Please Review this build

So I'm new to the whole 'building your own computer' thing. Ive been reading posts all day about what others have done and this is what I've come up with.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819115215
Intel Core i5 750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813128400
GIGABYTE GA-P55-UD4P LGA 1156 Intel P55 ATX Intel Motherboard

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811129042
Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817139006
CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814130475
EVGA 896-P3-1170-AR GeForce GTX 275 896MB 448-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822136319
Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820231279
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL7D-4GBRH

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6832116677
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit for System Builders w/ Tech Guarantee - OEM
Includes free Windows 7 upgrade coupon

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827151187
SAMSUNG Black 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA DVD Burner

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835103065
COOLER MASTER Intel Core i5 & Intel Core i7 compatible RR-B10-212P-GP 120mm "heatpipe direct contact" Long life sleeve CPU Cooler


I'm going to be using a 22'' monitor and I have no need for a new keyboard/mouse/speakers. My goal is to create a decent gaming machine. Is there anything else I will need to get with this build, or any changes that need to be made for it to work better? Im open to ideas. The current cost is 1300 for this setup and I'd like to keep it under 1500 if possible.

The build looks good overall, but there are a couple improvements that can be made.

There's no need to go with a GPU that has 2GB of RAM. You can get a 4890 for the same price. In fact, there's a combo for your RAM and a 4890. That would be a much better option.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.256476 $274.98

I would switch your HD with one of these:

Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM $74.99

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM $49.99

Either drive would be faster than the blue 640GB drive.

Thank you so much for your replies! I do have yet another question though- In regards to the GPU, I'm not picky about brand so would it be best to go with 4890 ATI or the 260GTX from Nvidia? And would it be much of a benefit to run two instead of one?

Ok, I've updated the build list to incorporate the changes you have suggested. Ive changed the GPU, HD and added the heatpipe. Now I just have a few more questions.

1. Will I need to purchase any extra cabling/fans/anything to complete this build?

2. If I choose to run 2x 275gtx cards, will that PSU be able to handle it?

3. Ive actually been able to lower the price to about 1100 so I have about 300 bucks of wiggle room now. If this was your machine, what would you do with that extra 300 bucks?

the i5 processor work best with a single gpu solution; whereas the 1366 based i7 processor will work with multiple gpus. if you seriously think you are going to buy one gpu now and theres a good chance you'll buy another identical card later, you probably should either upgrade your cpu to a core i7 860 and keep the 1156 motherboard, or go with a different lga1366 motherboard (gigabyte ga-ex58-ud3r maybe) and get the i7 920 cpu... as for a great priced single-core gpu that will allow you to run games at max settings for the next year+, i'd aim at a geforce 285. the G.SKILL Ripjaws ram i'd change, for +$5 you can get the GSKILL Trident 4GB (2x2gb), which is a better class of ram. get two hard drives and run them in RAID0 instead of one, performance will be much better. everything else looks fine; that psu is more than enough no matter what you upgrade.

oh, and if you newegg, add the cpu and then search for a combo with the ram you want and motherboard you want. should save an additional $50. If you sign up with bing (search engine) for their cashbacvk, they'll send you a check for 3% of what you spend at newegg... Might want to check microcenter instead of newegg, some people are reporting lower prices. let us know what you choose.

the problem with not running multiple conventional hard drives in raid0 (or raid5) is that you easily bottleneck your speed. two drives in raid0 doubles your bandwidth over just a single unraided drive. and really, if you are using new drives, and you have enough sense to run a manufacturer's testing software (such as seagate's seatools) as soon as you receive your drive and before using it -- i highly doubt you are going to experience drive failure anytime soon. I test every one of my drives once a year for peace of mind. by the way, if you only have one hard drive, if that goes, you're in the exact same spot as you would be if you had two drives in raid0 and one died.

re: the 285 vs the 275/4890... the point i was trying to make is where a single core card fits best, and where a multi-core card (or multiple vid cards) are more appropriate. [depending on whether you have one monitor or two, the resolution your monitor is at, whether you are aiming for adding a second video card in the future (or a higher resolution monitor), if you want to max all settings in games you play, and how long you want to make your video card choice last before you feel you need to upgrade,... all factor into your choice.]

both the asrock x58 extreme and the gigabyte ga-ex58-ud3r are terrific mainboards. they both get very high marks in reviews. both at newegg are the same price. personally i would choose the ud3r for myself if i was going the 1366 route, but both are excellent choices. the similar 1156 mainboard choices are the asrock p55 deluxe and the gigabyte ud4p (and ud3r). Not sure which one of those three i would pick.

I think you should reconsider raid0. make regular backups if you are fearful of crashing. dual 320gb wd blacks would be nice. think about how big games are,... two (or more) straws in your slurpie would get you an ice headache much faster than one straw. ...or something like that...