1500$ build

[kajjeb]

Hi everyone!

Looking to build a new computer. Right now I have an AMD 6400+ with 2 8800gt in sli on an ASUS mobo. And the thing is getting old My biggest problem is my case. Even with added fans and all, I idle at over 60c...

Thx for all the help.

Approximate Purchase Date: now

Budget Range: 1500$( or close to it )

System Usage from Most to Least Important: gaming, watching movies, surfing the internet.

Parts Not Required:Toughpower XT 750w Cable management (Modular) if it's good enough

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg.ca

Country of Origin: Canada

Parts Preferences: Intel CPU, Nvidia card, Asus monitor

Overclocking: Maybe, would really like to try some overclocking on everything(CPU, RAM, GPU) even if I'm only starting to read about it

SLI or Crossfire: Yes, SLI

Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080

Additional Comments:

Components

CASE:
COOLER MASTER HAF 922


MOBO:
EVGA 131-GT-E767-TR LGA 1366 Intel X58 SLI3

GPU:
2 X MSI N460GTX Hawk GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) 1GB

PSU: ( if mine isn't good enough)
Thermaltake Black Widow W0319RU 850W

CPU:
Intel Core i7-950

RAM:
G.SKILL 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)

HDD:
Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM

MONITOR:
ASUS VH242H Black 23.6"

CPU Cooler:
CORSAIR CWCH50-1 High Performance CPU Cooler

I've been reading a lot and i know this isn't perfect

Thx for all the help

 

[HeyImGodly]

Building AMD would be smarter if only a gaming build, unless you're doing LOTS of Rendering and using multi-threaded applications.

Just because you can spend 1500 dollars on a build doesnt mean you should when you can get the same if not better performance out of a cheaper one.



Case: COOLER MASTER HAF 922


CPU: AMD Phenom II X6 1090T Black Edition Thuban 3.2GHz
Hexa-Cpre Processor with an unlocked multiplier. Nuff' Said.


Mobo: ASRock 890GX Extreme3 AM3 AMD 890GX
Crossfire is @ (2)x8 which is less than 3% worse than x16. 3% is 1-2 fps.


GPU: XFX HD-695A-CNFC Radeon HD 6950 2GB
You can flash the BIOS of this card to make it run at the power of a 6970 and you wont lose your ability to upgrade


RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) Model F3-10666CL7D
CAS 7 RAM lower the CAS the better the lowest DDR3 RAM is CAS 6. CAS 7 is good. since your OC'ing to a 1.5 voltage is
good too.


CPU Cooler: COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus
Cheaper than the one you chose and will do fine on your processor.


HDD: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB
More reliable cheaper, and faster.


SSD: OCZ Agility 2
6th Best SSD, Cold boot of windows is usually under 15 seconds, Install your aps and games for FAST load times

Monitor: Viewsonic VX2439wm
2ms response time (lower the better) integrated speakers.


Total: Roughly $1284 CAD

(Roughly as in on the dollar dont know how many pennies ;]

 

[Why_Me]

http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/desktop-cpu-charts-2010/Gaming-Left-4-Dead,2432.html <---- With your budget I would wait until early April for the Sandy Bridge (1155 P67) mobo's to be out on the shelves. (2600K & 2500K unlocked cpu's).

If you can't wait until then...this build contains two over clocked gtx 560's in SLI and an LED BackLight monitor (2ms). This build will mop the floor with any AMD build out there atm... not to mention you aren't limited to Crossfire only with this set up. You have two options...SLI or Crossfire. Also that psu of yours will work just fine for two of these cards and leave you plenty of juice for o/c, extra h/d's, etc....

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119197 $89.98
COOLER MASTER HAF 922 RC-922M-KKN1-GP Black Steel + Plastic and Mesh Bezel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

http://www.amazon.ca/ASRock-P55-CrossFireX-Motherboard-Extreme4/dp/B003Y5ODHO/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1297239822&sr=1-3 CDN$ 167.98 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
ASRock LGA1156/ Intel P55/ DDR3/ Quad CrossFireX & Quad SLI/ A&GbE/ ATX Motherboard P55 Extreme4

http://www.amazon.ca/I5-760-Processor-2-80ghz-Lga1156-908720/dp/B003VANRAQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1297239607&sr=1-1 CDN$ 199.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
I5-760 Processor 2.80ghz 8m Cache Lga1156

