First Gaming Computer

cdcscw

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Mar 22, 2010
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Hello Guys, I am about to build my first computer. I will be using it primarily for World of Warcraft, and future blizzard games.

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Within a Week

BUDGET RANGE: 600-700 Dollars After Rebates

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: World of Warcraft, Movies, Moderate Gaming in the Future

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, OS

PREFERRED WEBSITE FOR PARTS: newegg.com

OVERCLOCKING: Maybe

CROSSFIRE: Yes

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1920x1080

These are the parts I have picked out, any advice would be much appreciated. :)

DVD Burner
ASUS Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM
Price 23.99

Hard Drive
HITACHI Deskstar 7K1000.C HDS721032CLA362 (0A39264) 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Price 47.99

Video Cards
SAPPHIRE 100245HDMI Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card - Retail
Quantity=2 Price 179.98

RAM
Crucial 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1066 (PC3 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model CT2KIT25664BA1067 - Retail
Price 96.99

Case
Antec Three Hundred Illusion Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
Price 69.99 - 20.00 From Combo

Power Supply
Antec EarthWatts EA650 650W Continuous Power ATX12V Ver.2.2 / EPS12V version 2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC "compatible with Core i7/Core i5" Power Supply - Retail
Price 74.99

Motherboard
ASUS M4A79XTD EVO AM3 AMD 790X ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
Price 109.99 After 10 Dollar Mail in Rebate

CPU
AMD Athlon II X3 435 Rana 2.9GHz 3 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Processor - Retail
Price 74.99 - 15 Dollars from Combo

Total Price (including shipping)= $643.91

I Think this will be a good build for my price range, and again any advice at all would be greatly appreciated. :)
 

Alvin Smith

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coldsleep

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Dec 18, 2009
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In general, those look like pretty good choices.

Instead of the Hitachi hard drive though, I'd suggest the Seagate 7200.12 500 GB, for just $7 more, and with free shipping. The Seagate drive will be faster, and should be quieter & cooler as well.

This Mushkin 4 GB 1333 MHz CAS 7 kit is slightly faster for only $3 more after MIR.

As is, I think you put together a really good build. If you could afford to go up to $750, you could probably get CrossFire 5770s instead of the 4850s. I don't normally like going CrossFire at the start of a build, but I think it's the best solution for your budget.
 
Or even go with a single 5770 for now and see if you even need a second one. They are substantially faster than 4850s and use less power/generate less heat.

WoW is relatively light on the graphics. You should be able to play at near max settings with a single 5770.
 

Alvin Smith

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Yup+1 to that !

= Al =
 
Good build. The only this is, with that resolution I really recommend getting 1GB cards. Even though two 4850s in crossfire do offer some serious performance, at that resolution their limited 512MB frame buffer will require you to lower some settings as games consume more and more v mem. As the others have pointed out, Blizzard games aren't that demanding at the moment, so it may make more sense to get a single 5770 now and add another one latter, but if you don't believe you will be able to do that then it's hard to argue with the excellent price on those two 4850s :D