Sub 1k gaming

[pojih]

what do you guys think

build ~ 1month
oc ~ yes/ might just wait for i7 to get cheaper
xfire ~ no

Antec Mini P180 Black Steel MicroATX Mini Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129041

Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3500418AS 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148395

SAPPHIRE Vapor-X 100283VXL Radeon HD 5770 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102868

CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231277

ASUS Maximus III GENE LGA 1156 Intel P55 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131599

Intel Core i5-750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processorhttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115215

Looking for something that will be upgradeable, curious about ram/hdd and video card the most. 5830 be a better option for the future?

want to buy two 1080 monitors (21.5 maybe) if you can find these that'd be cool

use for gaming/ surfing/ movies

14-1500 is my max

thanks

 

[batuchka]

Hmm for Full HD gaming i'd look to hit a HD 5830 or better for a gaming rig and this is very doable with a $1k budget and like you i too enjoy mATX/SFFs rigs hehe In fact i do these up more often than anything else these days for peeps Something for consideration?

 

[pojih]

I was originally thinking of going with the amd 955/965, but had a question.

will am3 be around for a while?

was thinking I could eventually pop an i7 in my build when the prices came down.

edit* that 5870 looks good though!

 

[whitefang]

AM3 will support the new hexacroes. But to be sure you your new motherboard will support it I would get the 890GX because it will support it out of the box.

The 790 might support it with a bios flash, we'll have to find out.

I personally wouldn't get a M-atx case. They usually don't have very good cable management, poor cooling, USB/ audio are at the bottom / Your stuck with a low end motherboard. Not much future upgradability.

The antec 300 is a small, very good cooling, can fit ATX motherboards, has USB/Sata etc on top. and has good cable management. Will allow you to overclock a lot better then a M-atx case too.

Here's a build with an 890GX

*EDIT* By the way batuchka, the PSU you selected isn't the best, the 750TX/Earthwatts 750 is a ton better. also, the ram I selected is the cheapest ram with the best timings. The 785G will not support the new hexacores, 790 might, and 890GX is proven to support the new cores.

 

[pojih]

I am a big fan of the mini p180 from the reviews I've read

MSI 890GXM-G65 AM3 AMD 890GX HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130269

Where do I lose out using this board upgradability-wise?

 

[whitefang]

No pci-x1 slots.

Only one PCI slot.

If you were to buy a video card the PCI-x1 slot would be blocked. And then you are only left with one PCI slot.

however, it's not a bad board at all. I just hate M-atx boards.

And you said you weren't crossfiring, but if you were to crossfire the PCI-x16 slots are very very close together. You would lose all PCI slots, and the video cards would probably get pretty hot from being so close to each other.

The top card would be sucking the heat from the bottom card right into it's cooler which isn't good.

By the way, I doubt the P180 will fit a 5850/5870. The case batuchka suggested will though.

*EDIT* Confirmed, 5870 does not fit in the Mini P180

 

[pojih]

I really don't plan on using any cards except video, in any slots.

From what I was led to believe, if you take out the bottom removable HDD case, any card will fit.

 

[whitefang]

Right, so switch out the mobo/cpu combo from my build and add this

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.357878

and add Mini p180

Price should come to the same since the case is $10 more but your mobo/cpu is $10 less.

 

[cory1234]

If you really want to be able to update later down the line I would look at the i7 socket. You can drop in a 32nm 6 core processor when they release the non extreme versions. It may cost a little more but imo it is worth it especially if you live near a microcenter. The i7 920 is only $200 and the 930 is $230. You can sometimes find a x58 board there on sale for $140-150 also.

Even if you do not live near a microcenter you can buy used ones on such places as overclock.net. You can find used ones for ~$185-~230 depending on how well that particular processor overclocks.

In one month hopefully the Nvidia gtx 470, 480 will be out to drive down the prices a little bit of the 5800 series cards.

In your title you say sub 1k build, but in your original post you say your max budget is $1400-1500?

 

[whitefang]

$1.5k budget = I-7 / 5870

$1k budget = 955 / 5870

 

[pojih]

I want the computer to come in under 1k without monitors, hence the 1400/1500 (including monitors)

 

[batuchka]

I was originally thinking of going with the amd 955/965, but had a question.

will am3 be around for a while?

edit* that 5870 looks good though!

Yep sub $1k , mATX like u want and a ferocious little monster :lol: Actually i kindda like the mini p180 too- Egg's out so if you can get it elsewhere that would work for ya as well Also since u stated no CF and if April 26th ain't too far away - 880G/mATX incoming at price points even lower than 890GXes hehe