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835207004 $36.99 - $15.00 USD mail-in rebate
Sunbeam CR-CCTF 120 mm Core-Contact Freezer CPU Cooler, free TX-2 Thermal Paste Included Inside

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106289 $15.99
LITE-ON Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA CD/DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226176 $44.99
Mushkin Enhanced Silverline 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model 996946

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185 $74.99
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127565 $249.99
MSI N560GTX-TI Twin Frozr II/OC GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127565 $249.99
MSI N560GTX-TI Twin Frozr II/OC GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236112CVF $179.99
ASUS VE247H Black 23.6" 2ms Full HD HDMI LED BackLight LCD Monitor w/Speakers 300 cd/m2 10,000,000:1 (ASCR)

Total: $1,310.88 CDN *before shipping & rebates

* Windows7 ...?

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116754 $109.99
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM

 

[kajjeb]

Building AMD would be smarter if only a gaming build, unless you're doing LOTS of Rendering and using multi-threaded applications.

Just because you can spend 1500 dollars on a build doesnt mean you should when you can get the same if not better performance out of a cheaper one.



Case: COOLER MASTER HAF 922


CPU: AMD Phenom II X6 1090T Black Edition Thuban 3.2GHz
Hexa-Cpre Processor with an unlocked multiplier. Nuff' Said.

........

Thx for the reply HeyImGodly. But as I stated in the intro, I really wanted to go Intel this time since I already have an AMD system.

Hey, At least I had the case right!!! oh, and thx for the info about the HDD. Guess everyone is using that samsung F3 spinpoint. Could anyone tell me why?

http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/desktop-cpu-charts-2010/Gaming-Left-4-Dead,2432.html <---- With your budget I would wait until early April for the Sandy Bridge (1155 P67) mobo's to be out on the shelves. (2600K & 2500K unlocked cpu's).

If you can't wait until then...this build contains two over clocked gtx 560's in SLI and an LED BackLight monitor (2ms). This build will mop the floor with any AMD build out there atm... not to mention you aren't limited to Crossfire only with this set up. You have two options...SLI or Crossfire. Also that psu of yours will work just fine for two of these cards and leave you plenty of juice for o/c, extra h/d's, etc....

I might wait out for the i5-2500k. Thx for the link for the benchmark anybody have a clue about prices?

http://www.amazon.ca/ASRock-P55-CrossFireX-Motherboard-Extreme4/dp/B003Y5ODHO/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1297239822&sr=1-3 CDN$ 167.98 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
ASRock LGA1156/ Intel P55/ DDR3/ Quad CrossFireX & Quad SLI/ A&GbE/ ATX Motherboard P55 Extreme4

Don't know about ASRock. I know there from Asus and all but from the reviews i've seen, seems like customer service and info isn't real good. I've been looking into EVGA ( my friend has one and it works fine) and Gygabyte. But there seems to be some issues with DDR3 memory on these Mobos so...

Has anyone found a good and stable P55 Mobo for Intel?

http://www.amazon.ca/I5-760-Processor-2-80ghz-Lga1156-908720/dp/B003VANRAQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1297239607&sr=1-1 CDN$ 199.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
I5-760 Processor 2.80ghz 8m Cache Lga1156

That does seem like a good CPU since i'm not really gonna use HT anyway.

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835207004 $36.99 - $15.00 USD mail-in rebate
Sunbeam CR-CCTF 120 mm Core-Contact Freezer CPU Cooler, free TX-2 Thermal Paste Included Inside

I really liked that CORSAIR CWCH50 that's installed on my buddy's i5-750. Was quick to install, runs cool and probably has a lot headroom for some OC. Especially if I do choose the 2500k.

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106289 $15.99
LITE-ON Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA CD/DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM

Already got that. Forgot to mention it but thx

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226176 $44.99
Mushkin Enhanced Silverline 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model 996946

Memory, memory, memory.... Correct me if i'm wrong... i5s only use Dual channel memory but i7s use triple channel memory. So my initial RAM was no good. I did read some reviews about mushkin and they do seem nice. But the one you're suggesting has no reviews on it....

