First Gaming Build roughly $800-1000

[imspecial]

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: 1-2 weeks

BUDGET RANGE: $800-1,000

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming (MMO's (Aion/WoW)), surfing the internet, word processing

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Monitor, Keyboard, Mouse, OS, and Speakers

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Newegg.com

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: US

PARTS PREFERENCES: Need best bang for the buck

OVERCLOCKING: Maybe

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: More than likely

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1680x1050

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I know how to put together computers, but never built one from scratch. I don't know a whole lot about...well everything that matters. Such as, the graphics card type, PSU wattage, overclocking, and motherboard/processor compatibility (I am assuming there are plenty of combo deals out there).

I have talked with a few friends, and they say that going the SLI/Crossfire route would be better than getting one higher end graphics card. I am familiar with the setup, but do not know anything as to which brand of graphics card is better to go with.

Any other help is greatly appreciated. I will try to answer any questions you guys have as quickly as possible.

 

[Newf]

Your few friends are all wrong, especially in your price range.
Read through a few threads here and you will get an idea of a good $900 build.
None of them will have multiple video cards.

 

[imspecial]

I have not had the time to look around on the forums yet, but i will try to do that as the weekend continues.

The fact you say that none of the $900ish builds don't have multiple graphics cards is pretty funny. Anyways thats good information to know.

 

[Newf]

A $900 PC will always involve balancing component cost/benefit issues.
SLI/XFire makes sense is when you have all high-end equipment and still need more graphics horsepower. Sometimes you will find an article that says " 2 Radeon 4770s beat Card XXX and still cost a few $$$ less." This is unusual. Today most folks recommend an AMD 5850/5870 card for gaming builds. In a few months it will likely be the NVidia G300.

 

[imspecial]

Ok, did some more research and here is what I came up with...

Case - Antec 300 $59.95
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129042

CPU - AMD Phenom II x4 955 3.2GHz $189.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103674

Motherboard - ASUS M4A79T Deluxe AM3 DDR3 $188.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131363

PSU - Rosewill Xtreme Series RX750-D-B 750W $89.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182069

HD - Western Digital Caviar Black 750GB $79.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136283

Graphics Card - Sapphire Radeon HD 4870 $154.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102849

RAM - OCZ Platinum 4GB (2 x 2GB) $125.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227480

CD/DVD Burner $28.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106289

Total: $917.89


I am hoping you guys can shave some of this off to get it under $900... but if you guys don't that is fine with me, I can go a little bit over.

Issues that i am running into would be what i stated earlier. I dont know if my psu wattage is too high for this build (assuming it is).
Is my graphics card just about right for this?

Another thing I am thinking about is my RAM....I just went out and chose one, I do not know if there is some out there that is more cost effective?

As said before, this is my first time building a computer, sooooo the more input the better. I am open to any suggestions you guys have.

Thanks

Edit: Guess i titled this wrong...should be $800-900 build

 

[ominous prime]

Why not use the MSI am3 board instead?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130223

Also, I would HIGHLY recommend against using a Rosewill PSU, as I'm sure others will agree with me. I'd go with a corsair 750.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006

And if you're truly on a budget, some crucial ram.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148262

750 watts is excessive for your build unless you intend on doing Crossfire down the road.

Do you intend to overclock? Because if so, you're going to require a more adequate cooling solution than the stock heat sink. Also AM3 boards are notorious for having the ram slots very near the CPU, so make sure that if you intend to use ram with high heat spreaders that your cooler won't block two dimm slots.

Also, either the 640 or 1 terabyte WD Black drives would be preferable, as they are newer drives than the older 750's.

 

[imspecial]

I will switch to that MSI motherboard.

I might overclock down the road, same goes for crossfire, and if/when i get to that point, i will buy an aftermarket cpu cooler.
So my next question is... Could i get by for now with a 600W psu and still have enough power for crossfire/overclocking later? If so, what one would you guys recommend? Even if 600W isn't enough for them later...I would still like a recommendation so I can weigh the differences.

1TB is way too much space for me... How's this for a hd?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136218

 

[ominous prime]

I'd recommend the 640 caviar black over the blue, found here:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319

has twice the cache for an extra five bucks.

I believe a 650w PSU would be adequate for a crossfire setup, as long as it is a quality power supply, I've provided a link to the Corsair 650TX.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005

 

[snakej]

900 should be plenty for a ok setup, also i recommend intel, i5 to be specific brb with some input.

 

[imspecial]

yeah I was looking for the caviar black, but couldn't find it (probably because of the combo deal attached to it)

I will probably be going with your 650w psu instead of the 750w.

Any other suggestions on the RAM besides the crucial you listed? Maybe something in between that and the OCZ?

