~$1000 Gaming PC

[-sizzle-]

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Next Month

BUDGET RANGE: $800-$1200

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT:Gaming, Internet, Schoolwork, Skype

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Mouse, Monitor, Keyboard, Speakers, Headphones

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: newegg.com amazon.com Fry's Electronics

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: United States

PARTS PREFERENCES: Intel CPU

OVERCLOCKING: Yes / No / Maybe

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Yes / No / Maybe

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1920x1080

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: 1st Build. Already picked out parts, but need help finalizing, making sure they all work together, and possibly down/upgrading where necessary. I would like to lower the cost down to around $1000, but if not, thats fine. Any constructive criticism or ideas are welcome. Thanks!


Intel Core i5-750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor

GIGABYTE GA-P55A-UD4P LGA 1156 Intel P55 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard w/ USB 3.0 & SATA 6 Gb/s

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333

HIS H585FN1GD Radeon HD 5850 (Cypress Pro) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card w/ Eyefinity

Rosewill BRONZE series RBR750-M 750W

COOLER MASTER HAF 922 RC-922M-KKN1-GP Black Steel + Plastic and Mesh Bezel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Western Digital Caviar Green WD10EARS 1TB 5400 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive

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

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders

 

[trancetunes]

Do you really need that expensive graphics card? I know you said you want to game, but you can definitely game very well with cheaper ATI models.. That's my input on saving money.. (HD 5770 is way cheaper..100+ dollars saved right there).

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010380048%20106793261%201067950041&name=Radeon%20HD%205770

Don't just listen to me though, because I don't game.. I am join trying to guess in a smart way.. I think you should be able to game with full res with that model.. Hopefully someone else will give an opinion on that though.

Here is the ATI HD 5770 I got: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102864
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OK, that case.. You can save 20 bucks by getting the same case I got: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129066

It has 2 front intake fans (120mm), 1 roof exhaust fan (140mm), 1 rear exhaust (120mm), and a side intake spot if you want to buy another 120mm fan later on.. Compared to the case you have selected it's just as good IMO. Your case has 1 200mm fan and 1 120mm fan... I think the one I am recommending may have overall better air flow.. Again, hopefully someone can comment on that!
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You're hard drive is 5$ more than this one. I would definitely choose this hard drive over the one you chose because it is cheaper, has free shipping right now, and is 7200 rpm (the one you picked is only 5400 rpm!) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822145304
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All of these DVD burners have free shipping.. It sounds small but every dollar saved adds up.. the SONY is 21.99 and the LITE-ON and SAMSUNG are 22.99.. http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010100005%204808&name=Free%20Shipping
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I'll leave the motherboard and RAM up to you.. those are often pretty personal choices.. There is one other thing I could suggest to knock off another 100 bucks, but I am not allowed to say it on this forum (it's against the forum's policy).

EDIT: Holy crap dude. that motherboard is expensive. I would suggest taking a look at some of these: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010200280%201070549182%201811050511%201388027176%201494334966&bop=And&ShowDeactivatedMark=False&Order=PRICE&PageSize=20 ..They are all very similar to yours! The $154 Asus is 30 bucks cheaper, and has free shipping as well (the shipping on these parts adds up--seriously. you can save a lot of money by trying to get good products with free shipping).

 

[davcon]

I agree with all of trancetunes suggestions.

Mobo this one is better then the Giggy

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131621

Ram

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231303

I have a XFX 5850 and it's much better then the 5770

Although if you have budget restraints i wouldn't hesistate recommending a 5770

 

[Silvune]

Your power supply is not the best choice as it is Rosewill, who are more known for not making good power supplies. I have not read a review for that one, but I know that for the same price on newegg there are many other units I'd much rather have. Also if you are planning on adding another 5850 at some point you will only need a good 650W PSU. This is a good one and much cheaper than the Rosewill: CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX $90
If you need one that's modular then this ends up being close to the same price: XFX 650 $100 ($5.99 shipping). Modularity isn't that big of a deal in a bottom mounted case as it won't get in the way of airflow.

These are the two harddrives that I would recommend:
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 1TB $80
Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB $80
These are two of the fastest 1TB drives around and very good value considering their price.

Looking for combos is another good way to save decent amounts of money.

+1 to Davcon's mobo suggestion. I would also try and stick with a 5850 for that resolution.

