First time gaming build: 1500-1800

[Antiphus]

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: This week BUDGET RANGE: 1500-1800

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: gaming, keeping my room heated

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, OS, cd/dvd drives

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: newegg, open to other sites COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: US

PARTS PREFERENCES: intel cpu, amd gpu

OVERCLOCKING: Maybe, would only be overclocking the cpu, and only at stock voltage CROSSFIRE: Maybe

MONITOR RESOLUTION: soon to be 1920x1080 or 1920x1200

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Here's what I've picked out. Please point out anything that doesn't make sense, parts that I'm missing, anything that I will regret 1-2 years from now (other than being too impatient to wait for Sandy Bridge ) I'm rounding off prices a little.


Antec Three Hundred Illusion Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
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
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.432087 - $140


Intel Core i7 930 - $200 at microcenter


GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD3R LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard - $210
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128423


XFX HD-587X-ZNFC Radeon HD 5870 1GB 256-bit DDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card - $385
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150476&cm_re=5870-_-14-150-476-_-Product


Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive - $75
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319


Intel X25-M Mainstream SSDSA2M080G2XX 2.5" 80GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) - OEM - $215 - But I might end up getting the $160 gb instead for roughly double the price
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820167027


OCZ Gold 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Low Voltage Desktop Memory Model OCZ3G1600LV6GK - $160
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227365


Heat sink: stock - is this a terrible terrible idea?


Total - about 1400 so far - 1600 if I decide that a 80gb boot drive is insufficient


So, am I spending too little on a case/psu? Should I be planning to xfire 5870s at some point? (Then I'm pretty sure I'd need a new psu, if only for connectors.)
Should I go with http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227506 for ram instead of the above? Ten dollars less, 7-8-8-26 instead of 8-8-8-24, but the lack of reviews scares me...
Should I buy a different motherboard? - I see lots of bad reviews on the one above, but there is that 3 year warranty...


Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[brianfulcher15]

i would ditch the ssd's not really worth what you get with it. With the money you save on them you could get a better case that woudl support crossfire expansion later own, and woudl ahve much better cooling. You shoudl also be able to get a much better powersuply

I woudl go with this build.

Case haf x 942 - 225 shiped
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119225

Power supply PC Power and Cooling 950W $250
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703028

GPU:
xfx 5870 gpu. ~ $400

mobo:
GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD3R ~$210-220
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128423

Ram:
G.SKILL 6GB (3 x 2GB) $150
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231225

Hard Drive: 3 of these $150-200
HITACHI Deskstar HD31000 IDK/7K (0S00163) 1TB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822145287

CPU: $300
Core i7-930
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115225

 

[Proximon]

The Antec Illusion 300 is a bit too tight for CF 5870. CM 690 might be an option.

 

[brianfulcher15]

The Antec Illusion 300 is a bit too tight for CF 5870. CM 690 might be an option.

x2, the new gen cards are huge, my gtx 480 requred me to remove my side fan and the bracket to hold the 2nd input fan on my my antec 900

 

[brianfulcher15]

just wondering whats your current build?

 

[ares1214]

try this build:

micro center: i7 930

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.430575

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.440698

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227542

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231335

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185

there are many many ways i can make this cheaper if its too expensive, but final price is 1583.94$, and it is much better.

 

[ares1214]

dont forget an HSF though, unless you are doing water.

 

[Antiphus]

Thanks for all the advice!

just wondering whats your current build?

Current build is a 6 year old embarrassment - pentium 4 3.0 ghz (prescott ), 7600GS, 1.5gb ram


I've decided against getting a second 5870 crossfire down the road - thus the Antec 300 Illusion and 650W power supply should work - I found some photographs of a 5870 fitting inside the Antec 300 and it works as long as the matching HD bay is empty.

I'm going to start out with the stock HSF and upgrade if/when I decide to overclock.

