Building New Gaming Rig

[gamer2010]

Hello Folks!,.. it is time for a new Gaming PC, i have decided to build it myself this time and am looking for some expert advice on the parts and performance of the build i have created @ newegg, my budget is around $1,200. I watch alot of videos and listen to allot of music but am gaming 90% of the time so i am looking for the best gaming performace possible, this will be my 1st build and dont intend to overclock (i have no experiance overclocking though it might be something i consider in the future) im open to all suggestions and would apreciate any feedback. Thanks!

*the parts*
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[CPU + Case]
combo deal
AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ965FBGMBOX
Item #: N82E16819103727
+
Antec Nine Hundred Two Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Item #: N82E16811129058 =[$239.94]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[PSU + GPU]
combo deal
KINGWIN Lazer LZ-1000 1000W Modular 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC W/ 3-Way LED Switch and Universal Modular Connector ...
Item #: N82E16817121068
+
GIGABYTE GV-N460OC-1GI GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
Item #: N82E16814125333 = [$354.98]
***(Planning to buy a second card for SLI later on)***

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[MOBO+OS]
combo deal
ASUS M4N98TD EVO AM3 NVIDIA nForce 980a SLI ATX AMD Motherboard
Item #: N82E16813131636
+
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM
Item #: N82E16832116754 = [$229.98]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[BOOT DRIVE]

OCZ Vertex Series OCZSSD2-1VTX30GXXX 2.5" 30GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
Item #: N82E16820227393 = [$89.95]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[HDD]

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Item #: N82E16822152185 = [$64.99]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[RAM]

Crucial Ballistix Tracer 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Desktop Memory w/ Blue LEDs Model BL2KIT25664TB1337
Item #: N82E16820148339 =[$117.99]

Total [$1,107]

 

[Juanchioo]

that psu has a lot of wattage and its bad.... get xfx 650w

for the ssd.. windows 7 use +30gb get ocz vertex -->2<-- 60gb

and change the ram for g.skill ripjaws ddr3 1600mhz cl7 4gb

 

[gamer2010]

that psu has a lot of wattage and its bad.... get xfx 650w

for the ssd.. windows 7 use +30gb get ocz vertex -->2<-- 60gb

and change the ram for g.skill ripjaws ddr3 1600mhz cl7 4gb

Cool thanks really apreciate the reply!, so with windows 7 id need more then 30gb for a boot drive? could i just use the 1tb hdd and skip completly on the boot drive?

I picked that ram cuase it had good reviews and they are listed on the QVL list for my mobo also i really liked the led's on them i thought would go nice with the rest of the blue lights i got in the case, kinda had my heart set on them, is there a noticable differance between the crucial ram i chose and the g.skill ram you recomended? also my mobo doesnt acually list 1600mhz ram it says DDR3 2000(O.C.)/1333/1066 i wasnt sure so i figured id just get 1333 to be safe.

about the psu,.. i chose it becuase it came with the gpu in a combo deal was sli certified and has a 80plus rating and figured it would handle any further upgrades i throw in, including the 2nd gtx460 though i do realise its probly not the best brandname and had previously considered a corsair hx1000w but that would bump my price up on both the gpu and the psu substantially

im really hoping to order and get started asap but with so many different options and all my inexperiance id like to get as much feedback as i can be4 i make a final decision

 

[Mr Pizza]

Bad bad bad PSU, get a TX750 or an HX750 or an XFX 750

- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139010&Tpk=hx750
- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006&Tpk=tx750
- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207003&Tpk=xfx%20750

For ram, get some G.skill ECO C7 1600MHz ram. (that ram is overpriced and not that great of a brand)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231321&cm_re=g.skill_eco_1600-_-20-231-321-_-Product

For the SSD, i would really just take it out and get RADEON 6000 SERIES GPU (THE NVIDIA 4XX REMEDY) WAIT UNTIL OCTOBER 15-20TH

Once that comes, you want a good 8XX chipset board.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131655&cm_re=890fx-_-13-131-655-_-Product

If you still want an SSD get one of these,
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=g.skill+60gb&x=0&y=0

or if you want to go with a cheap and fast SSD get this,
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820139132
Yes this SSD isn't as great as other new-age awesome ones but any SSD these days will be super fast.

For the case, consider some of the HAF models, such as the HAF 922 (just suggestion)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119197&cm_re=haf_922-_-11-119-197-_-Product

 

[Juanchioo]

with 650w its enought for gtx 460 sli....
750w its enought for 470sli 5850crossfire and tight 5870 crossfire (i prefer to use a 850w in the last case) ... so u dont need 1000w unlees ur doing 4way sli...

