Suggestions for first time gaming computer build: $1,400.

ComeClarity

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APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Within the week.

BUDGET RANGE: $1,200 - $1,400

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Primarily gaming.

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Everything except speakers and an OS (Have Windows 7 already.)

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Newegg.com

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA

PARTS PREFERENCES: Not much really; though I'm a bit of a Samsung fan.

OVERCLOCKING: Maybe in the future, still new to this.

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Maybe in the future, not 100% sure how either works.

MONITOR RESOLUTION:The monitor I'm looking at recommends 1920 x 1080, otherwise not much of a preference.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I'd like a quite PC. Looking to be able to play all the current games.


The included build is based off one I saw on these forums from a month or so back and uses current combo deals from newegg.com. I doubt it makes much of a difference but I plan on running dual monitors in a couple months. I'm mainly looking for suggestions and/or upgrades on the build I currently have but any advice at all is more than welcomed. This is my first time building my own computer and I'm not sure on some things so please bear with me.

Current build I have picked out:

Antec Nine Hundred Two Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ965FBGMBOX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.466906

XFX HD-587X-ZNFV Radeon HD 5870 (Cypress XT) 1GB 256-bit DDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card

OCZ 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model OCZ3F1600LV4GK
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.462774

CORSAIR HX Series CMPSU-750HX 750W ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply

GIGABYTE GA-790XTA-UD4 AM3 AMD 790X SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

SAMSUNG 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 4X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 24x DVD Burner - Bulk LightScribe Support - OEM

SAMSUNG P2450H Rose Black 24" 2ms(GTG) HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 DC 70000:1(1000:1)

Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000

Microsoft Explorer Mouse
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.458390

This puts me at just under my budget ($1,379.73 after shipping and rebates), though I think I could manage to squeeze out a few more dollars if needed. Also, I don't think I needed to include the keyboard & mouse but I did.

Sorry for this post being rather lengthy and thanks in advance for any help, I'd greatly appreciate it.
 
Solution
EVGA is my preferred brand for that type of card...

I would however suggest an Intel build to look into ->
-Intel core i5 760 processor
-P55 motherboard with SLI (there are a few, I bought an EVGA one also)
-and 2x GTX 460 video cards. The 1gb version is better than the 768mb version, but both are great, and 2 of them will give you quite a bit more power than 1 5870.

ComeClarity

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Many thanks for the quick responses.

To be honest though I'm not really sure, I'm quite new to this so I don't exactly know if I would add another or not; though the idea does sound appealing.

When I look up the 470 I'm finding quite an array of cards, any specific one?
 

jasonw223

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EVGA is my preferred brand for that type of card...

I would however suggest an Intel build to look into ->
-Intel core i5 760 processor
-P55 motherboard with SLI (there are a few, I bought an EVGA one also)
-and 2x GTX 460 video cards. The 1gb version is better than the 768mb version, but both are great, and 2 of them will give you quite a bit more power than 1 5870.
 
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Somebody_007

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+1^^
 

ComeClarity

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Thanks for the response as well.

I like the idea of that build a bit more as for one I know more about Intel than I do AMD, same goes with Nvidia vs ATI.

Looking at the cards (460/470) though;
- I'd only be able to afford one for now which I would assume would be be able to perform quite well with most games.

- As I don't know much about cooling, would the build I'm currently looking at be able cool the two cards efficiently or would I need to get something extra?
 

jasonw223

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That Antec case is wonderful for keeping a system cool - you won't have any trouble at all. Also, the GTX 460s also are a much cooler running / less power hungry card than the 470s or 480s. You could even go to a 650w Corsair PSU and still do SLI...

A single 460 will run any game out there on pretty high or max settings, running 2x 460s will be much faster than a 5870, or even a GTX 480.
 

bombat1994

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yeh but the AMD build is a hell of a lot more future proofed

Intel cpu the only thing you would be able to upgrade to is a core i7 870

so to get a better proccessor you will have to buy a whole new motherboard. stupid intel

there isnt much difference in performance between the i5 760 and the 965. in games. yes the i5 overclock better but he ony said he'd might overclock
 

jasonw223

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AMD just about forces you to go with ATI video cards though, unless you're going for a 980a motherboard... which I would never recommend.

And future proofed? I'm pretty sure buying a better processor is more future proofing than buying a particular AM3 motherboard. At the same time, Intel has been releasing new 1156 processors...

I've built way more AMD systems for myself and others than Intel ones, however the combination of an i5 + 460s is hard to beat.

This is normally where the AMD vs Intel annoying debate starts... lol.
 

ComeClarity

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Thanks everyone else for the replies, and that Asus monitor is indeed a steal. I think I'm going to go the Intel rout however, I just have so much more experience with them.

After some restructuring this is what I have:

Antec Nine Hundred Two Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.469345

Intel Core i5-760 Lynnfield 2.8GHz LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80605I5760

EVGA P55 SLI 132-LF-E655-KR LGA1156 Intel P55 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.459207

EVGA 01G-P3-1372-TR GeForce GTX 460 Superclocked (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

CORSAIR HX Series CMPSU-750HX 750W ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

SAMSUNG 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 4X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 24x DVD Burner - Bulk LightScribe Support - OEM

SAMSUNG P2450H Rose Black 24" 2ms(GTG) HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 DC 70000:1(1000:1)


Not sure if the new ram is any better or worse than before but I was able to get a combo deal with the case. This even comes out to about $40 cheaper than my previous build. Off to work now, but I'll check back.

Once again, thanks everyone for the replies and the help.
 

jasonw223

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Looks like a great build to me right there. New RAM doesn't have quite as tight timings as the OCZ stuff above, but there is a very slim chance that you would even notice the difference. I've used that Ripjaws RAM quite a bit for various builds... it's good stuff.

On a side note, check this article out - it's putting 2x GTX 460 against 2x 5870s...
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2010/08/09/geforce_gtx_460_1gb_sli_vs_radeon_hd_5870_cfx/
 

coldsleep

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Not trying to dissuade you from going Intel, but comments about experience with one vs. the other always seem so odd to me. No matter which processor brand you get, it's pretty much just "insert processor A in socket B." There's not a lot to it.

Good luck with the build, it looks like you've got a good setup there.
 

ComeClarity

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That article is quite an interesting read, thanks for posting that.

By "experience" with Intel I was referring less in regards to product assembly and more towards the company/brand in general. I've used their products a few times before with generally positive experiences, and I've never used an AMD product, thus I've built up a bit of a bias towards Intel.

My thanks for the thumbs up on the build from the both of you. I really appreciate the advice given by every who posted.