Need help with 1500-1750US Gaming build

[blatentlyBrian]

Hey guys,

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: ASAP

BUDGET RANGE: 1500-1750

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming, multitasking (multiple browser windows/tabs)

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Mouse

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Anywhere that can ship to Hong Kong, however im most likely going to pick up most parts manualy at a compoments market so ordering online isn't essential.

PARTS PREFERENCES: Extremely fast monitor response time as im FPS orientated.

OVERCLOCKING: In the future

MONITOR RESOLUTION: Not sure as haven't picked a moniter yet.

Here's what i've come up with so far:

CPU: AMD phenom 965
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/phenom-x4-965,2389.html
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103727&cm_re=amd_phenom_965-_-19-103-727-_-Product

(although open to intel)

Motherboard: ASUS M4A79XTD EVO Mainboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131402&cm_re=ASUS_M4A79XTD-_-13-131-402-_-Product

(Not sure on the motherboard at all yet)

Ram: 8GB 1333MHz Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM - ( 4x2GB )

(not sure which brand etc)

GPU: Raedon 5870
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102856&cm_re=raedon_5870-_-14-102-856-_-Product

Case: COOLER MASTER HAF 932 RC-932-KKN1-GP Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119160

PSU: CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006&Tpk=CORSAIR%20CMPSU-750TX

DVD: LITE-ON Black 24X DVD+R 24X DVD-R SATA
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106335

HSF: COOLER MASTER Hyper 212
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065

I want to be able to run any game at high settings with a very smooth frame rate can my current build do this? My budget is quite flexible (can go to 2000US if the performance boost is worth it). Im very open to change and dont have real bias towards any brand, just care about their individual products.

Thanks ALOT in advance

 

[batuchka]

Well a HD 5850 and clocking it a wee bit later would be good to go for Full HD gaming for me and a far cheaper alternative set up

Going with an entry level Deneb with a light clock/4GB DDR3 is actually good to go and upgrade card accordingly down the road? Mobo is also featuring USB/SATA 3 and is 140w tdp capable ready for the highest end Thuban X6

 

[Niklas_13]

I would do something like this


quantity of item 1


COOLER MASTER HAF 922 RC-922M-KKN1-GP Black Steel + Plastic and Mesh Bezel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

COOLER MASTER HAF 922 RC-922M-KKN1-GP Black Steel + Plastic and Mesh Bezel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
Item #: N82E16811119197
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy


$20.00 Mail-in Rebate11-119-197

$109.98
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119197
select item 2 quantity of item 2


Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST31000528AS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5

Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST31000528AS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Item #: N82E16822148433
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

-$5.00 Instant


$99.99
$94.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148433
select item 3 quantity of item 3


ASUS VW246H Glossy Black 24

ASUS VW246H Glossy Black 24" 2ms(GTG) HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor - Retail
Item #: N82E16824236049
Return Policy: Monitor Replacement Only Return Policy

-$30.00 Instant


$259.99
$229.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236049
select item 4 quantity of item 4


XFX HD-587A-ZND9 Radeon HD 5870 (Cypress XT) 1GB XXX Edition 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card

XFX HD-587A-ZND9 Radeon HD 5870 (Cypress XT) 1GB XXX Edition 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported ... - Retail
Item #: N82E16814150456
Return Policy: VGA Replacement Only Return Policy

-$20.00 Instant


$429.99
$409.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150456
select item 5 quantity of item 5


CORSAIR CMPSU-850HX 850W ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 2.91 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply

CORSAIR CMPSU-850HX 850W ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 2.91 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply - Retail
Item #: N82E16817139011
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

-$20.00 Instant


$199.99
$179.99

1

IMC IMC-black USB 2.0 Card Reader

IMC IMC-black USB 2.0 Card Reader - Retail
Item #: N82E16820717001
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

-$7.99 Saving


$7.99
$0.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139011
select item 7 quantity of item 7


G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL7D-4GBRH

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL7D-4GBRH - Retail
Item #: N82E16820231279
Return Policy: Memory Standard Return Policy



$139.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231279
select item 8 quantity of item 8


Intel Core i5-750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80605I5750

Intel Core i5-750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80605I5750 - Retail
Item #: N82E16819115215
Return Policy: CPU Replacement Only Return Policy

