A Friend's Gaming PC for close to $1000

[perfectm]

Hello All,

Trying to stick to the template guidelines as best as possible. I wanted him to come here and get feedback, but he went out and ordered the following items.

He wants a future-proof top of the line video gaming system. Any feedback would be appreciated.

Component Breakdown:
CPU: Intel i5 Lynnfield 2.66 GHz Quad Core
Replacement Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212
Motherboard: ASUS P7P55D (Crossfire Support)
Memory: G.SKILL 2x2GB DDR3 1600
Graphics Card: Sapphire Radeon 5770
Optical Drive: Sony Optiarc DVDRW
Hard Drive: WD Caviar Black 1TB 7200RPM
Power Supply: Corsair 750W
Case: Cooler Master Storm Scout
Keyboard/Mouse: Microsoft Comfort Curve Value Pack
Monitor: Asus VW246H 24'' LCD

 

[MadAdmiral]

Should have gone AMD with an HD 5850. I would've started with looking at a X3 425/Asus M4A79XTD EVO build, and upgrade the CPU if there's extra budget after the HD 5850.

Should have also gotten the Samsung Spinpoint F3 1 TB drive.

I'm not a fan of the Storm Scout, but it's not a bad choice.

All-in-all, it's not too bad of a build.

 

[perfectm]

What would be the advantages of that system? I think the HD 5850 would obviously be graphics performance. But how about the differences in CPU and hard drive? Performance related or price related?

Thanks!

 

[MadAdmiral]

The HDD is the best available right now, and is cheaper than the WD.

The CPU would have no effect on gaming performance, as gaming is bottlenecked by the GPU. It would just lower the price allowing for a bigger GPU.

So the suggestions are both better from a price standpoint and a performance standpoint.

 

[perfectm]

Thanks, I will pass that on to him. It may not be too late to exchange his HDD in the order. Does the HD5850 support crossfire?

 

[MadAdmiral]

Of course. It's one of the best cards in Crossfire...