For your uses you don't really need to go with an Intel CPU, AMD's top quad cores are the match of the I5-750 in gaming. You would save a decent amount by getting the Phenom II X4 955 and an equivalent motherboard such as the ASUS M4A89GTD PRO for only $147. I know you'll probably stick with the Intel, but I'm letting you know of a pretty easy and effective way of saving some money without giving up much performance.

 

[davcon]

Yep your're getting some really good suggestions here at Tom's.
Silvune's right about the psu i have to agree since i run a Corsair HX750.
I'd choose the TX or even an Antec Truepower over a Rosewill anyday.
+4 to Silvune for his suggestions nice hdd's and he totally right about considering an AMD platform and the 955.
Either Intel or AMD looks very nice
With whats been suggested.

 

[-sizzle-]

Thanks for all the feedback! Most sources around the internet were saying Intel CPU's are more superior than AMD, but they could have been outdated. I am now leaning more towards AMD if it will give me more bang for my buck. And I am also now considering switching the graphics card to dual radeon 4850's with crossfirex. If I were to go with this option, which brand would be best: XFX, Gigabyte, or Sapphire? These cards only support Directx 10.1. Is Directx 11 much better than 10.1?

Any other graphics card recommendations are appreciated as well.

 

[Silvune]

Intel CPUs are usually superior in much more processor bound tasks/applications such as video editing. Gaming is much more heavily weighted towards the GPU, so to a certain extent it doesn't matter what processor you have, for instance there is an article on the frontpage that will show the AMD Athlon II X3 440 being just as good as an i7-930 in some situations. So a solid one is all you need and I think the Phenom II X4 955 is pretty solid, just as solid as the i5-750.

I think the single 5850 is the better option, as it gives you an upgrade path. When games start getting too demanding for one 5850, you would have the option of just buying another 5850, rather than replacing whichever two cards you might have. Also there are less heat issues and power considerations.
A single 5770 is much better than a 4850. Two 5770s are better than a single 5850 when the game allows the cards to scale properly, so I don't really believe that two 4850s would be as good as a single 5850 in games as well as for the reasons I stated above.

 

[-sizzle-]

Intel CPUs are usually superior in much more processor bound tasks/applications such as video editing. Gaming is much more heavily weighted towards the GPU, so to a certain extent it doesn't matter what processor you have, for instance there is an article on the frontpage that will show the AMD Athlon II X3 440 being just as good as an i7-930 in some situations. So a solid one is all you need and I think the Phenom II X4 955 is pretty solid, just as solid as the i5-750.

I think the single 5850 is the better option, as it gives you an upgrade path. When games start getting too demanding for one 5850, you would have the option of just buying another 5850, rather than replacing whichever two cards you might have. Also there are less heat issues and power considerations.
A single 5770 is much better than a 4850. Two 5770s are better than a single 5850 when the game allows the cards to scale properly, so I don't really believe that two 4850s would be as good as a single 5850 in games as well as for the reasons I stated above.

For the 5850, would you recommend XFX or HIS? XFX is $310 and HIS is $290. Do the brands really make a difference?
Thanks

 

[Silvune]

Well the difference between brands will be things like customer support and warranty. The XFX warranty is pretty good apparently. Personally I would go for the best fan, but that's because I've got a hot and loud 4890.

 

[-sizzle-]

All right, so I looked through all the great feedback (thanks everyone) and I made some changes to the system that lowered the cost by around $300 and hopefully retained similar specs. I switched to AMD because it offers more value for the money, I chose combos to help lower the cost, and I kept the same case because I like the look of it and I have heard good things about HAF cases.

AMD Phenom II X4 955

Combo:ASUS M4A89GTD PRO/USB3 and Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

Kingston ValueRAM 2GB 240-Pin DDR3

Combo: Coolermaster Haf 922 and Kingston ValueRAM 2GB 240-Pin DDR3

Combo: CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W and SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB

Sony Optiarc

HIS H585FN1GD Radeon HD 5850

Tell me what you think!

 

[Silvune]

I think it would be a bit safer to match RAM sticks, as they are less likely to have compatibility issues. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820134790
Also get the MBox version as it is the newer C3 revision. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103808
I can't say that I thought you'd save $300! Bloody hell. Nice one.

 

[-sizzle-]

Thanks for all your help! Couldn't have done it without you. <3

 

[-sizzle-]

Best answer selected by -Sizzle-.