Gaming desktop+monitor for 800-850$

[Alfonse]

Hello,
I'd like to change my old 5 years desktop for a new one.

- What usage?

I'll use it mainly for gaming (Eve online,Darkfall...).
I would like to run also fraps and a web browser.

- What budget?

800$ to 850$
I'm living in Texas so i can order to Newegg.com or go directly to frys or compusa.

- What screen size?

I'd like a 19" at least but not a 24"neither ( i prefer small but better quality monitor)

- Do you overclock?

Yes if i can gain some performance i can overclock but stability is 1st.



I looked at this:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/overclock-e5200-radeon,2144.html and other post on the forum.
I would like to order beofre this monday.
Here is the built i was thinking of:

case+psu:

Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
Antec earthwatts EA380 380W ATX12V v2.0 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Retail


Mob+cpu:

GIGABYTE GA-EP43-UD3L LGA 775 Intel P43 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Intel Pentium E5200 Wolfdale 2.5GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80571E5200 - Retail

Gpu+memory:

SAPPHIRE 100259L Radeon HD 4870 512MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
G.SKILL PI Black 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL4D-4GBPI-B - Retail

OS:

Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit for System Builders - OEM

Others:

XIGMATEK HDT-S963 92mm Rifle CPU Cooler
Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD3200AAKS 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
LG 22X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model GH22NS30 - OEM

Total:
853$+shipping.

My main concern are the psu and the monitor.
If i change the psu i think i would need to go with a hd4850 instead of the 4870.

What do you think?
All advices or better combos suggestions are welcome.
Thanks

 

[aevm]

Don't buy a 380W PSU. A HD 4850 wants at least 450W and better cards want even more.

I'd buy a better CPU rather than splitting the money between a cheaper CPU and a cooler and hoping for a stable overclock. Leave overclocking to people who do it for fun and don't mind the occasional crash that much.

Let's see: you've allocated 85+73+20 for GA-EP43-UD3L+E5200+HDT-963.

Get this combo for $150 instead
AMD AMD Athlon 64 X2 7750
BIOSTAR TFORCE TA790GX 128M AM2+/AM2 AMD 790GX HDMI
http://secure.newegg.com/Shopping/AddToCart.aspx?Submit=ADD&ItemList=Combo.172781

That saves you $28, you get a motherboard with a lot more features (lol, you can even add a second video card later with this one), and the CPU is faster than the E5200 at stock. You can always buy an aftermarket cooler later if you want to overclock, but I wouldn't since you say stability is #1.

I'll try to find you a PSU that can handle a HD 4870 and doesn't cost much more than the Earthwatts 380W.

The rest of the build looks good.

 

[aevm]

OK, so you're getting the Earthwatts 380W for $40 (after $20 saving because it's a combo with the Antec 300). Forget the combo, get the Antec 300 alone, and get thsi PSU instead:

Corsair 650TX $75 after rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005&Tpk=650TX

This PSU can handle a HD 4870 without any problems. It can even handle two of them, if you buy two $3 adapters to provide the 3rd and 4th PCI-E connector.

 

[Alfonse]

Thanks much for your answer aevm.
Is the monitor with a good response and good stat for gaming?
Any other suggestion.
Regards

 

[aevm]

Which monitor?

 

[Alfonse]

If i'm going with this MykC's recommendation am i going to be good?:
Any combo deal i can take advantage of?


$700 Level AMD Box ;

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819103649 AM3 X3 720 $150
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813128387 Giga 790X $110 (xfire)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820145184 2x2GB Corsair DDR2 800 $45 - $25MIR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 83%3A20729 1GB 4870 $200 - $30MIR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827136152 LG DVD Burner $25
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822136074 WD 320GB AAKS $55
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817139005 CORSAIR 650TX $95 - $25MIR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811129042 Antec 300 case $55
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835186020 Artic MX-2 Thermal Compound $7
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835233003 Xigma $37 - $10MIR (AMD)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6812887001 6pin adapters $3 x2



and this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6832116488 Vista Home Premium 64-bit $99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6824009151 Acer 19" Widescreen Monitor $120
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6823126041 Logitech Keyboard and Mouse $25
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6836116042 Creative 2.1 $25

Total $270

Thanks

 

[aevm]

Looks very good. Don't buy those adapters yet. You only need them for the second video card, and you don't need the second video card to play on a 19" monitor. Also, you may get some adapters with the first card.

 

[Alfonse]

I bought the parts yesterday.
Now I've got to get ready to assemble them and install the software and updates.
Any guide i can ready to help me with?
Should i update the Bios from the beginning?
Should i update drivers?GPU?Motherboard?
Thanks for your advice

 

[shortstuff_mt]

I would read through this so you avoid some of the common mistakes:

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/261145-31-build-post-checklist

 

[Alfonse]

Thanks for the link.
Any other link for bios,OS,drivers installations/updates?

 

[aevm]

BIOS updates:
http://www.gigabyte.us/Support/Motherboard/BIOS_Model.aspx?ProductID=3031#anchor_os

I'd suggest you don't do any BIOS updates, unless you have a problem and the BIOS update promises to solve it.

 

[Alfonse]

I ordered the parts from newegg last wednesday,received them monday.
After few hours reading the documentation and assembling the parts system is up and running wouhooooo
I've got one more question right now :what side should i install the fan on the heatsink?Is it the side near the case,or the side more inside the case?
That all for now maybee more questions to come.
Thanks again for your advices.

 

[aevm]

Ideally, the fan should push air through the heatsink and then out of the case. Try to find a position that does that.