And I'll be getting the Intel 160gb ssd: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820167024

I'm able to spend more, but I think I'm going to keep this build on the cheap side and plan on upgrading in 2 years if I don't like the way the computer is aging.

 

[nuke123]

Build looks good, hope everything fits ok.

 

[ares1214]

in the combo i linked, you can get the v9 for less than the antec 300. and the intel ssds are some of the best, but ocz are the fastest.

 

[brianfulcher15]

I would still say ditch the SSD, and get the better psu and card. The top cards out still cant run crysis by them selves, and with in a years time you'll be wishing you had a better power supply adn will be wanting to run more than 1 GPU. Right now the best you can get in crysis, and metro 2033 is 55 fps average with 2 GTX 480s, followed closely with the 5870. Just wondering why you are wanting a SSd? IMO they arent really pratical unless being used in a laptop that is moved around alot

Thanks for all the advice!





Current build is a 6 year old embarrassment - pentium 4 3.0 ghz (prescott ), 7600GS, 1.5gb ram


I've decided against getting a second 5870 crossfire down the road - thus the Antec 300 Illusion and 650W power supply should work - I found some photographs of a 5870 fitting inside the Antec 300 and it works as long as the matching HD bay is empty.

I'm going to start out with the stock HSF and upgrade if/when I decide to overclock.

And I'll be getting the Intel 160gb ssd: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820167024

I'm able to spend more, but I think I'm going to keep this build on the cheap side and plan on upgrading in 2 years if I don't like the way the computer is aging.

 

[brianfulcher15]

http://www.hardocp.com/article/2010/03/26/nvidia_fermi_gtx_470_480_sli_review/3

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-480-3-way-sli-crossfire,2622-6.html

With SSD the only gains are really your boot times, and the time it takes for your apps to launch. usually no gains inside the app.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/248544-32-what-gaming-only-rigs

 

[Antiphus]

Unfortunately I've been dead set on the ssd for a few months - I'm aware it only improves load and launch times, but I've still read lots about them improving the "feel" of the computer.


I'm not too concerned about graphics - everything will seem amazing after my current rig (And I actually did manage to play crysis at super low quality, but I had to lower the difficultly when the aliens showed up - couldn't aim accurately at the fps i was getting)



I went ahead and made the purchases - here's what I went with:

Antec Three Hundred Illusion Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
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
Newegg - 136.96

OCZ 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model OCZ3F1600LV6GK (7-8-8-26) + free 8gb flash drive
Newegg - 149.99 after $20 rebate

XFX HD-587X-ZNFC Radeon HD 5870 1GB 256-bit DDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
Newegg - 384.99

SilverStone SDP08 3.5" to 2 x 2.5" Bay Converter
Newegg - 12.83

GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD3R LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Ewiz - 195.99

Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Ewiz - 64.99

Intel X25-M Mainstream SSDSA2M080G2XX 2.5" 80GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) - OEM
Ewiz - 379.99

Total - 1545.23



Thanks everyone! - I'll give you the vote brian for all the helpful comments even though I'm still going with the ssd.

 

[Antiphus]

Best answer selected by Antiphus.

 

[brianfulcher15]

Congrats. It shoudl be fun. You are goign to be pretty tight with the cables on the rear of that case, and you should be able to fit 1 gpu in but the rear of the gpu where the ps hooks in will be close to not fiting. Like I was saying with my antec 900 i had to remove the houseing for the extra GPU fan because my card was to long. I think the 5870 is shorter by like an inch than my gtx 480.

Your rig will be pushing your PSU to the max or at least 80 percent so I would be very carful on your overclocks if you do any. IF you dont it shoudl be a good usable rig for most games for at least 4 years (given that the last 2 you dont mind playing on mediumn settigns)

 

[brianfulcher15]

oh one more quick word of advise, make sure you get a retail os, not an oem. I bought an oem a while back because it was cheap, and now everytime i rebuild i have to call microsoft and tell them im replaceing the motherboard or hard drive so that it will activate the key.