APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: A week or two
SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming
PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Planning on using Windows 7, so no OS required, and I have some extra keyboards and mouse.
PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Newegg.com
PARTS PREFERENCES: Doesn't matter
OVERCLOCKING: Yes
SLI OR CROSSFIRE: No
MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1680x1050
This is going to be my first time I'll be building a computer, so I want to keep things simple and cheap.
Antec 300 Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
$60
Antec EA 500W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
$70
Intel Pentium E5200 and Gigabyte EP-43 Motherboard Combo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?Ite...
$140
G.Skill 2X2GB DDR2 1066 RAM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
$55
WD Caviar 640GB 32MB HDD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
$70
Sony Sata DVD Burner
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
$26
Artic Freezer 7 Pro
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
$30
Acer 19" WS Monitor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
$120
Total so far is $
575
I have 4 video cards that look good to me
XFX Radeon HD 4850 512MB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
$120 - $20 MIR
EVGA GTS 250 1GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
$147
Sapphire Radeon HD 4870 1GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
$190
XFX GTX 260 Core 216 896MB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
$210 - $30 MIR + Farcry 2 ($30) + COD:5 ($50)
Right now, I only game I play is WoW, and I'm pretty sure this build will run it at high/max settings.
I plan on buying Crysis, L4D, Mirrors Edge, COD5, Fear2, Fallout 3, Oblivion, HL2, Assassins Creed, Bioshock, and alot of other games, after I build this system.
I've read a few articles and benchmarks and it looks like the 4850 512mb and GTS 250 512mb are pretty close in performance, and the 4870 and gtx 260 and also pretty similar.
Right now, I'm leaning a little towards the 260. I believe it performed a tiny bit better than that 4870 in most games, and it comes with farcry 2 and cod (which I planned to buy anyways) and a $30 MIR, so it has a total value of only $100!
Also, if I do get a 260 or 4870, would the performance become slowed, even with an overclocked e5200?
Thanks for reading this wall of text!
Feedback? Opinions on the video cards, and the system and a whole?