:: Advice needed for a Gaming/HTPC System ::

holyindian

Distinguished
Mar 4, 2009
142
0
18,680
Hello all -

After spending like a month on Tomshardware and some other sites, i have narrowed down all the components that i need to build my desktop.
I am sharing my specs with you, and would greatly appreciate your help in correcting my choices if i am not on the right track.

As i am building this gaming PC, I will also be using this as a HTPC, plugged in with my 52" LCD. I have an awesome set of decent Home Theater setup here, hence i wanted to take advantage of my new build with this setup, making it worthwhile for a multi-functional use. Just an FYI, i dont need a monitor, neither hard disks got like 5 TB of them from my previous desktop. Sometimes I do graphic designing, video editing and encoding also past time. I keep my system running like 24/7 most of the time, downloading some or the other thing, or just in idle state.

However these are the things that i am looking for now for the new build. My budget is around 1500.00 and I dont need monitor and HDD. However I can add a couple of more dollars to the budget to make my rig a better system that i though if you guys suggest.


Power Supply.
CORSAIR HX Series CMPSU-850HX 850W - 159.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139011

ATXCase
COOLER MASTER HAF X – 199.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119225&cm_re=haf-_-11-119-225-_-Product

Memory
Mushkin Enhanced Redline 6GB – 169.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226121

HeatSink Cooler
Noctua NH-D14 120mm & 140mm SSO CPU Cooler - 90.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608018

Processor
Intel i7 930 - 199.00
Cousin works for intel, I will get employee discount on that, finally it will cost me 199.00 for i7 930

Motherboard**
ASUS P6X58D Premium – 285.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/NewProduct.aspx?Item=N82E16813131614&cm_re=asus_p6x58d-_-13-131-614-_-Product

Graphics Card**
Sapphire Video Card HD 5850 1G DDR5 Vaporx – 230.00

Solid State Drive**
Intel X25-V SSDSA2MP040G2R5 2.5" 40GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) 100.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/NewProduct.aspx?Item=N82E16820167025

Please note the topics marked in asterix ** i have some questions to ask as well.

** Motherboard
Recently the cost for ASUS motherboard model P6X58D Premium has been reduced on newegg.. Now the difference between P6X58D-E and P6X58D-Premium is only of 40 dollars. Is Premium worth while the 40 dollar difference cost. As i know there are not much noticable or worthwhile differences in both the MB's except one which there is a slight difference in the heat sink pipes/rods.

**Graphics Card
I was planning to buy a 1GB HD 5850 card, after a through research i found that sapphire models in the 5850 line up is one of the best ones out, and Sapphire Video Card HD 5850 1G DDR5 Vaporx is really good, because of the effective cooling. Over clocking is not very important to me.. hence no TOXIC, i still can overclock Vapor X to some degree, which is more than enough for me.
As i see that Newegg is out of stock on this, and some other Internet retailers are selling them for a decent amount of 225 dollars. I was wondering if i should get them, or if i have another alternative. I dont want a lower GPU.. either the same or higher but not with a lot of price difference.

Solid State Drive**
I guess intel is good for this as per various reviews. What size of SSD is ideal. I guess the only thing you do with a ssd is install os and other applications... so my understanding is 40-60 gb should be good engough... right???

Most importantly please do look at my specs and help me choose the best if i am wrong somewhere.
 

holyindian

Distinguished
Mar 4, 2009
142
0
18,680
Nice suggestion, but two graphics card pitted into for a gaming rig would definitely work better than one graphic card. I will add another graphic card crossfire or sli after a couple of months.. depending on the cost and wow factor at that time.

Please advice guy, i am getting more confused with my specs, for a minute it feels, i have figured out the best components under each category.. yet i dont feel assured if this is the right choice or not.
 

holyindian

Distinguished
Mar 4, 2009
142
0
18,680
Checked out Prolimatech Megahalems at a friends place. He had raves review about it... also wanted to know how they are as compared to the Noctua ND-D54 HSU's.

Guys i am looking forward to hearing from you on my desktop build. Please see the specs above...Please help. :(
 

angel0fmars

Distinguished
Mar 1, 2010
43
0
18,530
The 5850 is a pretty good choice. Also, I would suggest a sound card too. A sound card can give you a little more FPS.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829132012&cm_re=asus_hdav-_-29-132-012-_-Product

This would only work if you have an A/V receiver though. Or you could plug it into your TV if you'd like. Only problem here is that you probably won't be able to do SLI or Crossfire with that in it.

Also, I can't tell the difference between the motherboard you wanted and the one on the bottom of this post. This board could save you a bit of money:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131641
 

holyindian

Distinguished
Mar 4, 2009
142
0
18,680
Well I have a Hi-end A/V reciever. I am being told that, a sound card will be tendered useless to me, as the audio output will be transcoded through the a/v reciever and not the sound card.

Thanks for the info on Hd 5850, that sure is a good GPU. Let me research on the MB

ANy other suggestion guys?