New Gaming PC with Monitor

[hobbes147]

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APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: before the end of March
BUDGET RANGE: ~$1400

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: gaming, internet (including streaming video), office suite, movies

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: speakers, input peripherals, optical drive, mass storage

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: newegg, amazon, any relatively reliable seller
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA

PARTS PREFERENCES: I don't have particular brand loyalties, but I do want reliable vendors and would rather pay a few bucks more now than have to deal with a bunch of RMAs.

OVERCLOCKING: willing to try (never done it before)
SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Probably not

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1920x1200

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I had a parts list all picked out then found Tom's $1300 build and completely rethought mine. I'm interested in trying out overclocking the i5-750, but I've never run an OC system before.

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Rosewill Destroyer Black
Corsair 750TX 750W PS
ASUS P7P55D-E LGA 1156 Intel P55
HIS Radeon HD 5870
Intel Core i5-750
G.SKILL Ripjaws 4GB (2x2) DDR3 SDRAM
Samsung 24" 1920x1200 LCD
Western Digital VelociRaptor 150GB
Thermaltake CPU Cooler

Current price on Newegg: $1,494.91

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Other thoughts:

- The stories about the massive 5870 have me worried about it fitting in the case I chose

- I'm not set on the velociraptor, but it seemed like a good idea since I'll be going from Windows XP to 7. I'm probably the most on the fence about this part since I already have a 700GB, but I'd like a smaller/faster boot drive. I'd love to get this down to $1300 to cover shipping and software to get the final bill under $1500 and the hard drive may be where I cut costs.

- As far as a monitor goes, I'm replacing my current system and want to add a 22-24" widescreen and use my current 20" 4:3 as a 2nd monitor

- Since I've never overclocked a CPU, I've also never bought an aftermarket CPU cooler, so suggestions would be appreciated

 

[osu43130]

Velociraptors are old news. Get a Samsung Spinpoint F3 or a Seagate 7200.12. They use the newer 500 gb platters and will provide better performance to cost.

I would suggest you looking at the HAF922 case or the Antec 900 series. I have a HAF922 and it is HUGE.

With any extra money you could look at getting an 80+ gb SSD.

If you do not plan on Cross Firing then you wont need that mobo or PSU.

I am sure someone will be by to link the parts for you but I gotta take the Wife and kids out to dinner and am outta time....

 

[JackNaylorPE]

Save $30 on the monitor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236047

Spend it here:
ASUS P7P55D-E Pro LGA 1156 Intel P55 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131621

GFX Card - if you won't Xfire or do PhysX, drop PSU size

http://www.amd.com/us/products/desktop/graphics/ati-radeon-hd-5000/hd-5870/Pages/ati-radeon-hd-5870-system-requirements.aspx

500 Watt or greater power supply with two 75W 6-pin PCI Express® power connectors recommended

Antec Earthwatts EA500 500W Continuous Power (9.5 Performance Rating on jonnyguru.com)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371007
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story4&reid=35

Super deal at $99 for case AND PSU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.345212

If budget allows:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.345275
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.345277

 

[hobbes147]

Thanks for the replies! With these suggestions and some combo deals, it looks like I'll be well inside my budget. I just have a couple questions:

- Does it matter that the PSU fan will be facing the GFX card since it's now at the bottom of the case?

- What does the ASUS E-PRO have over the base E? I could only see the faster PCI-E slots on the PRO


Anyone know about CPU coolers?

 

[JackNaylorPE]

Anyone know about CPU coolers?

Heat Sink - For performance and ease of installation, I find that the Prolimatech Megahalems best fits both criteria. Here's what I'm putting in new builds Mega w/ IC Diamond TIM and twin Scythe PWMfans (make sure ya MoBo can handle the fan wattage). ($65 HS, $7 TIM, $11 for each of the two PWM fans and a $7 Y cable splitter)

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:
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

And for the TIM, same deal with the top 3 or 4 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

What does the ASUS E-PRO have over the base E? I could only see the faster PCI-E slots on the PRO

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010200280%2050001315%201070549182&srchInDesc=P55&page=1&bop=And&ActiveSearchResult=True&CompareItemList=N82E16813131621%2CN82E16813131405

ISB 3 / SATA III and check the PCI Express slot differences

 

[hobbes147]

Best answer selected by hobbes147.