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$1000-$1500 gaming / photography / web dev build

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Hi all, like others on here I need some assistance choosing what to build. I'm graduating college in a couple months (!!) and I've decided to reward myself with a new computer :) . I have alot of experience building so It will be done myself.

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Couple months

BUDGET RANGE: $1000-$1500 (willing to go a little over if absolutely necessary)

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: gaming, photography, web development/programming

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: keyboard, mouse, speakers, case

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: newegg or zipzoomfly (i've found they're typically the same), amazon

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA

PARTS PREFERENCES: ASUS, Gigabye, Intel, NVIDIA

OVERCLOCKING: maybe later, but not absolutely needed

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: SLI (I've used an ati card once in my life a long time ago, had a terrible experience with drivers so havn't touched it since. If things have changed since I would consider)

MONITOR RESOLUTION: likely 1600x1200 or 1920 x 1080



----------------------------PARTS IN MIND-------------------------------



MONITOR: ASUS VE246H Black 24" 2ms(GTG) HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor 250 cd/m2 50000 :1 (ASCR) X2

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

My big question is regarding 22" vs 24". If down-scaling is not an issue with this monitor, I suppose a 24" would be the way to go, however, if it is I wouldn't mind going with a 22". I would like to be able to play on native with this monitor (I would only play games with 1 monitor) but i've heard that you need some decent video card power to do so on 1920 x 1080.

MOTHERBOARD: ASUS P6X58D-E LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

CPU: Intel Core i7-920 Bloomfield 2.66GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80601920

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

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

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

GPU: EVGA 01G-P3-1158-TR GeForce GTS 250 1GB 256-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

SSD: Intel X25-V SSDSA2MP040G2R5 2.5" 40GB SATA II MLC

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

HDD: Unsure of ATM, have another question regarding this.. I was thinking about getting 2 VelociRaptors for Raid but i'm not sure if i can justify it.

RAM: G.SKILL 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...


Thanks all!




More about : 1000 1500 gaming photography web dev build

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No. Just plain no. You're not really getting a whole lot for you money there. That wimpy GPU isn't going to be enough to play at 1080p, much less at 2x 1080p. The SSD is a waste of money because 40 GB isn't enough to do anything except install the OS and maybe two games. Finally, the i7 is pretty much right out of your budget.

What case do you have? Some of the higher end GPUs (which you NEED to game at 1080p) are pretty long. Also, what programs are you using for the other tasks? Basically, I'm trying to get an idea of how much CPU power you actually need.

Here's what I recommend:

CPU: X4 955 $160
Mobo/GPU: Gigabyte GA-790XTA-UD4 and HD 5870 $485 after rebate. nVidia is getting destroyed right now. ATI's driver problems have disappeared since AMD bought them.
RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws 2x2 GB 1600 mhz CAS Latency 7 $120
HDD: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1 TB $80. The Samsung (and Seagate 7200.12) is faster than the VelociRaptor at a fraction of the cost.
PSU: Corsair 750W $90 after rebate
Optical: Cheap SATA DVD burner $20
Monitor: 2x Asus 23" 1080p $380 after rebate (do you really NEED two?)

Total: $1,335

MadAdmiral said:
ATI's driver problems have disappeared since AMD bought them.
Lets go with

"ATIs drivers cause far fewer problems since AMD bought them."

They are still not quite as reliable as Nvidias drivers, and even Nvidia has occasional problems.




If you go with just one of those nice 24 inch monitors you could even drop to a 5850 and still have a good gaming machine.

MadAdmiral said:
No. Just plain no. You're not really getting a whole lot for you money there. That wimpy GPU isn't going to be enough to play at 1080p, much less at 2x 1080p. The SSD is a waste of money because 40 GB isn't enough to do anything except install the OS and maybe two games. Finally, the i7 is pretty much right out of your budget.

What case do you have? Some of the higher end GPUs (which you NEED to game at 1080p) are pretty long. Also, what programs are you using for the other tasks? Basically, I'm trying to get an idea of how much CPU power you actually need.

Here's what I recommend:

CPU: X4 955 $160
Mobo/GPU: Gigabyte GA-790XTA-UD4 and HD 5870 $485 after rebate. nVidia is getting destroyed right now. ATI's driver problems have disappeared since AMD bought them.
RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws 2x2 GB 1600 mhz CAS Latency 7 $120
HDD: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1 TB $80. The Samsung (and Seagate 7200.12) is faster than the VelociRaptor at a fraction of the cost.
PSU: Corsair 750W $90 after rebate
Optical: Cheap SATA DVD burner $20
Monitor: 2x Asus 23" 1080p $380 after rebate (do you really NEED two?)

Total: $1,335


Though I have been using AMD almost exclusively in past builds, I'd like to try Intel out for this one. Still unsure about trying out ATI, but I suppose I could give it a chance. Perhaps I was wrong on my thinking, but I thought putting the OS and maybe a couple of my most used games on SSD would provide noticeably better performance. I would very much enjoy having 2 screens, as said above I would only game using one of them, but with photography and web development in mind it would help out tremendously. Photoshop will be my main use of editing software, along with Photomatix and Lightroom. Gaming wise, I'd like to be able to play games like Crysis and BFBC2 on high settings.

SSDs improve load time. A 40G will let you install the OS and boot up faster. It wont help load times with large image files. Most people are now getting 80 or 120GB SSDs so they can also load a few games and commonly used apps to reduce load times when changing zones or starting programs the first time. SSDs are a better idea than velociraptors. For storage get a fast 500GB platter drive like the Samsung F3 1TB or Seagate 7200.12 1TB.

Crysis uses alot of GPU power, the GT250 will barely play it at medium. It also doesnt have DX11 capability. The 5850 or 5870 are more appropriate for a gaming machine with your budget. If you have to have Nvidia for one of your photo apps then you should be looking at the new 470 or maybe the 465 when it comes out later this year.
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