In need of help on new desktop

[gabrielleung]

It's been at least three years since I last built a desktop computer from scratch. At the time of my last desktop, the Geforce 8800GTX was the fastest vidcard on the market and Core 2 Duo was still a very new technology, so it's been some time since I forayed into the DIY desktop market.

I've read a few articles here and there and thus far have only decided on a few components.

CPU - Intel Core i5 750
MB - Gigabyte P55-UD4P (Deciding on P55A or plain P55)
Vidcard - Radeon 5850 (Deciding on vendor)

Other than that I have not decided on anything else such as the case, PSU, memory, hdd, cpu fan, etc etc
And even for those components which I have some clue as to what to buy I'm still very open to your opinions.

Please enlighten me a bit.

I am on a budget and I plan to spend about 1200 dollars.

Though I should mention I already have a pretty decent LCD monitor, Klipsch speakers so my budget is entirely for the computer.

I plan to play games like Fallout 3 and Dragon Age. I also understand my budget won't allow me to run these games at max resolution with everything turned on.

 

[MadAdmiral]

Here's what I'd build for $1,200. And you certainly can max everything out at 1900x with your budget. The 5850 can do that, but cannot max out Crysis at 1900x. That's also possible for a $1,200 budget. Just maybe not with Intel.

Everything but the CPU/mobo should be used in either an AMD or Intel build.

CPU: X4 955 $161
Mobo: Gigabyte GA-790XTA-UD4 $140
RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws 2x2 GB 1600 mhz CAS Latency 7 $115
HDD: Seagate 7200.12 500 GB $55 (assuming the Samsung Spinpoint F3 500 GB is still sold out)
Optical: Cheapest SATA DVD burner $23
PSU: Silverstone 750W 80+ Bronze $110 after rebate
Case: HAF 922 $90 after rebate
GPU: HD 5870 $395
OS: Windows 7 Home OEM $105

Total: $1,194. This will max out everything (including Crysis) at 1900x. However, this build is only best if you need an OS. If you don't, trade in the following:

CPU: i5-750 $195
Mobo: Asus P7P55D-E Pro $190

Total: $1,173.

 

[gabrielleung]

Here's what I'd build for $1,200. And you certainly can max everything out at 1900x with your budget. The 5850 can do that, but cannot max out Crysis at 1900x. That's also possible for a $1,200 budget. Just maybe not with Intel.

Everything but the CPU/mobo should be used in either an AMD or Intel build.

CPU: X4 955 $161
Mobo: Gigabyte GA-790XTA-UD4 $140
RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws 2x2 GB 1600 mhz CAS Latency 7 $115
HDD: Seagate 7200.12 500 GB $55 (assuming the Samsung Spinpoint F3 500 GB is still sold out)
Optical: Cheapest SATA DVD burner $23
PSU: Silverstone 750W 80+ Bronze $110 after rebate
Case: HAF 922 $90 after rebate
GPU: HD 5870 $395
OS: Windows 7 Home OEM $105

Total: $1,194. This will max out everything (including Crysis) at 1900x. However, this build is only best if you need an OS. If you don't, trade in the following:

CPU: i5-750 $195
Mobo: Asus P7P55D-E Pro $190

Total: $1,173.

You the man!! thanks for the help!