First PC build Advice $800

[pondfisher]

I am building my first PC in March and i have been researching the following build. My budget is around $800.

Antec 300 Illusion
Intel Core i5-750
EVGA MOBO P55 LE 123-lf-e653 AT
EVGA 512 GeForce 9800 GTX
Corsair 650tx 650W
Corsair xms3 4gb DDR3 1600
WD Caviar Green 500gb SATA 3.0Gb/s
Lite-on CD/DVD burner IHAS124-04

This will be my first PC not purchased at Best-Buy. Any concerns about my mobo/proccessor/GPU pairing? I am trying to get the most bang for my buck while still using an INtel CPU.

Thanks,

Pondfisher

 

[jsc]

The only problem I have is with your hard drive. You may want to consider something other than something other than a WD Green drive. A Seagate 500 GB 7200.12 would be faster and wouldn't cost that much more.

 

[pondfisher]

Thanks for the heads up. I have just now started to educate myself about different computer components...been scouring this site and New Egg for information for weeks trying to make sure that I use my money wisely and create a computer i actually want.

Definitely will look at the seagates.

Do you know of any good web sites concerning PC/PC building that i should explore (like Toms hardware)? Does anyone?

 

[MadAdmiral]

On the HDD, the best is the Samsung Spinpoint F3 500 GB. They're kind of hard to get though, as they sell out quickly.

I have a slight problem with the RAM and GPU.

RAM: What's the CAS Latency (Timings) on those sticks? It's a series of numbers, you want the first 3. It should be 7-7-7-x for good sticks (lower is better). If it's higher than that or more than $115, there's some great G.Skill Ripjaws that are 1600 mhz, CL 7 on Newegg for $115.

GPU: nVidia is kinda far behind. I would highly recommend finding an extra $50 for an HD 5770.

EDIT: You've pretty much found the best. There's a lot of other component review sites, but you'll find them as you read though some of the stuff here in the forums.

 

[shortstuff_mt]

Yea, the 9800GTX is certainly getting very long in the tooth. What will you be using this system for? What resolution does your monitor run at?

The 650TX is a very nice PSU, but overkill for your system. You could easily go with a quality 500W PSU and the regular Antec 300 to come up with the money to upgrade to a 5770.

Here's a modular 80+ PSU + an XFX 5770 combo deal:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.319269 $214.98 - $25 MIR

The regular Antec 300 is currently $25 cheaper than the Illusion thanks to free shipping. That's a lot to pay for a couple fans that aren't really necessary anyway.

Antec Three Hundred $59.99

 

[pondfisher]

Thanks for the responses!

1-I reviewed the XFX 5770- I think i will stick with Nvidia. My work pc has a Nvidia GeForce 8600 gt / intel core 2 quad and I was blown away by its gaming abilities at the time. My previous pc's were all off the shelf pc's geared more towards general multimedia. absolutely no gaming capabilites after Warcraft 3......so it takes little to impress me.

2-I thought that by buying the 650tx PSU, i would be able to handle any upgrade I may make in the years ahead. Any PSU's to stay away from? I will review the 500W- more than happy to shave some the cost!

3. The Corsair ram im looking at is 9-9-9-24. The Gskills mentioned earlier look pretty good.

4. Current monitor at home is a wimpy HP 19 incher purchased over 5 years ago with a best buy hp...dont remember the resolution. No plans to upgrade this yet. I imagine whatever GPU i pick will be overkill on a 19' screen.

5. concerning the antec 300 versus its illusion brother: are the extra fans a bad thing...ive read that air flow is important.

Im basically just getting my feet wet. This PC will most likey be used primarly for playing games along with the usual: dvd/mp3 ripping, Photoshop , ect. Since i have no previous experience with high-end graphics, i dont think I will be unimpressed with the card i chose. I specifically picked the 9800 gtx for its age. I know im buying 2 year old tech, but im not necessarily interested in cutting edge....at this time.

Thanks for the tips! I have added a few new products into my wish list at Newegg to look them over before the big purchase in March.

 

[MadAdmiral]

1. You're making a mistake staying with nVidia...

2. There are too many to stay away from to list. I recommend sticking with Corsair, Antec, Seasonic, OCZ, FSP, and PC Power & Cooling.

 

[pondfisher]

1. You're making a mistake staying with nVidia...

2. There are too many to stay away from to list. I recommend sticking with Corsair, Antec, Seasonic, OCZ, FSP, and PC Power & Cooling.

MadAdmiral- I have a hard time comparing the products (nvidia/ATI). Im not a staunch Nvidia advocate...just always figured if i use and intel processor--nvidia is the one to use...if AMD...then ATI....sounds dumb but thats what ive always heard

I am looking at the 5770 reviews now.

 

[MadAdmiral]

The ATI/AMD and Intel/nVidia thing is ancient history. Right now, ATI is just making the better cards. They're newer, faster, more advanced with DirectX 11 support, run cooler, low energy users and run quiet. In other words, they're better at almost everything.

Do you mean the 5750 or 5770? Doesn't really matter. The 9800 isn't close in performance (not counting games built to favor nVidia), not to mention it might as well have a foot in the grave.