New Rig for a Moderate Gamer

cerealkiller2k4

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Jul 6, 2009
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My intention in building a PC is primarily gaming. I play many different types of games ranging from MMOs to FPS.

I'm hoping to get a bit of feedback and opinions regarding my what I have tentatively chosen for my upcoming build.

This is how it currently looks:

Mobo - MSI 790FX-GD70 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130223&Tpk=gd70

Processor - AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition 3.20GHZ - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103674&Tpk=955%20black%20edition

Memory - *Two of these* Corsair XMS3 DHX (2x2GHZ) - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145200

Video Card - Sapphire Vapor-X Radeon 4890 1GB - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102841

Hard Drive - Western Digital Caviar Black 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136320

CPU Cooling Fan - Cooler Master Hyper Z600 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103047

PSU - Antec Truepower 1000w - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371012

OS - Vista Ultimate 64 SP1 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116493


Any feedback, comments, critiques or criticisms would be very much appreciated.

Thank you.
 
you dont need more than 4 gig of RAM .

you dont need vista ultimate since you are gaming and it offers no relevant features that home premium doesnt have
Come to think of it ,since Windows 7 is bout to be released try downloading the RC for free and using that till its on sale

you dont need a 1000 w psu . 650 would be plenty

The ram you have selected is expensive because its 1600MHz , but the timings are not so good

This Gskill ram
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231200
is 1333 MHz but its low voltage and has muh better timings so the MHz difference is more than offset . Its only $65
And you still dont need 8 gig
 
^+1 for the 4GB RAM and less wattage PSU...

1000W ?? Are you planning for HD 4890 triple-crossfire ??? If yes, then OK stick with the 1000W...

A 650W would be very good but would be a close call for 2x HD 4890 crossfire just incase if you plan to add one more plater...though it would work but better to have some headroom...

As for the PSU, I would suggest this combo...Though the corsair 750TX is just fine...but this combo is better...
Antec 1200 + Antec CP850
One of the best full Tower cases + A very good 850W PSU that should be more than suffice for that config...But this PSU cannot be used with any other case apart from Antec 1200/ P183/ P193...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.209010

or if you want to go cheap, then CM 690 + Corsair 750TX...

CPU cooler - Certainly the Scythe Mugen 2/ Xig Dark Knight...

HDD - Get the WD Black 640GB...they are newer, faster, better and bigger than the WD 500GB versions...
 

cerealkiller2k4

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Thank you guys for the responses.

My main drive for going with the huge PSU is because I hate not being prepared down the road. I may end up getting another video card and getting some Crossfire going and I would hate to have gone with a smaller PSU that can't handle the load all to save a few bucks.

But the suggestion gkay gave with the Antec combo works well for me because I had looked at that case as a replacement for my current tower (an old Chieftec Dragon full tower case I've had for about 8 years, I'm attached lol)

So I'll cut down to 4 GBs of RAM, I'm gonna pass on the GSkill as I'm partial to Crucial or Corsair RAM. (Thanks anyway for the suggestion Outlander)

This is the RAM I'll be getting:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148261

Also gkay I looked into the Xigmatek Dark Knight and I think I'll go with that, it seems to have pretty solid reviews.
 
Your Ram looks good .

It is nice to have some head room with a psu but if you have too much it doesnt work efficiently .

Even with a 750 watt psu you would be ok for crossfiring a second 4890 .

But a more likely upgrade is the shift to the next generation of gfx cards . In a year or so [ if the future is anything like the past ] then todays top end gfx will be matched by the next generations midrange card . Its usually not economical at that stage to add a second older card .
We are also likely to see the nexr generation of gfx cards using much less power . Partly thats already happened with the radeon 4770 . The circuits in the chip are burned on a smaller 40 nanometer process and it barely uses power compared to older gpu's of the same gfx ability . Theres every reason to think PC's will use less power in future and not more .
 

cerealkiller2k4

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Sorry I forgot to mention it, I plan on taking that bit of advice as well. My build currently looks like this:

Mobo - MSI 790FX-GD70 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130223

Processor - AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition 3.20GHZ - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103674

Memory - Crucial Ballistix Tracer DDR3 1333 (2x2GB) - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148261

Video Card - Sapphire VAPOR-X Radeon 4890 1GB - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102841

Hard Drive - Western Digital Black 640Gb 7200RPM 32MB Cache - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319

CPU Cooling Fan - Xigmatek Dark Knight - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233029

Power Supply - Antec 850W Continuous Power - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371024

Case - Antec Twelve Hundred Full Tower - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129043

And I'm in the process of downloading Windows 7 RC.


I want to thank you guys for the help. I'm a home tech, been building my own computers since I was 14 (first computer was an AMD K6 overclocked to a whopping 366 or something close to that). But I like having feedback and assistance in my builds, I find it helps when you can get another persons view and a fresh set of eyes to catch anything I may have overlooked.

Also any suggestions for a good thermal paste off of NewEgg.com?
 

K1ash3r

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Hi I got a Xigmatek Dark Kight recently and is the thermal compund that comes with it that bad? and would it make a big differance getting a AS5
 

K1ash3r

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Yea, cause I wanna overclock my AMD 955 to about 3.6ghz so should I just use the thermal compound that came with my Xigmatek and not bother with getting anything else.
 

cerealkiller2k4

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Thanks again for all the input fellas.

Unfortunately last night as i was getting ready to purchase it ... Newegg ran out of the MoBo ... so it looks like I'll be putting off buying it until they get more in.