My first gaming rig - Suggestions

[Whoopedazz]

Heya!

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: As soon as possible.
BUDGET RANGE: 1400-1500 USD
OVERCLOCKING: Yes, if the PSU allow it.
REGION/COUNTRY: Denmark (= The price difference on LGA1156 and Socket LGA1366 Socket is around zero)
SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming, Graphic Editing (ie. Photoshop), Homework/Office, Video rendering

How does this look to you? :

[strike]ASRock X58 Extreme[/strike]
GIGABYTE GA-790XTA-UD4 (<-- Any suggestions?)
[strike]Core i7 I7-920 8 MB (Intel Boxed)[/strike]
Phenom II X4 955 6 MB (AMD Processor in a Box (PIB) (Cooler (fansink))
XFX Radeon HD 5850 (1 GB)
Kingston HyperX 2 x 2 GB
WD Caviar Black WD100FALS 1 TB
[strike]Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio PCI Express[/strike]
Corsair HX520W
Cooler Master HAF 922

And a CD/DVD rw burner from my old computer
I had to spare some money on the PSU and HDD, due to my wallet.. I want a new monitor (SyncMaster) too, so
Is the Corsair HX520W able to deliver it?

Total cost:
[strike]$1520[/strike]
[strike]$1450[/strike]
$1262

I'm open for suggestions

 

[lunyone]

Well the Corsair is up to it, but have you bought the parts yet??

You could save some $ and get the i5 750 instead of the i7 920. That would be at least $150 in savings ($80 on the CPU and ~$70 on the mobo or so). You could also use a bit cheaper PSU, like the Corsair 550vx or BFG 550w PSU for the 5850 if you like, but that is up to you.

Edit: I forgot to mention that Kingston RAM sticks aren't my favorite. I like G.Skill/Corsair/Crucial as my preferred ones to get.

 

[Whoopedazz]

Thanks for the reply
I havnt bought the parts yet.

- Well, in Denmark the price difference of LGA1156 Socket LGA1366 Socket is around zero.
Example:
ASRock X58 Extreme | Cost 190USD
/
ASUS P7P55D | Cost 190USD
Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD3 | Cost 175USD

- So I figured it would be nonsense to buy a LGA1126 mobo.
The pricedifference on a i5 and i7 920 is around 110USD, though

 

[lunyone]

Ahhh, I see now. So your saying that between the mobo and CPU your paying about $125 difference??

Another note, do you need the sound card?? Most onboard sound is quite good these days, so the sound card isn't really needed. You can buy your system without it and if you feel you need the sound card, than you can just get it later. This way if it sounds good to you, than you can save your $ for other upgrades (Monitor) or whatever you like.

 

[Whoopedazz]

I'm saying that the mobos cost the same, wether its a LGA1156 or a LGA1366 socket. So its the price difference on a i5 750 and a i7 920 that makes the difference ($120), which I think is okay?

No, I've been wondering about it.. I dont know a lot about soundcards, or onboard sound, but I figured it would be neat to have great sound when the main purpose of this computer is gaming (fps). How big is the difference, can you hear a major difference?
But I like the idea of buying it later, so I can get a better monitor 'now'..

 

[lunyone]

Well if you okay with the $120 more cost with the i7 920, than get it. I was just trying to get you some savings and not really hurt performance much.
I don't use a sound card and I play a few FPS (TF2/CSS) and have no sound issues whatsoever!

 

[Whoopedazz]

I know, - I just think that LGA1366 socket is more upgradeable in the future, but my wallet will consider a i5
- Okay, sound card is removed from the shopping list..

EDIT:
arrgh, now you made me consider a i5 instead of a i7, looking at the tests the i7 seems like a ~3% cpu boost, but its a lot more expensive than the i5 ;/
Help me!

