New Gaming Build, $1200 budget

[Mirkheim]

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Immediately BUDGET RANGE: $1200 or less

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming and Movies. Primarily Eve Online, some EQ2, SupCom, random RPGs. Would like to be able to run at least 2 instances of games, along with several subsidiary programs, internet windows, and watch movies at the same time. Will be using 2 monitors, possibly games on both.

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Need everything with the exception of keyboard and mouse. Please tell me if I'm forgetting anything, thermal paste, adapters, whatever.

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Prefer Newegg, would like to make this one order. COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: US

PARTS PREFERENCES: Prefer Core i7, unless there's something better for gaming and multitasking

OVERCLOCKING: No SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Maybe. Not set on any video card, suggestions?

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1920 x 1200

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: As far as the case goes, a smaller case would be better. The person I'm building this for saw a system i built with the HAF 932 and considers that far too large, so anything you could recommend for a smaller, cheaper case that will meet the cooling and space requirements would be appreciated.

I'm also looking for a 24" widescreen monitor that will be used with this computer, though it is not included in the $1200 price limit. Any recommendations or good deals?


Ok, here's what I have so far:

Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
Model #:Nine Hundred
Item #:N82E16811129021
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021

GIGABYTE GA-P55-UD4P LGA 1156 Intel P55 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Model #:GA-P55-UD4P
Item #:N82E16813128400
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128400


Intel Core i7-860 Lynnfield 2.8GHz LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80605I7860 - Retail
Model #:BX80605I7860
Item #:N82E16819115214


2 x SAPPHIRE 100283L Radeon HD 5770 (Juniper XT) 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card - Retail
Model #:100283L
Item #:N82E16814102858
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102858

CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 ... - Retail
Model #:CMPSU-650TX
Item #:N82E16817139005
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005

2 x CORSAIR XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMX4GX3M2A1600C9 - Retail
Model #:CMX4GX3M2A1600C9
Item #:N82E16820145260
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145260

Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3500418AS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Model #:ST3500418AS
Item #:N82E16822148395
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148395

LG DVD Burner Black SATA Model GH22NS50 - OEM
Model #:GH22NS50
Item #:N82E16827136167
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136167

Total price: $1263
I'd like to get that down a bit

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[dmcfc]

I guess you're not going to need the 1tb so get a cheaper hdd, like this one,it's a 500gb but if you need more space you can just add another hdd later.

The difference from a i5 and a i7 is basically hyperthreading.
As you are using the computer basically for gaming you are not editing photos, videos or running any higher-end software applications (where hyperthreading would get advantage) so you can just get i5 that it will do just fine.

Don't get a ASRock motherboard, they're not known by making good motherboards, get this ASUS motherboard instead.

As you're getting a P55 motherboard which is dual channel you should get 2 sticks of ram not 3, 3 is for triple channel (1366 motherboards)so for the ram get this one.

And REALLY don't get a IDE optical drive!!!!! Get a sata optical drive

2x 5770 would be close to a 5870, I think the best option would be a $40 cheaper, singles gpu solution, 1 5850, it will play every thing now, and on the future when it get like closer to $100 you can just buy another one.xD

 

[EXT64]

That Asus board can't do 8x/8x PCI-E, I think. The Gigabyte GA-P55-UD4P is a good mid range board that can. Also the next Asus up probably can.

 

[dmcfc]

I would suggest this msi motherboard, but it's out of stock.

 

[Mirkheim]

Ok, I updated the fit using the Gigabyte motherboard, and I went with 2 sets of the RAM you suggested. Thanks for pointing out the 2 channel thing. The hdd has been reduced to 500gb, and the dvd drive changed to SATA. The price went up a little bit, because I didn't want to drop from 6gb to 4, so I went up to 8 instead. Oh well. I would prefer to go with 1 of the HD 5850's, but they seem to be out of stock everywhere, and I'd like to get this ordered tomorrow. So, anything other suggestions or things that I'm missing? Thanks!

 

[dmcfc]

If you want to buy it tomorrow, yeah, I think that a crossfire of 5770 would be the best option, would be close to a 5870 and it's available,xD

 

[EXT64]

There are some 5850's in stock.

Here is (or was) one. You just have to keep checking, they seem to be trickling in now.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150455&cm_re=5850-_-14-150-455-_-Product

 

[JackNaylorPE]

$94 for CAS 9 is expensive......these CAS 7's are same price:

hhttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226103

If I was gonna Xfire I'd want some PSU cushion. Few $$ more but an Antec P-183 w/ a CP-850 is worth considering.

http://www.silentpcreview.com/Antec_CP-850

Echoing the concern about GFX card slots, if you're Xfiring and your board can't support 3 cards, make sure you never want a 3rd card for say a dedicated PhysX card to play Batman or other PhysX titles.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/batman-arkham-asylum,2465-11.html
http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/batman_arkham_asylum_physx_performance/page2.asp
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/nvidia-ATI-physx-patch-gpu,8786.html?xtmc=ati_play_nice_physx&xtcr=5

 

[Mirkheim]

Heh, yeah, the 5850' do seem to be going in and out of stock. I'll just have to try to order while they're still in.

As far as the PSU, the online calculator i used indicated that even if I went with 2 5850's, the recommended wattage would still only be 377W, so I'm hoping the 650W PSU will be sufficient, since I'm already over budget.

I'm showing that CAS 7 ram at $120 a set, so I'm gonna have to stick with what I've got.

Also, would you be able to recommend a MB that would have a free PCI express slot in a xfire setup that isn't going to cost any more? I don't think that physx is going to be as big an issue for the user as price, but I'd be willing to consider alternatives. Thanks!