You have an absolute top end expensive processor that is marginal value for gaming pc's , combined with a very low end graphics card designed to run in a motherboard from 4 years ago that wont even install . 2009 gfx cards are PCI-e , not the older AGP standard
Good frame rates in games , at high quality and resolution settings is more dependant on gfx card power and less on cpu power
Since this is for gaming, I think you went way too processor heavy and not enough graphics card. Just as an example, I built a $600 Gaming PC and used a very similar graphics card. So, I'd suggest changing your GPU to a 4850/70 or NVIdia equivalent. Also, unless you really want an i7, it is probably excessive for most medium duty gaming. That is certainly up to you, but a high end AMD Quad or Intel non-i7 would do the job fine and save you $100-$200.
Monitor: I am typing on a computer with that exact monitor right now, and I have been very impressed with it. I certainly haven't done any extensive color tests or comparisions, but it seems to be quite good for the price. No dead pixels on mine and backlight seems pretty even. Even the included DVI cable is acceptable. I'd say it is a good choice.
I am a little curious why you chose an external drive though.
And for the rest, I don't see any major flaws but I'm not an expert/don't have any personal experience with them.
------------------------------Phenom II X4 940 BE 3.0GHz - 1.25V > GA-MA790GP-DS4H > XFX ATI 4850 1GB > 4GB OCZ Platinum 1066MHz 5-5-5-15-2T > PCP&C 610W
Athlon II X2 250 3.0GHz > GA-MA770T-UD3P > Sapphire ATI 4650 512MB DDR3 > 4GB OCZ Platinum 1600MHz@1066MHz > XP/Win7 Enter 64
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Ok Now you may see that this is my first post but Thats because im just starting on TOMs. Anyways you can trust my opnions as valid but just as a disclaimer they are just opnions. I have been building PCs as a private buissness (registered with the state and everything) for five years . Anyways here we go:
Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811129021 ($104.99) Cant really go wrong with an Antec Case but if your using newegg use the combo deals to select your psu, im telling you youll save some cash! Companys i have used myself include, Rosewill, corsair, ABS, antec, OCZ(recommend that you dont use some bad experience when prime95 a overcloacked PC) and raidmax(Ive ordered 2 and both DOA so ill never use again)
Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813131386 ($209.99) Asus is my personal favorite brand of MOBO so i would say go for it but the motherboard in personal rig is this EVGA:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813188049 ,(229.99) Handles my overclocks extremely well 920@4.01 and is very fine looking plus has alot of support for expandability with video cards. Its a little more expensive but i always but a bit more than i should into the motherboard for future upgrades... just a thought CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819115202 ($279.99) Great CPU i love it nothing more to say CD/DVD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827151186 ($49.99) Is there any reason your spending extra to have an external drive? Really Spend 25 bucks on a samsung, sony or LG DVD Burner ,and as long as you have no special reason for external make it internal
For a air cooler i cant think of any better... but you could save by getting another...
Hard drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822145215 ($54.99) Now im very biased on hard drives as i never went with anything else besides WD.. but as forr the specs i would say good but again if i had to reccomend a alternative http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822136320 Note the 32Mb cache but it also costs 15 more...
Memory: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820148247 ($97.99) From personal experience , crucial has been unrelieable customers have had to bring them back, a alternative....
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820145222 yes i know corsiar always gets hyped but for good reason super reliable Price for quality is a bit more though...(124.99)
Ahh the video card is what inspired me to help you with the post ... you chose an AGP slot video card and well the motherboard you chose has no agp slot, not to mention AGPs maximum bus is half the size of PCIexpress 1.0( which is why i dont know why they made a AGP 4000 series...) So You HAVE to choose another video card. If you want to stick with ATI heres a great Alternative (and its cheaper!) plus for the future you might be able to go Xfire with it http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814161259 (109.99)
Well thats all my advice i know more over i added some price on to the total but you have to relize you are going to spend a bit on an i7 system but i think there is no real problem with that as it will last... If you really want to reduce the price you could go with a dragon system( newegg has some great deals on that ) But overall i think this one will be great
PM me if ya need any more help
- Portdrake
DAM i did put broken links thanks for the heads up jbaker ha fixed now lol
Message edited by portdrake on 08-31-2009 at 12:47:52 AM
intels i7 is the most powerful cpu available , but there are plenty of gaming benchmarks that show it being beaten by AMD processors costing half as much , on motherboards costing half as much using just 4 gig of ram instead of 6.
My opinion , is that for gaming, i7 is a waste of time unless you have a monitor with a higher resolution than 1920 x 1080 AND a gfx card budget greater than $200 . Preferably closer to $350 .
If you plan on encoding a bunch of video then the i7 starts to make some sense . It also makes sense if you must have nVidia gfx card[s] because AMD AM3 does not support SLI . But then again it wasnt that long ago that nVidia told its customers not to buy i7 for gaming , and there have been odd issues with if and nVidia gfx cards performing poorly . Perhaps that was a driver issue and has been sorted now?
The samsung f3 is currently the fastest 500 gig mainstream hard drive available , followed closely by the seagate 7200.12 . The WD is older tech and slower , and not cheaper
Ah, that's a bummer. But on the bright side, you have between now and then to learn as much as you can and be sure to get the best performance per dollar, so it isn't all bad. I know often I will make a general plan and then ait months for the best price or the best hardware to come out. And also, Windows 7 should be out by then and you can just start with the best (or so they say) right from the start.
------------------------------Phenom II X4 940 BE 3.0GHz - 1.25V > GA-MA790GP-DS4H > XFX ATI 4850 1GB > 4GB OCZ Platinum 1066MHz 5-5-5-15-2T > PCP&C 610W
Athlon II X2 250 3.0GHz > GA-MA770T-UD3P > Sapphire ATI 4650 512MB DDR3 > 4GB OCZ Platinum 1600MHz@1066MHz > XP/Win7 Enter 64
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