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First build, Medium to High end gaming PC.

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I want to build a PC in time for Battlefield 3. I know the specifications is all guesswork right now, I want to play it on Max settings.

I do not know a lot about computers, but have slight knowledge, and I have been doing my research. I was originally going to go for an i7 processor but found out the Phenom II has almost the same performace when it comes to gaming, and cheaper. so I'm going for that.

Here is a rough idea for a build I want. All prices in AUD.

Important Stuff
CPU: AMD AM3 x6 1090T 3.20Ghz Phenom II $227
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-890FXA-UD5 890FX DDR3 $199
RAM: Kingston HyperX-TI-XMP 4GB kit(2Gx2) ddr3 2000 $99
Graphics: Asus 2GB 6970 PCI-E VGA Card $413
Sound: Creative TITAN-CO X-Fi Titanium PCI-E Sound Blaster $106

Unimportant Stuff.
HDD: Seagate SATA 1TB $59
Network Card: ASUS PCE-N13 Wireless-N 300M PCI-E Network Card $39
DVD Drive: Pioneer IDE 118L BK OEM DVD RW $30

Questions:

1. Is the motherboard good? Ill be honest and say I have no idea what's good or what to look for. I went with the higher priced option because I assumed it will have more features and it will probably have more of a chance of installing future technologies in it.

2.The pricing in Ram is varies quite a bit, I picked the more expensive one expecting higher quality and better performance, will it be better, or is it just brand inflation?

3. Asus 6970? I thought It was ATI/AMD Radeon? I also saw a gigabyte one and another brand one, What's the deal with that?

4. Do you think a 6970 Suffice for max settings on BF3, I plan to play on a single 23"- 26" monitor. Should I consider investing in the upcoming 6990? or save money and get the 6950? I will be building this in a few months, so not right away, and I'm hoping the prices drop.

5. How much power should this unit be given? I'm not sure if you can have too much power, and not able to tell how much power each of the components need.

6. How big should the case be?

7. and a noob question, how do I get usb drives in the front of my PC? lol...

Thanks for bearing with me guys.

More about : build medium high end gaming

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Go with a Sandy Bridge i5 CPU. It will run circles around any AMD processor, and the 6-core AMD has no advantage over a 4-core when it comes to gaming. I'm not familiar with Aus pricing, but I would imagine you can get an i5 and P67 motherboard for similar (maybe a bit more) cost as that 1090T and UD5 board u have listed. Also with AMD, you will have no path to upgrade in the future.

As for vid cards, if you really want the HD 6990, look at this page and pay attention to the 6970 2GB cards in Crossfire vs. the HD 6990 4GB single card. The Crossfired 6970s perform better, vent ALL the heat outside of your case, and are currently cheaper than a single 6990.

I would agree with the last posters suggestion about the cpu. Phenom II's are a good value but they're getting old.

Also, I don't think you will need to spend that much on ram. I could be wrong but I think that motherboard would need to be overclocked to run that ram?
"3. Support for DDR3 2000(OC)/1333/1066 MHz memory modules"

You really only need expensive ram if you plan on overclocking the whole system. I highly doubt there will be any performance difference if you stick with ddr 3 1333.

I'm sure a 6970 would plenty for one monitor. Unless you have tons of money I would stay away from the 6990. It is incredibly expensive and will use tons of power.

I don't have much experience with power supplies but I think 600w should be enough for the single card setup.

You need a completely different build with all new parts. What's your budget? Here's my idea...

CPU: $220 i5-2500K http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Mobo: $140 MSI P67A-G45 (B3) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

RAM: $100 Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2x4GB) 1600MHz CL9 DDR3 (4GB [2x2GB] or 8GB [2x4GB] 1600MHz Cas Latency 9 DDR3 any company will do) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

HDD: $55 Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB (can be found cheaper on Amazon) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

PSU: $90 750W PSU from Corsair, Antec, Seasonic, Silverstone, PCP&C, or XFX ONLY http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
I'd get an 850W, but that's almost certainly overkill (much like 8GB of RAM--there was a deal for $75 G.Skill 8GB earlier this week though).

Graphics: $245 (After Rebate) Radeon HD 6950 2GB (do not get 1GB version) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Total: $938

If you give me a budget, I can optimize parts for that price point.

Case: $70 Antec 300 Illusion (Was $55 on Newegg a week ago) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=11-129-...

DVD Burner: $18 Any on Newegg, whatever's cheapest
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Thanks for the replies guys. Problem is I'm in Australia and newegg don't ship here (and I don't feel comfortable using an international shipping company). So our cheapest option are MSY stores, but they're physical stores so their selection is quite low.

I don't really have a budget, just saving my money up right now. But probably willing to spend up to $1300, in AUD But AUD and USD are pretty much even right now, so it doesn't matter.

There is no 2500k avaliable there, but there is a 2400k, will there be a noticeable performance difference?
and anyP67 will do right? Like this:
Gigabyte GA-P67A-UD3R P67 DDR3 Intel 1155pin

as for Ram, found 8GB for $99, although only 1333:
Kingston KVR 8GB (4GBx2) DDR3 1333


I think I might just go in the store and see what they got for all the more unimportant things, once I know what the core of the computer is going to be should be a breeze.


There are some websites that ship to Australia. I don't know what they are, but they have them.

As far as I know, the 2400K does not exist. You may be confusing it with an i5-2400. That is the non-overclocking version and will have a considerable performance drop compared to an overclocked 2500K.

Any P67 can overclock a "K" series CPU. But you want one that runs its two PCI-e slots @ 8x/8x in dual mode (as opposed to 16x/4x). It'll make like a 3% difference if you SLI, which isn't actually that big of a deal.

Both of these RAM choices are solid (one is 8GB, the other 4GB):
http://msy.com.au/product.jsp?productId=5209
http://msy.com.au/product.jsp?productId=5205
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