[New Build] first gaming build

[neph7]

Approximate Purchase Date: Week or two

Budget Range: 600-800 or so

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, starcraft 2, dragon age 2, Star Wars: tales of the old republic, league of legends and large scale rts games like supreme commander.

Parts Not Required: keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, operating system

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg

Country of Origin: United States

Parts Preferences: none

Overclocking: No idea, gtx 460 graphics cards seem to come overclocked already?

SLI or Crossfire: SLI later on

Monitor Resolution: Really not sure here either, I have a 1080p tv with hdmi slots, seems I could use it as a monitor on occasion as well?

Additional Comments: I am extraordinarily new to the process of building a computer I've spent the past couple days researching it and I want to know if this is a decent build.

My previous computer was pre built and 4 or 5 years old. The hard drive failed, when I replaced it the system no longer recognized its own system restore disc, at that time I decided rather then purchasing a copy of windows again I'd just save up and buy a new comp.

I've read a lot of articles and seen a bunch of benchmarks this is what I'm coming up with so far for the price range.

gpu: MSI N460GTX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127510

processor: i5-750
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115215

motherboard: MSI P55-GD65 LGA 1156 Intel P55 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130239

case: Rosewill CHALLENGER Black Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147153

hard drive: Western Digital Caviar Black WD5001AALS 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136320

power supply: CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006

memory: CORSAIR XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145285

cpu+motherboard combo is $319 after rebate
case+hard drive combo is $89 dollars
gtx 460 is 184 after rebate
power supply+ memory combo is $139 after rebate
optical is $20, shipping is $10

The total comes to $754 dollars with shipping and rebates.

I just want to go over the reasons I chose the parts in case I'm making some decisions based off terrible misconceptions since I'm pretty new to this.

I chose the i5-750 and gtx460 based off the reviews they received on this site, so I'm pretty confident about them. However, choosing an i5 over an amd processor increases the price by around 100 dollars, 60 or so for the cpu and 40ish for the motherboard. From what I can tell from a budget standpoint, the performance increase is worth the hundred dollars.

When I was looking for a motherboard I wanted one with two 2.0 pci express x16 slots, if I'm understanding it correctly using x8/x8 would be half speed on both cards. This would make x16/x4 better overall then x8/x8? I'm pretty hazy on this, if that's how it works why sli on x8/x8 wouldn't really do a lot.

I chose the case based off the guides description of an ideal case, one that has a front based intake fan, rear based exhaust fan, and doesn't have a bunch of holes.

I chose a power supply thats 100 W over the reccomended, for more freedom when choosing graphics cards later on or adding other stuff. I could of gotten cheaper with the ocz stuff, but most of their stuff has pretty bad feedback reviews.

I think I'm going to order the power supply/ram combo tonight and wait til november 1st to see what newegg is doing with their black november sale before ordering the rest.

I appreciate any feedback, thanks.

 

[shane799]

Hey,

I like your build. I'm not a huge fan of the case choice and you might long term want more storage than 500GB's. There are so many 1-1.5 TB drives on super good sales right now I would spend 20 dollars more and get double the storage space.

Everything else looks good for your purpose though!

Have fun

 

[Atotalnoob]

Pretty good, except for the case don't get rosewill, they are neweggs unbrand, and are usually low quality, odd for the case to have tom's recommended buy.... XD

 

[duk3]

Yeah, a 50$ antec 300 would be my preference.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129066&cm_re=antec_300-_-11-129-066-_-Product

x8/x8 is better than x16/x4 as x8 runs at about 100% speed for a gtx 460, however an x4 slot will penalize the gtx460, slowing the x16/x4 board more than the x8/x8

 

[neph7]

Thanks,

That x8/x8 thing is so weird to me, I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around it. When you say 100% speed for a gtx 460, does that mean a 16x/16x won't be an upgrade over an 8x/8x?

