Building Gaming Comp -- Need advice!!!

[hobbit33]

Hey, I am in the planning stages of building a new gaming computer (mine is almost 3 years old now) and I just have a few questions I want your advice on =).

First, these are the components I am looking at so far:

GPU
Radeon HD 5870 or 5970 (I'm leaning towards 5970 so I won't have to upgrade for a long time)

Power Supply
CORSAIR HX Series CMPSU-1000HX 1000W

Motherboard
ASUS Crosshair AMD 890FX

Processor
AMD Phenom II X6 1090T Black Edition Thuban 3.2GHz 

RAM
CORSAIR DOMINATOR-GT 6GB DDR3 1600 OR G.SKILL Trident 6GB DDR3 2000

What I mainly want to know is if all these components will be compatible with each other, and if you guys have any other hardware recommendations. I will be using Windows 7 64-bit if that makes a difference. I am also interested in hearing any computer case recommendations for this setup =).

Thank you! Your feedback is much appreciated.

 

[obsidian86]

you want either 4 or 8gb ram for an amd build ,look into this power supply is cheaper and a bit better then the hx1000

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817814010

what you gonna cool that beast with?

i'd say any of these

corsair h70
prolimatech megahalem
noctua ud 14
thermalright venomous X

and for case its a personal choice really here are a few options

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811163154
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119225
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119150
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119234
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119186

 

[coldsleep]

The components listed will work together, though you consider the following suggestions:

Strictly for gaming, I'd look at getting a Phenom II X4 955 or an X6 1055 and then overclock like crazy. The 1090T isn't great value for a gaming rig. Most game only use 2 cores right now, they're not going to need 6 any time soon.

The PSU is overkill for a single 5970, though it might not be for overclocking + 2x 5970. 750-850W is probably more reasonable, though.

AMD doesn't do triple-channel RAM...it would still run, but in single-channel mode. Get either 4 GB or 8 GB. For gaming, 4 GB is all that's needed today. I'd look at either this G.Skill 1600 MHz CL7 ECO series 4 GB kit or whatever 2000 MHz CL9 RAM catches your fancy.

Have you decided on a hard drive and/or SSD?

 

[hobbit33]

Wow, thank you guys for the quick responses. I really appreciate the help and advice! I will look into your suggestions asap =). Ya I thought the power supply might be high for one card, so I'll definitely go with your 850W suggestion, and I'm leaning toward the Corsair H70 for cooling. Also, no I have not decided on a hard drive yet. Any recommendations?

As far as the CPU, I think I will go with AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition instead of the X6 -- $150 cheaper and virtually no improvement in gaming (just read a review article testing processors at benchmarkreviews.com).

Again, thanks guys!

PS -- That ram looks great! Is there a significant difference between that and G.SKILL Trident 4GB?

 

[coldsleep]

At 850W, check out a Corsair HX 850 or an XFX 850W (usually less expensive -- 15% off promo code right now, sometimes combos with graphics cards), both 80+ Silver ratings. Whichever is cheaper really, they both have very good reviews at jonnyguru.com (9.5+/10).

For hard drives, my general recommendation (if you have the budget):
60-120 GB SSD (any SandForce drive - Mushkin Callisto, G.Skill Phoenix, OCZ Vertex 2/Agility 2, Corsair Force) + 1 TB HDD.
cheapest options right now:
60 GB SSD - Mushkin Callisto 60 GB - $135
120 GB SSD - G.Skill Phoenix Pro - $235 (shellshocker until midnight PST), otherwise OCZ Agility 2 at $250

HDD (whether or not you have the cash for an SSD):
Samsung Spinpoint F3 1 TB - $75
or
Seagate 7200.12 1 TB - $75

If you're overclocking, I suggest getting the Phenom II X4 955, as you can just up the multiplier by 1 to reach 965 speeds...the chips are virtually identical.

Assuming you mean this Trident kit, the ECO series runs at a lower voltage, which isn't necessarily of huge benefit, but it should allow more room for overvolting. 2000 MHz CL9 ~ 1600 MHz CL7, so the speed & timings pretty much even out. So, not a lot of difference. If you're leaning towards the Tridents due to looks, go for it.

