$800-$1000 1st-time Build Suggestions

[peezy]

Hey all. With this my first post in Tom's Hardware(like so many others in this section), I want to ask about a 1st build. I've read around for the past week or so, building my knowledge and whatnot. I want to have everything check as a good list for a build with everything, exluding mouse/keyboard/monitor. I DONT plan to SLI, and I want the price to be in the 800-1000 dollar range. possibly best if 800-900. System for a bit of everyday browsing, some multi-tasking, and gaming of course.

Motherboard= Im all so confused, but I've seen the Asus P5Q Pro as a choice:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131299

Processor=Intel E8400 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115037

Graphics Card= 4850 or this...I've always been into Nvidia so this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130339

Memory: 4GB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145184

Hard Drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136218

OS: Vista 64bit http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116488

Case : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021&Tpk=antec%20900

 

[killyou400p]

I'd say all good. Decent rig with the asus p5q pro. For the graphics card, any will do. But knowing you wont sli, no point of Nvidia. Not saying they suck but Nvidia is mostly used for SLI, imo. If you can fit a 4870 in your budget that is your best bet. Or else just stay with the 4850. In the end, the 4850, 9800gtx, 4870 will all do you good. Solid build.

 

[peezy]

Well, this is all ive come up with. What's a good, quality power supply, and should I need any cooling system (fans, etc)?

Btw, thanks killyou

edit: I've seen the Antec 300 for cheaper, but would it's fans be enough, or would the 900 be a better choice?

Also, for this setup, what kind of PSU Wattage should I be looking for (ive heard amps is what really matters, though).

 

[crysis900]

Well, this is all ive come up with. What's a good, quality power supply, and should I need any cooling system (fans, etc)?

Btw, thanks killyou

edit: I've seen the Antec 300 for cheaper, but would it's fans be enough, or would the 900 be a better choice?

Also, for this setup, what kind of PSU Wattage should I be looking for (ive heard amps is what really matters, though).

Solid build, but I think you'll like what I've put together. All priced through Newegg.


SAMSUNG 22X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model SH-S223Q - OEM
Item #: N82E16827151173
Return Policy: Limited 30-Day Return Policy
Protect Your Investment (expand for options)
$26.99


Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
Item #: N82E16811129021
Return Policy: Limited 30-Day Return Policy
-$30.00 Instant
$139.99
$109.99


Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
Item #: N82E16822136218
Return Policy: Limited 30-Day Return Policy
Protect Your Investment (expand for options)
$74.99


PNY VCGGTX260XPB GeForce GTX 260 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
Item #: N82E16814133229
Return Policy: Limited Non-Refundable 30-Day Return Policy
Protect Your Investment (expand for options)
-$15.00 Instant
$20.00 Mail-in Rebate
$254.99
$239.99


CORSAIR CMPSU-520HX 520W ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V 2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply - Retail
Item #: N82E16817139001
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
-$25.00 Instant
$15.00 Mail-in Rebate
$139.99
$114.99


CORSAIR XMS2 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X4096-6400C5DHX - Retail
Item #: N82E16820145176
Return Policy: Memory (Modules, USB) Return Policy
-$10.00 Instant
$30.00 Mail-in Rebate
$92.99
$82.99


ASUS P5Q-E LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Item #: N82E16813131296
Return Policy: Limited Non-Refundable 30-Day Return Policy
Protect Your Investment (expand for options)
$138.99


Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80570E8400 - Retail
Item #: N82E16819115037
Return Policy: Processors (CPUs) Return Policy
Protect Your Investment (expand for options)
$164.99


Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 32-bit English 1pk for System Builders DSP OEI DVD - OEM
Item #: N82E16832116485
Return Policy: Software Return Policy
-$10.00 Instant
$109.99
$99.99

ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler - Retail
Item #: N82E16835186134
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
-$10.00 Instant
$36.99
$26.99

Grand total $1080, that's excluding $65 in M.I.R

 

[aeiouandxyz]

What size monitor are you gaming at? A 4850 will do fine for most games on a monitor < 21." A 4870 works well with sizes 22"-24". IMO, ATI did better this generation and it would be a waste of money not to get one of their cards instead of Nvidia. Seagate currently has a 640GB hd with 32MB of cache for $5 more than Western Digital. It's up to you if you think the extra cache is worth the $5. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148335

 

[shortstuff_mt]

I would change a few things from Crysis900's build. The first thing I would do is swap out the GTX 260 for a 4870 since the motherboard is a crossfire board. The 4870 offers better performance while leaving the option of adding a 2nd card later if needed.

