APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: within the next month, on or before 3/21 BUDGET RANGE: up to $1500~ After Rebates
SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming, browsing the web, playing movies
PARTS NOT REQUIRED: keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, OS
PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: newegg.com COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: US
PARTS PREFERENCES: I prefer ASUS for my mobo, as far as other parts I have no real preferences. I heard XFX makes a good ATI card.
OVERCLOCKING: I might tune the RAM speeds SLI OR CROSSFIRE: No
MONITOR RESOLUTION: 23.6" wide 1920x1080
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Trying to build a machine that will last a good long time. My current computer I built in Aug 2005 and has lasted me this long. I'm preparing for the next big Blizzard game so I'd like a machine that can handle StarCraft 2 etc. Most of the parts I selected based on articles on this website. Mainly looking for advice on the motherboard and whether or not I should upgrade it and to consider using Crossfire.
Also, any comments about ATI's drivers for the 5850 would be appreciated. I had a bad experience about 6 years ago with an ATI card so I switched to Nvidia and have used their cards ever since. I can't say their drivers are perfect either as I've had issues, but if ATI's current drivers are solid than I will feel more confident about the purchase.
As far as the storage capacity goes I don't use that much space. I'd like to run the OS from the SSD and use the HDD for storing music and stuff. I went with the OEM version of Intel's X25-M 80GB model since its so much cheaper. Is there any real danger in doing that versus spending an additional $80 for the retail version?
Case ($99):
Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
Motherboard ($149):
ASUS P7P55D LGA 1156 Intel P55 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
CPU ($195):
Intel Core i5-750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80605I5750 - Retail
Memory ($139):
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL7D-4GBRH - Retail
PSU ($99):
CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 ... - Retail
Video card ($339):
XFX HD-585A-ZNBC Radeon HD 5850 (Cypress Pro) 1GB Black Edition 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported ... - Retail
Storage (SSD $219 HDD $49.99):
Intel X25-M Mainstream SSDSA2M080G2XXX 2.5" 80GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) - OEM
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3500418AS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
DVD drive ($24):
Sony Optiarc 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 DVD/CD Rewritable Drive - OEM
Current total = $1329.90 (includes a 2.5" to 3.5" mounting bracket for the SSD)
Thanks in advance for any advice!
SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming, browsing the web, playing movies
PARTS NOT REQUIRED: keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, OS
PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: newegg.com COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: US
PARTS PREFERENCES: I prefer ASUS for my mobo, as far as other parts I have no real preferences. I heard XFX makes a good ATI card.
OVERCLOCKING: I might tune the RAM speeds SLI OR CROSSFIRE: No
MONITOR RESOLUTION: 23.6" wide 1920x1080
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Trying to build a machine that will last a good long time. My current computer I built in Aug 2005 and has lasted me this long. I'm preparing for the next big Blizzard game so I'd like a machine that can handle StarCraft 2 etc. Most of the parts I selected based on articles on this website. Mainly looking for advice on the motherboard and whether or not I should upgrade it and to consider using Crossfire.
Also, any comments about ATI's drivers for the 5850 would be appreciated. I had a bad experience about 6 years ago with an ATI card so I switched to Nvidia and have used their cards ever since. I can't say their drivers are perfect either as I've had issues, but if ATI's current drivers are solid than I will feel more confident about the purchase.
As far as the storage capacity goes I don't use that much space. I'd like to run the OS from the SSD and use the HDD for storing music and stuff. I went with the OEM version of Intel's X25-M 80GB model since its so much cheaper. Is there any real danger in doing that versus spending an additional $80 for the retail version?
Case ($99):
Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
Motherboard ($149):
ASUS P7P55D LGA 1156 Intel P55 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
CPU ($195):
Intel Core i5-750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80605I5750 - Retail
Memory ($139):
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL7D-4GBRH - Retail
PSU ($99):
CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 ... - Retail
Video card ($339):
XFX HD-585A-ZNBC Radeon HD 5850 (Cypress Pro) 1GB Black Edition 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported ... - Retail
Storage (SSD $219 HDD $49.99):
Intel X25-M Mainstream SSDSA2M080G2XXX 2.5" 80GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) - OEM
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3500418AS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
DVD drive ($24):
Sony Optiarc 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 DVD/CD Rewritable Drive - OEM
Current total = $1329.90 (includes a 2.5" to 3.5" mounting bracket for the SSD)
Thanks in advance for any advice!