[New System Build] $900 Gaming Computer

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: This week

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming!

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Keyboard and Mouse, OS (Plan on using Windows 7 RC)

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: newegg.com

PARTS PREFERENCES: doesn't matter

OVERCLOCKING: Yes

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Yes, later though

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1680x1050, 1920x1080



Antec 300 Case and Antec EA 650W PSU Combo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.198951
$107

Asus 21.5" WD HD 1080P Monitor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6824236051
$170

AMD Phenom II X3 720 and Biostar 790GX Mobo Combo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.200066
$228

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

HIS IceQ 4 + Turbo Radeon HD 4870 1GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814161265
$184
Planning on buying another in a few weeks for crossfire

WD Caviar 640GB 32MB HDD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822136319
$75

Samsung DVD Burner
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827151175
$23

Core Contact Sunbeam 120mm
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835207004
$36


Questions:

When I do crossfire my 4870's will the EA 650W have enough power?

The 4870's will be running at 8x/8x, will they bottleneck?

Is there a noticeable difference at 16x/16x?



Total comes to around $900 with shipping

I wouldn't run two 4870's on the EA650. I would say a 750w PSU at a minimum. I would go for this PSU, its $110 after using the Promo code, and after $30 MIR its only $80, which is an awesome deal.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817703009

Alternatively, You could just get that Case/PSU combo and just go lighter on the GPU's. Two 4850's in crossfire will be plenty for 1080P resolution.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814102837

Running at X8 bandwidth for crossfire makes very little difference unless you are going quadfire (4850x2's or 4870x2's), it makes maybe a 1% FPS difference to go with X16 X16 with 4870's.

+1 to xthekid and shortstuff

+1 for 4850 crossfire...Actually you can get 2x4850 for about $190 now...SO for just $6 more, you get considerably high performance and for the 1080p, 2x4850 is more than suffice...it would play all the games maxed out @ that resolution...

HIS Hightech H485FN512P Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
10% off with promo code VGA661, ends 6/12
$104.99
($94.99 after $10.00 Mail-In
Rebate 14-161-259 )
Free Shipping*
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814161259

So if you go with 2x4850, then you wouldn't have to change the PSU also...

And as shortstuff said, dont change the RAM...AMD CPUs take advantage of that speed...

I'd say two 4770's CF for $220.00.

http://www.tomshardware.com/review [...] 88-13.html

You only need a 550W power supply. You can save there.

http://ati.amd.com/products/radeon [...] ments.html

Those HIS GPU models with the IceQ4 fans on them exhaust their heat; I think worth paying a little more, especially if you think you'll want a pair of them (that's a lot of heat).