New $900 gaming build

[Corruptt]

Approximate Purchase Date: 1 month


Budget Range: ~$900


System Usage from Most to Least Important:Gaming / Work


Parts Not Required: Keyboard, Mouse, SPeakers


Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg


Country of Origin: U.S


Parts Preferences: No preference


Overclocking: Maybe


SLI or Crossfire: Maybe


Monitor Resolution: (1920x1080, 1920x1200)


Additional Comments: $900 incl monitor

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ASUS M4N75TD ATX AMD Motherboard

1Western Digital VelociRaptor 150GB 3.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

1RAIDMAX HYBRID 2 RX-630SS 630W Modular LED Power Supply

1ASUS GeForce GTS 450 (Fermi) ENGTS450 DC OC/DI/1GD5 Video Card

1SAMSUNG CD/DVD Burner Black SATA Model SH-S223C

1Mushkin Enhanced Blackline 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2000 (PC3 16000) Desktop Memory

1RAIDMAX ICEBERG ATX-012WS Silver Computer Case With Side Panel Window

1AMD Phenom II X4 840 3.2GHz Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor

1Tuniq CR-PRO120-BK-RV1 120mm Magnetic Fluid Dynamic Bearing Propeller 120 CPU Cooler with TX-3 &


This is what I have so far. I am open to any and all criticisms / suggestions.

 

[striker410]

Are you expecting us to build it for you? You should do some research, come up with some parts, and we can go from there.

 

[Corruptt]

Apologies, post updated with what I have put together so far.

 

[striker410]

A few things. AMD is not really they way to go as of the Sandy Bridge release, because almost all the sandy bridge CPU's blow the amd's out of the water. I would suggest switching to the i3-2100 or 2400, both are very capable and beat the pants off that AMD processor. I would change out that velociraptor for a Spinpoint f3: http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Spinpoint-Cache-Desktop-HD103SJ/dp/B001U3S5S0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1304568529&sr=8-1
It's not as fast, but you are gonna need some more storage then that velociraptor has to offer.
Also, since you are on a budget drop the ram to 4gb, you shouldn't really need more than that anyway.
With the money saved, get a gtx 460 768 or 5850.

I'll put together a build in a minute.

 

[Corruptt]

striker410 - Thank you for your input. I look forward to seeing your build. Also, I am not too worried about storage space, performance is what I am out for.

 

[nd_hunter]

For $900 including the monitor, forget overclocking and SLI/Crossfire. Here's a well-balanced Sandy Bridge build that will run circles around the one that you listed above and not run into quality problems. The Phenom II 840 is basically an Athlon II 645 that's clocked 100MHz higher. Check the specs. Below is a link to an Athlon II 645 vs. the Core i5-2400 comparison.
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/188?vs=363

Rosewill Blackbone Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147023
$44.99, free shipping

Intel Core i5-2400 combo w/ ASUS P8H67-M Pro
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.642629
$297.98, free shipping

G.Skill Ripjaws X 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1333 CL9 1.5v
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231425
$44.99, free shipping

Sapphire HD 5850 Xtreme (Performance is comparable to the HD 6870)
http://www.amazon.com/Sapphire-Radeon-PCI-Express-Graphics-100282XTREME/dp/B004W75ATI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1304563231&sr=8-1
$149.99, $3.49 shipping ($10 cheaper on the egg plus free shipping, but currently sold out, click here)

Antec EarthWatts 500D PSU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371035
$69.99, free shipping, $20 off w/ promo code EMCKEKG84, ends 5/9

Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB OEM
http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Spinpoint-Cache-Desktop-HD103SJ/dp/B001U3S5S0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1304563707&sr=1-1
$60.85, free shipping

LG 24x SATA DVD Burner OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136236
$20.99, free shipping

Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986
$99.99, free shipping

Acer P215HBbd 21.5" 1080p Monitor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009299
$129.99, free shipping

Total: $923.25 shipped before promo code

 

[striker410]

Ok, so here's what I came up with.

MOBO: ASRock Extreme4 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157229
Case: HAF 912 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119233
CPU: 2500k http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072
RAM: G.Skill 1600MHz 4GB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231427
PSU: OCZ ModXstream 500w: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341016
Graphics: Sapphire 5850 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102932&Tpk=sapphire%205850
OR GTX 460 768MB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121390
(the 5850 is better, but out of stock. I would advise waiting though, as it's a screaammin deal) P.S. They have it at amazon.

Now, lets talk hard drives. Some people swear by the 10k drives, others say it makes no difference. I personally don't think it's a good idea for you, since you are on a budget.

Hard Drive: Spinpoint f3 http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Spinpoint-Cache-Desktop-HD103SJ/dp/B001U3S5S0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1304569586&sr=1-1

And there's my build. It comes out to about $780, leaving only $120 for a monitor. If you can stretch your budget a tad, or mail the rebates fast, you should be able to get a 1080p monitor for about $150.

By the way, sorry for sounding a bit aggressive in my first post. Wasn't my intention.
Hope it works out!

 

[striker410]

Nice build hunter, we have similar taste. I thought about going i5-2400, but the 2500k is so much better. It's a question of overclock or not I suppose.

 

[nd_hunter]

Nice build hunter, we have similar taste. I thought about going i5-2400, but the 2500k is so much better. It's a question of overclock or not I suppose.

Yeah. I'm assuming he needs an OS, so that takes the Extreme4 and -k CPU out of the mix. Gotta say, I'm not a fan of OCZ PSUs though. They seem kinda iffy to me. I like the instant rebate on the Antec I listed too Mail-in-rebates seem to be a joke. I've gotten 1/4 back in the last couple months

 

[Corruptt]

Actually I have a copy of 7 64-bit ready to go, so we can take that outta the mix to free up some money for upgrades.

 

[striker410]

I agree OCZ isn't top tier, but it has good reviews and is cheap, semi modular, and 80+ bronze. Is there a comparable one with such diversity?

 

[k1114]

Well there is this combo but I think he's buying in 1 month so anything we suggest might be different then. http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.634263 Especially with the release of BD.

 

[striker410]

I checked out that build, but i didnt like the mobo, as it only has 1 PCI-e slot. It might not be a big deal, but if he wants to crossfire later, he'd be screwed lol.

 

[Stoutbeard]

Hold up, he's buying next month?? Dude, you need to wait for Bulldozer! Supposedly coming out mid June.

 

[nd_hunter]

Haha. I didn't catch that. 1 month. Dude, come back about 2 days before you are ready to order. Prices and tech will change. Z68 due next week... BD in 4-6 weeks... I guess at least we gave you an idea about what a quality $900 build will look like.

EDIT: Save an additional $150 or more to put towards this and we will be able to mock something up that will allow you to upgrade in the future, like an overclockable CPU, Crossfire-ready board, bigger PSU, etc.

 

[striker410]

Definately agree with hunter and K1114. Wait to see what's up with bulldozer. good catch guys!