Need help making final decisions for $800 tower - First time builder - New-System-Build

Hey all. I'm building a new comp with a budget...around $800. I posted a thread asking for some builds and i got good responses. I did some of my own research and I came up with what I want (almost). I just need some help making the final decision, so I came to the pros. Here's what I have so far.

CPU: Going for the i5

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819115215

MOBO: I read that this brand is the best. I just don't know which one specifically would be the best to use considering in on a slight budget and I want the best for my money.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] der=PRICED

GPU: The price of the 4890 seems to be more than the 5750 and 5770 yet it doesn't support DirectX11 which really confuses me. Any suggestions on a single graphic card I should buy to run games like Fallout 3, Batman, and other new games on High and last me a long while til I buy a new one?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 90&x=0&y=0
-or-
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 0%20series

MEMORY:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820145241
-or-
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820227478

PSU: I don't plan on overclocking or doing that crossfire thing (w/e that is, i still don't know ) so I just want something that'll run a powerful graphics card and will keep it from overheating.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] _-17341022
-or-
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] k=550%20vx

COMBOS? - I dont know if the products in these combos are actually worth it, but i decided to post anyway because you guys know more than me.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] ombo280597

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] ombo280631

As for the hard drive, CD drive and tower I'm open for any suggestions

Thanks for your help!

-Rob

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CD drive, Id go with a Samsung, as they have always worked well for me

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827151192

Case: that will be personal preference, but the one I just got for an i5 build was (and is on sale w/ free shipping)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811129066

Hard Drive: In the past I have always gotten WD, but recently most people suggest the Samsung Spinpoint F3.

Edit: here's the HD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] -_-Product

Also, check the stickies at the top of this forum. Lots of good stuff up there.

Message edited by EXT64 on 11-06-2009 at 12:06:04 AM

------------------------------ 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
Reply to EXT64

Have you purchased any components yet? If no, you have quite a bit more flexibility than if you have already. It's be useful to know which items you are married to and what you plan to use the machine for.

MOBO + CPU:

Assuming that you are trying to go for the most bang for your buck and are trying to keep cost as low as possible, I would do some extensive searching for mobos, and/or CPUs that'll support a general list of requirements you have and see what you can find for the best deal. If you can knock a few hundred bucks off either the mobo or the CPU purchase, then I'd say get that and then find the best compatible counterpart that you can after you've already saved on one of those two items.

There are plenty of good brands out there, so long as you don't go for some sort of no-name company i'm sure you'll be fine with your mobo. Asus, Tyan, Intel, and SuperMicro are all decent brands and I doubt any of their products will fail you if you can find an internet shop somewhere with a clearance or going out of business sale.

GPU:

Decide this after you've picked your mobo, although without knowing what you plan to do with this machine it's hard to recommend anything. Are you satisfied with one card, or are you thinking about SLI?

MEMORY:

Again pick your mobo first.

PSU:

I am partial to some of the modular power supplies out there since they reduce case clutter and thus cool your system more effectively. I have happily used Ultra X-Connect PSUs without any trouble with the hardware, however their customer service horrible if you don't save your physical reciept. The newer more powerful versions of the X-Connect are the X3 and X-Finity. They'll both likely work for you, but whatever you do do NOT skimp on your PSU by getting the cheaper version of whatever. Ultra has a few 'bargain' versions of the X3 X-Finity and X-Connect that I wouldn't trust, but it's up to you. It's also nice to go modular because the cables any connection type you don't actually use can be left in the box and NOT inside your computer thus allowing even more airflow.

If you don't like that brand the Antec TruePower isn't bad, and while not completely modular, the cables aren't quite as imposing as some others I've seen.

COMBOS? - Go for it if you can find something you like.

You mentioned before a concern for cooling, however you didn't say anything about what case you are using. Do you already have one? If no, picking the right case and fans is just as important as some of this other stuff when it comes to cooling. There are also fans that'll fit into a PCI slot or a drive bay you can use. If you get one that goes into one of your bays, put it on top because heat rises. There are also hard drive and GPU fans out there if you are extra concerned about overheating.

There of course is also Liquid cooling, but I don't get the impression that you are doing anything so extreme that it would actually be necessary.

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to TheAquarian

Oh one other thing... check Amazon and eBay. i've noticed that you've mostly linked to NewEgg, which isn't bad, but you can often find cheaper stuff at these two sites. Yeah yeah I know some people cry foul about buying stuff on ebay, it's not as big of a risk as you think. Just be sure to pay with Paypal, and whatever you buy is covered for 90 days. If it doesn't work then you file a dispute indicating that the merchandise is defective, that it was advertised as working and clearly is not and you will get your refund (I've never not had a refund granted). Generally speaking, if it is working for 90 days, it's not going to die on you on day 91. Also, if you buy something that is advertised as new or refurbished, it probably has a year or more manufacturer warranty after PayPal's buyer protection runs out.

Reply to TheAquarian

For 800$, I would go this way...

