First Gaming Build - $2000

[Rehnquist-]

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Week of/before April 4
BUDGET RANGE: $2,000-2,250 (After Rebates)

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming, Photoshop, General (Internet, Office, etc.) Use

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: keyboard, mouse, speakers/headset, OS

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Newegg.com, Microcenter.com, Frys.com

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: United States

PARTS PREFERENCES: by brand or type (e.g.: I would like to use an AMD CPU & Biostar mobo with a 24" LCD and full tower case)

OVERCLOCKING: Yes
SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Planned (in the future)

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1920x1200

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I have had an ASUS F8Va-1 laptop for about 18 months and am planning to build a computer in the week or 2 preceding my birthday (4/4). I've essentially picked out most of the main components but I'll note what is still up in the air. My OS is already bought, Windows 7 64-bit. Most of the components are to be bought with newegg to take advantage of 12 months no interest financing.

CASE: HAF 932 ~$140*
MOBO: GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD3R $209.99
CPU: Core i7 920 $199.99
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master V8 $55.99
BOOT SSD: Crucial C300 $399.99
STORAGE HDD: Spinpoint F3 1TB $89.99
GPU: ASUS 5850 $299.99
RAM: CORSAIR XMS3 6GB DDR3 1600 7-8-7-20 $189.99**
PSU: Antec CP-850 $110.00***
Monitor: ASUS VK266H $289.99 (After MIR)****

Projected Price: $1986 + tax/shipping

*I'll probably get a case from Fry's/Microcenter to avoid the $25 shipping charge from the egg. I want a case that will be big enough for any video card if I decide to upgrade (think HD5970), has good airflow, and as few LEDs as possible.
**I would love to find CAS 7 DDR3 ram cheaper but I don't think it's going to happen. I plan on buying 6 gigs now and another 6 later on when ram prices come down from the stratosphere.
***I would like a PSU that will allow for Crossfire (probably upwards of 800W), is modular, from a reputable company and is as inexpensive as possible.
****I would like a monitor >24 inches at 1920x1200, price after rebates >$300.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

Most of it looks great. Suggestion son changes below

Case / PSU - Can't put that PSU in that case. CP-850 uses CPX form factor which only fits 4 cases....1200, P193, P183 and the 2 new ones from the new Dark Fleet series arriving in March. Your choices are:

Antec 1200 w/ CP-850 PSU for $244
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.335367

or

HAF 932 w/ Corsair HX850 for $340-$360 (depending on LED color)

MoBo - ASUS P6X58D Premium LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131614

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)

Look at the tests that reflect your usage and choose accordingly.

That HS can be a real PITA to install. For performance and ease of installation, the Prolimatech Megahalems fits both criteria. Here's what I'm putting in new builds Mega w/ IC Diamond TIM and twin Scythe PWM fans (make sure ya MoBo can handle the fan wattage). ($95 for the HS, TIM, two PWM fans and a Y cable splitter). Drop the 2nd fan and splitter if OC'ing to max of 3.6 Ghz

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/8807/cpu-pro-01/Prolimatech_Megahalems_Rev_B_Intel_CPU_Heatsink_LGA_775_1156_1366_AM2_AM2_AM3_Hot_Item.html
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/7038/thr-41/Innovation_Cooling_Diamond_7_Carat_Thermal_Compound_-_15_Grams.html?id=BZWnrfIC
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/10026/fan-639/Scythe_Slip_Stream_120mm_x_25mm_PWM_Fan_-_SY1225SL12LM-P.html?tl=g36c365s936
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/8418/cab-150/FrozenCPU_PMW_Y_Splitter_Cable.html

If that's a budget breaker, look at the Xigmnatec S1283 or one of the others here ... I don't think the V8 made any top ten lists:
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

pick a TIM from the top few here:
http://www.hwreviewlabs.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=64%3Amega-44-thermal-paste-round-up&catid=32%3Around-ups&Itemid=47&limitstart=3
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/coolers/display/thermal-interface-roundup_10.html#sect1
http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=138&Itemid=1&limit=1&limitstart=3

 

[Rehnquist-]

Good to know. How did you know I can't put that PSU in that case?

 

[astrodudepsu]

It's a specially designed PSU, that only fits certain Antec cases.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

Good to know. How did you know I can't put that PSU in that case?

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article971-page7.html
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story4&reid=142

 

[saint19]

Hi newcomer and welcome to the Tom's hardware forum.

Take a look of this configuration.

$ 288,99 CPU i7-920 $ 288,99
$ 309,99 MOBO Asus P6X58D $ 309,99
$ 179,98 HDD Spinpoint F3 1TB $ 89,99
$ 599,98 GPU 2 5850 $ 299,99
$ 239,99 RAM Mushkin 3x2GB $ 239,99
$ 129,99 PSU Thermaltake Toughpower 750W $ 129,99
$ 159,99 CASE HAF 932$ 159,99
$ 29,99 CPU COOLER Hyper 212+ $ 29,99

Total: $1.938,90 + MIR + SHIPPING.

 

[scotty333]

Great choice on the case. I built my system about 3 months ago. It's very spacious, keeps everything very cool (I have a 5850 as well) and is much quieter than I expected because of the large size of the fans. Read my post for a lot more details about my build that you might find relevant. http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/forum2.php?config=tomshardwareus.inc&cat=31&post=275127&page=1&p=1&sondage=0&owntopic=1&trash=0&trash_post=0&print=0&numreponse=0&quote_only=0&new=0&nojs=0

For your PSU, you might want to look at the Corsair 850W; it's a little bit more ($139 from newegg - free shipping). The amount/length of cables works extremely well with the HAF-932 and the variety of connectors makes it compatible with about anything you throw in there. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139009&cm_re=corsair_850_w-_-17-139-009-_-Product

You will really enjoy using an SSD for your boot drive. I got a Patriot, but Crucial is excellent. They both have internal cache (64MB) which is very important for performance. The Patriot reads a little faster, but writes a little slower.

Have fun with your build.

 

[Rehnquist-]

MoBo - ASUS P6X58D Premium LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131614

I'll definitely pick a different cooler based on some further reading but what makes that mobo worth the $100 price difference between it and the one I chose? Is it a better motherboard for Crossfire or SLI (I would only want 2 cards, not 3)?

 

[saint19]

The gigabyte don't support USB 3.0 when SLI or X-Fire is enable.

 

[Rehnquist-]

The gigabyte don't support USB 3.0 when SLI or X-Fire is enable.

Well that's very good to know, as I really want as much of a future proof mobo as I can get. With the SATA 6Gb/s SSD I'm drooling over, having that disabled if I get another video card would really kill me. Thanks

 

[Rehnquist-]

Best answer selected by Rehnquist-.