jhopp

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Nov 12, 2009
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18,510
APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: 1-2 weeks BUDGET RANGE: 1000-1250 Before Rebates

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Moderate gaming (Wow), movies (converting), music (converting), office, internet,

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: case, keyboard, mouse, speakers, monitor (updating soon but not with this build)

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: newegg.com COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: U.S.

PARTS PREFERENCES: Quality

OVERCLOCKING: Maybe (Slight OC) SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Maybe in the future

MONITOR RESOLUTION: Currently 1600x900, for movies will be hooked up to 42" LCD 1080P, but will be upgrading monitor to 1900x1080

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Already have a case COOLER MASTER HAF 922 RC-922M-KKN1-GP Black Steel + Plastic and Mesh Bezel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

Build I came up with:

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz - $160.99

MB: GIGABYTE GA-790FXTA-UD5 AM3 AMD 790FX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail - $184.99

GPU: Sapphire ATI Radeon HD5850 1GB DDR5 - $299.99 Couldn't find one below $300 on newegg that was in stock

PSU: CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V - $119.99

RAM: OCZ Platinum 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) - $105.99

HDD: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM - $89.99

OD: LG Black 8X BD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM 40X CD-ROM SATA Internal Combo LG Blu-ray Reader & 16X LightScribe DVD±R DVD Burner - Retail - $99.99 Open to any suggestion here since it has been Out of Stock on newegg for awhile now.

HS&Fan: COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus - $34.99 went up $5.00!

OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM - $139.99

Misc: Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM - $9.99

Total: ~1250 before rebates

Was debating whether to go with an i5 but decided to go with 955 BE so I could fit the blue-ray drive in. I just play WoW as of now, no FPS or anything like that so was hopping the 955 BE suitable. Using a 5 year old Dell laptop currently on its last leg, so anything is going to be worlds ahead of it.

 
Do you really need the BluRay? How often do you watch BR movies on your PC? I would suggest either waiting for BR to become more mainstream and the price to drop, or leaving it out entirely.

Here's an excellent build without the BR:

CPU: i5-750 $195
Mobo: Asus P7P55D-E Pro $190
RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws 2x2 GB 1600 mhz CAS Latency 7 $115
GPU/PSU: HD 5870 and Antec Earthwatts 750W $463
HDD: Spinpoint F3 1 TB $90
HSF/Optical: Coolermaster Hyper 212 Plus and cheap SATA DVD burner $40
OS: Win7 Pro $140

Total: $1,223. You get a better CPU, better GPU, and better RAM.

However, both your build and that one is massive overkill for just WoW. Here's one that would be just as good in WoW, but a much lower price:

CPU/Mobo: X4 620 and Gigabyte GA-790XTA-UD4 $221
RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws 2x2 GB 1600 mhz CAS Latency 7 $115
HDD: Spinpoint F3 1 TB $90
GPU/PSU: HD 5770 and Antec Earthwatts 650W $225
HSF/Optical: Coolermaster Hyper 212 Plus and cheap SATA DVD burner $40
OS: $140

Total: $796 (again no BR).
 

jhopp

Distinguished
Nov 12, 2009
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18,510
@ MadAdmiral

I guess I can live without the BR. I like the i5-750 build. I want it to last me a couple of years and not fall too far behind before thinking about a rebuild. Also was wondering if there would be any need for me to overclock the i5 and thus not getting the HSF and saving the $20. Just a thought. Oh, I have two additional 120mm fans for my Haf 922 to put on the side panel was wanting to know which way to install then (Air in or out)?

@ OSU43130

I'm going with Pro because XP mode and better networking/backup features.
 

osu43130

Distinguished
Jan 14, 2010
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18,810



Makes sense was just curious.
 
You don't NEED to overclock, but with the HSF being $15 after the combo, I would go ahead and get it. Intel stock coolers can be fairly loud and the i5 has a turbo mode that is an automatic overclock when you're not using all 4 cores.

I don't really think the extra fans are necessary. If you already have them, there isn't really a "right" answer on how to instal them. There is some debate on whether positive (more in than out) or negative (more out than in) pressure is better. See this thread debating it. Notice that several of the posts in that thread are somewhat contradictory. This is because some of it can change based on your circumstances.

I generally agree with having a balanced airflow, as it's easier to control where the cool air flows that way.