~$800 gaming comp

[holt100]

Hello all!

I'm planning on building an $800 gaming computer, but I've only built one computer before and I had help from a friend of mine.
So I thought I'd post this here before I even consider getting any of it.

Here is the build (and case, suggestions welcome there too).

Harddrive
Mobo + processor combo
Disk drive
graphics card
ram
case
PSU

I put this up to the judgement of the tom's hardware gods.
I know there are other viable and well used builds for around this price, but I was wondering if this would work.

If there is anything that can be swapped out for something equally good but cheaper, please do tell.
$800 is the limit, but if I can go cheaper for the same performance (this will be primarily a gaming comp) I would love to know!

Thanks in advance for any input.

EDIT:changed OP to represent my new choices in components

 

[hunter315]

You dont want to get an IDE 80GB HDD, it will be really slow and for slightly more you can get yourself a much much faster drive that is quite a bit larger.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152181&Tpk=F3%20500GB

You can combo the 750 with your motherboard to make up the price difference on the HDD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.446723

You can get yourself a DVD burner and actually end up saving $5 since it comes with free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106289

If you can fit it in i suggest paying slightly more for a 5770, it comes with a $10 off promo code right now and will do significantly better than the 9800GTX+ while using significantly less power.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102873&cm_re=5770-_-14-102-873-_-Product

 

[banthracis]

Full build

Ram
G SKill Eco $105
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231321

OPtical + PSU
Sony and OCZ 550w $73 w/ $20 MIR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.435581

HD/CASE
NZXT gamma and 7200.12 500gb $85
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.431380
Not the best case, but really only place to cut with minimum performance impact.

GPU/OS
5770 and win 7 $250 w/ $15 MIR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.437534.14-102-873

CPU/Mobo
Phenom II x4 and ga 890 ud3 $275
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.430431

Total: $798 including shipping before $35 rebates.

I think its actually possible to do a 5850 + athlon II x3 build for $800 After rebates.
It will give you better FPS in gaming, but whether it's worth it depends on what resolution you're gaming at.

BTW Fill out form in sticky, link in my sig.

 

[holt100]

So I've actually gotten the OS problem solved, and still have the $800 to spend on the rig.
Liking the suggestions I've gotten so far, will definitely take a closer look at them when it isn't so late.

As for the form...


APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: 2-3 weeks from now (but if I still am not absolutely certain of the parts, will wait longer)

BUDGET RANGE: $600-$900 (would really only like to go over $800 if necessary) before rebate

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: gaming, movies, internet surfing

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, OS

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: newegg

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: US

PARTS PREFERENCES: ASUS and nvidia (willing to give ati a try, heard better things about them recently)

OVERCLOCKING: Maybe

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Maybe (depends if two video cards will fit in the budget)

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1440x900 (may change in the near future)

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: a quiet pc would be nice, but I'm not gonna die if it's a little loud

 

[holt100]

Normally really dislike double posting, but here is what I've decided on for now unless more suggestions come in.

Harddrive
Mobo + processor combo
Disk drive
graphics card
ram
case
PSU

Are there any obvious incompatibilities I'm missing?
I've looked through them, but I couldn't find any (then again I'm usually kinda bad with details)

As before all suggestions are welcome.
Thanks for the tips banthracis and hunter.

 

[mrhoshos96]

here is a much better system for $837.92 before rebates and it's capable of sli

mobo&cpu: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.444798

case&psu: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.440193 ( psu is better than the corsair modular and more efficient. the case is the best quality there is better airflow than the sunbeam and everything is tooless including the mobo and psu)

ram: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231321

gpu: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127510
(much more faster than the 5770 and 9800gt)

hdd: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152181

odd: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106289

case review: http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum/hardware-canucks-reviews/22076-lancool-dragonlord-pc-k62-case-review.html

gpu charts: http://www.guru3d.com/article/geforce-gtx-460-review/

http://www.guru3d.com/article/geforce-gtx-460-sli-review/5

u can see that the gtx 460 preforms extremly well for the money.

believe me this build is a steal get it before the combo's get disabled

 

[banthracis]

u can see that the gtx 460 preforms extremly well and if you sli them it can be 1-3 fps slower than 2 5970's in cf and the difference is $760 between the two.

believe me this build is a steal get it before the combo's get disabled

That's completely False and that claim is so ridiculous, it's laughable.