I looked at these:

G.SKILL ECO Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL7D-4GBECO $66.99
Low voltage(1.35v) and people have been running them at 7-7-7-21 1T, and if my ''knowledge'' of Rams is good, that's pretty good.

or if low voltage is not good:
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL7D-4GBRM $64.99
they could run at 7-8-7-24-2N

god i hate RAM!!! just to much choice

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185 $74.99
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Sold!

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127565 $249.99
MSI N560GTX-TI Twin Frozr II/OC GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127565 $249.99
MSI N560GTX-TI Twin Frozr II/OC GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

the MSI GTX460 hawk : http://us.msi.com/index.php?func=proddesc&maincat_no=130&cat2_no=136&prod_no=2035 has triple over voltage. It should be a charm to OC those little babies. And i'm saving 100$.

Unless the 560s and REALLY that awesome... Back to searching reviews i guess

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236112CVF $179.99
ASUS VE247H Black 23.6" 2ms Full HD HDMI LED BackLight LCD Monitor w/Speakers 300 cd/m2 10,000,000:1 (ASCR)

Anyone know if this has any bleeding like some HDTVs and doing?

Total: $1,310.88 CDN *before shipping & rebates Subject to change!!!!

* Windows7 ...?

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116754 $109.99
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM

All good with that too.


Thx for all the help guys and i'm looking forward to further comments and help.

 

[aznshinobi]

That Extreme4 board is good for the P67 chipset.... But not for the P55. It was terrible. Well... According to this review.

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/motherboards/2010/08/27/asrock-p55-extreme4-review/7

I also strongly suggest waiting for 2500K.

Oh by the way, if you do choose to get the 2500K, even a Hyper 212+ could cool it great and for only 30$. The 32nm brings cool chips into play, the 45nm chips (i7 1st gen, i5 1st gen, Phenom II, i3 1st gen) all ran hot. But the 32nm 2500K can be cooled by the stock heatsink and still OC as high as 4.6ghz.

 

[kajjeb]

k so what about ram and motherboard???

I looked into the Asus p7p55 ws sc and evga p55 ftw, but both are out of stock...

any suggestions?

 

[geeknation]

Monitor: Viewsonic VX2439wm
2ms response time (lower the better) integrated speakers.

I have this monitor. It has great resolution, good price(not to cheap, not to expensive). Only complaint, ignore the speakers unless al your doing is watching YouTube videos. Not sure if this was of much help, but I felt it would be better to put that out there just in case.

 

[Why_Me]

k so what about ram and motherboard???

I looked into the Asus p7p55 ws sc and evga p55 ftw, but both are out of stock...

any suggestions?

http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1218/1/ <---- Here's a review on that board.

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5608143&CatId=4720 $188.97
ASUS P7H57D-V-EVO Motherboard - ATX, Intel H57, Socket LGA1156, DDR3, PCIe, eSATA, LAN, USB 2.0/3.0

Again though...I suggest you wait for the P67 mobo's to come out, or else your build is going to be sucking hind tit to everyone who does have those SB builds.

 

[kajjeb]

I'll wait...

And that would be my setup:

Components

CASE:
COOLER MASTER HAF 922


MOBO:
ASUS P8P67 Pro Socket 1155 Motherboard

GPU:
2 X MSI N460GTX Hawk GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) 1GB

PSU:
keeping mine

CPU:
Intel Core i5-2500k

RAM:
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL7D-4GBRM

HDD:
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

MONITOR:
ASUS VE247H Black 23.6" 2ms Full HD HDMI LED BackLight LCD Monitor w/Speakers 300 cd/m2 10,000,000:1 (ASCR)


CPU Cooler:
CORSAIR CWCH50-1 High Performance CPU Cooler


Still not sure about the ram...

I looked at these:

G.SKILL ECO Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL7D-4GBECO $66.99
Low voltage(1.35v) and people have been running them at 7-7-7-21 1T, and if my ''knowledge'' of Rams is good, that's pretty good.

or if low voltage is not good:
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL7D-4GBRM $64.99
they could run at 7-8-7-24-2N

What do you guys think?

 

[Why_Me]

Nice set up...but low timing RAM means ZERO in regards to over clocking with these 1155 mobo's. It's a waste of $ imo.

Try something like this....

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231428 $109.99
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL

or if you want to save some $ then go with a smaller 2x2 kit...

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231427 $49.99
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBXL

 

[kajjeb]

Best answer selected by kajjeb.