First-time builder, specs check please

Merforga

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Apr 13, 2009
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Hey everyone, I'm relatively new here, but I am looking to build my first PC in the next few weeks, and have selected some parts I like. It will be primarily for gaming, at 1600x1200, and I will be playing games such as CSS, COD4, Modern Warfare 2, TF2, and Starcraft 2. I have a mouse and keyboard already, so all I need is the tower. My specs are below, if you guys could please comment, offer suggestions, and give feedback (if you have these parts), it would be greatly appreciated, as I would like things to go as smoothly as possible on my first build. I aimed to keep it under $1000 CAD (including S&H).

COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

GIGABYTE GA-MA770T-UD3P AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

AMD Phenom II X4 945 Deneb 3.0GHz Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Processor Model HDX945WFGIBOX - Retail

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-10600CL8D-4GBHK - Retail

XFX HD-487A-ZHFC Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail

Western Digital Caviar Black WD5001AALS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM

OCZ ModXStream Pro OCZ700MXSP 700W ATX12V V2.2 / EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply compatible with core i7 - Retail

SAMSUNG DVD Burner Black SATA Model SH-S223L LightScribe Support - OEM

I was wondering how well does the processor overclock, as I may do so once I feel it can't handle what I'm throwing at it. Also, is the PSU good (quality-wise and wattage-wise)? I don't plan on Crossfire, but I'd still like to be safe. Once again, any comments would be much appreciated, thanks!
 
Solution
Welcome to THG Forums.

You're build looks rather good. Do you need an OS?

The only tweaks I might suggest is the ram. Try to find something at least ddr3 1333 thats cas 7, instead of 8. If it can do it at 1.5v, even better.

The OCZ will work well for you. It comes with a 3 year warranty which is the minimum for a decent PSU. It will have enough watts and amps for what you are doing.

Just some shopping tips, look for items with free shipping, like the case. Makes a big impact in the end if you target parts with free shipping.

You did well.

skora

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Welcome to THG Forums.

You're build looks rather good. Do you need an OS?

The only tweaks I might suggest is the ram. Try to find something at least ddr3 1333 thats cas 7, instead of 8. If it can do it at 1.5v, even better.

The OCZ will work well for you. It comes with a 3 year warranty which is the minimum for a decent PSU. It will have enough watts and amps for what you are doing.

Just some shopping tips, look for items with free shipping, like the case. Makes a big impact in the end if you target parts with free shipping.

You did well.
 
Solution

Merforga

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Apr 13, 2009
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Thanks for the post, that's reassuring :)
The only cheap cas 7 ones I can find are DDR3 1066, and at 1.5V. The DDR3 1333 ones are $25 more, so I would rather stay away from them. So would these two be better (they are $20 cheaper), or the G.SKILL memory I have picked already? If these ones, then which of the two?

Kingston 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1066 (PC3 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model KVR1066D3N7K2/4G - Retail

Crucial 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1066 (PC3 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model CT2KIT25664BA1067 - Retail
 

skora

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Merforga

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Well, I don't really have a need for 1TB of space. I may decide to throw an extra $5 for the 640GB version of the WD Caviar Black, but I'm not sure yet.