You could also change out the PSU. Don't get me wrong, I actually have the 520HX in my build and love it, but it's not cheap. You could save quite a bit by going with the 550VX. If you think you might want to go with crossfire in the future I would go with the Corsair 750TX for $100 after MIR.

You also will need a 64-bit OS to take advantage of all 4GB and have the option of adding more RAM later. Vista Home Premium 64-bit is $100.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116488

This Xigmatek cooler and bracket are much better than the Freezer 7 Pro:

XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233003 $36.99

XIGMATEK ACK-I7751 Retention Bracket - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233019 $6.99


Edit: If you like the style of the Antec 300, I would go with it to save a little $. It's cooling capability is similar to the 900 for quite a bit less money.

 

[peezy]

Well, thanks for all the suggestions, but I'm rather inclined for 800-900 dollars, by maybe dropping the 4870 to 4950 (im not into hardcore gaming, but just able to support 20-24 in monitor and decent frames in some future games).
Here's a list suggested by lunyone (who gave excellent help and answered all my q's.)
:
E8500/MOBO combo http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductCombos.aspx?Item=N82E16819115036&SubCategory=343&SortField=0&PageSize=10&page=1

Grahpics: 4850 around $160-170

Memory: 4GB Mushkin $50 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146731

Harddrive http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136218

Case: Antec 300 $52

PSU $84 http://www.buy.com/prod/corsair-750w-tx-series-80-plus-certified-power-supply-corsair-tx-cmpsu/q/loc/101/206178325.html

DVD burner $30

Vista 64bit home pemium $100

He gives total at $795 with all rebates.

I'm really liking this.
But...im always open to suggestions.

 

[shortstuff_mt]

That's a great build.

Be sure to get a SATA DVD burner.

 

[crysis900]

I would change a few things from Crysis900's build. The first thing I would do is swap out the GTX 260 for a 4870 since the motherboard is a crossfire board. The 4870 offers better performance while leaving the option of adding a 2nd card later if needed.

You could also change out the PSU. Don't get me wrong, I actually have the 520HX in my build and love it, but it's not cheap. You could save quite a bit by going with the 550VX. If you think you might want to go with crossfire in the future I would go with the Corsair 750TX for $100 after MIR.

You also will need a 64-bit OS to take advantage of all 4GB and have the option of adding more RAM later. Vista Home Premium 64-bit is $100.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116488

This Xigmatek cooler and bracket are much better than the Freezer 7 Pro:

XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233003 $36.99

XIGMATEK ACK-I7751 Retention Bracket - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233019 $6.99


Edit: If you like the style of the Antec 300, I would go with it to save a little $. It's cooling capability is similar to the 900 for quite a bit less money.

Crossfire on P45/P43 chipset is stupid becuase the GPU's run at 8X instead of 16X when using more than one card. Power supply and CPU fan switches were good.

 

[shortstuff_mt]

Crossfire on P45/P43 chipset is stupid becuase the GPU's run at 8X instead of 16X when using more than one card. Power supply and CPU fan switches were good.

I appreciate the insult. I'm well aware that crossfire on the P45 chipset goes down to 8x link speed, but it still offers very good performance. It's much better than an Nvidia card on an Intel board which completely eliminates the option of adding a second card in the future.

If the OP has a little wiggle room in the budget, the X48 chipset would offer full speed crossfire support. I'm just not convinced the small (< 5%) speed difference is worth the extra $100. Asus and Gigabyte both have X48 boards in the $220 - $240 range.