First build - $1050 Budget - Seeking advice

[Vinny87]

Approximate Purchase Date: Now, but willing to wait.

Budget Range: $1050.00

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Hardcore gaming, After Effects, Photoshop, Movies.

Parts Not Required: Monitor, Keyboard, Speakers, Media Drive, OS.

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg.com / TigerDirect.com

Country of Origin: United States

Parts Preferences: No Preference, looking to get the best for my dollar.

Overclocking: Yes

SLI or Crossfire: in the future

Monitor Resolution: I have both a 15" Polaroid LCD with 1280 x 800 resolution and a 32" Vizio LCD with 1366 x 768 resolution, not sure which to use.

Additional Comments: Do not care about noise, between the planes, trains and additional occupents in my home I do not know the meaning of quite. I'm looking to get the best bang for my dollar, something that can keep me happy doing the things I love until next years tax return. In the future I'd like to be able to upgrade my monitor to a 3D capable one and be able to do 3D gaming.




I have never put a computer together so this will be my first and I've managed to create a list of components that nearly fit my budget exactly give or take a few dollars and I'm looking for a second opinion on what I've chosen and if everything I've chosen is compatible.


Cooler Master HF 912 - $59.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119233

Samsung Spinpoint F3 500GB - $49.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152181

ASRock 870 Extreme3 Mobo - $89.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157198

EVGA GeForce GTX 580 - $499.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130587

Zephyr MX-750 750W - $69.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817339002

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 - $49.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231277

AMD Phenom II x4 955 Black Edition 3.2GHz - $139.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103808

x2 APEVIA 120mm Blue LED Case Fans - $15.98
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811998121

Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus Heatsink - $34.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065


Grand total = $1025.62
Total Budget = $1050.00

Thank you

 

[aznshinobi]

^ Key to a build. Look at your resolution. Also looking for balance.

A 955 + 580. VERY VERY unbalanced. You should be getting at least i5 2400 on that budget with a 570 or 6950. But then, you also have to take into account your resolution. Even a 6870 would be overkill for either resolution you have. You'd basically bottle neck yourself because your having to much graphical power for such a small amount of pixels.

Check out my 600$ guide. That'd be good enough for your resolution and your needs. Even switch out the 925 in my build for a 2500K (That adds 100$) and swap the motherboard for a P67A-GD53 (That adds 60$).
2500K: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072&cm_re=2500K-_-19-115-072-_-Product
P67A-GD53: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130572&cm_re=p67-_-13-130-572-_-Product

The total would be 755$ and you'd be able to overclock and future CF. Even swap my PSU I suggest for this instead so you can CF 6850 in the future. That adds about 10$ to total for 765$.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171036&Tpk=600%20silent%20pro

 

[Vinny87]

Hmm so the resolutions on the two monitors I initially was going to use would be the biggest issue with the list of components I've chosen? I do own a 24" ASUS with 1920 x 1080 resolution but it's in storage and I've just been too lazy to go get it. If I were to pick that up would there still be an unbalance or a bottleneck?

I'm going through the guide you linked to right now as well.

 

[aznshinobi]

Well then it probably reduce the bottleneck. Still your CPU (955) would be a partial bottleneck even a major one for a 580. I suggest you get something like a 570/560 Ti or a 6950/6870 instead to make room for a 2500K (since you want to overclock).

2500K vs 955
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/88?vs=288