Intel new gamin rig--need advice

[tossula]

So most pc components have evolved over the last 6 years since my last build and i am trying to build a good fair priced gaming pc.. would appreciate the advice guys..thanks
this is the list i came up with:

 

[gordon_81]

first of all if this pc is mostly for gaming then get the i5 760 and 4gb of ram saving you enough money to upgrade ur gpu to a 5870

 

[Upendra09]

that looks great but do you have another HDD? or are you gonna stick with one spacious SSD? how many gigs is that SSD by the way?

 

[cmansocked]

I was able to build almost the exact same machine (with a GTX480) for about the same price. When you buy a part click on the "View All Deals" link and you can likely add another part you wanted. This way I saved about $100 in combo deals.

 

[tossula]

Thanks for the input guys..i do have a en extra 1.5 tb hardisk, the ssd is 60gb...
@gordon_81 i was initially going for the i5 760 vs the amd x6 phantomII black edition but came across a combo with the i7...will look into it though

 

[kratosthestalker]

get a 5870 trust me when its not powerfull enough you could always buy 1 or 2 more and X-fire them

 

[coldsleep]

I wouldn't get the original Vertex. If you can afford it without breaking your budget, get the Vertex 2, it's significantly better.

And agree with gordon_81's advice above. If you're not doing anything that makes use of hyperthreading, switching to either an i5-750 or a Phenom II X4 955 build will save you money that you could use to improve the GPU and other parts, without losing any real gaming performance. If, of course, you're also doing heavy audio/video editing or 3D rendering, the i7-930 is a fine choice.

If you could fill out the info requested in the How to Ask for New Build Advice thread, it would be easier to provide suggestions tailored to your situation.

 

[cmansocked]

What do people think of the cooler? I am researching them at the moment as well. I'm not experienced with new builds and am hesitant to get out the thermal paste and try my hand at those. Fans are easy.

Is it worth taking the time to learn? Do I risk ruining my machine?

 

[tossula]

So from what i understand, the I5 760 cant take on i7 930 in everything except hyperthreading... if a better graphic card was in mind, which one would it be? is getting 2 of lower end ones (adding to 2gb) better than getting a 1gb good one?

 

[jared51182]

What do people think of the cooler? I am researching them at the moment as well. I'm not experienced with new builds and am hesitant to get out the thermal paste and try my hand at those. Fans are easy.

Is it worth taking the time to learn? Do I risk ruining my machine?

Stock coolers have thermal paste pre-applied to them, as far as I know. If you wanted to purchase a 3rd party cooler, thermal paste is not normally pre-applied. However, generally 3rd party thermal paste is better than stock paste, and so some people recommend removing the paste that is stock, and applying your own.

In any event, applying the paste is pretty simple, if I remember correctly, and someone please confirm or correct. But basically, you put a few drops of the paste on the cooler, shake it around in a circular motion, so that the paste may be distributed evenly over the surface. Then you just install the cooler onto the CPU. It is fairly simple.

Sidenote to Cmansocked - thanks for the tip on the "deals" - I never knew there was that little link down there. It explains how people can find so many deals so quickly!

 

[gordon_81]

ok if u are getting the i5 760 i suggest the asus p7p55 pro motherboard, and as for overclocking its your own choice, personally i would overclock but only later when the warranty is finished and ur pc starts to struggle with new games, programs etc, and if ur looking at cpu coolers the coolermaster hyper 212+ is a good cheap option but if yor wanting to spend a bit mre money i would go for a thermalright venomous x rt

 

[tossula]

yeah that motherboard looks pretty solid for the I5 760....what about the graphic card, would u recommend 2x 1gb lower end ones or a high end 1gb ?

 

[coldsleep]

I would make sure that you get the Asus P7P55D-E Pro model as it has USB 3.0 & SATA 6.0 Gb/s support.

As far as GPUs, it really depends on your budget. I prefer to get one big graphics card for a new build, and leave room to upgrade via SLI/CrossFire later. However, if your budget fits 2x nVidia 460s, those are a very good option at the moment. For $400, you get better performance than a 480 in most games. On the ATI side, I'd probably just stick with a 5870.

 

[gordon_81]

i would rather go for 1 big gpu because then u dont have all the hassles that come with crossfire or SLI, i would get a 5870 and in the future maybe put another 1 in crossfire, by getting 1 good gpu it gives u more room to upgrade and yes get the p7p55d-E pro its a great motherboard. get the i5 760 you will not see any difference in gaming with an i7, the i7 is better if you are going to be multi tasking etc because of hyper threading, but if your mostly gaming get the i5 760

 

[tossula]

So after a few days of looking around and doing some heavy reading, i upped my budget a tiny bit but im pushing it now. here's what i go! any recommendations welcome! i plan to order this within the next day or two.... thanks for the help!!

 

[gordon_81]

8 gigs of ram is overkill

 

[gordon_81]

and see if u can find a screen with 2ms response time

 

[coldsleep]

You're not really going to notice the difference between 2ms and 5ms response time, it's beneath the level of your perception. Additionally, in many cases the response times are exaggerated, so you can't really base your decision on the difference if it's that small. If it's 5ms vs. a 15ms response time, then yes, you might want to pay attention to that.

I'd agree though that 8 GB of RAM is unnecessary for gaming.

 

[gordon_81]

true..... and i wouldnt go for the corsair h50 cpu cooler i would rather go for a high end air cooler