$1,200 Gaming system

[Kerstubexs]

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Preferably Tuesday 5/26

BUDGET RANGE: $1,200-1,300

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming, already have a media computer so not much else

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Keyboard, Mouse, Monitor

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Newegg.com, but open to suggestions

PARTS PREFERENCES: GeForce, Antec 900 or similar height case, must not exceed 21"

OVERCLOCKING: Maybe a little

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: No

MONITOR RESOLUTION: Current is 1,440 x 900, but upgrading in a few months

Just looking for some suggestions on improving this build, if any. I have a few extra dollars to spend if it'll be worth it. Also wondering if extra cooling is needed?



BFG Tech BFGEGTX2801024OCXE GeForce GTX 280 1GB 512-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail $299.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814143145

Western Digital Caviar Black WD5001AALS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM + Vista Combo Price: $189.98
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136320

AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor Model HDZ955FBGIBOX - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103674

Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail $99.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021

ASUS M4A79 Deluxe AM2+/AM2 AMD 790FX ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail + CPU Combo Price: $389.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131361

PC Power & Cooling S61EPS 610W Continuous @ 40°C EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power ... - Retail $104.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703005

OCZ Platinum Edition 8GB (4 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Quad Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ2P8008GQ - Retail $99.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227291

LG 22X DVD±R DVD Burner Black IDE Model GH22NP20 - OEM $22.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136144

Also purchasing Vista Ultimate 64-bit with hopes of upgrading to Windows 7 when it retails. I chose the 500GB HD because it was in a combo deal with Vista. With all parts listed including MIR's, promos, and combo deals I'm at $1,141.12

 

[cal8949]

i would go with a ati 4890 theres a weekend special for $219
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102830
i know you said you like nvidia geforce products better but this card will match the 280 in performance and beat it if you oc

check these benchmarks out
http://anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3555&p=14

dont get vista get the windows 7 rc and buy windows 7 when it come out. you can
download and get a key here
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/download.aspx
the key will work until march 2010

that's already $180 saved

with that $180 you can upgrade to
17 920 $280
ASUS P6T SE LGA 1366 $210
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131386
OCZ XMP Ready Series 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 $105
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227388

and still have $75 left over in savings
get the 640gig or 1t wd black edition hard drive


you can make your system cooler and more quiet if you get and aftermarket cpu cooler but it's not needed unless you plan to oc

 

[Kerstubexs]

I had a few reasons for choosing the nVidia card over ATI.

1) Cooler and less power than 4890 (I pay my own electric bill)
2) Would prefer not to OC as this is my first complete build, don't want to muck it up
3) Familiar with GeForce drivers
4) PhysX

Do these sounds like legit concerns? I would go with ATI if it's that much better considering all factors. Also I've been told DDR3 ram isn't worth it? Actually slower in some situations? And once again I didn't go with i7 because I would prefer not to OC and the phenom x4 comes stock at 3.2 whereas the i7 is 2.6. Also I have a few concerns about going with Windows 7 for a gaming build, I have it on my laptop and it's a great OS, but I don't want to run into compatibility issues. Getting Vista in hopes the upgrade to 7 will be discounted. Thank you for the post cal8940 definitely worth some serious consideration.

 

[cal8949]

1) the 4890 only uses about 15 more watts on stock clocks
http://anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3555&p=19
2)if you dont want to oc that fine but the 4890 still competes with the gtx280 without oc'ing
3) hmm
4)not many games use physx and ati has havok

my last 3 card were nvidia card and i just bought a ati 4890. i have to say im really happy with it. i get plenty of driver updates and no compatibility issues

both cpu's will perform the same in gaming but the i7 will kill in about everything else
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/phenom-x4-955,2278-10.html

try the rc with gaming and if you dont like it then buy vista
i have been using the rc with my gaming computer and no problems yet

 

[smithereen]

What he said. I'd get a 4870 1gb even, or a 4850X2.

 

[IzzyCraft]

299 nice price for 280 but still i'd just slap on a 4870 or 260 and upgrade to next gen ait/nvidia cards next year or so. at 1440x900 it's not so bad. Also if you want a pure gaming pc why not go E8500 rout that cpu much cheaper and super strong gaming cpu beats 955 at stock most cases.

Also you are bound to find a 4870 or 260 with a custom cooler on it from a reseller for a cooler quieter pc then on the newer 4890 and 275

Also 8 gigs of ram that's !!! thats like raw movie/photo editing sizes.

 

[Kerstubexs]

Yeah 8GB is alot but the price difference is so minimal >.>
Looking at quad core because Left 4 Dead is one of the games I'm playing right now and it utilizes quad cores. Definately leaning more toward ATI at the moment. Any comments on DDR2 vs DDR3?

 

[Why_Me]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021 $99.99
Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005 $99.99 ($79.99 after $20.00 Mail-In Rebate) Free Shipping*
CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - Retail

http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=MB-EX58U3R $179.99 | $164.99 after rebate
GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD3R Core i7/ Intel X58/ DDR3/ CrossFireX/ A&GbE/ ATX Motherboard

http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=I7-920 $264.99 Free Ground Shipping
Intel Core i7 Processor i7-920 2.66GHz 8MB LGA1366 CPU, OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233029 $41.99 Free Shipping*
XIGMATEK Dark Knight-S1283V 120mm Long Life Bearing CPU Cooler - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835154003 $4.99
Tuniq TX-2 Cooling Thermal Compound - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130480 $329.99 ($299.99 after $30.00 Mail-In Rebate) Free Shipping*
EVGA 01G-P3-1180-AR GeForce GTX 285 1GB 512-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
Free Cryostasis game w/ registration at manufacturer website

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.193835 Combo Discount: -$5.00 Combo Price: $164.98 $20.00 Mail-In Rebate
OCZ Platinum 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ3P1600LV6GK - Retail
Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136152 $23.99 Free Shipping*
LG Black 22X (CAV) DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 22X (CAV) DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 22X DVD±R DVD Burner - OEM

Total: $1,210.90 | $1,125.90 w/mail in rebates

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/dd353205.aspx?ITPID=mscomsc <---Save yourself some money on an o/s and dl the 64 bit version of Windows 7

 

[Kerstubexs]

Very nice, liking that build!