[Need Advice] Want To Build My Own Gaming PC, Just Not Sure!

[manooly]

Ok. I just recently purchsed a new gaming rig from Ibuypower.com. It should be arriving in the next couple of weeks and is currently just being processed. I've done a bit of research looking for the best build for me using their website and plenty of others. I keep learning new things by doing research and reading these forums on this great site. Now I've never built a PC but I'm getting pretty anxious to try to after reading info on this site. I consider myself an above average pc user that is very careful and really cares for my "stuff". Do you think I'm capable of putting together a pc from the ground up? I do have an I7 920 cpu build ready to be sent to me but I'm really considering to cancel it and build a new system with help from this great community. I'm still up in the air with what I should do. What I want to accomplish with this thread is to decide if I've made the right decision and maybe persuade me to build my own. Again, I'd like to keep it an I7 920 Intel build if possible. I've also never installed an OS but do want Windows 7 (64bit). Is it really difficult at all? Ok, here you go...


APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: As soon as possible! I'm very excited to get going!!!

BUDGET RANGE: 1200-1400 (would like to stay as close to this range as possible)

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming (online too, LOTRO, Dragon Age, Crysis, etc.), MS office applications, internet, watching movies, the usual pc stuff

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: keyboard, mouse (well maybe, could use a better gaming one), monitor (have an HP 22" @ 1680x1050 rez), speakers

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: New Egg

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA

PARTS PREFERENCES: I really want to stick with the Intel i7 920 cpu. I like the ATI HD 4890 video card. I'd like to try and stick with ATI. I'd like Windows 7 (64bit) for OS. I like the NZXT Lexa S and Alpha Gaming chassis. I'd still take other suggestions.

OVERCLOCKING: Maybe SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Never done overclocking but really want to learn! No Crossfire now but possible in the future.



Ok, there it is. I can't wait to see what you all have to say. Please let me know if I'm missing other info you may need. I look forward to hearing back from you!

Thanks for your time!

- manooly

 

[whatelsematters]

i would def put one together yourself, you'll save money, learn a ton, and it's a great project. plus ibuypower isn't exactly a great company.

it's going to take a bunch of research and time but personally i think it's much more rewarding.

if you're really going to be doing a ton of gaming, especially with crysis etc i would bump up your card to the 5850 or higher. dx11, runs cool and doesn't need much power, and the fps is pretty nuts... with the 4890 you might yourself wanting to xfire sooner rather than later. it's a good card, just not as beefy as the 5800 series.

good chip choice, you can OC that thing into the stratosphere

 

[klunuts]

what are the specs for the one you bought from ibuypower? and how much did it cost?

 

[manooly]

what are the specs for the one you bought from ibuypower? and how much did it cost?

Here you go...

By the way I did upgrade to a 750w Thermaltake Evo Blue psu.


Case(NZXT Lexa-S Gaming Tower Case - Black w/ Blue Light)
iBUYPOWER Labs - Noise Reduction(None)
iBUYPOWER Labs - Internal Expansion(Internal USB Expansion System)
Case Lighting(Cold Cathode Neon Light - Blue)
Processor(Intel® Core™ i7 920 Processor (4x 2.66GHz/8MB L3 Cache))
Processor Cooling([Free Upgrade] Liquid CPU Cooling System w/ 120mm Radiator [SOCKET-1366])
Memory(6 GB [2 GB X3] DDR3-1600 Triple Memory Module - Corsair or Major Brand)
Video Card(ATI Radeon HD 4890 - 1GB - Single Card)
Video Card Brand(=== High Performance === XFX Brand Video Card)
Motherboard(ASUS P6T SE -- Intel X58 Chipset CrossFire Supported w/7.1 Sound, Triple-Channel DDR3, Gb LAN, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0, Triple PCI-E MB)
Power Supply(700 Watt -- Power Supply - SLI Ready)
Primary Hard Drive(1 TB HARD DRIVE -- 16M Cache, 7200 RPM, 3.0Gb/s - Single Drive)
Optical Drive(22X Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Drive - Black)
Flash Media Reader/Writer(12-In-1 Internal Flash Media Card Reader/Writer - Black)
Meter Display(NZXT Sentry 2 LCD Touch Screen Fan Controller /w Temperatures Display - Black)
Sound Card(3D Premium Surround Sound Onboard)
Network Card(Onboard LAN Network (Gb or 10/100))
Operating System(Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium + [Free 60-Day !!!] Microsoft Office 2007(Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Access ....) - 64-Bit)
Speaker System(iBUYPOWER 2.1 Channel Stereo Super Bass Subwoofer Speaker System)
Warranty(Standard Warranty Service - Standard 3-Year Limited Warranty + Lifetime Technical Support)
Rush Service(Rush Service Fee (not shipping fee) - No Rush Service, Estimate Ship Out in 5~10 Business Days)
Keyboard(iBUYPOWER USB Keyboard - Black)
Mouse(iBUYPOWER Internet Mouse - Black)
Advanced Build Options(Professional wiring for all cables inside the system tower - Achieve exceptional airflow in your chassis)



It cost me $1350 shipped to my house. Let me know what you think.