 

[hobbit33]

Ah yes, the XFX 850W looks great, especially with 15% off right now. Also, do I still need an HDD if I get an SSD?

Again, thank you guys for your input and advice, its really helping me out. =)

PS -- I think I'll go with the G.SKILL ECO Series 4GB. Cheaper and use less voltage

 

[davcon]

Ah yes, the XFX 850W looks great, especially with 15% off right now. Also, do I still need an HDD if I get an SSD?

Again, thank you guys for your input and advice, its really helping me out. =)

PS -- I think I'll go with the G.SKILL ECO Series 4GB. Cheaper and use less voltage

That ram choice may not be the best alot of AMD boards don't like low voltage and fast timings.
Be prepared to do alot of bios tweaking for it to run at advertised timing and speeds.
Better choices imo.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007611%20600006127%20600006066%20600006156&IsNodeId=1&page=2&bop=And&CompareItemList=147%7C20%2D231%2D303%5E20%2D231%2D303%2DTS%2C20%2D226%2D103%5E20%2D226%2D103%2DTS

 

[sp12]

AMD chips are better at handling high voltage ram than Intel, but most AMD mobos support DDR3 all the way down to 1.3 volts, you'll just have to set it manually.

 

[coldsleep]

Also, do I still need an HDD if I get an SSD?

Technically you don't need one, but if you get an SSD, getting an HDD is recommended for storage, unless you know that you can keep your disk usage low, and you don't need to store a lot of stuff.

 

[hobbit33]

OK, so here is what I have for hardware now:

GPU
Radeon HD 5970

Power Supply
XFX Black Edition XPS-850W-BES

Motherboard
ASUS Crosshair AMD 890FX

Processor
AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz

RAM
Mushkin Enhanced Blackline 4GB

Cooler
CORSAIR Hydro H70 CWCH70

SSD + HDD
Mushkin Enhanced Callisto Deluxe MKNSSDCL60GB-DX 2.5" 60GB
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST31000528AS 1TB

How does it look? =)

Oh, and I was thinking about getting a monitor with max res of 1920x1200 to work best with the HD 5970. I read that the card is most benefited by that resolution. But I am wondering if you guys think 1920x1080 would be just as good? Thanks in advance, the feedback has been extremely helpful!

 

[coldsleep]

You could go with a Phenom II X4 955, there's little difference between the two chips, but I went with the 965 myself.

1920x1200 is getting harder and harder to find, I'd just go with 1920x1080, as it has become the standard for most monitors.

If money is no object, you might consider going up to a 120 GB SSD and/or getting 3 monitors to use in Eyefinity. If you're close to your budget already, I think you're good to go...those are all quality parts.

 

[hobbit33]

Haha ya I am at my budget basically =)

Wow really thank you all for your input! There is just one more question I have that maybe you could help me with.

I have been looking at a ton of monitors (1920x1080) and there are so many options with so many reviews out there that seem great, I was just wondering if you guys had a favorite brand for ease of configuration/gaming/performance? i'm looking for maybe something in the $300ish range and around 23" screen. Thanks again!

 

[davcon]

Haha ya I am at my budget basically =)

Wow really thank you all for your input! There is just one more question I have that maybe you could help me with.

I have been looking at a ton of monitors (1920x1080) and there are so many options with so many reviews out there that seem great, I was just wondering if you guys had a favorite brand for ease of configuration/gaming/performance? i'm looking for maybe something in the $300ish range and around 23" screen. Thanks again!

Dell UltraSharp U2311H 23-inch Widescreen Flat Panel Display-$239.00

3yr warranty IPS-panel,height and swivel adjustments,Displayport,free shipping.

 

[hobbit33]

Ah, that is nice looking!!!

OK, so I have narrowed it down:

Dell UltraSharp U2311H

SAMSUNG P2450H

ASUS VW266H Black
ASUS MS238H

LG W2486L



Please help! =) Thank you for pointing out the Dell, didn't see that one before!

PS -- Went to BestBuy today and looked at the monitors on display. I like the way the Samsung looked the best, LG looked good too. Don't think they had any good Dells set up, at least the ones I saw didn't look as good. Not sure about the ASUS, have seen some good reviews though. Thanks again!

PS#2 -- Just found SAMSUNG XL2370, what do you guys think? I'm leaning towards this one.