New Mid-Range Gaming PC

[NDS]

hello all,

I'm in the process of replacing an old Dell computer I purchased in college, with a Radeon 9250 graphics card. I've decided to build my own PC this time, despite being a bit of a novice.

To that end, i've spent quite a few hours scouring the net, tom's in particular, to figure out what components I'll need and how to set it all up. I'm basing the build on Nov08 SBM enthusiast PC and substituting in a lot of componets based on Proximon's guides here in the forums.

It'll primarily be a gaming PC, with some standard desktop activities as well; no video editing, encoding, etc. I do plan to OC and may add another 4870 in xfire down the line. Any critiques/input you can share is much appreciated.

CPU - Intel E8500 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115036
Cooler - XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 with retention bracket http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233003
MBoard - GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P LGA 775 P45 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128358
RAM - G.SKILL (2 x 2GB) DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231209
GFX - Sapphire Radeon 4870 x2 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102768
Storage - WD Black 640GB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319
Case - NZXT Tempest CS-NT-TEM-B http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146047
PSU - PCP&C S75CF 750W EPS12V http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341011
Optical - HP 20X DVD±R DVD http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827140031

 

[foolycooly]

looks like a pretty good build, although I would suggest upgrading to 4 gigs of ram. What kind of monitor will you be playing on? That 4870x2 would likely be overkill.

 

[techwizard08]

RAM - G.SKILL (2 x 2GB) DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231209

Looks like he agrees with you

 

[NDS]

fixed the links.

Yea, I plan to start with 4GB and expand as needed. looks like the board handles up to 16GB with 4 RAM slots.

As for monitor, I still have my Dell LCD, 17 or 22 inch. I plan to upgrade once i get the PC up and running; PC of course is the first priority.

Back to memory, i was just looking at the motherboard specs and it says the memory standard is DDR2 1333 MHz. Does that mean i need to by DDR2 1333, or is 1333 just the highest that's supported?

Also, as I understand it, the E8500 clock modifier is 9.5 with 333 MHz FSB and DDR2 800 will safely support a OC'd FSB of 400 MHz. So, am I safe to OC to 400 MHz, or will that ruin the memory?

 

[dirtmountain]

1333 is the highest the board supports, go with your choice of DDR2 800 unless you're going to be extremely overclocking your CPU. 400MHz is fine.
Good build, you did your homework.

 

[coleman]

good build mate, i have a couple of suggestions though.

1. If you are going to be using a 22" moitor then i would suggest a hd 4870 1gb. you could save youself some money and there is alway the oppertutity to add another 4870 1gb in the future as the mb you suggested has 2x pci-e x16 slots. i have a 22" montor and a 4870 512mb and am more than happy witht the result.
2. make sure you get vista 64bit so you can utilize all that ram

 

[husky mctarflash]

Excellent choices. The exact components I would get. Great minds thinking alike.

I would go for the Antec 900 case though. It is a classic, and the Tempest is a copy of the Antec. Go for the original!

Not a good deal right now though. I see it for $79 with free shipping on occasion. http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010090007%2050001516&name=Antec

I would buy this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119137 Its the functional equivalent of the Antec. I actually like the styling better. Its a steal for $69, but plan on adding a few more fans.

Good luck!