Gaming Build up for Review

foolycooly

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Dec 26, 2008
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Hey guys,

Just getting around to piecing together my potential build for a new PC. I might not get around to buying/building it for a couple of months (by which time many of these components might be different), but there is a possibility of me building very soon.

I have been reading these forums a lot lately and gathering some really good information. My budget is in the $1,300 - $1,500 range and this PC will be used primarily for gaming. My goal is to be able to run most/all of the newest games at near highest settings (on the monitor listed below).

I plan on doing mild overclocking of the processor (From what I understand, it's possible to make a few simple changes right out of the box to achieve this).

What I have so far:

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

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119137

CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006

ASUS P5Q Pro LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131299

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

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115036

+

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

+

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

+

Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835100007

SAPPHIRE 100270SR Radeon HD 4850 X2 2GB 512-bit (256-bit x 2) GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102809


OCZ Reaper HPC 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227289

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136218

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±R DVD Burner with LightScribe - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151173

SAMSUNG 2253BW Black 22" 2ms(GTG) DVI Widescreen LCD Monitor with HDCP Support 300 cd/m2 DC 8000:1 - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001268


All running on Vista 64-bit.

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Some of my main concerns are:

1. Is the video card overkill/too much of a heat generator for this system? Or will this build be able to handle and utilize its power effectively.

2. Is this overclocked duo likely the best for a gaming rig as opposed to a slower quad core?

3. Is this enough RAM/good brand?

I appreciate your help as always.
 

mighty442

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Dec 11, 2008
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1: Since you're using this mostly for gaming then the video card is fine if you can afford it. Your power supply is large enough to give it enough juice. Not enough for a second 4870x2. Your case has good airflow so you shouldn't worry about the heat.

2: For gaming it's going to be about the video card mostly. Depends on what games you like to play the most but most games are graphic card dependent.

3: Ram is decent enough, might want to check on some 1066 though. Both Corsair and OCZ have great prices on their 1066 specced memory and both will OC well for you.
 

foolycooly

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Dec 26, 2008
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will the card I selected run just as efficiently as two 4870s in crossfire?

the 4870x2 might take me a little too high over my budget...can I possibly save some money here on a different card that won't hinder gaming performance?
 

mexpedip

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Feb 2, 2008
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It will run better then 2 4870's in crossfire. Look around the "articles" on this web site and you will see the comparisons and reasoning.
 

mexpedip

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Feb 2, 2008
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The only change I wold recommend would be you either upgrade the monitor to 24" (1900x1200) or downgrade the gpu to the 4850x2 or GTX280. The 4870x2 is a bit of overkill for a monitor that runs @ 1680x1050. The 4850x2 or GTX280 are still overkill for that resolution but either one would allow you to play Crysis @ the highest settings with 4-8xAA. Just my $.02.

Last thing, if you are going to build now and need everything including a monitor then that is a beautiful build. If you can wait and save another $300-$400 then I would recommend that and building a core i7 system.
 

foolycooly

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Dec 26, 2008
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bump...posted a few days ago and had a couple more questions.

If I were to upgrade to i7, which I am strongly considering, what components on my original list would have to be changed?

processor (obviously), motherboard?, memory?, CPU cooler?

I am trying to analyze the cost/benefit of upgrading to the i7 for this primarily gaming machine. From reading more reviews of the i7, it seems that it is capable of tearing through all of the highest-end games on max settings without even overclocking...and that a mild OC by changing one or two simple things can bring it to 3.0Ghz+ stable on air.

As always, I appreciate the input.