Need advice on building my first gaming pc

[feriluce]

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: If Everything works out, I'll be able to buy it in a few weeks
BUDGET RANGE: 1600-1800$

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming first and foremost

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Keyboard, speakers and mouse is not required

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: As I live in denmark I'll probably be using komplett.dk (komplett.ie is the irish version of that site. I assume the selection and prices are mostly the same).

PARTS PREFERENCES: I'd probably prefer an i7, however nothing is set in stone as such.

OVERCLOCKING: Maybe
SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Possibly, but I'd probably prefer getting a single powerful card now, and upgrading later to 2 when I need more performance.

MONITOR RESOLUTION: My current monitor is only 1280x1024, so I'm looking to buy a new monitor with either 1680x1050 or 1920x1200 resolution.

Thank you in advance for any suggestions

 

[Emin]

Sony NEC Optiarc DVD±RW burner AD-7240S
http://www.komplett.dk/k/ki.aspx?sku=488177

ASUS Radeon HD 5870 1GB GDDR5
http://www.komplett.dk/k/ki.aspx?sku=577030

or

ASUS Radeon HD 5850 1GB GDDR5
http://www.komplett.dk/k/ki.aspx?sku=576077

Samsung SpinPoint F3 1TB SATA2
http://www.komplett.dk/k/ki.aspx?sku=496258

Corsair XMS3 DDR3 1600MHz 6GB CL9
http://www.komplett.dk/k/ki.aspx?sku=492643

or

Corsair XMS3 DDR3 1600MHz 8GB CL9
http://www.komplett.dk/k/ki.aspx?sku=491287

Intel Core™ i7 Quad Processor i7-930
http://www.komplett.dk/k/ki.aspx?sku=586108

Corsair HX 650W PSU
http://www.komplett.dk/k/ki.aspx?sku=492649

Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD3R, X58, Socket-1366
http://www.komplett.dk/k/ki.aspx?sku=428330

or

Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD5, X58
http://www.komplett.dk/k/ki.aspx?sku=392557


It all comes down to what you want to pay for each part and that's why I gave you options
Choose the chassis yourself, it's all about taste

 

[Emin]

Oops, you need tri-channel memory and I believe the ones I linked are dual-channel. Anyway, find something similar to that

 

[JackNaylorPE]

To allow for OC'ing and twin GFX cards, going to start w/ a full tower....drop to mid tower if dropping one of those. I aologize but for reasons of familiarity and language issues, I'm gonna use local newegg site

Antec 1200 w/ CP-850 PSU $244
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.345233

Alternate Full Tower HAF 932 w/ Corsair HX850 $350
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119160
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139011

Alternate Mid Tower Antec 902 w/ EA-650 $165
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.345277

Alternate Mid Tower Antec 902 w/ EA-750 $210
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.345160

Alternate Mid Tower HAF 922 w/ TX650 $180 (200 - $20 MIR)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119197
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005

Alternate Mid Tower HAF 922 w/ EA-750 $180 (210 - $30 MIR)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119197
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006

ASUS P6X58D Premium LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 w/ Intel i7-930 $580
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.350315

RAM - THG loves this stuff DDR3-CAS9 for $165 but I'd grab DDR3-1600 CAS7 for $179 or
OCZ CAS 8 for $130 in combo with the XFX 5870 $524
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227365

Hard Drives - Check out the performance charts and pick whatever 500 GB per platter drive performs best under your usage patterns. The 2 TB WD Black and XT from Seagate are good choice but at smaller capacities, you are limited to the Seagate 7200.12 or the Spinpoint F3. The 7200.12 excels in gaming, multimedia and pictures whereas the F3 wins at music and movie maker. See the comparisons here (copy past link in manually, link won't work in forum):

(http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/2009-3.5-desktop-hard-drive-charts/compare,1006.html?prod[2371]=on&prod[2770]=on)

Look at the tests that reflect your usage and choose accordingly.

Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST31000528AS $80
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148433

I have a lotta money left so gonna put a Blue Ray reader / DVD Burner in there...can be had for $100 but gonna go with the Plextor one
PLEXTOR Black 8X BD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM SATA BD Combo Model PX-B320SA LightScribe Support and 50 LS disks $140
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.358594

Totals $1489 for the stuff in bold leaving plenty of room for a heatsink ....

Heat Sink - For performance and ease of installation, the Prolimatech Megahalems 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 for the HS, $7 for TIM, $11 each for two PWM fans and $7 for a Y cable splitter). Have to find a European source for these but links provided so ya can see what it's all about.

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=432&Itemid=62&limit=1&limitstart=23

pick a TIM from the top few 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

 

[whatelsematters]

i'm not sure if a full tower is really necessary if you're OC'ing and xfiring, i am doing great in my cm690 II case with an i5 @ 3.8 and dual 5850s. plan a little bit, take your time, the cable management (at least in this case) virtually takes care of itself.

 

[feriluce]

Thanks for the input everyone. After much reading of reviews and forum posts, I've come up with a build that seems to fit within my budget and at the same time offers a lot of performance:


Antec Nine Hundred Two Midi Tower Sort Blæsere: 2x 120mm Front, 1x 200mm Top, 1x 120mm Bak, Blå LEDs; Vindue
http://www.komplett.dk/k/ki.aspx?sku=430531


Corsair TX 750W PSU ATX 12V V2.2, 80 Plus, Standard. 4x 6+2-pin PCIe, 8x SATA, 140mm Blæser
http://www.komplett.dk/k/ki.aspx?sku=340678


Crucial DDR3 BallistiX 1333MHz 4GB CL7 Kit w/2x 2GB BallistiX modules, CL7-7-7-24, 1.65V
http://www.komplett.dk/k/ki.aspx?sku=518205

Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD4, P55, Socket-1156 SLI&CrossFireX, DDR3, ATX, GbLAN, USB3.0, SATA 6Gb/s, Firewire, 2xPCI-Ex(2.0)x16
http://www.komplett.dk/k/ki.aspx?sku=508067


Intel Core™ i5 Quad Processor i5-750 Quad Core, 2.66Ghz, Socket 1156, 8MB, 95W, Boxed w/fan
http://www.komplett.dk/k/ki.aspx?sku=492762


Lite-On DVD+RW burner IHAS124-19 SuperAllWrite, 24x8x16DVD+RW, SATA, Black
Ny dato: 2010-0
http://www.komplett.dk/k/ki.aspx?sku=494479


Microsoft Windows 7 Pro EN OEM, 64bit
http://www.komplett.dk/k/ki.aspx?sku=500044


PowerColor Radeon HD 5870 1GB GDDR5 PCI-Express 2.0, "PCS+", 2xDVI-I, HDMI, DisplayPort
http://www.komplett.dk/k/ki.aspx?sku=579278


Samsung SpinPoint F3 1TB SATA2 32MB 7200RPM
http://www.komplett.dk/k/ki.aspx?sku=496258


Zalman CNPS9900A LED CPU Køler Socket Intel 1156/1366/755, AMD 754/940/939/AM2/AM2+/AM3, 120mm, Blå LED, 4-pin
http://www.komplett.dk/k/ki.aspx?sku=502612



I'd very much like some feedback on this build.

 

[feriluce]

Wow, this got burried extremely quickly. I'd still like some feedback though.