Charts you linked don't even have 2 5970's numbers.

The 460's are a competitor to the HD 5830, whose performance lies btwn the 768 mb and 1gb gtx 460.

SLi 1gb 460's aren't faster than 1 5970, never mind 2.

If you're gonna link the bench's, at least bother to read them.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/3809/nvidias-geforce-gtx-460-the-200-king/9

 

[mrhoshos96]

That's completely False and that claim is so ridiculous, it's laughable.

Charts you linked don't even have 2 5970's numbers.

The 460's are a competitor to the HD 5830, whose performance lies btwn the 768 mb and 1gb gtx 460.

SLi 1gb 460's aren't faster than 1 5970, never mind 2.

If you're gonna link the bench's, at least bother to read them.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/3809/nvidias-geforce-gtx-460-the-200-king/9

sorry i meant this one and i was in a hurry when i wrote that so sorry again [:lorbat:6]

http://www.guru3d.com/article/geforce-gtx-460-sli-review/5

i see that 2 gtx 460's beat the 5970 in some benchmarks and looses against them in others

 

[banthracis]

A proper comparison requires looking at average difference.

Overall data summary.
I'd personally prefer anandtech's numbers since they're much better respected, but using guru3d (which didn't test the 1gb version)
http://www.anandtech.com/show/3809/nvidias-geforce-gtx-460-the-200-king/9
http://www.guru3d.com/article/geforce-gtx-460-sli-review/4

768 mb 460 sli vs 5970 at 1920 x 1080

RE 5
137 vs 143
5970 faster by 4.5%

Crysis Warhead
59 vs 61
5970 faster by 3.4%

Anno
93 vs 105
5970 faster by 12.90%

Metro 2033
26 vs 34
5970 faster by 30.76%

Far Cry 2
105 vs 86
460 sli by 22.09%

Dirt 2
87 vs 106
5970 faster by 21.84%

Bad COmpany 2
62 vs 76
5970 faster by 22.56%

MW2
160 vs 172
5970 faster by 7.50%

5970 faster in 8 benchmarks
sli 460 faster in 1

Total FPS
729 vs 783

Granted a 5970 is not an awesome deal for $280 more ($400 vs $680). 5870 xfire scaling is pretty horrendous ATM, which ATI hopefully will fix.

What's more interesting the 768 460 vs 5850 comparison

RE 5
76 vs 91
5850 faster by 19.74%

Crysis Warhead
33 vs 38
5850 faster by 15.15%

Anno
47 vs 62
5850 faster by 31.91%

Metro 2033
14 vs 19
5850 faster by 35.71%

Far Cry 2
55 vs 59
5850 faster by 7.27%

Dirt 2
46 vs 64
5850 faster by 39.13%

Bad COmpany 2
32 vs 43
5850 faster by 34.38%

MW2
87 vs 101
5850 faster by 16.09%

the 5850 is Faster in every case, average of 22.15%
More importantly, bad company 2 and crysis warhead really need the 5850 to get to the 40fps mark.

Price is $200 vs $290. Anandtech's analysis that the 5850 should really be @ $260(original launch price) is pretty much spot on for equal price/performance. With combo deals you can get pretty close to that number for a 5850. The 460's pretty much only combo to $10 less.

Given the normal industry price premiums, it's not a bad deal.

As for the OP, well, he's at 1440 x 900, so it doesn't really matter since even the 5770 can max out any game at that resolution with over 40fps.

 

[holt100]

Really appreciate the help guys.

I may be upgrading to a 5850 depending on how things work out (if that new monitor is pulling through or not), and if that is the case, is there anything I would have to change?
I like that I got some other builds here, but I'm trying to stick close to my original plan so long as there is nothing obviously inferior about it in comparison to another build.

Once again I appreciate the help, looks like I'm closing in on the final build!