need help building $1300 gaming computer

[newgamer22]

hi, here is a deal, I have been away from computer gaming for some time now (played 360) and i'm trying to get back in. There are so many new things out there, which makes me lost. Computer is going to be used for heavy gaming (i have laptop for surfing, music etc), right now i have 42' plasma i was thinking to use, for now till i ge 30' LCD, good idea? I did some research on this site, what parts to use, and i came up with this. Pls let me know if they will work together, if i should get something else. Also i'm not sure what Windows to use, what do you think i should go with? Also am i missing anything? Thank you.

ZALMAN 9500A 92mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler 53.99

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz 2 x 4MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor 189.99

EVGA 132-CK-NF78-A1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 780i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard 239.99

Diamond Radeon 4870 XOC Black Edition 309.99

CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS 119.99

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive 74.99

mushkin 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit 129.99

LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model LH-20A1L-05 29.99

COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 84.99

 

[bdollar]

wrong mobo to go ATI card. that is a nvidia mobo. If this is a gaming computer then you have a decision to make on cpu. can afford dual core e8400/e8500 for about the same price. much higher clock rate. that will be better for gaming right now as most don't take advantage of quadcores by being multithreaded. don't know in the future if they will and at that point quads may be much cheaper. as far as quads go the q6600 is a very good one and can be overclocked but if this is simply for gaming would get more bang for your buck with a dual core right now.

psu - great choice

gpu - great choice. at your resolution it will handle gaming great. if you spend major bank on a 30' high res monitor then that will tax your 4870. won't fit in your budget now but a 4870x2 would be better at that res. i recommend checking out the 24" monitors. look great, better response time and can play games on higher settings. 4870 will handle that well.

mobo - decision to make. in your budget i recommend a p45 board (p5q is a good one). if you know you will crossfire very soon you could spend $100 more on an x48 but that is a lot of money. the p45 allows crossfire (2 cards) but the second is on x8/x8. so small decrease in performance from the x48. but if you aren't doing that for a while there may be a better single card out there at that point any how.

hdd - wd makes a 640gb drive for $10 more. price per gb can't be beat

ram - mushkin is great ram. don't need 1066 unless heavy overclocking. 800 will be more than good enough and save you some money. if go that route make sure to get 1.8v the standard timing on it.

 

[bdollar]

i haven't added this up but if you are overbudget and need some suggestions on decreasing total price let me know. already suggested ram that would save you around $40 and if you go with the p45 mobo you will save around $80 or so more. but there are other areas as well.

 

[newgamer22]

i plan overclocking, also i need parts which will be future proof as much as possible, I would really appreciate if you could help me pick the right parts thx
24 lcd sounds good
GIGABYTE GA-X48-DS4 LGA 775 Intel X48 ATX Intel Motherboard $224.99 what do you think?

 

[bdollar]

great board for crossfire but that would be assuming you are going to crossfire soon. the reason is, if you aren't going to get a second card soon a year down the road there is probably a better single card to get. P45 is cheaper and still allows crossfire if a year or whatever down the road you decide the newer cards aren't worth the money you can just add another of what you have. it will work fine. this is also based on $1300. if it was a 2k build i would just say go x48 and if you don't end up crossfiring that is ok. still a good board. but on your pudget p45 is great and still gives you options in the future.

for straight gaming the dual core is very overclockable and gets you even higher performance. we don't know how much more "future proof" the quadcore would be because there is no telling if/when games will start being multithreaded. i think they probably will but will it take a year or two? and again we are talking $1300 not $2k or $2500. But that being said if you are set on quad the q6600 is a good one and can overclock.

ram - for most of your overclocking needs the ddr2 800 will work just fine. i really doubt you will need the 1066. once you decide on a cpu for sure then we can help with that clock you want to hit and that will help you to see what you have to do to the ram to hit that clock.

 

[jpdykes]

^+1 bdollar is on to sound stuff again.

 

[dirtmountain]

All very good points by bdollar ^ +1

 

[newgamer22]

is this the cpu you are talking about
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115036

 

[jpdykes]

That's the one.

 

[newgamer22]

ok, i changed some things around, let me know what you think, also on the video card is that good or should i go with something else, want to keep it under $300.

