$1550 Gaming Comp

zore86 · Apr 12, 2009

So, working on a new computer and I am trying to build a solid computer that will last for a long time, yet as price-efficient as possible. $1550 is a little more than I had hoped for, but this is what I ended up with. I am hoping for something that will last for a few years for Starcraft 2, Diablo 3, all that good stuff.
I am just going to list all the parts and link them so you can easily comment on them, thank you for taking your time and looking over this stuff... it's been a long time since I emerged myself in the market.

CPU - $270 - Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115041 - I hear this is a good processor for the value. I tend to multi-task a lot so I thought a Quad would be better than a Duo.

Motherboard - $135 - ASUS P5Q Pro Turbo LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131377 - A bit unreviewed but I do like the P45 Dual xfire possibility. Seems like a solid mobo, but if you know of a better one with similar specs, please give me the heads up.

Memory - $90 -OCZ Platinum Edition 8GB (4 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227291 - Fancy name...? I don't know much about memory, but 8GB DDR 800 should be fine.. latency does not seem to be anything worse than standard.

Cooler - $32 - ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186134 - Well-rated for whatever that means... should do the job for some modest overclocking, no?

Case - $110 - Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021 - I have been told this is a great case for the value. I want a mid with expansion options that will last me... well... indefinitely.

PSU - $170 (deal with the case) - Antec TPQ-850 850W - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371009 - One of the pieces I'm most uncertain about. Antec power for Antec case... bad reasoning but I have nothing else to go on.

HDD - $180 - Western Digital VelociRaptor WD1500HLFS 150GB 10000 RPM - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136296 - I've only heard great things about these. Then again, is it worth investing the extra money for the 15000rpm or is that just throwing money in the ocean?

Monitor $280 - ASUS MK241H Black 24" 2ms - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236033 - Big and nice, 1900x1200 resolution would make a nice fit for my planned dual-screen setup... i think.

Optical Drive - $25 - Pioneer 20X DVD±R DVD Burner - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827129023 - Cheap optical drive, I don't worry too much about it.

Is this setup okay? Am I spending too much money on something specific or going too cheap on something else? I am hoping to add a 4870 card at some point in the future once the economy goes yeay, but until then I'll stay with this. Any educated comments and/or ideas will be greatly appreciated, please have a go

.

Thank you!

xthekidx · Apr 12, 2009

You can manage an i7 system on that budget most likely. What graphics card are you looking at?

CPU and GPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.183516

PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006&Tpk=750tx

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

Don't get Vrap drives, they are not worth it. Get this HDD, it is only slightly slower, is larger, and much less expensive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319&Tpk=wd6401aals

Cooler: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233029&Tpk=S1283v

Ram and MB: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.181137

Proximon · Apr 12, 2009

I really can't see any compelling reason for this new P5Q board. Not at that price anyway.

Either the Gigabyte UD3P or the ASUS P5Q-E would be the better buys.

There is no good reason for 8GB of RAM, unless you are using some heavy graphics or video editing software. If you need 8GB in two years you can upgrade then. Until then, get low voltage, low latency RAM, as that is the best you can do for performance.

G.Skill 4GB DDR2 800 CAS 4 1.8-1.9V

Your choice of PSU is good in this case, although you kind of just stumbled onto it. However, it's not good from the point of value. You can do just as well for far less.
Corsair 850TX

Hard drive, not worth it. Not when you can buy two much larger drives that are almost as fast and put them in RAID, resulting in a faster and less expensive solution.
Western Digital Caviar Black 640GB

Your CPU cooler was great 4 years ago, but there are far better ones now:
http://www.frostytech.com/top5heatsinks.cfm

I recommend #4 on the cooling list, because of the way it attaches to the motherboard. This is a newer version of that cooler:
Xigmatek Dark Knight

You'll also need some TIM:
MX-2

You chose an IDE burner. You'll want SATA.

You say you are going to add a 4870... does that mean there is one in there somewhere now? I'm not seeing it:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102801

daship · Apr 12, 2009

For that budget core i7 is a no brainer.
Zigmatek s1283 for cooling
OCZ Vertex SSD 30G for os and apps, and a WD 640 for everything else.
Asus P6T
6G DDR3 1333 Ram

Proximon · Apr 12, 2009

daship :

So you guys say, but the OP has said $1550 is really too much and it includes a 24" monitor.

Well, I'll see if it can acually be done.

Here's a pretty good i7 build in the same price range. Under 1500.00, Probably about 1600 after checkout and before rebates.
https://secure.newegg.com/WishList/MySavedWishDetail.aspx?ID=10102991

drteeth · Apr 13, 2009

Proximon :

couldnt see your list... can you break it down. Thinking of a core I7 sys too

Proximon · Apr 13, 2009

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