 

[duk3]

If you really like the ram, at least change to faster timings for a lower price:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148333

I would go for the XFX 750w PSU, wait for the HD6000 series on October 19 or so, skip the SSD for a better GPU, and also think about waiting for the Sandy Bridge/Bulldozer processors.

At $240, these 5850s are faster than the gtx460 and also let you switch to a better AMD motherboard:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127500&cm_re=5850-_-14-127-500-_-Product

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125318&cm_re=5850-_-14-125-318-_-Product

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150494&cm_re=5850-_-14-150-494-_-Product

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157198&cm_re=870-_-13-157-198-_-Product

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128441&cm_re=890fx-_-13-128-441-_-Product

 

[gamer2010]

If you really like the ram, at least change to faster timings for a lower price:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148333

I would go for the XFX 750w PSU, wait for the HD6000 series on October 19 or so, skip the SSD for a better GPU, and also think about waiting for the Sandy Bridge/Bulldozer processors.

At $240, these 5850s are faster than the gtx460 and also let you switch to a better AMD motherboard:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127500&cm_re=5850-_-14-127-500-_-Product

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125318&cm_re=5850-_-14-125-318-_-Product

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150494&cm_re=5850-_-14-150-494-_-Product

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157198&cm_re=870-_-13-157-198-_-Product

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128441&cm_re=890fx-_-13-128-441-_-Product

Thanks for the Reply, yeah i would have originally selected that ram but i was unsure if my mobo would accept it, so i had just picked the 1333mhz to be safe The mobo lists- DDR3 2000(O.C.)/1333/1066 -can any1 confirm 1600mhz will work?

That makes 3 recomendations in a row for the xfx PSU i am going to change it to the more reliable xfx750 or corsair hx850 I would go with the corsair hx1000w to be sure it will run anything i add or replace in the future, but it seems i am unedjucated in the drawbacks of having excessive wattage other than a possible higher elec bill?

Now i will have to decide on a new gpu config since the original psu i selected was part of a combo deal that brought the total cost down quite a bit

i spent much time reading on how the gtx 460's in sli performed at 1920x1080 witch is my current resolution and was very pleased with the reviews here at toms that is why i had selected them, i also considered a single hd5870 and adding a 2nd later on but that was based on how well the 4870's turned out for crossfire and was hoping the 5870's would follow along the same lines

after the recomended changes the price will have probly go up since most was built from combo's so im now considering an i7 950 /x58 asus sabertooth or gigabyte x58 UD3R would this be preffered over a phenomIIx4 965be/am3 with 890fx? witch companys products amd/nvidia would work best with the x58/am3 platforms or does this not make a differance as long as the mobo supports the gpu's?

I would love to wait it out for the new proccessors and the 6 series and i might,... but ive been without a decent enough pc to play for along time now and most of the games i play are monthy subscription and am dying to play some newer stuff that my old pc couldnt handle

any further insight suggestions or new build would be greatly apreciated, thanks!

 

[coleam45]

There's really no point in paying extra for the 1000W PSU if you're not going to need it, and you will end up paying more on your electric bill as well. The only setups that would need that power would be heavily overclocked i7 systems with SLIed GTX480s or Crossfired 5970s. 650W can handle SLIed 460s, and 850W can handle crossfired 5870s. XFX makes a 650W, 750W, and 850W PSU, all of excellent quality. The Corsair HX series are also top-notch.

With an AMD build, it's usually best to go with AMD/ATI GPUs since they have better compatibility. There are very few nVidia boards for AMD processors, and even fewer of decent quality. Intel builds go either way.

 

[gamer2010]

There's really no point in paying extra for the 1000W PSU if you're not going to need it, and you will end up paying more on your electric bill as well. The only setups that would need that power would be heavily overclocked i7 systems with SLIed GTX480s or Crossfired 5970s. 650W can handle SLIed 460s, and 850W can handle crossfired 5870s. XFX makes a 650W, 750W, and 850W PSU, all of excellent quality. The Corsair HX series are also top-notch.

With an AMD build, it's usually best to go with AMD/ATI GPUs since they have better compatibility. There are very few nVidia boards for AMD processors, and even fewer of decent quality. Intel builds go either way.

cool thanks i probly will end up getting the corsair hx850w, now leaning more towards a single 5870 eventually adding a second for crossfire over the dual gtx 460's but im still undecided wether or not to go intel 1366/ x58 board or stick with the amd/890fx, going to see what prices and builds i can come up with and ill repost what i have be4 i make any purchase

 

[Juanchioo]

gtx 460 sli its almost as good as 5870 crossfire.. sli its more optimized than crossfire..

 

[coleam45]

You're going to have trouble keeping a LGA 1366 build under $1200 with quality components. You'll have better luck with an AMD 890FX or an LGA1156 build.