$1000 gaming pc (first time builder in need of advice)

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APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Within a month or two.

BUDGET RANGE: 1100-900 dollars (Preferably this should be around the lower range; please help me improve the price with combos and rebates without losing performance).

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming (Crysis), internet (to include AP high school courses that I am taking online), music.

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: OS, mouse, keyboard, speakers

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: newegg.com

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: U.S.

PARTS PREFERENCES: Probably Intel for gaming quality performance. For other parts I am uncertain and likely need help.

OVERCLOCKING: Yes, but please give me advice and links to guides in order to do so.

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Perhaps if it is economical and improves performance.

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1920x1080, but considering an upgrade later on.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Thanks for the help everyone! I truly appreciate it and apologize if I am clueless (especially regarding the GPU). My chief concerns are compatibility, performance, and price. As I mentioned earlier, I am uncertain and need help; but here is a rough list I assembled after reading the Homebuilt PC Buying Guide:

CPU- Intel Core i5-750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor BX80605I5750
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115215

MOBO- GIGABYTE GA-P55A-UD4P LGA 1156 Intel P55 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard w/ USB 3.0 & SATA 6 Gb/s
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128409

RAM- G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL7D-4GBRH
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231276

GPU- GIGABYTE GV-N470D5-13I-B GeForce GTX 470 (Fermi) 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125320

HDD- SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185

PSU- SILVERSTONE ST85F-P 850W ATX 12V v2.3 / EPS 12V 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817256058

CASE- Antec Three Hundred Illusion Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129066

HSF- COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus Intel Core i5 & Intel Core i7 compatible RR-B10-212P-G1 120mm "heatpipe direct contact" Long life sleeve CPU Cooler
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065

ODD- ASUS Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204

Thermal Paste- Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835100007

TOTAL: $1,153.90 (Slightly over budget. Please help me cut it down a hundred dollars or more while retaining performance. Thanks!)

 

L0tus

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Jan 28, 2006
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CPU: You can cut to an overclocked AMD 955 (seeing your games are GPU intensive) and save yourself 50-60 on the CPU + motherboard. And if you're using an aftermarket cooler, then save $5-10 and buy the OEM

PSU: You don't need anywhere near 850W. For your build, 600W will do. And go Antec, Cooler Master or Thermaltake


Otherwise everything else looks awesome. Your chosen HSF is very good.

If you're still looking to trim down, an HD5850 can save you ~$50 and performs just below the 470...consumes far less power too.

edit: very hard to trim down. You've chosen an excellent price/performance build.
 
If you want to save $, do as L0tus suggested and go for AMD instead. I suggest the AMD Phenom II X4 955 & ASRock 870 Extreme3, and one HD 5850.

If you're going with the Core i5 750, I really feel you'll need the ASUS P7P55D-E Pro instead, it costs more but is worth it simply because the P55A-UD4P can't CrossFireX/SLI when you use SATA III/USB 3.0.

Save $20 and buy the CM Hyper 212 Plus from somewhere else, newegg is selling them at an inflated price right now.

Save money and go with the HD 5850 or GTX 460 (Core i5 system if you want to use the GTX 460, SLI later on) and you'll only need a 650W PSU which means you save even more $.
 
G

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Is this the good GTX 460 1gb that you guys were referring to?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814162055

If so it appears to be in stock already. I have a question though: if I choose to stick with the Intel route and SLI later on with the GTX 460, how much will it improve performance? (Is it worth the extra $250?)

Just concerning performance, do you think that SLI is a better idea than AMD and a single card?

Thanks again for the help!
 
$820AR?
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