My First build -- under $870, need your judgement

[simp1ysimon]

I'm trying to build a pretty good decent gaming rig, that's good enough to play upcoming games like dead space, far cry 2, fallout 3, and other up coming blockbuster hits on at least medium resolution. So far I've picked out these parts and I need to know if the components are compatible with each other, also I wanna know if I'm getting my moneys worth (meaning no overkilling) I don't plan to overclock my system and I'm thinking about cross firing with another 4870 in the future or just get a 4870x2 when it gets cheaper. So please lemme know what you guys think, and if you think anything needs to be change.


Gpu - SAPPHIRE 100257L Radeon HD 4870 512MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102797

Disc Drive - SAMSUNG Black 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 22X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 22X DVD Burner - OEM - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827151171

Case and Psu - HEC 6K28BBX585 Black 0.8mm SECC Steel MicroATX Mini Tower Computer Case 585W Power Supply - Retail - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811121004

Hard drive - Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136218

RAM - G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231122

MoBo - ASUS P5Q Pro LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131299

CPU - Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115037

Heatsink - ZEROtherm BTF90 92mm Silent UFO CPU Cooler - Retail - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835887002

Extra Case Fans - COOLER MASTER R4-L2S-122B-GP 120mm 4 BLUE LED LED Case Fan - Retail - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835103022

Speakers - Logitech S-220 17 Watts 2.1 Multimedia Speaker System - OEM - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16836121014

o yea and i plan on running on 64bit vista

 

[dirtmountain]

Sorry, but the case/psu choice is a really, really bad choice. I know it's cheap at $60 with free shipping, but honestly i wouldn't use that power supply at all and the case is a microATX case that isn't compatible with your motherboard choice.

 

[jerfle]

Sign me up for one! Only thing, not sure about case and psu.

 

[ember14]

Don't skimp on your PSU, because it's one of the most important parts of your system's reliability. The savings from a cheaper PSU won't feel like very much if the power supply malfunctions and kills your system. If you want to do a 4870 crossfire, you need a power supply with four 6 pin connectors. I'd recommend the Corsair 750TX off the top of my head, although there's probably other options. Get something in the 650-750W range for crossfire. If that's too much, you may have to abandon the idea of a 4870 crossfire and get a PSU in the 500W range. You can find a list of reputable brands here:
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=108088

You could also consider getting two 4850s in crossfire. They only require 1 power plug each so you could use a cheaper approximately 600W power supply (but still get a quality brand!), and in terms of raw bang for the buck I think they would be a good solution.

Also, your heatsink choice could be better. The XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 is the best value in terms of balancing price and performance. However, if you're not planning on overclocking at all, or even if you do want to do it a little bit, then there's not need to switch away from the stock cooler that comes with your CPU.

I saw that you were getting extra case fans, and I think that if you really want the best cooling you should find a case with 120mm fan holes.

 

[dirtmountain]

Best deal i found right now is this Antec 300 case with a combo deal for an Antec power supply. It's more, but it'll fit and the Antec is a huge step up from that garbage HEC power supply they equip their cases with.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129042

*edit* i wasn't thinking you might crossfire the 4870 on the P45 motherboard

 

[ghostmann]

If your gonna Crossfire HD4870 you will need a quality power supply with at least 600w and maybe more if you overclock your cpu. Plus you may want to look at X48 motherboards as they run both cards at 16x vs 8x in a p45. That way you wont bottleneck your Cards. Again dont buy a cheap power supply its that heart of your system...

 

[simp1ysimon]

ok i switched the psu and the case to the antec combo, but i think i'll stick with the 550watt for now till i can afford a upgrade in the future

 

[simp1ysimon]

also......some of you guys are telling me to ditch the heatsink and get a stock one. can anyone recommend me a good one? i also switched my mobo to GIGABYTE GA-EP43-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P43 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

 

[UltimaSlayerVII]

Not bad for that price.

Case isnt good, PSU is trash. Get a more powerful and better quality PSU or your comp will explode. I recommend cooler master real power if you plan to upgrade. Thing is 1250w for only $250, which is insane.

 

[Silverion77]

Yea its $250 but there are much better quality units. Power isnt everything quality is what u need

Go with Corsair if u can

 

[mexpedip]

What monitor size are you using? If it is anything under a 24" then you can use any GPU from the 8800GT on up. My recommendation would be to get a 4850 1GB version. There is very little difference in performance from the 4850 to 4870 and running xfire or SLI (IMHO) is a waste of money especially if your goal is to stay below $900 for this build and you are not running an oversized monitor.

Save $100 on the GPU and put that towards a better/bigger PSU or an x38/48 based MOBO so if you decide to xfire in the future you will at least get the full available benefit.

 

[simp1ysimon]

the thing is im gonna run the rig on a 22-24 inch HDTV through hdmi

 

[simp1ysimon]

im getting the 4870 for $200 flat anyways