-$5.00 Instant


$199.99
$194.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115215
select item 9 quantity of item 9

ASUS P7P55D-E Pro LGA 1156 Intel P55 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders

*

ASUS P7P55D-E Pro LGA 1156 Intel P55 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Item #: N82E16813131621
Return Policy: Limited Replacement Only Return Policy

*

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM
Item #: N82E16832116754
Return Policy: Software Return Policy

-$15.00 Combo


$294.98
$279.98
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.332637
select item 10 quantity of item 10

COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus Intel Core i5 & Intel Core i7 compatible RR-B10-212P-G1 120mm
Sony Optiarc DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model AD-7241S-0B LightScribe Support

*

COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus Intel Core i5 & Intel Core i7 compatible RR-B10-212P-G1 120mm "heatpipe direct contact" Long ... - Retail
Item #: N82E16835103065
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

*

Sony Optiarc DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model AD-7241S-0B LightScribe Support - OEM
Item #: N82E16827118032
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

Protect Your Investment (expand for options27-118-03220|hide options27-118-03220)

Service Net Replacement Extended Warranty Plan

The product will be replaced and shipped directly to you at no charge(more info27-118-0322.0.18)
o 1 year: $6.99
o 2 year: $11.99

-$10.00 Combo


$59.98
$49.98
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.343531
Subtotal: $1,689.88

you can xfire down the road and OC this mobo has USB 3.0 and the GPU with the 24" monitor @ 1980x1080 will give you grate FPS in games

 

[mlcloud]

Time for me to chip in a couple things:

You mention no hard drive in your build, and batuchka's build includes only a 500gb hard drive, from Seagate of all places. I'll say it now, your hard drive will be the most obvious bottleneck when it comes to everything except gaming (only the loading-time aspects of games will be affected). I've ran overclocked quad cores with 4 GB of very fast and tested RAM, and yet, at times they would still slow down. I would try to open "My Computer." Takes several seconds. I would run an anti-virus scan, CPU usage at less than 10%, *yet* the computer would still lag simply because the hard drive is being taxed. You say you want multi-tasking? Think the CPU is all it takes? Wait till you right click your files and it does nothing because while your CPU is sitting at a luxurious 2% load, your hard-drive is too busy to keep up. Things will feel "snappier" once your storage solution is up to speed.

What's the solution? Invest in one or several good hard drives (and get some form of semi-redundant RAID going), or choose a hybrid SSD + HD solution.

Intel X25-M Mainstream SSDSA2M080G2R5 2.5" 80GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) - Retail
$299.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820167023&cm_re=intel_ssd-_-20-167-023-_-Product
+
Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
$99.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136284&cm_re=western_digital_caviar_black-_-22-136-284-_-Product

Second suggestion:

The 750TX from Corsair is a helluva PSU. There's no question about that... except there are better power supplies out there, if you're willing to pay for them.

Case in point:
CORSAIR CMPSU-750HX 750W ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply - Retail
$149.99 ($139.99 after rebates)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139010&cm_re=corsair_power_supply-_-17-139-010-_-Product

The new(er) modular power supplies from Corsair are absolutely amazing.
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=153
Read this and be amazed.

We're looking at higher power efficiencies, so looking at it in a long term point of view (Corsair seems to sport a 7 year warranty for this model), you'll probably end up saving more money in comparison to the Antec EarthWatts or even the 750TX.

Also, this model is modular, meaning less mess in your case. No matter how good a computer's cable management is, fewer cables is always a good thing.

Also a word about the modular-aspect of the power supply: This thing is modular, meaning by definition this model should be less power efficient than its non-modular models (the modular connections add resistance... some physics) yet this model manages to trump most of both its modular and non-modular competitors.

Third suggestion:

In terms of cases, I'm more of a fan of the new(er) Cooler Master 690 II advanced. Its predecessor, the original CM 690, was a beautiful and very well-made case. The 690 II is even better, and there are just too many features for me to name and instead I will link the review that will make you fall in love with it.

http://www.neoseeker.com/Articles/Hardware/Reviews/cm_690_ii_advanced/

The actual case on newegg:
COOLER MASTER CM690 II Advanced Black Steel body / Plastic + Mesh bezel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
$99.99 ($24.99 shipping)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119216&cm_re=coolermaster-_-11-119-216-_-Product

Of course, I like the Obsidian 800D even more than the CM 690 II but it's rather expensive and I've never actually owned one personally so...