 

[lunyone]

Do what you think is best. The 6 cores coming out will only be for s1366, so if that helps any. I don't know what is left for s1156, TBH. I know the i7 920 is spendy and also requires more power to run, but you can also use triple channel RAM sets. I don't think it's really that big of a deal. Personally I would be buying an AMD Phenom II x4 955 Black Edition CPU, because it's cheaper and performs about 90-100% of the i5 750. Plus it might a lot more upgrade path than the s1156 does. The AM3 mobo's are also cheaper and come with quite a few options for less than Intel based mobo's. Just thought I'd let you know my thoughts on the build.

 

[Whoopedazz]

Thanks for the info
Do you have any recommendations on mobos of that kind?
I will take Phenom II into my considerations

 

[lunyone]

Here's my current favorite, due to price and options!! GO AMD!!
GIGABYTE GA-MA770T-UD3P AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128392

 

[lunyone]

For ~$20 more you get SATA 3 and USB 3.0!!
GIGABYTE GA-770TA-UD3 AM3 AMD 770 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128419

 

[Whoopedazz]

Thanks, I have to look up reviews on that.. I'm conserned about the 4 PCI slots and the low price
Lol, I'm going from Intel/Nvidia fanboy to AMD/ATI ..
I will look around for reviews, thanks a lot

 

[Whoopedazz]

What about the Gigabyte GA-790XTA-UD4?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128416


EDIT
The changes on mobo and cpu made the price go from:
$1450 --> $1262

So thats very cool
I'm open for mobo suggestions!!


EDIT EDIT
Should I get a Corsair HX650W instead of the 520W?
Its 'only' $40 more..

 

[lunyone]

That mobo is fine too. I just linked one that wasn't too expensive either

The Corsair 520w PSU will do just fine. Personally I'd go for the 650 tx (not modular) because of the output and because it's cheaper too!! Even the 550vx is a nice PSU too. I've built a i7 920 system around it and have had no issues whatsoever!!

 

[Whoopedazz]

Well, the only thing thats better on the one I suggested is that it's Xfire supportive.. Your mobo is not, and when I'm not planning to have 2x GPU's, then theres no point, is there?

TX650W is considered.. How much does the modular/not modular mean to the cable management, when I'm putting it all inside my HAF922?
- Also, should I buy a CPU cooler, or would that be like throwing your money out the window? I'm going to OC a little bit, but nothing serious.

 

[lunyone]

Crossfire/SLI end up being a spendy proposition. I think 99% of people only really end up using a single GPU solution.

The 650tx is a good PSU and the extra cables can be tucked into several places, especially on the 922 case. I like the Cooler Master 690. It has everything you need and is usually $20-30 less than the 922 case that you listed.

If you get a CPU cooler, you will have a cooler CPU (not a bad thing). You will have more OC'ing headroom too, because of the lower temperatures. It does cost more, so that is something to consider. You don't need an aftermarket CPU HSF to OC the 955 chip. That is the beauty of the having an unlocked multiplier! 30 seconds into the BIOS to adjust the multiplier and your done (for the most part). All you have to do after making the adjustment, is to verify that the system is stable!!

 

[Whoopedazz]

Thank you

 

[Whoopedazz]

Best answer selected by Whoopedazz.

 

[lunyone]

YVW, what is your final build??

 

[Whoopedazz]

Well, .. To my own suprise I ended up with an i5 instead of Phenom
4gb Kingston value ram
750W noname ram (Its okay..)
500gb HDD (I dont need any more than that)
XFX HD 5850 BE ..
Yep

 

[lunyone]

You won't be disappointed with either CPU. The i5 has some power savings over the Phenom and has turbo boost too, so no loss there either!

 

[mopkop]

Hi uhm Maybe you should rather go for something ells than XFX its not a bad brand but their warranty and service is not as good as say Saphire unless there is a big price difference and also do you have to go Kingston? there are lots of other brands that leave Kingston in the dust like OCZ, Transcend, Corsair, G. Skill
OOOO Ya good choice in going with i5 there area few articles that I have read where they say i5 is the best gaming CPU at the moment

 

[zach538467]

Actually, MopKop, XFX has the best warranty...