Proposed 1st Build

[ninjabob]

As my first build, I'm looking to spend ~$1000 - $1200 in the next week for a basic system for casual-to-moderate gaming. After much research, here is what I'm going with:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119160] COOLER MASTER HAF 932 RC-932-KKN1-GP Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006 CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128358 GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116091 Intel Pentium E6300 Wolfdale 2.8GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80571E6300 - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231209 G.SKILL PI Black 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL4D-4GBPI-B - Retail
Model #:F2-6400CL4D-4GBPI-B

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136218 Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827140034 HP 22X DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model 1170i - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824005109] LG L227WTG-PF Black 22" 2ms Widescreen LCD Monitor - Retail

I'm still trying to decide between an HD 4850 and 4870. The price divide is only around 30 bucks after rebates, etc. Any brands to avoid? Does 1GB always trump 512MB in performance.

I'm starting small, CPU / mobo-wise, with room to upgrade in a year or two when the newer Intel CPUs and chipsets shake out (not to mention the possibility of frying everything if I screw up the build). I will probably add a second video card at that time, as well. I'm currently working with a Dell Dimension 8300 P4 3.0Ghz and a 9800XT GPU, so even the 6300 Wolfdale with a 4850 would be a huge step up for me. I will probably not overclock right away. Do I need to add any additional cooling?

Any input or advice would be appreciated! Am I biting off more than I can chew for a first build? Thanks, guys!

(btw, I prefer Intel to AMD and Radeon to NVidia)

 

[Why_Me]

This i7 build is set up so you can add another 4870 later on for Crossfire. Add your monitor to the build.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119137 $79.99
COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10006382 $100 ($70 after MIR) Free Shipping
PC Power and Cooling SILENCER 750W QUAD S75CF Power Supply Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.203969 Combo Discount: -$20.00 Combo Price: $469.98 $15.00 Mail-In Rebate
ASUS P6T SE LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80601920 - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233029 $39.99
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=N82E16814150394 $149.99 Free Shipping*
XFX HD-487A-ZHFC Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
Double Lifetime Manufacture Warranty

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.199034 Combo Discount: -$7.00 Combo Price: $162.98 $20.00 Mail-In Rebate
OCZ Gold 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Low Voltage Desktop Memory Model OCZ3G1600LV6GK - Retail
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151187 $23.99 Free Shipping*
SAMSUNG Black 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA DVD Burner - OEM

Total: $1,031.90 | $966.90 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 RC 7

 

[ninjabob]

I seriously looked at the 920 / ASUS Combo, but I'm kind of waiting for the Core i5's to come out, which is why I went with the PDC6300. I can budget more now for my case and other components and stick a new mobo & CPU in later. I know that's kind of backwards by most standards.

Thanks for the heads-up on the RC 7 deal. Although on a deep level, my soul cringes at the horror of my PC being used as a Microsoft corporate guinea pig. Scary.

Thank you for the reply!

 

[Why_Me]

I seriously looked at the 920 / ASUS Combo, but I'm kind of waiting for the Core i5's to come out, which is why I went with the PDC6300. I can budget more now for my case and other components and stick a new mobo & CPU in later. I know that's kind of backwards by most standards.

Thanks for the heads-up on the RC 7 deal. Although on a deep level, my soul cringes at the horror of my PC being used as a Microsoft corporate guinea pig. Scary.

Thank you for the reply!

Why wait for the i5's to come out ? The i7 kicks the crap out of the i5's. It doesn't make much sense waiting for an inferior cpu to come out when you can get an i7 now.

 

[ninjabob]

http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=3570&p=10

 

[Why_Me]

http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=3570&p=10

Like the conclusion of that article points at, it comes down to people who over clock and people who don't. If your an over clocker...the i7 will tear it up. If it's stock out of the box settings...the i5 looks like the way to go. It's hard to beat a D0 stepping i7 when you can hit 4.0Ghz - 4.4GHz on air.

 

[Helloworld_98]

^ except that for the HT enabled i5's, it will cost more than the i7 if you get a decent board.

 

[ninjabob]

Thanks for the input. Build scrapped. Reboot.