$1,000-1,400 Homebuilt Gaming System - How's This Look?

[1og0s]

Hello community! I suspect I'll receive the answers I'm looking for.

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Now!

BUDGET RANGE: $1,000-$1,400

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: This rig is primarily for Gaming, I want to be flawlessly running games like MW2 / CRYSIS with Best graphic settings.

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Keyboard, Mouse, Monitor, Soundcard, HDD

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: newegg.com, tigerdirect.com, and anything else that will net me a good deal

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: United States of America

PARTS PREFERENCES: I am completely open to anything, I have been an Intel/Nvidia guy for years, but if AMD, ATI, or whoever has something better to offer, let me know

OVERCLOCKING: If there is enough reason to do it, sure!

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I need some info on what would be a good case and psu for this system.

Case/PSU Combo: Recommendation Needed

Motherboard/CPU Combo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.325118

Video Card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102856 or http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102863&cm_re=5970-_-14-102-863-_-Product <- What is the difference in performance between the two? Is a minimal or vast improvement in a game like MW2 or Crysis?

RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145285

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

Any suggestions and feedback would be wonderful, and again, I need a recommendation for a psu and case.

 

[Silvune]

A very nice PSU: Antec EarthWatts EA750 750W $110 free shipping - will be enough to crossfire 5870s. Might want to go up to an 850W if you decide to get 5970s, altho crossfiring them on that motherboard is likely to cause a bottleneck. So either just stick with one 5970 or crossfire 5870s.
I think you will be happy with this case: Antec Nine Hundred Two ATX Mid Tower $115 + $10 shipping.
Some other good cases are the Coolermaster CM 690 II, HAF 922/932, Antec 300 (if you want a more budget case), the original 900, 1200 and one that I like is the Lancool PC-K62.
I'm not having much luck finding combos for cases and PSUs.

 

[1og0s]

A very nice PSU: Antec EarthWatts EA750 750W $110 free shipping - will be enough to crossfire 5870s. Might want to go up to an 850W if you decide to get 5970s, altho crossfiring them on that motherboard is likely to cause a bottleneck. So either just stick with one 5970 or crossfire 5870s.
I think you will be happy with this case: Antec Nine Hundred Two ATX Mid Tower $115 + $10 shipping.
Some other good cases are the Coolermaster CM 690 II, HAF 922/932, Antec 300 (if you want a more budget case), the original 900, 1200 and one that I like is the Lancool PC-K62.
I'm not having much luck finding combos for cases and PSUs.

Ok, thanks a lot.

Videocard: I think I actually just want to go with a single 5970 or just a single 5870.

Is there a huge difference between the two performance wise?

 

[shortstuff_mt]

Yes, the 5970 is like two under-clocked 5870's put together. Why don't you check the benchmarks for the games you will be playing and at the resolution your monitor runs at?

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-5970,2474.html

http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3679

http://techreport.com/articles.x/17986

By the way, what resolution does your monitor run at? That's the #1 deciding factor when considering what GPU to buy.

 

[Silvune]

Probably depends on your resolution, you'll be happy with either card. But the 5970 is the way to go if you want to max out Crysis as much as possible. The benchmarks shortstuff posted will allow you to make a judgement/more informed decision for yourself.

 

[banthracis]

PSU wise you're better off with

corsair 750tx $99 after MIR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006&Tpk=corsair%20750tx

 

[1og0s]

My resolution isn't that big, its 1280 x 1024 and judging from those benchmarks at this resolution it looks like they will be running practically identical on any game I play.

 

[shortstuff_mt]

There are 80 Plus Bronze PSU's available in the same price range.

Antec TruePower New TP-750 750W 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply $119.95

 

[shortstuff_mt]

My resolution isn't that big, its 1280 x 1024.

Then you shouldn't even be considering the 5970 unless you plan on upgrading your monitor soon. Even a single 5870 is complete overkill for that resolution.

That also changes my PSU suggestion since all you need is a quality 500W PSU for a single 5870.

Antec EarthWatts Green EA-500D Green 500W ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Retail $89.99

 

[1og0s]

I am planning to upgrade my Monitor, this one is only temporary, but I will have it for a while.

 

[1og0s]

Then you shouldn't even be considering the 5970 unless you plan on upgrading your monitor soon. Even a single 5870 is complete overkill for that resolution.

That also changes my PSU suggestion since all you need is a quality 500W PSU for a single 5870.

Antec EarthWatts Green EA-500D Green 500W ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Retail $89.99

ok thanks a lot for the help really appreciate it. If theres any other suggestions you might have, let me know.

edit: 1 question - Would the memory I chose be suitable if I wanted to go for 6 gigs instead of 4?

 

[Silvune]

Basically no, as Lynnfield is dual channel memory based, so 6GB would end up running in single channel and wouldn't perform as well as 4GB in dual.
I'm just going to say that if it was me I'd want a good 600W for a system with a 5870. But apparently shortstuff is the PSU expert around here.

 

[bejabbers]

go with the 5970. one 5970 is equal to two 5870s.
the antec ea750 would be a good pso and the 902 case is a good case.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

For twin GPU's you'll want some room in there and some extra cooling....Antec 1200 / CP-850. The Antec 750 is a good PSu for a stock system garnering an 8.5 performance rating on jonnyguru.com. But for twin 5870's or a 5970 and overclocking, I'd want a 9.5 - 10.0 rating.

Antec EW-750 (8.5 performance rating) http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story5&reid=163
Antec CP-850 (10.0 performance rating) http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story4&reid=142

Antec 1200 is $159 @ newegg.com
Antec CP-850 is $109 at newegg.com

However, that being said.....all this stuff is overkill unless you doing 1920 x 1080 or better. My son uses a 1280 x 1024 monitor a s a secondary monitor beside his 1920 x 1200

If going w/ the 902, and a 5870, the Antec 650 Earthwatts scores higher with a 9.0 rating. The TP series garners a 9.5.

If you are going to overclock past 3.2 GHz....and no reason not to go to 3.6 Ghz or even 4.0 Ghz, I'd move up to a better cooler. Pick from the top 3 here:

http://www.silentpcreview.com/Recommended_Heatsinks
http://www.frostytech.com/top5heatsinks.cfm#INTELHEATSINK
http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=371&Itemid=62&limit=1&limitstart=15

Hard Drives - Check out the performance charts and pick whatever 500 GB per platter drive performs best under your usage patterns. The WD Black 2 TB is a good choice but at smaller capacities, you are limited to the Seagate 7200.12 or the Spinpoint F3. The 7200.12 excels in gaming, multimedia and pictures whereas the F3 wins at music and movie maker. See the comparisons here (copy past link in manually, link won't work in forum):

(http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/2009-3.5-desktop-hard-drive-charts/compare,1006.html?prod[2371]=on&prod[2770]=on)

Optical:

Watching BlueRay - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827249055
Writing BlueRay - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827249057
No BlueRay - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827249051