Hello. Thanks for taking the time to read this post. I'm looking to build a gaming desktop for under $900 (after rebates/before shipping). Based on advice from forum members, I've compiled a list of components for my first custom build. I have listed a couple options for some of the components since I could not decide which was better. Please also help me make sure that all components are in fact compatible with each other. If you can suggest even better alternatives, please feel free to do so. Any details are greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for the help.
APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Will purchase by Friday, 7/23/2010
BUDGET RANGE: under $900 (after rebates/before shipping)
SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming (hoping to go for ultra settings for World of Warcraft and high settings for more graphically intense games)
PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Keyboard, Mouse, Monitor, Speakers, Cables, Sound Card (I'll be using integrated sound temporarily), Operating System (I'll be using Windows XP)
PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Newegg.com and Tigerdirect.com
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA
PARTS PREFERENCES: Intel and nVidia
OVERCLOCKING: Any
SLI OR CROSSFIRE: at least SLI
MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1920x1200
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Since I'm primarily just playing WoW currently, I don't need any fancy sound yet - but I still need the versatility to add a nice sound card in the near future. I'm hoping that this is a build that won't break the bank yet has very reliable components - something that balances budget with power/quality.
Case: COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower OR Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower
CPU: Intel Core i5-750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor
Motherboard (This has the hardest for me to figure out - I'm not even sure that I'm happy with either of these selections): GIGABYTE GA-P55-USB3 LGA 1156 Intel P55 USB 3.0 ATX Intel OR BIOSTAR T5 XE CFX-SLI LGA 1156 Intel P55 ATX Intel
Power Supply: OCZ ModXStream Pro OCZ700MXSP 700W ATX12V V2.2 / EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC OR RAIDMAX Blackstone series RX-700AC 700W Continuous Power ATX12V V2.3 / EPS12V V2.91 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active PFC
Memory: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
CD/DVD Drive: ASUS Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW
Hard Drive: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal
Video Card: GIGABYTE GV-N460OC-1GI GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support
So that's the list of components that I've selected after four days of research, but I can definitely use any reassurance and advice from all you experts out there! Thanks!
APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Will purchase by Friday, 7/23/2010
BUDGET RANGE: under $900 (after rebates/before shipping)
SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming (hoping to go for ultra settings for World of Warcraft and high settings for more graphically intense games)
PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Keyboard, Mouse, Monitor, Speakers, Cables, Sound Card (I'll be using integrated sound temporarily), Operating System (I'll be using Windows XP)
PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Newegg.com and Tigerdirect.com
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA
PARTS PREFERENCES: Intel and nVidia
OVERCLOCKING: Any
SLI OR CROSSFIRE: at least SLI
MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1920x1200
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Since I'm primarily just playing WoW currently, I don't need any fancy sound yet - but I still need the versatility to add a nice sound card in the near future. I'm hoping that this is a build that won't break the bank yet has very reliable components - something that balances budget with power/quality.
Case: COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower OR Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower
CPU: Intel Core i5-750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor
Motherboard (This has the hardest for me to figure out - I'm not even sure that I'm happy with either of these selections): GIGABYTE GA-P55-USB3 LGA 1156 Intel P55 USB 3.0 ATX Intel OR BIOSTAR T5 XE CFX-SLI LGA 1156 Intel P55 ATX Intel
Power Supply: OCZ ModXStream Pro OCZ700MXSP 700W ATX12V V2.2 / EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC OR RAIDMAX Blackstone series RX-700AC 700W Continuous Power ATX12V V2.3 / EPS12V V2.91 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active PFC
Memory: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
CD/DVD Drive: ASUS Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW
Hard Drive: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal
Video Card: GIGABYTE GV-N460OC-1GI GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support
So that's the list of components that I've selected after four days of research, but I can definitely use any reassurance and advice from all you experts out there! Thanks!
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