$600~700 Gaming Build

[ceron]

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Wednesday

BUDGET RANGE: 600-700 after rebates

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming, school use

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Keyboard, mouse, speakers, monitor, OS, HDD

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: NewEgg

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA

PARTS PREFERENCES: No preference

OVERCLOCKING: Maybe

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: No

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1680x1050

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Looking to put together a computer that will run current games on high settings and future games on high/medium settings. I will probably build a new computer in about three years, so upgradeability is not a huge factor.


Here’s what I have so far.

Mobo:
GIGABYTE GA-MA770T-UD3P AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

CPU:
AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor - Retail

Graphics card:
SAPPHIRE 100283L Radeon HD 5770 (Juniper XT) 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail

RAM:
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL7D-4GBRH - Retail

PSU:
OCZ Fatal1ty OCZ550FTY 550W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Modular Active PFC Power Supply - Retail

Case:
COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

I will probably order the following HSF at a later date because it is currently out of stock:
COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus Intel Core i5 & Intel Core i7 compatible RR-B10-212P-G1 120mm "heatpipe direct contact" Long life sleeve CPU Cooler - Retail


With rebates, this comes out to be about $580. Can anyone offer any recommendations?

 

[batuchka]

Looks good to go to me ^^ Nice build at nice price

 

[cyberkuberiah]

nice build , i want to congratulate you for the ud3p choice , i have it and am fully satisfied at its great value price .

 

[shortstuff_mt]

You said you don't need a HD. What HD do you have? New drives are considerably faster than drives made just two years ago. There's no reason to handicap your new build with an old HD when you can get a very nice drive for $55.

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152181&Tpk=samsung%20f3%20500 $54.99

SAMSUNG HD502HJ 500GB SATA 3.0 7200 RPM 16MB Buffer Hard Drive Retail
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10011016&prodlist=celebros $54.99

It's such a popular drive that it's currently out of stock, but grab one when they come back in stock. It's well worth the $55.

 

[ceron]

I was planning on reusing my current HDD, just partitioned with one containing all my media, documents, etc. and one partition for a fresh Windows 7 install. The HDD's about two years old, so I guess it's worth looking into replacing. What I have is:

Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

The specs listed on Newegg are roughly the same. Would there be a noticeable increase in performance going with the Samsung Spinpoint?

 

[shortstuff_mt]

There is a considerable speed difference between your drive and the new Samsung F3 drives. Your drive uses 250GB platters. The Samsung drive uses a single 500GB platter. The higher data density makes quite a difference. I guess you won't notice a huge difference in everyday use, but I still think it's $55 well spent.

 

[ceron]

Upped my budget very slightly and decided to replace my old HDD with the Spinpoint F3 1TB. Changes are in bold.

Mobo:
ASUS M4A79XTD EVO AM3 AMD 790X ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

CPU:
AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor - Retail

Graphics card:
SAPPHIRE 100283L Radeon HD 5770 (Juniper XT) 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail

RAM:
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL7D-4GBRH - Retail

PSU:
OCZ ModXStream Pro OCZ700MXSP 700W ATX12V V2.2 / EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply compatible with core i7 - Retail

Case:
COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

HDD:
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive




I figured it was worth having the option to Crossfire in the future for the small difference in price ($20~) between my original choice for mobo and the new one. Shuffling the combos around got me the 700W OCZ for the same cost as the 550W one. Is there anywhere else I can improve it?

Also, does anyone know if all of the BF/CM deals on Newegg are going to be up today or just the 10% cashback?

 

[dmcfc]

same here, I'm interested in buying by first gaming computer this month (BF/CM) I want to get this same components but with a 5850 ^ but I'm thinking how are going to be BF/CM deals on newegg. Does anyone know how are they going to be?

 

[shortstuff_mt]

None of us have a crystal ball. You'll just have to watch the site for the deals to show up. Your best bet is to sign up for the Newegg newsletter so you get notice of upcoming deals.

 

[dmcfc]

And just a question the CM 690 case is now on the pre-dark friday deal, with a 25 rebate, so after rebate it's going to be $40, and that offer ends today, should I buy it today, or should I wait for other offers on DF/CM?

 

[shortstuff_mt]

dmcfc - You really shouldn't be hijacking this thread.

Looking for deals is a bit like playing the lottery. A lot of retailers are having some of their best deals before Black Friday this year. If you find something that you like and it's a good price, I say buy it. Nobody can really tell you if you'll find a better deal on DF/CM or not. You may just wait so long that the case sells out.

 

[dmcfc]

Sorry for that I created my own thread now, please shortstuff_mt if possible say what you think in there i decided and I'm going to buy basically everything tonight.xD

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/275303-31-build-hour-help