First time builder - < $800 gaming PC

[dreamie09]

I have always been interested in building my own PC but never had a chance..
I m still using Dell (Pentium D) PC from like...5 yrs ago.. or mayber older!! =X
I mainly use my PC for gaming (WOW) and internet browsing.
I wanna keep my budget under $800.. I need something that I can use for more than 3~4 yrs.. so maybe few years later I can just upgrade RAM and video card.
I dont have preference on CPU (AMD, Intel) or video card (ATI, Nvidia).
I just need a PC (have monitor, keyboard, mouse, speaker, OS).

Since I m very new to this homebuilt system, I have no clue which components work well with each other and which ones are good.. Please help~

Thank you for your help! =D

 

[masterasia]

If want to be more future proof, then wait till the motherboards come out. They will have USB 3.0 and SATA 3. Hopefully next month Gigabyte will release theirs.
Right now you really can't be future proof anymore. The hardware industry is moving so fast. PCI-E is also due out sometime next year, then the graphics card industry will take off again and PCI-E 2.0 will be a thing of the past.

At the moment, Intel is better than AMD. ATI is better than nVidia.

For $800 I would suggest a P55 Intel build. If you have a Microcenter near you, you can pick up the i5 750 CPU for $159 or the i7 860 for $229. Motherboard/RAM will cost you $200-ish. A nice ATI card (5770 or 5850) will be between $160-$270. Add a nice case and PSU for another $200-ish and you'll be good to go.

Here's a start

CPU: i5 750 ($199) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115215
MB: ASUS P7P55D ($170) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131405
RAM: GSkill Ripjaws ($81) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231278
Case: Antec 300 ($52) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129042
PSU: OCZ ($75) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341019
Video: XFX 5770 ($174) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150447
Optical: Plenty to choose from ($30)
HDD: Samsung F3 ($55) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152181

Optional Heat sink: ($46.35) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118019 (You'll need to buy the 1156 bracket for it too. I can't seem to find it right now) http://www.zalman.co.kr/Eng/product/Product_Read.asp?idx=364

Total Cost: $836 + shipping (not including heatsink)

There's some rebates in there too, I but never buy stuff for the rebate.
Also, if you do have a Microcenter, you can save yourself some money by buying the CPU there.
You can also save money by using your old DVD-Rom.
The MB I have listed supports both SLI and CrossFireX. If you want only CrossFireX, there's one for cheaper ($150). http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131404
If you don't plan on doing a multi-GPU setup, then the prices get even cheaper.... for just $110 http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010200280%2050001314%201070549182&name=GIGABYTE

 

[Sean1234]

You might consider this system. (All components are from Newegg)

AMD Athlon II X4 620 Propus 2.6GHz Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Processor Model ADX620WFGIBOX - Retail $99.00
ASUS M4A785TD-V EVO AM3 AMD 785G HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail $99.99

Antec Two Hundred Black Computer Case - Retail
Antec TruePower New TP-550 550W Continuous Power "compatible with Core i7" ... - Retail
Combo Price:$119.94

CORSAIR XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMX4GX3M2A1600C9 - Retail $80.99

XFX HD-585A-ZNFC Radeon HD 5850 (Cypress Pro) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video ... - Retail:$289.99

Samsung F3 ($55) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822152181

Grand Total= $ 746.00

What Monitor do you have? What OS do you have?

 

[Sean1234]

PSU: OCZ ($75) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341019

You don't need 700W to power a single GPU and it can't power more than one high end card. Basically, I'm not to impressed by the OCZ failing in the hardocp review, and they only have 2 pci-e connectors so any card that requires 2 connectors could not be crossfired and they're actually more expensive than the far better Antec TruePower New TP-550 550W Continuous Power which also has 2 connectors.
If you have a PSU that you would like to learn about I would search these sites for a review of it:
http://www.hardocp.com/search/
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=Search

 

[dreamie09]

TY guys for your replies =D you guys are awesome!

I have 23 inch Samsung LCD monitor (Samsung 2343BWX 23" Widescreen LCD Monitor - 20000:1 (DC), 5ms, 2048x1152, DVI) and Windows XP Professional 32bit version OS.
One thing I m concerned about is noise level.. I ve heard someone that homebuilt PCs can be very noisy.. compared to like other retail PC (Dell, etc.) Is this something that i need to worry about ? if so, is there anything i can do to keep the noise level down?

Thank you~

 

[Sean1234]

Remember a 32bit version OS will only support 3 gigs of RAM (Windows XP) but Vista 32 bit can support 4.
If you want to you can upgrade to Win 7 (XP is getting old)
Don't worry about noise. You can put Fans in to reduce noise I think. But the main thing is the PSU that causes the noise.

 

[akash3656]

If you want an i5 build get this motherboard instead :
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128405
Its 109$.

 

[overshocks]

Remember a 32bit version OS will only support 3 gigs of RAM (Windows XP) but Vista 32 bit can support 4.
If you want to you can upgrade to Win 7 (XP is getting old)
Don't worry about noise. You can put Fans in to reduce noise I think. But the main thing is the PSU that causes the noise.

Actually 32bit OS can support up to 3.5gb max meaning vista 32bit doesn't support 4gb. also depending on service pack

 

[macdoodle]

Hi Everyone,

First time here but I've been snoopin' around for weeks. Finally found the right thread to join. About building a new PC, if I have a little more $ to spend on the system and to build a monster, which components would you recommend? I will be using the computer mainly on Cad, 3DS Max and Maya etc. (64 bit)

I read somewhere else, a guy brought up a good point about Warrantees and maintenance issues. He had mentioned that sometimes it ends up costs more than what one would spend on a store bought computer but ngaaa....

I think this would be a fun project anyway to put together something like this. It sounds like you guys are experts in the field so any advise would be greatly appreciated.

 

[jbakerlent]

Start your own thread using the form in the link in my sig. But a system based around a 920 would probably be about right.

 

[overshocks]

Start your own thread using the form in the link in my sig. But a system based around a 920 would probably be about right.

^Agree, the 920 is good for this situation, overclock it if you know how to.