Phenom II 550
MSI 790FX-GD70 AM3
Corsair 620HX
OCZ PLatinum 2GB DDR3 1600
(Crossfire 2) HIS 4850
500GB Western Digital Caviar Black
Sony DVD burner
Cooler Master C-690-KKN1-GP

851$
-30 MIR
821$...

I don't think you can afford a core i5 at all, you can't even afford a PII 955.

Message edited by redgarl on 11-06-2009 at 05:39:28 AM

Reply to redgarl

Never use ebay... you can get reconditioned stuff or used stuff that look like new. Before it was true that you could find great deal on ebay, but now all the prices are about the same as big stores. Also, store can give you discount on shipping, which ebay will not. You are not going to save much on ebay, so better getting real new stuff on an official store that give you a warranty and customer service if something goes wrong.

Reply to redgarl

TheAquarian wrote :

Have you purchased any components yet? If no, you have quite a bit more flexibility than if you have already. It's be useful to know which items you are married to and what you plan to use the machine for.

MOBO + CPU:

Assuming that you are trying to go for the most bang for your buck and are trying to keep cost as low as possible, I would do some extensive searching for mobos, and/or CPUs that'll support a general list of requirements you have and see what you can find for the best deal. If you can knock a few hundred bucks off either the mobo or the CPU purchase, then I'd say get that and then find the best compatible counterpart that you can after you've already saved on one of those two items.

There are plenty of good brands out there, so long as you don't go for some sort of no-name company i'm sure you'll be fine with your mobo. Asus, Tyan, Intel, and SuperMicro are all decent brands and I doubt any of their products will fail you if you can find an internet shop somewhere with a clearance or going out of business sale.

GPU:

Decide this after you've picked your mobo, although without knowing what you plan to do with this machine it's hard to recommend anything. Are you satisfied with one card, or are you thinking about SLI?

MEMORY:

Again pick your mobo first.

PSU:

I am partial to some of the modular power supplies out there since they reduce case clutter and thus cool your system more effectively. I have happily used Ultra X-Connect PSUs without any trouble with the hardware, however their customer service horrible if you don't save your physical reciept. The newer more powerful versions of the X-Connect are the X3 and X-Finity. They'll both likely work for you, but whatever you do do NOT skimp on your PSU by getting the cheaper version of whatever. Ultra has a few 'bargain' versions of the X3 X-Finity and X-Connect that I wouldn't trust, but it's up to you. It's also nice to go modular because the cables any connection type you don't actually use can be left in the box and NOT inside your computer thus allowing even more airflow.

If you don't like that brand the Antec TruePower isn't bad, and while not completely modular, the cables aren't quite as imposing as some others I've seen.

COMBOS? - Go for it if you can find something you like.

You mentioned before a concern for cooling, however you didn't say anything about what case you are using. Do you already have one? If no, picking the right case and fans is just as important as some of this other stuff when it comes to cooling. There are also fans that'll fit into a PCI slot or a drive bay you can use. If you get one that goes into one of your bays, put it on top because heat rises. There are also hard drive and GPU fans out there if you are extra concerned about overheating.

There of course is also Liquid cooling, but I don't get the impression that you are doing anything so extreme that it would actually be necessary.

I haven't bought anything yet. Basically, I did some research and the processor I want is the i5 and the ASUS Mobo. I posted the site for the Mobo and I just don't know which specific Mobo is best because there's so many options. For memory, which ever is compatible with the ASUS Mobo (i posted links for two of which I think might be good). Also, I want one graphics card (either the Radeon HD 4890 or 5750 (i posted links) and I dont know which is better to use. As for PSU, Cases, among other things, I'm open for any suggestions.

It would help if you guys can go to the links i posted and choose whats the best choice for me and help me compile a complete build. Thanks :]

BTW, thanks EXT64 and redgarl for your posts.

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to Rob_3

I would go with this mobo:

ASUS P7P55D LE LGA 1156 Intel P55 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] -_-Product

and this RAM:

OCZ Platinum 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model OCZ3P1333LV4GK - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820227478

And the Corsair PSU

Message edited by cades on 11-06-2009 at 07:11:45 AM

Reply to cades

Any 22x, 24x DVD Drive will be fine and about 30 bucks, HD Go for the Samsung Spinpoint F3 and this is a great case for the money.

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

Edit, whoops both of those were already recommended by EXT64 I second them

Message edited by cades on 11-06-2009 at 07:18:40 AM

Reply to cades

You would be around $840 with the 5770 video card. Not too bad over budget but over it a little.

Which may be able to be brought down with some combos with those parts.

Proc/Mobo Combo to shave off $15

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.291936

Case/PSU Combo to shave off $20

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.288424

RAM/Vid Card combo to shave off $17

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.280052

There, right back around budget

Message quoted 1 times
Message edited by cades on 11-06-2009 at 07:30:11 AM

Reply to cades

cades wrote :

You would be around $840 with the 5770 video card. Not too bad over budget but over it a little.

Which may be able to be brought down with some combos with those parts.