Thanks!

- manooly

 

[klunuts]

hmmm well for around the same price you will be able to build something that is better than that. i would put a rig together for you, but picking out the parts and doing the research is half the fun if i were you i'd start doing some research, figure out the parts you want, and then post them on here and we can help you from there.

oh and just a tip, whenever i start looking for parts i first open up a word processor (open office, ms word, etc) and insert a table; 3 columns, and however many rows (normally 13-15 i think). then in the left column i right all the different parts (CPU, PSU, HDD, etc) and put TOTAL at the last row of the first column. then the second column is for the make and model of that part, and then the third column is for the price.

idk, i think it keeps everything organized, but that might have been confusing. sorry if it was haha

 

[whatelsematters]

another tip:

decide whether or not you're overclocking BEFORE picking out parts. some are much better than others for that kind of project.

good luck!

 

[klunuts]

another tip:

decide whether or not you're overclocking BEFORE picking out parts. some are much better than others for that kind of project.

good luck!

agreed. and here is a picture i took to show you what i was trying to explain haha

http://i851.photobucket.com/albums/ab72/klunuts/Screenshot.png

 

[manooly]

hmmm well for around the same price you will be able to build something that is better than that. i would put a rig together for you, but picking out the parts and doing the research is half the fun if i were you i'd start doing some research, figure out the parts you want, and then post them on here and we can help you from there.

oh and just a tip, whenever i start looking for parts i first open up a word processor (open office, ms word, etc) and insert a table; 3 columns, and however many rows (normally 13-15 i think). then in the left column i right all the different parts (CPU, PSU, HDD, etc) and put TOTAL at the last row of the first column. then the second column is for the make and model of that part, and then the third column is for the price.

idk, i think it keeps everything organized, but that might have been confusing. sorry if it was haha

Thanks for the tip! I would love for you and others to put a build together for me and post it with suggestions. I think I'd learn alot that way. Please feel free to post away. I can't wait to see what you come up with. Thanks!

- manooly

 

[manooly]

Here are some parts I currently have in my shopping cart...

CPU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202

MOBO:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131386

PSU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153110

VIDEO CARD:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150438

HDD:
2 OF THESE FOR POSSIBLE RAID 0 SETUP...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148395

OPTICAL:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118030

OS:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116754

CPU COOLING:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181010

CHASSIS:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146060

MEDIA CARD READER:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820223109

RAM:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145222


ACCESSORIES I LIKE:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811992005
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16800888031
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835202012
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811998121


All of that would cost $1,480. I'd like to do better!

There you go. I'd like to see what I could do better. Fire away with your suggestions please!!!

- manooly

 

[klunuts]

personally i think you should get an i5-750 which will shave off about $80, then only get one HDD which will save you $55. THEN put that$135 towards a hd 5850 instead of the hd 4890.

OR get rid of all your accessories (idk if you need them or what but i would hold off), which saves you ~$60, only get one HDD which will save you another $55, and put that $115 towards a hd 5850 instead AND you get to keep the i920 like you want..


my point is, get a hd 5850, you will be much happier

 

[manooly]

personally i think you should get an i5-750 which will shave off about $80, then only get one HDD which will save you $55. THEN put that$135 towards a hd 5850 instead of the hd 4890.

OR get rid of all your accessories (idk if you need them or what but i would hold off), which saves you ~$60, only get one HDD which will save you another $55, and put that $115 towards a hd 5850 instead AND you get to keep the i920 like you want..


my point is, get a hd 5850, you will be much happier

Thanks for your suggestions. Can you recommend a decent motherboard for an i5-750? How about decent RAM? Am I ok there? I really wanted that i7-920 but I am up for suggestions.

