New builder =). Just seeking advice and opinions.

[Getnitdunn]

Hello. I'm currently in the process of building My first computer.

I already purchased my processor: amd phenom II x4 965 140w (didn't know there was a 125w). My power supply tx850w by corsair. Antec 1200 case (for gaming btw). An optiarc DVD bruner by Sony. V8 CPU cooler. And what I'm planning on purchasing in the future is the crosshair iii formula and a HD 5850 in xfire.

However I already purchased the HD 4650 only because I'm waiting for nvidia to come out with their new graphics cards so that the HD 5850s drop in price a bit. But for now I will be using the very inexpensive HD 4650. The memory I'm planning on buy is the ocz 7-7-7-24 4gigs (will upgrade to 8gigs in the future) memory (gaming edition). The storage is two 160gb wd cavier blue 7200rpm hard drives. (i'm not too worried on speed but if raid 0 set up does improve IN-GAME gaming then I might do it. I don't care too much about the loading between levels). And my operating system will be windows 7. With mouse I went with razers deathadder and keyboard razer lycosa. (very happy with those purchases). I heard some windows 7 issues with both but also heard some worked with the drivers. Hopeully I can have a more smooth experience.

The games I will be playing are mostly older ones. Like mass effect, battlefront II. And future games I plan on playing will be mass effect 2. Dragon age. Assassins creed 2. Star wars the old republic. Maybe wow if I get back into it, haven't played since June. So two 5850s will be overkill I think But for future games I'm sure will ask for higher graphics power. But for now I think the 4650 can handle the olde games until newer dx11 games come out.

So with that in mind I was just seeking if my build is a solid one. Any suggestions or tips will be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Mike

 

[Getnitdunn]

Sorry forgot to mention if anything will be bottle necked? And my monitor is 26 inches. Forget which resolution I play on lol. And I don't plan on overclocking. Thanks again!

 

[MadAdmiral]

I wouldn't get the WD HDD. You can get one Samsung Spinpoint F3 500 GB for $55, and it would be just as good.

I wouldn't hold my breath on the nVidia cards. All they've said is Q1 2010, which could mean anywhere until the end of March. I'm also suspicious that they haven't released a harder date yet. Don't be surprised if they get pushed to summer 2010 (or even later). Also, the 5850s aren't going to drop in price. The demand is too high, and they're brand new.

As far as which GPU you'll need, it really depends on the resolution. Without that, we can only guess. I highly recommend you refer to the thread in my signature to supply us with more information that will be useful for giving advice (specifically the budget...).

 

[Getnitdunn]

The thing is I don't need all that space. I just wanted low storage because I will install my programs onto my hard drive and I already have an external storage device. But I'll definately look into that samsung. But I see the difference. More storage for cheaper. However if raid 0 or any raid set up makes gaming faster while playing I will get two cheaper Hdds. If not then I will get the samsung. Remember I don't really care about load time. I can wait haha. And check out your link. If the HD 4650 holds up te games I play now then I'll be happy to wait for nvidia to release their cards. Hopefully by then prices will drop on the 5850. If not then I'll buy a gpu when mass effect two comes out and when prices do drop I'll get another one. Thanks for the reply!

Mike