New build $1200

[theroddd]

I'm planing to build a comp from scratch, I have played around some with upgrades for me and some friends so I'm not a totaly idiot when it come to working on a comp (unless the gurus prove me wrong here on my first post of course) but I would like some advice on the new system I have been shopping for. I'm looking to spend about $1200 on this one but can go a few hundred either way if someone is convincing enough. Don't need a super duper fast monster comp but something good for the price, mostly going to be doing some gaming with web surfing and video/photo editing thrown in but nothing too extreme. Here is the list I have, if anything is hugely wrong with it then I'm sorry in advance for being so obvisouly wrong. I have the monitor so no need for that. Planing on starting fresh and new with windows 7. I might do some mild over clocking now and can add a good water cooler if you convince me it's called for. Thank you for your time and sorry about the long winded intro.

XFX Radeon HD 4670 Video Card - 1GB GDDR2, PCI Express 2.0, CrossFireX Ready, Dual DVI, HDTV, HDMI Support (x@ for crossfire) http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5256326&sku=P450-4670

OCZ Vertex Series Solid State Drive - 30GB, 2.5", SATA II http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4364403&sku=O261-6120

Seagate Barracuda 1.5TB Hard Drive ST31500341AS - 7200RPM, 32MB Cache, SATA-3G http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4138742&sku=TSD-1500AS
(I'm also considering 2 150gig VelociRaptors set up in raid 0, but post I have read on here convinced me to go with the ssd for boot and a larger Hd for storage, I am willing to be convinced to go another way on this though.)
MSI P55-GD65 Motherboard - Intel P55, Socket LGA1156, Core i5 http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5083742&sku=M452-6071

Intel Core i7 860 Processor - 2.80GHz, LGA 1156, 8MB L3 Cache, Quad-Core, Lynnfield, Retail http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4959972&sku=I69-0860

Cooler Master HAF 932 Full Tower Black Case http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4146085&sku=C283-1187

OCZ Intel Extreme Edition Dual Channel 4096MB PC12800 DDR3 1600MHz Memory (2 x 2048MB) (possibly x2 for 8 gigs total) http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3984931&sku=O261-7504

OCZ / GameXStream / 850-Watt / ATX / 120mm Fan / SATA-Ready / SLI-Ready / Active PFC / Power Supply http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2776974&sku=O261-2006

Thanks again for all your time.

 

[theroddd]

Left out when im going to buy all this but its a lose time frame, maybe over the next 2 months, kind of a christmad gift to myself.

 

[gkay09]

^ Though the parts that you have chosen are good, but only when taken separately...Your requirements and the selection of the components dont match very well...
Here is a reworked list, that you can take a look at...
CPU - i5 750 - It is also a very good mid-high end Quad, would suit your usage...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115215

Mobo - Check these out too...
Gigabyte UD4
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128404
UD4P
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128400

RAM - Those OCZ Intel Extreme Edition RAMs wont suit the P55 boards as they have more than the specified maximum 1.65V...
Get this one... - Far better buy...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145265

Graphics card - HD 4670 ? You should serously reconsider that card...If you play say 3+ years old games, then the HD 4670 would be good...but for the recent games, you can only play them at low settings and at low resolutions...
I would suggest you get the HD 5770
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102864
Later on you can add one more in crossfire if you feel the need...

4. PSU - You get better quality PSUs for less...And 850W PSU ?? I dont think so...
Get any of these...
Corsair 650HX/ TX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139012
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005
These both can power even 2x HD 5850 in crossfire...

5. CASE - The HAF 932 is a very good case...you can even take a look at the HAF 922...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119197&cm_re=haf_922-_-11-119-197-_-Product

6. SSD - It is cheaper at newegg...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227393

So with these changes, still should come under $1200...

 

[akula2]

^ Though the parts that you have chosen are good, but only when taken separately...Your requirements and the selection of the components dont match very well...
Here is a reworked list, that you can take a look at...
CPU - i5 750 - It is also a very good mid-high end Quad, would suit your usage...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115215

Hi,

You are correct. I am looking for a person like you to help me in choosing a custom assembled PC.

@theroddd: Intel i5-750 is the best quad core processor available w.r.t the price:
http://www.anandtech.com/printarticle.aspx?i=3634


@gkay09, please go through this URL once (planning to build a PC with USB3.0 and SATA-III support):
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5483161&CatId=4928

Why do we need a Intel P55 Chipset when a review (read somewhere) said that it's not at all necessary with i-750 MOBOs? Am i missing something here

Thanks,
~akula2

 

[MadAdmiral]

If I were building it, I would ditch the SSD. I don't think the gains you get from using it will offset the massive price. If you do leave it out, you can probably afford a 58xx card, which will be good enough for almost every game. But that's just my 2 cents...

 

[Guest]

again, i agree with madadmirals, the only time my SSD has had a massive impact on helping me is when i'm transferring and installing games

the actual playing it has little to now effect on

 

[gkay09]

@akula2 The P55 is the chipset which is needed to run the LGA 1156 CPUs...And intel has not given licence to any other company to manufacture different chipsets for the LGA 1156 socket...
Could you explain it once again...
@MadAdmiral & Elliotgraham94 very true that the SSDs dont have any effect on gameplay...but for day-to-day tasks, they do speed up things to a great extent...

 

[theroddd]

gkay your build does look better than mine. video cards are not my strong suit and ill admit i dont know much about them, my thinking was that 2 crossfired even if a little older would be better than one newer one.

