~$1,000 Budget Gaming Build *help please.

[zerkai]

First, I'll list my current components that I'm upgrading from:

Mobo: ASROCK 4COREDUAL-SATA2
CPU: INTEL CORE 2 DUO E4500 2.2GHZ
RAM: 2GB DUAL CHANNEL 667
GPU: NVIDIA 8X AGP 7600GS 256MB
HD: WD 640GB BLACK + WD 1TB GREEN (I'll be keeping these)
Monitor: ASUS VH242H 23.6" 5MS (I'll be keeping these as well)

I've been watching this particular case for a while and bought it a few days ago on a sale ($40.00 shipped) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147153

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Hopefully before March

BUDGET RANGE: ~$1,050 Before Rebates

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming (BioShock 2, Dragon Age, FallOut 3 Assassins Creed, Team Fortress 2, and older games (CS)), Watching Blu-Ray movies & Multi-tasking (I have two monitors), Surfing the web (streaming videos and such), and beginning to get into Video-editing using Sony Vegas/Fraps.

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Keyboard, Mouse, Monitor, Speakers, OS, Hard drive, DVD Burner, Case

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Newegg.com & Amazon.com

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA

PARTS PREFERENCES: I'm not sure, as long as they're favored/reliable. I prefer an Intel i7 920 build, but I would also like to see an AMD build on the side since I hear they're very money-saving compared to Intell for a small percentage of performance lost.

OVERCLOCKING: Maybe
SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Maybe

MONITOR RESOLUTION: I have 2 monitors, ones an old CRT and ones a full HD 1080p LCD. I run my CRT res at 1280x1024 and LCD at 1920x1080. I play my movies and attempt to play some new games on the LCD, and I play old games such as CS1.6 on the CRT @ 100HZ, I also use it to multi-task when playing a video on the LCD.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: A quiet PC would be nice

Here's what I picked out so far:

RAM: OCZ Gold 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Low Voltage Desktop Memory Model OCZ3G1600LV6GK - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227365

GPU: GIGABYTE GV-R585D5-1GD-B Radeon HD 5850 (Cypress Pro) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported ... - Retail
PSU: Antec EarthWatts EA750 750W Continuous Power ATX12V version 2.3 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC ... - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.339873

CPU: Intel Core i7-920 Bloomfield 2.66GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80601920 - Retail
MOBO: GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD3R LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.324969

also i just came across these and wondering if they're any better than what I have listed above:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.326298
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.326297
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.339869

I haven't made an AMD build to consider yet, but for this current one... I'm unsure about that MOBO.

 

[p55ibexpeak]

List the usage from most important to least. Or better yet, list the apps.

 

[batuchka]

Err not too sure on that XFX PSU but ya main task of rig?

 

[zerkai]

I've edited my post to meet the outline

 

[zerkai]

I'm also curious if it's worth doing a 5850 crossfire (not right away)... purchasing 1 5850 now, and another in a 2-3 years OR just sticking with a single card and buying a newer/better single card within the next few years?

If that's the case, I can probably get a cheaper PSU with just enough pci-e pins for ONE 5850..

Also since I already purchased a case, for the small amount of reviews it has so far -- they're pretty positive. Hopefully, the specs are actually good and that I wouldn't have any problems fitting the mobo/psu in it.

 

[batuchka]

I'm for single GPU solutions any time! By the time 2-3 years are up HD 5850 would have gone out of production /E.O.L and a far superior card would be out which offers more frames prolly more efficiently too! Plus CF/SLI mobos are pricey and once SATA/USB 3 or any other tech becomes mainstream u have one expensive obsolete mobo hehe

 

[zerkai]

So what do you think about the GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD3R?

I'm not sure about this PSU reliability, but I found it with a 5850 combo

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.325926

It makes my overall price a lot cheaper. I'm also curious if I really need 1600 memory speed.
When are Intel's and AMD's prices going to drop? I hear they're very soon and maybe it might be worth the short wait?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.325925

For 5 bucks more, I can get a modular version of the ocz psu link above, I'm not seeing anything different other than mod and non mod

 

[zerkai]

Hey guys, can I get some input here please. I'm pretty much closing in on this purchase but I don't want it to be something that I'll regret either from the price dropping soon (?) or one of these components might not be a better choice for the short future (psu maybe?). I don't have much hardware knowledge, so I'd appreciate it if the experienced people in this community would give me some insight that would hopefully convince that the parts in my cart would be a satisfying/smart purchase.

I'm not sure if the lack of comments in my thread compared to others is because these parts I picked out are good or that my answers in the outline are difficult to deal with..

What's the benefits of DDR3 6GB Triple Channel vs 4GB Dual Channel? I hear it's not that great and I might be better off saving money going with dual channel/amd.. I have lots to consider again since most of the combo deals I picked out went out of stock.

 

[zerkai]

Giving myself another bump, is there something i'm supposed to do mathematically to make sure the antec 750watt psu in the first post will fit in the rosewill-challenger case? because the reviews on it says its a little bigger than normal.

thanks