1500 Gaming Rig

[CaptnCrunch]

Hey Guys,

New member, but I've snooped around tom's for a long while.

I could use some of the communities thoughts.

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: 1 Week - 1 Month

BUDGET RANGE: $1000-1500. I'm flexible depending on the reason.

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming, music, internet, word processing.

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Power Supply, monitor, video card, case, speakers, keyboard, mouse. ***More on this below***

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Newegg, Microcenter

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: U.S.A.

PARTS PREFERENCES: I'm open minded. I am partial to Western Digital because I've not had a WD drive die. Ever.

OVERCLOCKING: Yes. I'd like to give it a go. Never done it, seems fun.

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Maybe. My typical monitor probably won't take advantage of this.

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1280x1024, 1920x1080

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: So I'm cannibalizing parts from my old machine to use in the new one as seen in the parts not required.

***Already have***
PSU: 1000W Silverstone

Video: EVGA 285

Monitor: Samsung 21" LCD. I also have a 40" HDLCD by Samsung I'm interested in playing around with.

***Proposed Parts***
Mobo: $310 Asus P6X58D

CPU: $290 i7 920

CPU Fan: $30 Cooler Master 212

CPU Grease: Arctic 5. Figure everyone knows this by now, hah.

Memory: $250 6GB Mushkin Redline 1600

HDD: $150 2x WD 640GB Black striped

DVD Read/Burn: $27 Sony Optiarc

OS: $140 Windows 7 64-bit

Approx Total: $1200

Inquiries:

1. I need a wireless adapter. I've no idea where to begin here. PCI, USB...I don't know. This computer will be one floor above the router.

2. SSDs seem to be all the rage. I'm interested. What are your thoughts on a small SS boot drive? I think the small ones are relatively inexpensive. Worth it? I'm new to RAID, hence why I wanted to try it above. Will it be difficult to setup the SSD with a mechanical HD raid?

3. I could use a new keyboard and mouse. I prefer wired. I'm a big gamer.

4. Should I get a sound card? Never used onboard, so I don't know the difference.

So what do you guys think?

Thanks in advance,
CaptnCrunch

 

[a4mula]

1) No idea, sorry.

2) The Intel x25-V can be had for 129.99 and supports TRIM. 30gb is an os only thing though.

3) If you can find a Logitech G15 snag it. Steelseries makes a great gaming kb as well, with secondary fps pad attached. Lycosa Razer series are great mice(? lol), I prefer the Microsoft Sidewinder, but not many do.

4) Onboard sound on todays mobos are more than sufficient.


I'd swap the WD for Samsung Spinpoint F3's. They're better performers. Otherwise looks solid.

 

[Atomosk]

Your build looks great. You have plenty of headroom for crossfire with your motherboard and PSU.

Reguarding the PCI vs USB wireless adapter; I would recommend going with a PCI card. I personally have a USB adapter and it sucks, I've gone through three of them actually to get a decent signal, and I am yet to find it. From what I read, many have had great experiences with PCI versions. In my opinion it is worth a shot.

ON a side note I think you can pick up a better heatsink for you cpu. Check out frosty tech, they have a straight up, up to date line up of the top tested heat sinks. (http://www.frostytech.com/top5heatsinks.cfm)

 

[CaptnCrunch]

Sounds good.

Thanks for the replies.

 

[bababablazin]

all you really need for gaming imo is a 200 dollar i5 750, a 160 dollar mobo, and the 115 dollar 4 gb rams G Skill... but suit yourself, im just a poor boy.