Home Built $1500ish Gamer Rig

[bullmecha]

Greetings All,

Building a new rig to replace my almost dead Athlon XP 3.0 and just wanted opinions as to what I am purchasing in the near future.

Antec Three Hundred PC Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129042

Sapphire Radeon HD4870x2
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102768

i7 940 and Heatsink (Combo Deal)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.186391

Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD3R Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128375

Patriot 6GB Kit Memory
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220367

Corsair Power Supply 650W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005

I have the Coin for all the listed parts so I can go up and down a little but its no issue. I don't plan on doing any OC'ing until its needed but i think this build will last, as is, for awhile. Thanks for your time if u read all this.

 

[Why_Me]

What's your monitor's resolution, or do you need to include a monitor in your build? And I don't see a hard drive and burner in your build either.

 

[bullmecha]

Have a 320 GB WD Sata drive and a DVD Burner that i will keep from my old system. Running a 20" Flat with a res of 1680x1050, Radeon HD3850 in my old box.

 

[Helloworld_98]

swap the 940 for a 920 and get a 750TX not a 650TX. Also use a Noctua cooler instead of the CM v8 as the Noctua performs better with i7's.

then add 3x 120mm fans for the case and use a P6T motherboard.

or if you really don't want to OC then drop the cooler and try to keep the changes I made but wait for the i7 950 instead as you get a 133mhz boost.

 

[bullmecha]

Why use the P6T.. Gigabyte boards prove to be stable core boards and do well on OC if i so desired to do it

 

[Helloworld_98]

^ because the P6T isn't a bottom end board like the one you selected, and you get quite a few more features with the P6T.

 

[bullmecha]

I'll go check them out .. not that i mean they are bad boards just haven't really looked at them in detail.

 

[Why_Me]

Why use the P6T.. Gigabyte boards prove to be stable core boards and do well on OC if i so desired to do it

It all depends on what features you want and need. If you were going to Crossfire or SLI two large vid cards, then no the UD3P wouldn't be a good selection, but for the one card set up that you have going it will do just fine. By the looks of it with your choices for case, mobo, and psu that you are the type of person like the basics without the frills.

 

[bullmecha]

Yeah , I prefer the "Just what i need " type setups, all the frills tend to add to headaches later on. Of course its been a LONG time since i did a full frilled setup.

 

[Why_Me]

Yeah , I prefer the "Just what i need " type setups, all the frills tend to add to headaches later on. Of course its been a LONG time since i did a full frilled setup.

Give me the word, and I can post you a $1,300 build that will blow that one away.

 

[Why_Me]

Here's a build that includes two gtx 275's in SLI

This is a build I just finished posting a few minutes ago on another thread.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119137 $74.99
COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006 $109.99 ($99.99 after $10.00 Mail-In Rebate) Free Shipping*
CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - Retail

http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=MB-EX58U4P&show=p Combo Price: $494.00 | w/coupon code: $484.00 Free Shipping
Intel Core i7 Processor i7-920 2.66GHz 8MB LGA1366 CPU, Retail
GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD4P Core i7/ Intel X58/ DDR3/ CorssFireX & 3-Way SLI/ A&GbE/ ATX Motherboard
Use coupon code: Take10 for additonal $5 off.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233029 $41.99 Free Shipping*
XIGMATEK Dark Knight-S1283V 120mm Long Life Bearing CPU Cooler - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835154003 $4.99
Tuniq TX-2 Cooling Thermal Compound - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150364 $234.99 Free Shipping*
XFX GX275XADQC GeForce GTX 275 896MB 448-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
Free Call of Duty: World at War w/ purchase, limited offer

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150364 $234.99 Free Shipping*
XFX GX275XADQC GeForce GTX 275 896MB 448-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
Free Call of Duty: World at War w/ purchase, limited offer

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231247 $94.99 Free Shipping*
G.SKILL 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

Total: $1,285.93 | $1,275.93 w/mail in rebates

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/dd353205.aspx?ITPID=mscomsc <--- Save yourself some money on an o/s until March 2010 and dl the 64 bit version of Windows 7

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128374 <--- more pics, specs, and customer reviews of that Gigabyte UD4P mobo used in this build

 

[bullmecha]

The UD4 or UD5 do look interesting. The P6T also looks good. Not sure about doin the Xfire Geforce tho. The 4870x2 racks up alot of good reviews as a stand alone and its a little bit cheaper than 2x275, but i like the idea in that build Why.

