First gaming rig advice needed

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dude182

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This is going to be my first time building a gaming rig. I dont want to spend more than 800$, but if I need to spend a little bit more it shouldnt be a huge problem. Im trying to make a rig that will play all of the current games out there on Med-High settings with good performence and have it last long enough to play future games. Are all the parts compatible? Here it is:

CPU:AMD Phenom II X2 555 Black Edition Callisto 3.2GHz
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103846

Motherboard: ASUS M4A79XTD EVO AM3
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131402

GPU: EVGA 012-P3-1470-AR GeForce GTX 470 (Fermi) 1280MB
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130550

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

PSU: Antec EarthWatts EA650 650W
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371015

Hard Drive: SAMSUNG Spinpoint 16MB 500GB 7200 RPM
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152181

Ram: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231274

Should I spend more money elsewhere like maybe on a better mobo or CPU?

Thanks in advance.
 
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my brother was recently building a pc with an 800$ budget with the main idea that the PC will be for gaming. It makes a big difference at what resolution you play at, so you should have told us that. In any case here is the original thread of discussion for my bros rig:

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/303127-31-advice-gaming-build

Crossfire Radeons (and nvidias offerings!) scale really well now. It seems both companies have really stepped it up. I think it no longer makes too much sense to drop so much money on a single powerful video card, when you can get more FPS in games with 2 slightly weaker cards.

Here is a tech power up review:

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ATI/Radeon_HD_6850_CrossFire/8.html

Double FPS for 40-60$...
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lukasklees

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Nov 22, 2010
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my brother was recently building a pc with an 800$ budget with the main idea that the PC will be for gaming. It makes a big difference at what resolution you play at, so you should have told us that. In any case here is the original thread of discussion for my bros rig:

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/303127-31-advice-gaming-build

Crossfire Radeons (and nvidias offerings!) scale really well now. It seems both companies have really stepped it up. I think it no longer makes too much sense to drop so much money on a single powerful video card, when you can get more FPS in games with 2 slightly weaker cards.

Here is a tech power up review:

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ATI/Radeon_HD_6850_CrossFire/8.html

Double FPS for 40-60$ more depending on what brand you go with.

Here is a great site that has some awesome customized PCs for different price points (and fairly chooses between all brands - at least at the time of the writing):

http://www.giantbomb.com/pc/60-94/gaming-pcs-what-to-buy-and-how-to-build/35-420988/

Let us know if you have any questions.
 
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dude182

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Thanks for the replies.

My resolution is 1280x1024. The Radeon 6850 sold me, so I will go with it. Im not sure if I will buy 2 right away because it kind puts me over budget by almost 200$. As of now I'm only playing some RTS games and Heroes of Newerth so nothing to graphics crazy, how well do you guys think it will hold up? Also what do you guys think of this case, does it have enough fans?

Here is my current build : http://img218.imageshack.us/i/neweggp.png
If anyone has any ideas to save me some money, but keep the same performence, feel free to share them.

Thanks.
 
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lukasklees

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You play HON ? Add me "FacelessVoid".

And yes your resolution is super low. Single card will be more than enough.

EDIT: If i was you id buy the x4 955 rather than the 965. Its the same processor the only thing thats different is the clockspeed. 3.2 ghz vs 3.4. You can easily overclock the 955 to 965s speeds or better. I know, i oc'ed my bros to 3.6 ghz on air cooling. With the money saved from cpu drop, id consider the HD 6950. It can be easily unlocked to 6970 which is much more expensive.

That would be a great bargain, and would make sure that even if you buy a better monitor you could still play on high fps and settings.
 
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lukasklees

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CPU and RAM are great in that combo. What would concern me a little bit is the hard drive and mobo. Just looking at general reviews, the %'s seem a little low.

Id go with this mobo:

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157198&Tpk=asrock%20870%20extreme%203

Hard drive id go with your original pick:

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152181

Id consider changing the case to
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147144&Tpk=rosewill%20case%20destroyer

which is 40$ shipped and has 1 more fan than the case you picked. The case wont increase your FPS, so while its a bad idea to choose a flimsy case, a decent case with high air flow is a good option. (pay attention there is a code right under its price in green, which is what you need to enter during checkout to get the discount).


Look at this page and scroll all the way to the bottom: http://promotions.newegg.com/neemail/jan-0-2011/AllStarSale/index-landing.html?&nm_mc=AFC-TechBargains&cm_mmc=AFC-TechBargains-_-NA-_-NA-_-NA

15% off any Desktop memory. Definitely try that during checkout.

BTW: the x4 955 cpu comes with a code for the game STALKER call of pripyat. So you will get a free game too!

Let us know what system you end up with !
 
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dude182

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Most likely i will get the same build I posted an image off, except with the case you told me to get. Its too bad im from canada, those promos arent valid for me, but no biggie. Just a question, maybe in a couple of months i will buy a monitor, which gpu should I pair the 6850 with? the resolution would be 1920x1080
 
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lukasklees

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1. OP has no prior overclocking experience. To suggest software that can burn his GPU up isnt very prudent, is it? Catalyst only allows for modest OC, which is much safer for novices. Take into account the person's level of expertise before you go running your mouth. If he needs more, he can always install the other available utilities. I suggested catalyst because it works well with oc'ing if you are running crossfire.

2. and no, 1 oc'ed 6850 is NOT good enough for 1920x1080. To suggest that its overkill makes it seem like you havent looked at the reviews lately. Here ill lend you a hand:

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ATI/Radeon_HD_6850_CrossFire/1.html

with 1 6850 dont expect to run these games smoothy: metro 2033, STALKER COP, Stalker clear sky, crysis, battleforge, etc etc... Especially if you crank up AA.

Dont mislead people, because when he buys his system and tries to run all games maxed out as his rez and finds out he is getting 25 FPS on some of them he wont be too happy.
 
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joelmartinez

joelmartinez

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1. I was out of line, catalyst will be great for minor overclocking
2. It won't give max frames but it will be fine, 0xAA or 2xAA

A oc'd 6870 would be a better choice if you need maxed out framerates with 0xAA or 2xAA above that a 6950 1gb or 560 ti would be a superior choice.

I'm pretty sure Hon isn't as demanding as metro 2033 or those other games you listed I think a 6850 will be fine
 
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dude182

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Yes its true HoN isnt as demanding as Metro 2033 or Cyrsis, but the only reason im not playing those games right now is because of this piece of junk sitting on my desk, I do want to play those games and thats why I will be getting the 6950.

I will probably be ordering my stuff either tonight or tomorrow, its the same build as before except a diff mobo and ram.

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231278

ASUS M4A88T-V EVO/USB3 AM3 AMD 880G HDMI USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131668

Do I need thermal compound? I read if you are overclocking a cpu you will need better thermal compound than the one that comes pre applied. If i do need, will I need to buy some kind of remover? or can it be applied over the original compound.

Thanks For All the Help!
 
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