I found an article that tested the 16x/16x, 16x/8x, and the 8x/8x, the article is from august. The conclusion is unless I have an amazing display and play at the highest settings 16x/16x is only 7% better then 8x/8x. Should I look into saving some money and getting a 16x/8x or even a 8x/8x motherboard?

http://www.hardocp.com/article/2010/08/23/gtx_480_sli_pcie_bandwidth_perf_x16x16_vs_x8x8/3
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2010/08/16/sli_cfx_pcie_bandwidth_perf_x16x16_vs_x16x8

That case and hard drive are part of a combo deal, switching them out for other parts increases the price by around 40-50 dollars.

What really got me thinking about the rosewill case was something I read in the feedback of the 50 dollar antec case. "So Antec expects me to pay for shipping on one of their faulty parts? My brother's Rosewill case will mail him whatever part was faulty free." I personally wouldn't be too upset about paying shipping but it seemed like a good recommendation for their customer service.

Of course I also read about the rosewill cases having jagged edges, but I kind of expected that for a 50 dollar case.

This is what I have for the hard drive: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185

case: Antec Three Hundred Illusion Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129066

 

[shane799]

One thing to remember when purchasing your parts is "do it right the first time." I built my computer earlier this year and skimped on a few parts. I have now replaced every one of those cheeper components. Including the Motherboard. Once you start building you become a little obsesed with preformance. You will kick yourself for cheating yourself on the motherboard. Get one with at least 16X/8X and you should try and get someting with SATA3 and the new USB connections. The new case and hardrive you have chosen would be fine. And remember if 7% diffrence in preformance mean 30 fps instead of 25 you will be way happier playing.

 

[Atotalnoob]

One thing to remember when purchasing your parts is "do it right the first time." I built my computer earlier this year and skimped on a few parts. I have now replaced every one of those cheeper components. Including the Motherboard. Once you start building you become a little obsesed with preformance. You will kick yourself for cheating yourself on the motherboard. Get one with at least 16X/8X and you should try and get someting with SATA3 and the new USB connections. The new case and hardrive you have chosen would be fine. And remember if 7% diffrence in preformance mean 30 fps instead of 25 you will be way happier playing.

lol I skimped a bit on my computer too, 5770 and a core i7 930....a little unbalanced... but Imma get another gpu and a BUNCH of fans on black friday.

 

[shane799]

lol I skimped a bit on my computer too, 5770 and a core i7 930....a little unbalanced... but Imma get another gpu and a BUNCH of fans on black friday.

Yeah the 930 is pretty nice. I built my system on AMD. Does quite well overclocked! Next build latter this year I'm going to go the i7 route with the 950. Looking forward to that going to try watercooling it! Should be interesting. Still think water shouldn't be anywhere near a computer LOL.

I am running Crossfired 5770's. They are great together. You should pick up another. In most cases Crossfired 5770's will beat a 5870 in FPS. Saw a few comparisions on this last year. I wish I had started with something a little more powerful like the 5850, but I am getting great framerates on everything with the two 5770's. If I wasn't married I would probably bet 2 5870's. Try explaining that to your wife though. Hey honey I really needed to get 200 frames per second in BF bad Company! LOL

 

[neph7]

It doesn't specify and I was unable to google and find out, does this motherboard support sli/cf?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130298

I would think so with the x16/x16 and it looks to be almost the same as the one I chose except it has usb 3.0 and sata3.

 

[Atotalnoob]

Looking forward to that going to try watercooling it! Should be interesting. Still think water shouldn't be anywhere near a computer LOL.

Same, and I get flamed everytime people recommend LC to "newbies", and I say it is for more experienced peeps.....

I am running Crossfired 5770's. They are great together. You should pick up another.

black friday dude....

In most cases Crossfired 5770's will beat a 5870 in FPS.

definitly

Try explaining that to your wife though. Hey honey I really needed to get 200 frames per second in BF bad Company! LOL

XDD but I'm not married... I'm only 24....

EDited for ANOTHER errror in BBC, I should really use preview.