The motherboard that batuchka recommended is a fine motherboard, PROVIDED that you will only use one graphics card and never have any need for Crossfire.

Some of the recommendations I made are expensive. SSDs do that, high-end PSUs will do that, so I tried to balance it out with a cheaper (and imo, better looking and more-feature filled) case, but they're still definitely expensive upgrades. I would think at the ~1.5k range computer, an SSD+HD hybrid is a must (just because having a hard drive slow down your system is frustrating beyond reason), but in the end it *is* your decision, whether to incorporate an SSD or not, whether to downgrade other pieces of hardware or increase your budget...

And unfortunately, I'm not too knowledgeable about monitors so someone else will have to step in for that.

Edit: Ah, someone else already recommended the 850HX. At least I detailed the reasons for it.

One caveat against traveling the LGA 1156 path: many people have reasons to believe that this is essentially a *dead socket,* meaning you are not guaranteed an upgrade path like you are with AMD (you might have to purchase a new motherboard for an upgrade beyond the i7-860, for example). Am3 will be AMDs mainboard for a long time, and even when new sockets and CPUs come out, the CPUs will surely be backwards compatible just like Am3 CPUs are with Am2/Am2+ motherboards. The i5-750 is definitely a stronger CPU (and even more power efficient due to its varied features and architecture) than even the Phenom II x4 965, but the difference is negligible and the upgrade-issue might be a stronger argument for going AMD.

 

[batuchka]

Yep Seagate 7200.11 i would not recommend (Samsung F3 500 is out of stock btw) and how many of peeps right here build castles in the air buying a super expensive multi GPU capable mobo (which gets obsolete with new wave of chipsets) and end up using just a single decent GPU set up - i know cos i not only do up but also service rigs all the time lol Lastly SSD personally not frenly with the $$/GB right now but TS call i guess ^^ Ya CM 690II looks awesome and you could also read up on the new NZXT Hades as well - HD 5970 capable and very good airflow

 

[mlcloud]

Yeah, I specifically said that an SSD will spike your computer cost, but it really does improve your performance and productivity in terms of *not* waiting for a stalling computer to proceed to the next task. If you're a hair-pulling type of person, well, SSDs will save you a lot of hair. Maybe that will make the $3+ dollar per gigabyte cost worth it.

High-end computers actually make me kind of lonely, since I kind of run out of tasks to give it at some point. I just sit there, all this power in front of me, and I can't think of something meaningful to do with them...!

But I guess that's a better feeling than waiting for your computer to encode that 2 hours movie =P.

 

[Niklas_13]

Yeah, I specifically said that an SSD will spike your computer cost, but it really does improve your performance and productivity in terms of *not* waiting for a stalling computer to proceed to the next task. If you're a hair-pulling type of person, well, SSDs will save you a lot of hair. Maybe that will make the $3+ dollar per gigabyte cost worth it.

High-end computers actually make me kind of lonely, since I kind of run out of tasks to give it at some point. I just sit there, all this power in front of me, and I can't think of something meaningful to do with them...!

But I guess that's a better feeling than waiting for your computer to encode that 2 hours movie =P.

I think a SSD would be worth it if you could put your OS and all your programs on them but that would take most people a 120 gig SSD (well for me anyways ) and for 350 to 500 for a 120 gigs is not worth it to me


Maybe in 6 to 8 months the prices drop i would think about 250 for a 120 gig

if you cant fit your OS and programs it then its just a boot drive and my OS opens fast enough

 

[mlcloud]

An 80GB SSD from Intel will format to something a bit over ~60GB (not sure of the exact number ATM) and if a third of that is occupies by windows 7, you're still left with a good chunk for just your PRIMARY applications. Not every applications needs to be on your SSD, because modern hard drives are still respectably fast.

But yeah, the value of an SSD is always debatable... but it has been a good amount of time since their release and the GB/price ratio hasn't changed much, and the current technology has had plenty of time to mature and reveal any unpredicted problems, so I don't see why not provided you had the budget.