1000 - 1300 gaming rig

[firedust]

First time builder here, and I could really use some help. I want to build a gaming rig to replace my old p4, radeon x300 system, so I can finally play "new" games like fallout 3 and mass effect. I've learned enough on these forums to gain a basic understanding of the parts I need, but I am in no way an expert.

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: couple of weeks

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: gaming, surfing

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: need everything. total overhaul.

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: people here seem to like newegg so I'll go with that

PARTS PREFERENCES: single graphics card, 5850

OVERCLOCKING: maybe. never oc before.

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1440x900 cause of monitor. I've heard that really large monitors/high resolutions are dual gpu territory.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: a quiet pc would be really nice

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http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106335
LITE-ON 24X DVD Writer Black SATA Model iHAS424-98 LightScribe Support $26

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129042
Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case $60

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152181
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive $55

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236053
ASUS VH222H Black 21.5" 5ms HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor $160

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131402
ASUS M4A79XTD EVO AM3 AMD 790X ATX AMD Motherboard $119

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150494
XFX HD-585X-ZNFC Radeon HD 5850 1GB 256-bit DDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card w/ Eyefinity $280

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139004
CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX 550W ATX12V V2.2 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power $80

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820211409
A-DATA Gaming Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model AX3U1600GB2G9-2G $106

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103674
AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor Model HDZ955FBGIBOX $160

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116754
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM $100


It all comes down to $1,145.86.

Some concerns:

I don't know if everything is compatible or if it will fit inside the case. I also have not included keyboard/mouse or an aftermarket cooler. Not sure what cooler is best or what will fit, though people here seem to like the coolermaster hyper212+.

Not sure if I should pick a better PSU for future upgrades like a 5970 when prices come down. I'm also hoping everything comes with all the required wires, and installation equipment.

The CPU seems decent for a gaming rip. I'm a bit confused since these two articles seem to have different conclusions:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/balanced-gaming-pc-overclock,2625.html
Building a balanced gaming PC - OEM
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/athlon-ii-x3-440-gaming-performance,2619.html Gamers: Do You Need More Than An Athlon II X3?

Lastly I've heard how some people need to fiddle with bios settings, like disabling onboard sound to use headphones or just to make everything work together. It would be nice if everything just works, without having to set fan speeds, voltages, settings, etc.

That about covers it. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[batuchka]

1440 x 900 a HD 5770 will more than suffice so your project could be concluded way cheaper and still have huge future resistance
$663AR

If you had a tighter budget and just wanted to game with no particular need for CPU HP for non gaming apps i would have cut down to a AthlonII X3 440 really ^^

 

[Hereisphilly]

If you are wanting to spend an extra $100, you could go to an i5 750
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131621&cm_re=p7p55d-e_pro-_-13-131-621-_-Product
with this cpu
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115215&cm_re=i5-_-19-115-215-_-Product

apart from that, everything looks fine, if u ever want to crossfire 5850s in the future, you might want to bump the psu to 650w

yeah, everything will fit in the case no problem, getting an aftermarket cooler is a must if u wanna OC, a good one is the scythe mugen rev b
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185142

 

[batuchka]

Oops with a new LCD:
998AR with OS

23" Full HD LCD $180 free ship
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824254050
$1178 Grand Total

 

[Hereisphilly]

Definitely go i5 for gaming. It's only a $20 increase:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128425

Search ebay. You can pick up the i5 750 for $170 BNIB and get 8% BCB to bring it down to $160.

If your set on AMD go with a 890GX or FX mobo, 790 is old news.

Dont go for that board, p55 chipset has pcie bottleneck issues when you run usb3 or sata 6 and a graphics card, the asus board i specced is the cheapest board that gets around the issue

 

[cory1234]

If you are wanting to spend an extra $100, you could go to an i5 750
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131621&cm_re=p7p55d-e_pro-_-13-131-621-_-Product
with this cpu
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115215&cm_re=i5-_-19-115-215-_-Product

apart from that, everything looks fine, if u ever want to crossfire 5850s in the future, you might want to bump the psu to 650w

yeah, everything will fit in the case no problem, getting an aftermarket cooler is a must if u wanna OC, a good one is the scythe mugen rev b
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185142

Definitely go i5 for gaming. It's only a $20 increase:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128425

Search ebay. You can pick up the i5 750 for $170 BNIB and get 8% BCB to bring it down to $160.

If your set on AMD go with a 890GX or FX mobo, 790 is old news.

 

[cory1234]

When is the last time you used a usb 3.0 device? That is only when you are running in crossfire. It's really a non issue, if you want to spend $180+ on a mobo you might as well go 1366.

 

[Hereisphilly]

external drives are getting fitted out with the controller now, its gathering pace, the bottleneck also affects using sata 6gbps, so that covers forthcoming ssds
I'm just saying, if you buy a board for headline features (usb3 crossfire etc), then i expect no problems further down the line if i want to make proper use of them.
Its just a heads up to the guy, in case he is thinking about using an 6gbps ssd with crossfire

 

[firedust]

Thanks for the replies.

@batuchka
The reason I'm thinking of 5850 is because of the graphically demanding games of the future, and dx11.

@Hereisphilly/cory1234
I thought about core i5, but this article made me think twice:

http://www.tomshardware.com/review [...] ,2625.html
Building a balanced gaming PC - OEM

It shows that even the core 2 duo does really well compared to quad core CPUs. Made me think that maybe CPU doesn't really matter all that much. But if the i5 really is better for gaming then I'll go for that instead.

Btw, thanks for the cooler option. Looks to be a really good one. Also cheaper than hyper212+.

 

[firedust]

Best answer selected by firedust.