$700 Gaming Machine, Have Some Parts

[Pejo]

Hi there,

I am building my first new machine in 6 years, sadly the P4 isn't keeping up I use my system for mostly WoW, minor video editing and internet searching. I am looking to play FPS games like Crysis/L4D2 so I am looking for a card that will get me atleast decent performance for a couple years. This is my first post here so I apologize if I miss something or do something incorrectly.

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: First Week of July To Cash In On Canada Day/Independance Day Sales
BUDGET RANGE: ~$700 since this will all be on credit
SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming, surfing the net
PARTS NOT REQUIRED: CPU, Motherboard, HDD, Keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, OS (windows 7 pro)
PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: NCIX.com but willing to order from NewEgg (I live a block away from ncix)
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: I live in Canada(BC) but also have an American address in WA so whatever will get me a better deal.
PARTS PREFERENCES: Listed below
OVERCLOCKING: Yes. I am interested in my i7 940 to be running at 3.6GHz(before TB) with TurboBoost/HT Enabled
SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Unlikely but I do have a board that supports SLI&Crossfire
MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1280x1024. 19" Viewsonic and 17" Viewsonic CRT on extended desktop
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I will list the parts I already have below the parts that I need. In the future(closer to Xmas), I will be moving to a 24" with 1920x1200 resolution. I won't be purchasing this until the above date so maybe I should wait until then. If you have any suggestions on parts, I would love them!

CASE:
Coolermaster Haf 922 Mid Tower
http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=38996&vpn=RC-922M-KKN1-GP&manufacture=COOLERMASTER

GPU:
The Best Priced ATI 5850 I can find (so far, $330 for XFX). Any suggested brands?

HSF:
COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus Intel Core i5 & Intel Core i7 compatible RR-B10-212P-G1 120mm "heatpipe direct contact"
http://ncix.com/products/?sku=41337&vpn=RR-B10-212P-GP&manufacture=COOLERMASTER

RAM:
G.SKILL F3-12800CL9T-6GBNQ 6GB DDR3 3X2GB DDR3-1600 CL 9-9-9-24 Triple Channel Memory Kit
http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=34719&vpn=F3-12800CL9T-6GBNQ&manufacture=G.Skill&promoid=1031
There are also some OCZ Gold RAM with 8-8-8-24 for the same price. I've heard great things about G. Skill so far.

PSU:
Corsair TX650W 650W ATX 12V 52A 24PIN ATX Power Supply Active PFC 120MM Fan
http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=26414&vpn=CMPSU-650TX&manufacture=Corsair

DVD:
Cheapest DVD-Writer I Can Find On Sale That Week
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ALREADY HAVE ITEMS BELOW(Well they're on their way!)

MOBO:
Intel DX58SO Smackover LGA1366 ATX DDR3 2PCIE-16 PCI-E4 2PCI-E1 PCI eSATA 1394 SPDIF Motherboard
http://ncix.com/products/?sku=34890&vpn=BOXDX58SO&manufacture=Intel

CPU:
Intel Core i7 940 Quad Core Processor LGA1366 2.93GHZ Bloomfield 8MB LGA1366 4.8GT/S
http://ncix.com/products/?sku=34599&vpn=BX80601940&manufacture=Intel

Boot HDD:
Intel X25-M 80GB 34NM Postville 2.5IN SSD SATA Solid State Disk Flash Drive
http://ncix.com/products/?sku=41732&vpn=SSDSA2MH080G2C1&manufacture=Intel

Storage HDD:
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 1TB SATA2 3.5IN 8.5MS 7200RPM 32MB Hard Drive OEM *3YR MFR Warranty*
http://ncix.com/products/?sku=37232&vpn=ST31000528AS&manufacture=Seagate

Speakers:
Klipsch Promedia 5.1 Surround Sound

Keyboard:
Logitech G15 Gaming Keyboard

Mouse:
Logitech Performance MX

P.S. Do you think I will have trouble getting to 3.6GHz on the above processor? I've read most are C0 stepping with only a few D0 shipping after the 950 was released.

 

[Mark Heath]

first, I'm not quite sure why you bought the 940 if you're o'cing.. but anyway...
I'm not sure about the stepping with these.

I'd try to find some RAM with better timings on them, probably at least some C8 1600 ones.

Other stuff looks good.

 

[Pejo]

The reason I picked up the 940 is because it was the processor Intel was offering for their employee purchase plan. I'll definately look into some better ram then. Should I be looking at Corsairs? They seem to be at the $200 range with good timing.

 

[banthracis]

Well if you can get stuff shipped to a US address

RAM
G Skill PI DDR3 1600 7-8-7-24 $180
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231335&cm_re=g_skill_pi-_-20-231-335-_-Product

GPU
XFX 5850 + free power strip $277
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.422132
Newegg is actually paying you $3 to take the power strip off their hands w/ this combo.

Case
HAF 922 $90
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119197&cm_re=haf_922-_-11-119-197-_-Product

there is a $30 off combo w/ MSI 5850 and HAF 922, but I honestly don't trust MSI GPU's.

PSU
750TX $110 $10 MIR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006

Comes to $657 w/ $10 MIR before optical drive and shipping