 

[Helloworld_98]

about the 4870 X2, it might be a better idea to wait a bit because the way 4870 X2 price cuts are going (down from a usual £290 ex VAT to £210 ex VAT) something amazing is definitely coming soon.

 

[IzzyCraft]

No new hdd! i got though hdd's like butter cake, if that's a real cake, i have 3 main storage ones but i toss out my old os/app hdd like every year, i hate slowdowns in performance!

 

[sirgrotius]

I'd recommend Why_Me's build. He helped me with my recent machine, and it's a real killer. Got everything put together for around $1400 (I upped my card from GeForce 260 to 275, because of great reviews...it's quiet and smooth).

 

[roblov1]

Here's a build that includes two gtx 275's in SLI

This is a build I just finished posting a few minutes ago on another thread.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119137 $74.99
COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006 $109.99 ($99.99 after $10.00 Mail-In Rebate) Free Shipping*
CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - Retail

http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=MB-EX58U4P&show=p Combo Price: $494.00 | w/coupon code: $484.00 Free Shipping
Intel Core i7 Processor i7-920 2.66GHz 8MB LGA1366 CPU, Retail
GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD4P Core i7/ Intel X58/ DDR3/ CorssFireX & 3-Way SLI/ A&GbE/ ATX Motherboard
Use coupon code: Take10 for additonal $5 off.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233029 $41.99 Free Shipping*
XIGMATEK Dark Knight-S1283V 120mm Long Life Bearing CPU Cooler - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835154003 $4.99
Tuniq TX-2 Cooling Thermal Compound - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150364 $234.99 Free Shipping*
XFX GX275XADQC GeForce GTX 275 896MB 448-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
Free Call of Duty: World at War w/ purchase, limited offer

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150364 $234.99 Free Shipping*
XFX GX275XADQC GeForce GTX 275 896MB 448-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
Free Call of Duty: World at War w/ purchase, limited offer

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231247 $94.99 Free Shipping*
G.SKILL 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

Total: $1,285.93 | $1,275.93 w/mail in rebates

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/dd353205.aspx?ITPID=mscomsc <--- Save yourself some money on an o/s until March 2010 and dl the 64 bit version of Windows 7

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128374 <--- more pics, specs, and customer reviews of that Gigabyte UD4P mobo used in this build

Why_me,

Thanks for the advice on the other thread. Any other parts you'd recommend to add to the build. I am truly ignorant about putting together a computer from scratch, but I think I found someone that has experience assembling computers.

 

[bullmecha]

I have a good idea now ono what i will use so thanks to all those that posted replys here to assist me. Good Luck with all your builds in the future.

 

[bullmecha]

Changing to a i7 950 now

Antec twelve hundred case, 750W PSU, Sapphire 4870x2 ( liked the reviews ), WD 640GB Caviar Black, 6GB G-Skill DDR3, GA-EX58-UD5 Motherboard

This rig should last me a few years as my trusty old Athlon XP 3.0 has been, 5 years or so and counting.

And yes the price is now around $1700

 

[Why_Me]

Why_me,

Thanks for the advice on the other thread. Any other parts you'd recommend to add to the build. I am truly ignorant about putting together a computer from scratch, but I think I found someone that has experience assembling computers.

https://www.antaresdigital.com/customer/product.php?productid=16135&cat=282&page=1&#034; $ 280.00
Intel Core i7 920 2.66GHz LGA 1366 Socket 8MB Cache CPU D0 Stepping

http://www.anandtech.com/weblog/showpost.aspx?i=584 <---short review on that D0 stepping i7. It runs cooler than the older C0 stepping i7's

http://www.fudzilla.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=11773&Itemid=1 <--- that's one way you can tell if you have a D0 stepping cpu or not

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151171 $24.99
SAMSUNG Black 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 22X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 22X DVD Burner - OEM