[New System Build] ~$750 Gaming Computer

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/Prod [...] 6811129042
$60

Antec EA 500W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817371007
$70

Intel Pentium E5200 and Gigabyte EP-43 Motherboard Combo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.190819
$140

G.Skill 2X2GB DDR2 1066 RAM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820231166
$55

WD Caviar 640GB 32MB HDD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822136319
$70

Sony Sata DVD Burner
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827118030
$26

Artic Freezer 7 Pro
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835186134
$30

Acer 19" WS Monitor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6824009127
$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/Prod [...] 6814150337
$120 - $20 MIR

EVGA GTS 250 1GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814130469
$147

Sapphire Radeon HD 4870 1GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814102801
$190

XFX GTX 260 Core 216 896MB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814150330
$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?

Dannyboy is right about the X3, if it can be done... let's see if we can save a few bucks here and there and squeeze it in.

Well, you made some pretty good picks. Here's what I think.

Use the X3 720 combo

Swap the PSU for a 650TX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] &Tpk=650TX

Swap the cooler for a Sunbeam CCTF
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 4&Tpk=CCTF

Get one 4850 now and a second one when you can. This will give you adequate performance up front on a 19" monitor, but will also give you an upgrade path that is easy and inexpensive.

That's the way I would try to go.

Your build is nice, but I have a problem relying on that large an overclock for your performance. You may get an E5200 that does as well as the one in the System Builders Marathon, but you can't count on it. The extra core in the AMD CPU will be big going forward in the coming year... WoW is already using up to 4 cores now.

+1 for Proximon. The CoreContact is MUCH better than the Freezer 7. The AMD X3 route will give you a good upgrade path down the road.