 

[imspecial]

snakej...I would prefer to stick with this AMD/motherboard combo

I don't know why but i seem to like AMD more right now

 

[snakej]

Ok, as i said earlier, I recomed the i5 over anyother processor for a gaming pc. here is the review http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/intel-core-i5,2410.html

Now moving on to the actual pc:

CPU & Motherboard Combo: Intel Core i5-750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80605I5750 - Retail & ASUS P7P55D PRO LGA 1156 Intel P55 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
1. Intel BX80605I5750: $199.99
2. ASUS P7P55D PRO: $169.99
Combo Discount: -$20.00
Combo Price: $349.98
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.273251

HSF: XIGMATEK HDT-RS1283 120mm CPU Cooler - Retail
$34.99
($29.99 after $5.00 Mail-In Rebate )
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233012

Memory Ram: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL - Retail
Dual Channel Intel Core i5 & Core i7 CPU for P55 motherboard
$85.99
Free Shipping*
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231277

GPU: SAPPHIRE 100279-1GL Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
$10 off with promo code EMCMLLT73, ends 10/12
$154.99
Free Shipping*
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102849

HHD: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM
$54.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152181

PSU & DVD combo: CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX 550W ATX12V V2.2 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power ... - Retail & SAMSUNG DVD Burner Black SATA Model SH-S223L LightScribe Support - OEM
1. Corsair Memory CMPSU-550VX: $89.99
2. SAMSUNG SH-S223L: $31.99
Combo Discount: -$10.00
Combo Price: $111.98
$20.00 Mail-In Rebate Card
Price After Mail-In Rebate(s): $91.98
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.269817

Case: Xigmatek MIDGARD-W Black 0.7mm SECC ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
$79.99
($69.99 after $10.00 Mail-In Rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811815001

Thats all, take your time, read around the forum, research and research, but this build is the best bang for your budget and performance ratio costing you [Grand Total: $908.21] right in the budget!

 

[ominous prime]

An i5 system would generally be cheaper in most instances, though the trade off being of course the x8/x8 lanes for sli/crossfire on the p55 motherboards, as opposed to the x16/x16 on the AM3. Also, the uncertain upgrade path for the 1156 socket. The i5 I believe is generally considered a better processor than the phenom II x4 955, however, in gaming the differences are negligible.

+1 for the Ripjaws

I've heard good things of them lately.

 

[snakej]

An i5 system would generally be cheaper in most instances, though the trade off being of course the x8/x8 lanes for sli/crossfire on the p55 motherboards, as opposed to the x16/x16 on the AM3. Also, the uncertain upgrade path for the 1156 socket. The i5 I believe is generally considered a better processor than the phenom II x4 955, however, in gaming the differences are negligible.

+1 for the Ripjaws

I've heard good things of them lately.

Yes you rigth about the x16 lines on the p55 board, Omi.. can i call you Omi , any ways, for his resolution he doesn't need CF or SLI, a single card solution paired with the i5 should me more than plenty..

and yes the ripjaws come at 1.5v stock, that lots of headrom to overclock...or just to run at stock speed to save power and that restrain heat..

 

[imspecial]

I will do some more research, look around on the forums, and see what I can find. Then go from there. I will post back here with my decision.

Thank you guys for your input. It is greatly appreciated.

 

[snakej]

very well, good luck!!

 

[imspecial]

Might be a dumb question...but can I use the ripjaws on that AMD build omi and I had before?

And yes I am taking into consideration of the AM3 board's dimm slots being close to the cpu...

Just wondering.

 

[snakej]

yes it will work on the MSI 790fx gd70 no problem, it doesn't matter as long as the board is DDR3 compatible it should work with any brand, AM2 mean is for DDR2 and older version of AMD CPU's and AM3 come with DDR3 standard for the new Phenom 955 and 965, only thing being is that the i5 beat the Phenom ii 965 in most bench marks, which means that it also beats the 955 and when you add to the equation the i5 run ar 2.66 and the 965 runs at 3.4, imagine if u were to run the i5 to 3.4 as well, not only that it also achieve 4.00ghz quite easily.

 

[imspecial]

Yeah I was just wondering cuz I am trying to weigh the differences and stuff.

I was spacing off last night and didn't even think in terms of the type of memory (ddr3/ddr2) and motherboard compatibility lol.

Probably better to decide when I'm actually awake instead of 3/4 asleep.

 

[ominous prime]

The Ripjaws will work wonderfully on the AM3 board, if you don't intend to upgrade your monitor to say 1920x1200 or greater then SLI/Crossfire will be relatively useless to you at 1680x1050; as Snake said a single GPU would probably be more ideal for your setup, in which case the i5 would be more sensible. Best of luck with your build, I'm certain you have a lot to consider. Let us know if you need anymore suggestions.

 

[imspecial]

Ok, I am starting to lean more towards the i5 build...not necessarily all of your parts snakej but at least the actual cpu/motherboard/ram.

One question though. Will the Radeon HD 4870 still be good enough for 1920 x 1080 resolution if I decide to go to that later down the road (probably sooner than later, I need a new monitor)?

 

[snakej]

yes definably, 4870 will be enough.

 

[imspecial]

Ok, here is my final build. Unless you guys want to change anything...

Case - Antec 300 $59.95
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811129042

CPU - Intel Core i5-750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz LGA 1156 $199.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115215

Motherboard - ASUS P7P55D PRO LGA 1156 Intel P55 $169.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131405

PSU - CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI/CrossFire Ready $99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005

RAM - G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 $85.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231277

HD - Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB $74.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319

Graphics Card - SAPPHIRE 100279-1GL Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 $154.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102849

CD/DVD Drive - Lite-On /CDDVD Burner $28.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106289

SubTotal: $869.88
Shipping: $24.01
Total: $893.89

I might go back and look at i5 cpu/motherboard combo deals that will support my graphics card. Otherwise, I will be buying these sometime within the next week or so. If you guys have any other input that would be appreciated.

Thanks.