 

[vindictive]

It doesn't specify and I was unable to google and find out, does this motherboard support sli/cf?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130298

I would think so with the x16/x16 and it looks to be almost the same as the one I chose except it has usb 3.0 and sata3.

it says in the description "You'll benefit from the most powerful and fastest video processing around when you install two ATI video cards in CrossFireX configuration." im unaware about sli though.

 

[Atotalnoob]

it says in the description "You'll benefit from the most powerful and fastest video processing around when you install two ATI video cards in CrossFireX configuration." im unaware about sli though.

Yeah I spent like 30 minutes looking, and I don't see anything other then that, so assume it is CRossfire only...

 

[vindictive]

Which is why I decided to go with an i7 950 more lga 1336 mobos support sli running 16x16x so I have more options

 

[Atotalnoob]

Which is why I decided to go with an i7 950 more lga 1336 mobos support sli running 16x16x so I have more options

Yeah, I'd just look around more....

 

[neph7]

thanks,

That motherboard supports sli, but its only x8/x8 when you do it. I think the newegg page is a bit misleading.

• 2 PCI Express gen2 x16 slots
- If two graphics cards are installed at PCI_E1 & PCI_E2 slots, these two PCIE x16 lanes will auto arrange from x16/ x0 to x8/ x8
- supports ATI® Crossfire™

http://eu.msi.com/index.php?func=proddesc&maincat_no=1&cat2_no=&cat3_no=&prod_no=2079

while I could find sli support for older nvidia cards, the test were done in windows xp and vista?

it took me a while to find that information.

I'm thinking of sticking with the first motherboard I chose and just getting an addon card for usb 3.0. Everything I've read says sata3 isn't really worth it over sata2.

 

[vindictive]

thanks,

That motherboard supports sli, but its only x8/x8 when you do it. I think the newegg page is a bit misleading.

• 2 PCI Express gen2 x16 slots
- If two graphics cards are installed at PCI_E1 & PCI_E2 slots, these two PCIE x16 lanes will auto arrange from x16/ x0 to x8/ x8
- supports ATI® Crossfire™

http://eu.msi.com/index.php?func=proddesc&maincat_no=1&cat2_no=&cat3_no=&prod_no=2079

while I could find sli support for older nvidia cards, the test were done in windows xp and vista?

it took me a while to find that information.

I'm thinking of sticking with the first motherboard I chose and just getting an addon card for usb 3.0. Everything I've read says sata3 isn't really worth it over sata2.

I still don't see anything saying its SLI certified on that page, I might've missed it.
all i see is it says "if two graphics cards" and supports ATI Crossfire, I don't think it ever says SLI.

 

[neph7]

its under test reports,

http://eu.msi.com/uploads/test_report/TR1_2079.pdf

It shows compatibility with older model nvidia cards in sli.

However when I looked up the first motherboard on that site as well, it says for the pci express x16

edit: http://www.msi.com/index.php?func=prodmbspec&maincat_no=1&cat2_no=&cat3_no=&prod_no=1846

PCI-Ex16 2
PCI-E Gen Gen2 (1x16, 1x8)

which means its really x16/x8? I'm fine with x16/x8 anyway just curious about it.

 

[vindictive]

its under test reports,

http://eu.msi.com/uploads/test_report/TR1_2079.pdf

It shows compatibility with older model nvidia cards in sli.

However when I looked up the first motherboard on that site as well, it says for the pci express x16

edit: http://www.msi.com/index.php?func=prodmbspec&maincat_no=1&cat2_no=&cat3_no=&prod_no=1846

PCI-Ex16 2
PCI-E Gen Gen2 (1x16, 1x8)

which means its really x16/x8? I'm fine with x16/x8 anyway just curious about it.

Looks like it means that to me.
Maybe someone more experienced can verify.
But either way I think it will be fine for gtx 460's SLI.

 

[Atotalnoob]

Looks like it means that to me.
Maybe someone more experienced can verify.
But either way I think it will be fine for gtx 460's SLI.

yeah basically.