going with 4 gigs of RAM but i'm not sure if it will show much gain in my gaming or day to day use since i don't do much picture or video editing.

Uh yea I guess i'll stick with the 4850 then. I was thinking that instead of having my system able to do crossfire, i could save some money and get a single 4870 since i would prefer to have a single current gen. card in the future rather than have a pair of older cards. Note: I'm not sure that this mindset is correct and what the disadvantage of it is. If anyone knows please tell me.

No worries, there's no "correct" mindset. Just personal preference. In some games a pair of HD 4850 will beat a single HD 4870, while in others the single HD 4870 will win. Not that it really matters - performance and price are very close anyway.

Register or log in to remove
 
Ask the community
Read discussions in other Systems categories
!