$900 gaming build

[jackjoson1205]

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: this weekend

BUDGET RANGE: 1000 After Rebates

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: gaming,surfing internet,music,movie,
PARTS NOT REQUIRED: keyboard/monitor/mouse/case/hard drive/disk drive

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: newegg.com

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA

PARTS PREFERENCES: iv always been a amd fanboy but im finally switching to the darkside and i really like asus

OVERCLOCKING: maby if i could figure out how 2

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: no

MONITOR RESOLUTION: not sure

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: just want it to be fast. run games at mid-max settings(wow,sc2,c&c,eq,cod..)

so after weeks and weeks of trying 2 decide what parts 2 choose i think if finally narrowed it down.. keep in mind i want this pc 2 last me for about 3-4years( i will get a better graphics card probably a Radeon HD 5850 around xmas) but ya what do ya think?


Motherboard-$210: ASUS Rampage II GENE LGA 1366 Intel X58 Micro ATX

CPU-$290: Intel Core i7-930 Bloomfield 2.8GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core

Memory-$100: OCZ Gold 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600

Graphics Card-$170: XFX HD-577A-ZNFC Radeon HD 5770 (Juniper XT) 1GB 128-bit GDDR5

Power Supply-$110: CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified

Total w shipping: $881.94

 

[gkay09]

^ For games IMO the i7 9xx is not required and that too for a single graphic card solution...

My pick -
AMD Based
X4 955 + HD 5870
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.435996

Gigabyte 870A + GSKillz 4GB DDR3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.443520

Antec EA 650W - Actually you wont need even 650W for a single card setup, but with the promo code, this is a good deal...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371015

Total - ~$730

Intel build -
i5 760 + Gigabyte P55A-UD3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.453262

XFX 650W + XFX HD 5870
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.448427

Corsair 4GB DDR3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145260

Total - ~$870...

 

[jackjoson1205]

i was reading that 1156 chipset is going 2 be obsolete very soon and 1366 is the new i dunno if that right or not my computer knowledge is very limited... and even tho the 17 isnt reguired wouldnt it still make everything else faster like downloading music/movie or photoshop and things such as that

 

[gkay09]

^ As a matter of fact, even the LGA 1366 will be replaced next year...
http://www.bit-tech.net/news/hardware/2010/04/12/new-socket-to-replace-lga1366-due-in-2011/1

And as for the performance, the i5 is as good in gaming and is also decent in other tasks...
In Photoshop, you would notice the difference, but not in music/ movies downloading...Also these chips have very good overclocking ability...

 

[lothdk]

Some good builds suggested by gkay09.

Your setup is very lite on GPU compared to the CPU for a gaming PC, also, you need a 3x memory kit to take advantage of the triple channel memory offered by the LGA1366.

If you are concerned about longevity and future CPU upgrades (without having to buy a new motherboard and the new technologies this would give you), the AMD setup would probably be the way to go for you.

 

[jackjoson1205]

iv narrowed it down 2 these 2 mobos and these 2 cpus....o and also i think after xmas im going 2 get 2 graphics cards so thats why i got the 750w power supply

and one more thing would it improve my computer speed if i got a 120gb SDD and just kept all my music/movie on a external hard drive because i usualy only use about 80gb of my 250gb hard drive and if i put my music/movies on a external id only use like 40gb--- and price is not a big concern of mine i have about $1500 saved up and i wanted 2 have enough left over 2 get a iphone but i guess that can wait if it has 2


MOTHERBOARD Choice 1- ASUS M4A89TD PRO/USB3 AM3 AMD 890FX SATA 6Gb/s-$185


Choice 2- ASUS M4A89GTD PRO/USB3 AM3 AMD 890GX HDMI SATA 6Gb/s-$150



CPU

Choice 1-AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 AM3 125W Quadcore-$180


Choice 2- AMD Phenom II X6 1055T Thuban 2.8GHz 6 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 CacheAM3 125W Sixcore-$200



this is the SDD i was thinking of getting.... OCZ Agility Series OCZSSD2-1AGT120G 2.5" 120GB SATA II MLC Internal-$260



and after xmas im going 2 get two of these. or whatever is the best for the price range at the time..$290 SAPPHIRE 100282-3SR Radeon HD 5850 (Cypress Pro) 1GB 256-bit DDR5

 

[gkay09]

Mobo - ASUS 890GX

CPU - X4 955 - Reason
- When overclocking, you can reach the levels of the 965 without any issues...
- 6-Core especially the 1055T doesnt perform good in gaming.

SSD - Dont go for that one, get this instead -
Vertex 2
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227551

But rather spending that much on a bigger SSD now, get a 60GB one and when prices come down, add 1 more in RAID 0...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227550
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227542

 

[jackjoson1205]

ok so heres the final build.... thanks for the help gkay and everyone else


ASUS AM3 890GX-$150

Intel X25-M 2.5" 80GB SATA II MLC Internal-$200 ( i figure im going 2 use almost 20gb just installing windows 7 so that will leave me with the 40 i need for games and such and if i run out of space ill get a 2ed one later and put it in RAID 0)


AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz AM3 Quad core-$180


G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2000-$120( im sure this is a noob question but when it says what memory a motherboard should use usualy i see DDR3 2000(oc)/1600... i usualy go with 1600 but the mobo i chose doesnt have 1600 so i went with 2000 what does the oc next 2 it mean im assuming overclock but do i need 2 do anything special to use it)

XFX HD-577A-ZNFC Radeon HD 5770 (Juniper XT) 1GB 128-bit GDDR5-$170( going 2 get whatevers the best for around $250 X2 after xmas)

RAIDMAX Blackstone series RX-700AC 700W-$70


TOTAL $915

i may wait intill after xmas to get the SSD with the graphics cards and maby just get the 120 or 2 60's im not 100% sure what im a do cuz i already have a perfectly fine working HDD but i cant resist these SSD's and how amazing they appear 2 be

 

[gkay09]

^ Why did you choose that PSU ??
And as for rest of the parts,
here is one with combos...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.430439

RAM - IMO lower speed with tighter CAS is better...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231303

PSU + Graphics card -
XFX 650W + XFX HD 5850
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.449243

Total - ~$765 without the SSD...

 

[gkay09]

And go RAID with only OCZ SSDs, as only their firmware supports Garbage collection in RAID...

 

[jackjoson1205]

kk im a go with yr exact setup but the motherboard says Memory Standard DDR3 2000(O.C.)/1333/1066 and the memory u linked is ddr3 1600.. will it still work? i know a lil bit about computers but deff not alot...

and ya im still debating on the SSD,,,,, is the performance signifitantly noticable? and r u saying i should get 1 now and 1 later when the price drops and run them in RAID 0.. and ya ill get the ocz ones

 

[gkay09]

^ Yes DDR3 1600MHz will work - Well actually it means you can set any speeds upto DDR3 2000MHz...

SSD - In boot times, app load times, it is significantly visible...But not in in-game performance...

 

[jackjoson1205]

Best answer selected by jackjoson1205.