 

[theroddd]

MadAdmiral so ditch the ssd? i know the cost is high but the performance seemed worth it to me, never used one tho so thats just from reveiws and such. so would i be better off going with 2 velicoraptors in raid0?

 

[gkay09]

^ SSDs over the Velociraptors anytime...
A 30GB SSD for the OS and some apps and a standard 500GB(Preferably Samsung F3 500GB) for other things would be a very good setup...
And as for going with SSDs, if you can afford one, get one...It will definitely improve the overall performance of the PC...

And as for the graphics card, HD 4670 are low end cards...and 2 low end cards in Crossfire is not worth it...
If it were atleast the HD 4770, then it would have made sense as they would scale well and its performance will be very good...

 

[MadAdmiral]

I'm not saying that the SSD won't improve performance, I just think that the premium you pay for them isn't worth it right now. I think the money is better spent somewhere else in a build.

If you're definitely going to buy either velicoraptors of an SSD, then go with the SSD. The velociraptors definitely aren't worth it.

 

[theroddd]

really not worth it? i have read great things about them in raid0. never used them either so im just going on what i have heard. could you suggest a better hhd then?

 

[batuchka]

Well u did say a couple of hundreds either way

 

[MadAdmiral]

@therodd: SSD's are the fastest drives you can get. I'm not disputing that. What I'm saying is that I think the large premium you pay for them (well over $100 a drive extra) is not worth that right now, just as going out and buying the i7 Extreme Edition for $1500 is not worth it. I think the Samsung F3's are sufficiently fast. Obviously, these won't be as fast as an SSD, but they are $100 cheaper. I think you'd get better performance overall if you take that $100 savings and put it somewhere else in the build, such as getting a better video card. A SSD is not going to get you more FPS while gaming...

 

[akula2]

I am very much disappointed by reading this on this thread => http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/267801-28-buyer-guide

"The LGA1156 platform is suspended from recommendation due to reports of faulty sockets not providing enough contacts, and frying CPUs under heavy load. The faulty sockets are manufactured by Foxconn, but they are used in almost all p55 motherboards. At the moment, most failures have been on highly overclocked systems, but until the extent of the problem is known, this CPU (and socket) will be off the recommended list."

Kindly suggest should I wait till January 2010 or not, it's matter of $1400 plus planned investment


Thank you very much,

~Akula2

 

[gkay09]

^ Yes...there were issues with that Foxconn socket...but I read somewhere that the manufacturers are switching to a different one now...So to be on the safer side, if you can wait till JAN, it would be good...

 

[Niklas_13]

I am very much disappointed by reading this on this thread => http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/267801-28-buyer-guide

"The LGA1156 platform is suspended from recommendation due to reports of faulty sockets not providing enough contacts, and frying CPUs under heavy load. The faulty sockets are manufactured by Foxconn, but they are used in almost all p55 motherboards. At the moment, most failures have been on highly overclocked systems, but until the extent of the problem is known, this CPU (and socket) will be off the recommended list."

Kindly suggest should I wait till January 2010 or not, it's matter of $1400 plus planned investment


Thank you very much,

~Akula2

The P55A-UD4P has a lotes socket you can zoom in on the back of the mobo and see http://www.newegg.com/Product/ImageGallery.aspx?CurImage=13-128-409-TS&SpinSet=13-128-409-RS&ISList=13-128-409-Z01%2c13-128-409-Z02%2c13-128-409-Z03%2c13-128-409-Z04%2c13-128-409-Z05&S7ImageFlag=1&Item=N82E16813128409&Depa=0&WaterMark=1&Description=GIGABYTE%20GA-P55A-UD4P%20LGA%201156%20Intel%20P55%20SATA%206Gb%2fs%20USB%203.0%20ATX%20Intel%20Motherboard%20w%2f%20USB%203.0%20%26%20SATA%206%20Gb%2fs

 

[akula2]

The P55A-UD4P has a lotes socket you can zoom in on the back of the mobo

Thanks for that help bro, will look at the Gigabyte A series boards in depth now

~akula2

 

[phlog]

The P55A-UD4P has a lotes socket you can zoom in on the back of the mobo and see http://www.newegg.com/Product/ImageGallery.aspx?CurImage=13-128-409-TS&SpinSet=13-128-409-RS&ISList=13-128-409-Z01%2c13-128-409-Z02%2c13-128-409-Z03%2c13-128-409-Z04%2c13-128-409-Z05&S7ImageFlag=1&Item=N82E16813128409&Depa=0&WaterMark=1&Description=GIGABYTE%20GA-P55A-UD4P%20LGA%201156%20Intel%20P55%20SATA%206Gb%2fs%20USB%203.0%20ATX%20Intel%20Motherboard%20w%2f%20USB%203.0%20%26%20SATA%206%20Gb%2fs

I was under the impression that the p55a-ud3 uses the foxonn socket but if you zoom in it says lotes. Has Gigabyte revised the ud3 as to not include the foxconn socket?http://www.newegg.ca/Product/ImageG...P55 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

 

[Niklas_13]

Its seems like all the gigabyte MOBOs with P55A have the lotes sockets

 

[phlog]

I think that is a LOTES bracket. The socket is probably still Foxconn

 

[osu43130]

You could always think of going with an AMD build.

HAF 922 $100

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 $115

COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 (Only if you plan on OCing) $30

Combo Includes AMD965 Black Edition and GIGABYTE GA-790XTA-UD4 AM3 AMD 790X SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard $309

Win 7 and Saphire 5850 $385

OCZ modStream 700W PSU and SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB 7200 RPM $134


Total = $1073 Before Shipping

***Edit Whoops did not see someone already put a AMD build in there.