My $900 Gaming Computer

[mkyan978]

Here are the parts I have thought out so far.

Budget: around $900 w/o monitor

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: I will start building this around the end of the Jan.

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: gaming, downloading, surfing the internet and work.

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: keyboard, mouse, speakers, dvdrw, monitor, OS

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: none, I do have a Microcenter near me.

PARTS PREFERENCES: Intel

OVERCLOCKING: Probably not, first time builder
SLI OR CROSSFIRE: No

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1680x1050 right now

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Ok so the difference right now between an I5-750 and I7-860 is just $40 at microcenter. Should I just get the i7-860?



Here is what I have currently:

MOBO: GIGABYTE GA-P55A-UD3 LGA 1156 Intel P55 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard w/ USB 3.0 & SATA 6 Gb/s - Retail - (Newegg)

CPU: Intel Core i5-750

Combo $320

GPU: Visiontek Radeon HD 5850 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card - Retail -

$260


RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL - Retail $94

PSU: OCZ StealthXStream OCZ700SXS 700W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply - Retail

CASE: CM HAF 922

Combo $110

HDD: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1 TB - $85 (Newegg)


Total price: $869 or 910 depending on i5-750 or i7-860.

Optional: So I saw someone else wanting to buy these two items. Since I'm probably not going to OC do I need to get this special thermal compound or would the one that comes with the stock be sufficient and also if I do decide to do some minor minor OCing can I just stick with the stock heatsink too?

HSF: COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus Intel Core i5 & Intel Core i7 compatible RR-B10-212P-G1 120mm "heatpipe direct contact" Long life sleeve CPU Cooler - Retail - $30 (Newegg)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835103065

Thermal Paste: Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835100007

Thanks for the help guys.

 

[mavanhel]

If you're just doing gaming, I'd suggest staying with the i5. Time and time again it has shown to be the superior gaming CPU of today. The rest of your build looks pretty good. If possible I'd suggest going with RAM with a Cas Latency of 7, even if you drop the frequency to 1333MHz. As for the HSF, I've heard some really bad things about the i5 stock cooler, so it wouldn't be a bad idea to pick it up. It cools extremely well for only $30.

 

[mkyan978]

Thanks for the input. How about the thermal paste?

 

[mavanhel]

Well, the Hyper 212 comes with a small amount of thermal paste, but the Arctic Silver 5 is one of the best on the market. It will definitely do the job for when you get brave enough to OC (and in time I'm sure you will. Once the warranty's up, what's stopping you )

 

[tunnelrat]

if ur not going t over clock then drop down to the gigabyte p55m ud2
its an awesome board !!!!(TRUST ME IN THIS !!!....I HAVE THIS ONE...)

that cooler master haf 922 is huge.....get a cooler master cm 690 or cooler master gladiator 600
both are awesome with superior air flow........

drop ur psu to corsair VX550.....its a beast...and will be enough to power any single chip gpu..........
get this and save money



by the amount u have saved u can get a ATI 5870
a much powerful card !!!!
(VX550 has enough juice to pwer the ATi 5870...no need to worry )

the rest of ur build is ok...just go for a ram with cas 7...just lyk mavanhel said !!!

 

[mkyan978]

hey guys thanks for the help so far. I ended up getting the evga p55 le board since there was a 30 dollar rebate at the time.

Ok I'm looking at a cooler for the near future to replace the stock. I don't really know brands really well but a lot of people recommend the CM hyper 212 plus. I saw that CM made a TX3 which is half the price. The 212 is definitely better but is the TX3 ok? How sufficiently does it cool for overclocking? Thanks

 

[tunnelrat]

for over clocking over 3.4 ghz cooler master hyper 212 plus will be awesome


dont get the tx3 it isnt that good !!!!
the best bet is to buy the cooler master hyper 212 plus !!!