Proc/Mobo Combo to shave off $15

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.291936

Case/PSU Combo to shave off $20

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.288424

RAM/Vid Card combo to shave off $17

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.280052

There, right back around budget

Wow dude. Thanks a lot for your posts, really helpful. Just a few more questions.

Its about the Radeon HD 5770 card thats in the combo.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814161306
It says in the review that it's HUGE, so will it fit in this case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811129066

Also, is it better than the Radeon HD 4890? and is 650W in a PSU enough for the Radeon HD 5770?

Reply to Rob_3

It should fit the case, 650W is more then enough. And I believe the 4890 will give better benchmarks but 5770 has DX11, cooler, less power, etc. So seems like a better buy right now.

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to cades

cades wrote :

It should fit the case, 650W is more then enough. And I believe the 4890 will give better benchmarks but 5770 has DX11, cooler, less power, etc. So seems like a better buy right now.

Awesome dude. Thanks a lot.

So if buy

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.291936
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.288424
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.280052
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827151192
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] -_-Product

i can play games like Fallout 3 pretty well right? Like...good fps on high?
And a big question, will the graphics card and everything else take full advantage of my 23'' 1920x1080 monitor? this is the monitor i have.
http://www.frys.com/product/581149 [...] IN_RSLT_PG

EDIT: and i can run Windows7 Home Premium 64bit right?

Message edited by Rob_3 on 11-06-2009 at 09:24:59 AM

Reply to Rob_3

http://www.guru3d.com/article/rade [...] ssfirex/18

There is some benchmarks of the video cards for Fallout 3, 5770 should be solid, if not you can grab another and crossfire, which looks like great performance

Reply to cades

I had Fallout 3 maxed on my 8600GT, granted it was Vmodded and OCed past a GTS, but still... It does not take much to max the game. I don't have much to add on parts, most people here have the right idea. Antec has some nice good valued PSU's, I would go XFX/EVGA for a video card, because they have amazing RMA support.

Reply to x_2fast4u_x

And yeah you will run Win 7 64bit fine

Reply to cades

Rob_3 wrote :

I haven't bought anything yet. Basically, I did some research and the processor I want is the i5 and the ASUS Mobo. I posted the site for the Mobo and I just don't know which specific Mobo is best because there's so many options. For memory, which ever is compatible with the ASUS Mobo (i posted links for two of which I think might be good). Also, I want one graphics card (either the Radeon HD 4890 or 5750 (i posted links) and I dont know which is better to use. As for PSU, Cases, among other things, I'm open for any suggestions.

It would help if you guys can go to the links i posted and choose whats the best choice for me and help me compile a complete build. Thanks :]

BTW, thanks EXT64 and redgarl for your posts.

A lot of it really comes down to personal preference, patience, amount of work you're willing to put into it, and purpose. Personally I'm more than willing to spend 4-5 months building a machine while I hunt the internet and local shops for the best deals on components, and I also don't mind working out the initial kinks that may come with buying an eclectic variety of equipment just to get everything up and running but not everyone feels the same.

Likewise I tend to go overkill on a lot of things that just might not be appealing to you. For example, the two-three machines I am working on/have recently built now are like the rice rockets of the computer world - dual CPUs... just because it's nice to be able to say you have them, dual video cards, raid-0, extra cooling, clear cases so all the components are visible, a TON of case lighting, and about 50 million fans placed to keep the air flowing where I want it to. Do I really NEED all of that to browse the net, play a few games, and Photoshop? Of course not, but it's fun.

Examples:

Message quoted 1 times
Message edited by TheAquarian on 11-06-2009 at 10:20:31 PM

Reply to TheAquarian

TheAquarian wrote :

A lot of it really comes down to personal preference, patience, amount of work you're willing to put into it, and purpose. Personally I'm more than willing to spend 4-5 months building a machine while I hunt the internet and local shops for the best deals on components, and I also don't mind working out the initial kinks that may come with buying an eclectic variety of equipment just to get everything up and running but not everyone feels the same.

Likewise I tend to go overkill on a lot of things that just might not be appealing to you. For example, the two-three machines I am working on/have recently built now are like the rice rockets of the computer world - dual CPUs... just because it's nice to be able to say you have them, dual video cards, raid-0, extra cooling, clear cases so all the components are visible, a TON of case lighting, and about 50 million fans placed to keep the air flowing where I want it to. Do I really NEED all of that to browse the net, play a few games, and Photoshop? Of course not, but it's fun.

Wow...lol. That's a lot of work. You really have a passion for all that. Me on the other hand...my passion for powerful computers isnt as big as yours lol. However, I think I have the parts I want. What do you think of these?

Keep in mind: I have a 1920x1080 23'' Monitor and I plan to run Win7 64bit on it.
I will mainly use it for gaming (not too hardcore)
Do you see any major problems? Or am I good to go?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.291936
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.280103
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.288424
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822152181
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827118030

Reply to Rob_3

Focus On

Need help making final decisions for $800 tower - First time builder

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