Please judge my $1k gaming build

[stplayahtn]

Approximate Purchase Date: Next weekend.

Budget Range: 900-1000

System Usage from Most to Least Important: I will mostly be using this for Warcraft and HD movies.

Parts Not Required: Keyboard, Mouse, Windows, Monitor, DVD-Writer

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg or similar.

Country of Origin: US

Parts Preferences: What ever gets me the most bang for my buck.

Overclocking: Maybe

SLI or Crossfire: No (maybe in the future)

Monitor Resolution: 1360x768 native resolution. I'm using a 26" Vizio LED

Additional Comments: Any suggestions or comments are appreciated.


CPU - AMD Phenom II X6 1090T - $199.99

MOBO - MSI 870A-G55 - $99.99

VIDEO CARD - Sapphire 6870 1GB - $209.99

MEMORY - G.Skill DDR3 1600 x6GB - $69.99

MAIN HDD - Crucial 64GB SSD - $134.99

STORAGE HDD - Seagte 1TB - $64.99

CASE - Cooler Master Centurion - $54.99

POWER SUPPLY - Antec 550W - $64.99

Grand total - $994.05 including tax and shipping

 

[WR2]

Hello stplayahtn;
Watching HD movies? Or making / encoding HD movies?

 

[stplayahtn]

Just watching. I do almost all of my tv/movie viewing from my pc. I know its not too intensive of a process, but I figured I would mention it as one of my main uses.

 

[WR2]

Here is a benchmark comparison between Phenom II X6 1100T BE - 3.3GHz vs Core i5 2500K - 3.3GHz
Check out the gaming benchmarks for the 3.3Ghz CPUs. One is six cores and the other is four.
-> The thing to take away is @ the same clock the i5 2500 has a very nice lead in the gaming benchmarks.

That's why I thinking the i5 2400 3.1Ghz CPU @ $189 might be a better choice than the X6 1090T 3.2Ghz @ $200 in a gaming & home theater build with no media content creation workloads. At nearly an identical price.

■ASUS P8H67-M LE (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 Intel H67 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
■Intel Core i5-2400 Sandy Bridge 3.1GHz (3.4GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52400
TOTAL: $294.98

 

[jadavis1992]

you could save a some money on the cpu a Phenom II x4 955 is plenty http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103808&cm_re=955-_-19-103-808-_-Product

and you need a dual channel memory kit instead of a triple channel kit http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820211409

 

[WR2]

MEMORY - G.Skill DDR3 1600 x6GB - $69.99

This is a triple channel RAM kit and we're talking about dual channel motherboard here.
CORSAIR XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 1600 RAM $50 & $20 rebate

 

[stplayahtn]

Based on advice here and in another forum, here is an update build. Slightly cheaper while being superior, I hope. Please be the judge.

CPU + Heatsink - Intel i5-2500 Sandy Bridge 3.3ghz + heatsink - $226.98

MOBO - GIGABYTE GA-P67A-UD3-B3 - $134.99

VIDEO CARD - Sapphire 6870 1GB - $209.99

MEMORY - G.Skill DDR3 1600 2x2GB (4GB) - $49.99

MAIN HDD - Crucial 64GB SSD - $134.99

STORAGE HDD - I will salvage a HDD.

CASE - Cooler Master HAF - $59.99

POWER SUPPLY - Antec 550W - $64.99

Grand total - $962.01 including tax and shipping

 

[silky salamandr]

Good. Im glad you switched over to Sandy Bridge. It really amazes me how many people still want to build amd machines when they can build a Sandy Bridge computer thats way faster.

I see one bad. AMD states on their website that this card requires a minumum of 500 watt. I would highly suggest you get at least a 600 to 700 watt psu. Always get a big enough psu that your build can grown into. With the one you have listed, youll need a whole new psu if you want to crossfire down the road. I dont believe in putting "ceilings" in my builds because I chose the wrong psu.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005
This psu is a $25 difference but you wont be sorry. Corsair is highly regarded and I run nothing but Corsair.

 

[WR2]

CPU + Heatsink - Intel i5-2500 Sandy Bridge 3.3ghz + heatsink - $226.98

Are you sure the advice was to get the 2500 & P67?
2500 & H67 and CPU cooler not required. Not a overclocking combo.
2500K & P67 and CPU cooler - preferred combo for overclocking

 

[residentdean]

get the 2500k it's easy to overclock and you get great performance. Good advice wr2 your aiming him in the right direction.