Aiming for durability / Mid-level Gaming on $1000 or less

[mbow902]

I work and play out of the same system. I need a rig with some durability but that I'll be able to play games like the upcoming Witcher 2 & The Old Republic. I'm not planning on doing in overclocking.

Here is the build that I am considering:

Motherboard: Asus M4A88TD-V EVO USB3 Motherboard - AMD 880GX, Socket AM3, ATX, DDR3, USB 3.0, RAID, SATA 6.0GB/s
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=6089169&sku=A455-2899

CPU: AMD HDZ560WFGMBOX Phenom II X2 560 Dual Core Processor - 3.30GHz, Socket AM3, 6MB Cache, 2000MHz (4000 MT/s), Retail CPU w/ Fan
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=6620916&sku=A79-0560

Video-Card: Sapphire 100283-3L Radeon HD 5770 Video Card - 1GB GDDR5, PCI-Express 2.0, CrossFireX Ready, Dual DVI, Display Port, HDMI
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5660536&sku=A271-5774

Memory: Corsair XMS 6144MB PC12800 DDR3 1600MHz (3x2GB)
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4531826&sku=C13-6136

PSU: Corsair TX650W 650-Watt Power Supply - ATX, 120mm Fan, SLI-Ready, SATA-Ready, 80Plus
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3438607&sku=C13-2502

Hard-Drive: Seagate ST31000528AS Barracuda 7200.12 Hard Drive - 1TB, 7200 rpm, 32MB, SATA-3G, OEM
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4691122&CatId=139

DVD-R: Asus DRW-24B1ST 24X Internal DVD Burner - DVD±R 24X, DVD+RW 8X, DVD-RW 6X, DVD±R (DL) 12X, DVD-RAM 12X, CD-R 48X, CD-RW 32X, SATA, 2MB, Black, OEM
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=6078414&sku=A455-5022

Case: Ultra X-Blaster Black ATX Mid-Tower Case with Front USB, FireWire and Audio Ports
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2337810&sku=ULT33178

OS will be Win Pro 7 64 bit

Please give me your honest critique. Where am I going wrong / coming up short / mis-spending or just missing the whole point. This will be my first build. I do have an alternative that is a little more pricey that I'll post. But I would like to hear what you guys say about the cost effectiveness / performance / reliability of this machine first.

An example of a change I might make would be to use the: AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition - 3.20GHz But won't a good heatsync cost $70. Since I'm not planning to OC I don't know that its worth it.

Thanks
Michael

 

[mbow902]

Just saw this combo at New-Egg: This may be the deal (except for this hideous case)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.514108

 

[vindictive]

you picked 6GB of ram, AMD is dual channel so you generally want steps of 2 or 4 sticks.

My build has better known parts, better GPU, much better processor.

didn't see the W7 pro, swap it out for home, but price will go up some.

 

[mbow902]

Good advice and nice build.

Won't the Pro-version of Win be able to play older games better? Or will it?

 

[reaper2794]

Bro, that is a very weak build for a 1K budget

Get the Intel i5-750 Lynnfield or 760 if you'd like to spend just a tad more

Intel i5-750 Lynnfield - http://goo.gl/n9TYu
Intel i5-760 Lynnfield - http://goo.gl/VFxPE

Get the Radeon HD 6870, much better than the 5770, here's a list of all of em by trusted manufacturers

ATI Radeon HD 6870 - http://goo.gl/yDPy6

For the HDD, do NOT get the Barracuda, Spinpoint is the way to go, anyone will agree on that

Samsung Spinpoint F3 1 TB - http://goo.gl/VCpcK

Here's a list of DVD Burners

CD/DVD Burners - http://goo.gl/U8xnG

For a case get:

NZXT Lexa S - http://goo.gl/9P8AY

You want 4 GB, not 6, 4 is enough and it's dual channel, 6 is for triple channel and unnecessary, the RAM here has a CL7 which is great for gaming, the HZ isn't important

I'd prob take Intel over AMD, but get a quad-core, not dual

Hope I helped, all questions are welcome

G.Skill Ripjaws (2 x 2GB) DDR3 @ 1333 MHz CL7 - http://goo.gl/hLMJT

 

[coldsleep]

For the HDD, do NOT get the Barracuda, Spinpoint is the way to go, anyone will agree on that

Actually, no. Not everyone will agree on that. Both drives have 2x 500 GB platters and have very similar performance. I would recommend getting whichever one is less expensive at the time of purchase.

At $1000, an i5 is within budget if you want it. You should be able to get a better graphics card if you go AMD, however. Going with AMD, you should probably go with an 870 chipset (like this Gigabyte 870A-UD3 for $99, rather than the 880G motherboard.

CPU - Athlon II X3 (lower budget) or Phenom II X4 (higher budget)
Mobo - see above
RAM - 4 GB DDR3, specs not that important if you're on a budget
GPU - any 6850 - $200

The rest of the original build I thought was fine (especially fine choice on the PSU), though you might want to investigate other cases unless you really like the looks of that one.

No time for a complete build at the moment, will try to get back to this.

 

[mbow902]

Thanks Reaper2794!

If I switched to the Pentium what Mobo do you recommend.

I will likely stay with AMD and go to the quad-core 3.0 Ghz chip mounted on and ASUS 890GX mobo.

My only concern is the case. Some folks say its crowded.

This is exactly the kind of feedback I'm talking about though. Thanks!