 

[klunuts]

well if you really want the i920 you could get rid of your accessories and a hdd like i said.

do you need those accessories?

and i just looked at your OP again, i forgot what resolution you were running at... you might want to consider the hd 5770. it performs somewhere imbetween the 4870 and 4890, however is very future proof and is about $20 less than the 4890... i think a 5850 will be overkill at that resolution (that's why i chose a 5770 over the 5850), but others will disagree completely, trust me haha

 

[manooly]

well if you really want the i920 you could get rid of your accessories and a hdd like i said.

do you need those accessories?

and i just looked at your OP again, i forgot what resolution you were running at... you might want to consider the hd 5770. it performs somewhere imbetween the 4870 and 4890, however is very future proof and is about $20 less than the 4890... i think a 5850 will be overkill at that resolution (that's why i chose a 5770 over the 5850), but others will disagree completely, trust me haha

I thought I saw an i5-750cpu and Gigabyte UD4 (or something like that) mobo combo deal on newegg.com but I cannot seem to locate it. I really wanted that i7 920 but that maybe overkill for me. I think I'd rather upgrade to the 5850 given the fact that I may upgrade my monitor sometime soon to a larger rez.

 

[klunuts]

ah good idea, if you're going to upgrade your monitor sometime soon then definitely go for the 5850.

i haven't done much research on the core ix CPUs so i really can't help you out much there, but i do know that that i750 is suppose to be very good for gaming.

hope you get everything figured out!

 

[manooly]

How about my 750w Thermaltake Evo Blue psu? I really loved that one but is there another you'd recommend and might be more practical?

 

[manooly]

Is there any good priced blu ray player/dvd/cd burner available (does not have to burn blu rays, just play them)? That may be a little out of range but figured I'd ask.

 

[klunuts]

idk anything about thermaltake but but corsair is suppose to make great psus. There 750w is about $120 I think. You might only need a 650w too which would save you some $$

 

[manooly]

I'd love for the psu to be modular.

How about a decent memory card reader?

 

[JackNaylorPE]

If you are expecting more than quicker boot times, skip the RAID.....in gaming performance you will see a max increase from 2 - 7% w/ RAID.

Skip the rosewilll stuff
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820176016

Corsair RAM is CAS 9, you should be able to get CAS fro close to that price
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226104

Skip the RAM cooler. Sentry 2 is a good controller

Case / PSU - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129064

 

[manooly]

If you are expecting more than quicker boot times, skip the RAID.....in gaming performance you will see a max increase from 2 - 7% w/ RAID.

Skip the rosewilll stuff
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820176016

Corsair RAM is CAS 9, you should be able to get CAS fro close to that price
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226104

Skip the RAM cooler. Sentry 2 is a good controller

Case / PSU - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129064

Thanks for your reply! That case comes with a 650w psu right? Is it a good psu? Will it suffice for my setup?

Is that RAM you suggested better than what I had? If so, how? I'm just trying to learn as much as I can.

That case won't be able hold the memory card reader right? All of the front bays look to be 5.25".

 

[manooly]

I'd like to get some good suggestions for 6GB of DDR3 RAM. I will be doing quite a bit of gaming and do not understand the 9-9-9-24 or any other settings. I'd love some help on this and some more RAM suggestions for my build. I am still leaning towards the i7 920 build with the ASUS P6T SE mobo.

Thanks!

- manooly

 

[manooly]

I would like to learn how to overclock my cpu a little. I won't be doing to much though. Which cpu cooler would be best for what I'm doing?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181010

or

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065

Thanks!

- manooly

 

[JackNaylorPE]

Thanks for your reply! That case comes with a 650w psu right? Is it a good psu? Will it suffice for my setup?

Is that RAM you suggested better than what I had? If so, how? I'm just trying to learn as much as I can.

That case won't be able hold the memory card reader right? All of the front bays look to be 5.25".

It's an excellent PSU......

http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story4&reid=110

All my Antec cases have come with a 5.25" bay facing w/ a 3.5" wide opening which you can swap out. And so does this one. See page 6 of the manual here:

http://www.antec.com/pdf/manuals/900_EN_manual_revised.pdf

As for cooling, the Prolimatech Megahalems w/ twin 1200-1300 rpm fans is about the easiest to install I have come across and is an outstanding performer. www.frozencpu.com

 

[manooly]

It's an excellent PSU......

http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story4&reid=110

All my Antec cases have come with a 5.25" bay facing w/ a 3.5" wide opening which you can swap out. And so does this one. See page 6 of the manual here:

http://www.antec.com/pdf/manuals/900_EN_manual_revised.pdf

As for cooling, the Prolimatech Megahalems w/ twin 1200-1300 rpm fans is about the easiest to install I have come across and is an outstanding performer. www.frozencpu.com

Gotcha! Thanks so much.

 

[real world]

I would go with an i5 750 build, instead of the i7 920. I originally wanted the 920 as well, but after researching, reading, and listening to the advice of the people in this forum, I changed my mind and opted for the i5 750. I too am building a gaming rig, and the 750, with it's OC'ing potential, are best suited for that. You'd save some good money opting for the 750, and you coud use that money to buy a 5850 vid card, or simply keep the savings in your pocket.