First build (gaming) ever made, need advice

May 3, 2011 2:54:03 AM

Hey guys, this is my very first build so go easy on me. Thanks in advance for any advice I can get from anyone.

Approximate Purchase Date: By the end of the month

Budget Range: $1500 - $1700

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, Programming, Entertainment

Parts Not Required: Keyboard, Mouse, OS (Window 7 Professional 64-bit), Monitor

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg / Tigerdirect

Country of Origin: USA

Parts Preferences: None

Overclocking: Yes

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe

Monitor Resolution:1920x1080

Additional Comments: I like to use my Samsung 46' (LN46C650) as my monitor, but if that's not possible / not a good idea I'll buy a new monitor. Also at this point I'm not sure everything I want can fit in this case (I like the storm trooper look), so I might need a different case. Last thing, would it be a good idea to buy a SSD with this build?

Case: NZXT Phantom PHAN-001WT White Steel / Plastic Enthusiast ATX Full Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
$140 or $120

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
$225

Motherboard: ASUS P8P67 DELUXE (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=13-131-...
$230

Ram: CORSAIR XMS3 12GB (3 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 Desktop Memory Model CMX12GX3M3A1333C9
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
$135

Video Card: ASUS ENGTX570 DCII/2DIS/1280MD5 GeForce GTX 570 (Fermi) 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=14-121-...
$350

I heard this video card has problems with the 64-bit version of Windows? Anyone know if this is true?

Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Black WD2002FAEX 2TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
$160

DVD Burner: ASUS Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X 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 24X DVD Burner
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
$20

Power Supply: CORSAIR Enthusiast Series CMPSU-850TX 850W ATX12V v2.2 / EPS12V v2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
$120

Total $1360

More about : build gaming made advice

| E-mail me updates
| Report abuse

crewton

May 3, 2011 3:03:07 AM

RAM: CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 100 and 25% off atm making it 75. You don't need 3x4 as this is a dual channel board not a triple channel.

Hard drive: Western Digital AV-GP WD20EURS 2TB 64MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive $120 6GB/s speed is a waste on a mechanical HDD.

40 less on HDD 60 less on RAM makes it easy to buy...OCZ Vertex 2 OCZSSD2-2VTXE60G 2.5" 60G @$110

| Report abuse

shadowmosesx232

May 3, 2011 3:16:24 AM

crewton said:

RAM: CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 100 and 25% off atm making it 75. You don't need 3x4 as this is a dual channel board not a triple channel.

Hard drive: Western Digital AV-GP WD20EURS 2TB 64MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive $120 6GB/s speed is a waste on a mechanical HDD.

40 less on HDD 60 less on RAM makes it easy to buy...OCZ Vertex 2 OCZSSD2-2VTXE60G 2.5" 60G @$110

Thanks for the advice, but if I make the SSD my main drive (C drive), won't all my programs want to automatically download to that drive. 60 GB isn't a whole lot of space. See what I mean?

| Report abuse

cmadrid

May 3, 2011 3:20:47 AM

You just install/download most stuff to your mechanical drive, saving the SSD for windows and whichever game you play the most

| Report abuse

crewton

May 3, 2011 3:31:19 AM

You put OS and programs on SSD and you can move a game or two back and forth from SSD to HDD. Space allocation becomes an art when you get a SSD

| Report abuse

shadowmosesx232

May 3, 2011 3:54:42 AM

Cool, so looks I'll add the SSD to the list. Thanks guys.

So will the case I picked work for this build? Should I buy a smaller monitor or use my tv?

| Report abuse

crewton

May 3, 2011 5:21:21 AM

If you want to use your tv that works. I find the details don't look as good as a monitor since the screen is bigger but you still have the same number of pixels (1920 x 1080).

| Report abuse