ZALMAN 9500A 92mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler 53.99

Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Wolfdale 3.16GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail 189.99

Mobo?

Diamond Radeon 4870 XOC Black Edition 309.99

CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS 119.99

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive 84.99

mushkin 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit 88.99

LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model LH-20A1L-05 29.99

COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 84.99

 

[iluvgillgill]

just get a normal edition of 4870 dont pay the extra on the mininal OC from factory.

drop the Zalman cooler and go for the OCZ Vendetta 2. for a much better performance and less money. and now with even better value after rebate!
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835202007


i dont know why nowadays why people still want to buy a "crap" but expensive Zalman cooler!

 

[bdollar]

+1 regular 4870.

also i don'tknow if you noticed on the mushkin but they have a $20 mail in rebate now so it is $68.99 for the 1.8v. awesome deal.

build is really looking good.

 

[newgamer22]

yeah i saw that 20, which mobo to go with? could you pls provide link, tried to find but cant figure it out.

 

[bdollar]

did you see my post above about mobo selection? what are you thinking based on that?

my recommendation would be the p5q p45 board. Here is one for $160:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131296

 

[Nik_I]

i would suggest maybe getting a P43 board to save some money. if crossfire isn't important, then a P43 would be a good buy. also the OP asked about which version of windows, definitely get vista home premium 64-bit. it's very good

 

[bdollar]

the reason i suggest p45 is it appears the op wants this for quite some time. may not plan on crossfire. but if down the road a year or 2 or even longer, lots of people keep rigs for a long time. it may be very cheap to add another of the same card and get enough performance without having to spend the $ on a new single card. but if that never happens and crossfire was never used you aren't out the extra money an x48 would have cost you. so to me it is sort of taking the middle of the road.

but i do agree. if no crossfire at all the p43 would be the way to go.

 

[newgamer22]

bdollar is that one good for overclocking?

 

[bdollar]

ok some more scoop. someone posted a review on another thread comparing x48 vs p45 (just one brand though so not tons of data). resolution plays a huge role in crossfire performance difference. if you are serious about getting that fatty 30" his res monitor (2560x1600) and think you may crossfire then x48 is a must. 1680x1050 the difference is very low and 1920x1200 there is some difference but again not as huge as the next step up.

 

[bdollar]

again that is only in regards to crossfire performance.

 

[skalagon]

Get the Diamond Radeon 4870 XOC Black Edition, it is not a "minimal factory overclock" diamond have added better parts and overclocked until it actually is equal to a geforce 280, its not your standard factory overclock.

 

[newgamer22]

i think i will stick with GIGABYTE GA-X48-DS4 LGA 775 Intel X48 (don't mind paying a bit extra) also there is a good chance i will go crossfire. sounds good?

 

[bdollar]

for sure. if you have the money why not get what will give you the most options for future upgrades.

 

[rammar16]

i like the your build but i would definately change the motherboard

main reason is that is an SLI motherboard and you have a Crossfire card you loose all the upgrade potenial there so i would for the same price as a 780i get a X48 or X38

if you don't think you are going to crossfire i would go with a P45 it is a good performer (not quite as good as the X38s and X48s) and it is a little cheaper

the main difference in the boards are if you are going to run crossfire or not if you are skip the P45 and get the X38 or X48

other than that good GPU (may want more in the future if you are going to run real high res stuff) CPU is fine everthing looks good

 

[Jpain]

1.E8500
2.4870
3.P5Q pro --- really nice ---

 

[newgamer22]

thank you guys for everything. I think i got it now, just would like to know how much can you overclock e8500 (air/fans only), also on operating system,(had one vote for vista home premium x64 any thoughts) vista or xp and which version. Thank you again

OCZ OCZTVEND2 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler - Retail 44.99

GIGABYTE GA-X48-DS4 LGA 775 Intel X48 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail 224.99

Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Wolfdale 3.16GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail 189.99

Diamond Radeon HD 4870 XOC Video Card - Black Edition 309.99

CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS 119.99

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive 84.99

mushkin 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit 88.99

LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model LH-20A1L-05 29.99

COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 84.99

edit to fix mobo