Another build thread, gaming, $1200-1500

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mjkelly93

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Mar 27, 2009
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Im somewhat crossposting from the CPU forum because when i posted over there i was more looking for a prebuilt system and have now changed my mind.

Here is the build so far:

ASUS Black 25.5" LCD Monitor: $320 AR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2000190020%204019&bop=And&CompareItemList=N82E16824236046%2CN82E16824236047%2CN82E16824009133
(version with 3000:1 contrast ratio / 5ms = $390)

Phenom II 720BE / Asus 790FX combo: $286
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.165030

Western Digital VelociRaptor 300GB: $200 AR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136322

Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case: $78.58 w/shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129042

CORSAIR 750W ATX12V / EPS12V CrossFire Ready Power Supply: $90 AR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006

Sapphire Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5: $190
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102801

And ill quote from there too:

That's around $1.164. What about an OS?

Corsair 2 x 2Gb DDR2 1066 is $44 AR and is on the Asus QVL list for that motherboard. An optical drive is $25.

There are a lot of different ways you could go. You could save $230 with a 790gx motherboard and a WD 640Gb hard drive - and Crossfire the HD 4870 (with money left over to upgrade to a Phenom II 940BE).

The Phenom II 720BE is definitely the sweet spot at $135, though.
Click to expand...


Now i looked into all of that and then came over to this forum and noticed that it looks strikingly different than what others are building/recommending over here. I notice more going the way of the i7 and dual 4850s over the 4870. I read about that hard drive and it seems well received and reviewed but is it worth it?

Im open to all opinions. Im not set in stone on any of this or anything.

THanks.
 
Ok i see that coolermaster on newegg. Seems very well reviewed. Also looks like other builds are using that case as well.

Ill swap that in for the 300.

Thanks

Anything else guys?
 


It pretty much looks like you did your homework before posting this build...other than that case for dual vid cards, it's a solid build as I can see. Not that I know much about AMD's, but everything else looks good. :)
 
Yeah thats the big question is whether or not to go i7 and change it all up.

Does anyone have an input to this?

Im not going to be doing any kind of audio editing or video work or anything. Just simple surfing and gaming. Im mostly going to play games from this year and last like crysis and fallout3, but especially for the upcoming diablo 3 and starcraft 2.

Anything else before i begin purchasing away? I'd hate to buy a thousand dollars worth of electronics then check this thread in 2 days and see people saying im making a big mistake.
 
Ok i have another question here.

I was just talking to my brother and he let me know that hes got a geforce 9800gt that he bought at the end of last year that he cant use just sitting here.

Should i go with a geforce card then so i can SLI them together? Would that be better than going with my sapphire radeon?
 


Maybe I'm missing something here. I don't see any reference as to an i7 build. I'm not sure what your total cost is for this AMD build, but I can post a killer i7 build on here that is capable of running SLI and/or Crossfire for around $1,000 which includes the OS, case, etc..., but not the monitor. In fact I will post it on here in a few minutes to give you an idea. It's all quality parts and set up to over clock. :)
 
From my OP,

Now i looked into all of that and then came over to this forum and noticed that it looks strikingly different than what others are building/recommending over here. I notice more going the way of the i7 and dual 4850s over the 4870. I read about that hard drive and it seems well received and reviewed but is it worth it?
Click to expand...

Thats what i was talking about the i7 build. I read a couple of build threads in the homebuilt system category and they were all leaning towards i7 builds. I wasnt sure if the AMD build is the way to go after reading about them.
 
i7 build.

If you already have a 9800, then run two of them in SLI and save some $$$. This rig will run SLI or Crossfire so you aren't limited to your choice of vid cards later on. This build includes case and O/S...not to mention a great after market heat sink. Those cases are new cases sent back to the manufacturer for reasons such as loose wire, untapped screw hole, etc... so essentially they are new cases. Anyways the i7 is the top of the line in PC's. They are as good as it gets, not to mention they are as "future proofed" as far as PC's go.

http://cmstore.coolermaster-usa.com/product_info.php?products_id=109 $45.99
CM 690 Black SECC/ATX Mid Tower, W/O window, W/O PSU - Refurbished

http://www.buy.com/prod/corsair-750w-tx-series-80-plus-certified-power-supply-corsair-tx-cmpsu/q/loc/101/206178325.html $99.99 Price After Rebate(s): $79.99 Shipping: FREE
Corsair TX CMPSU-750TX ATX12V & EPS12V Power Supply

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128386 $209.99
GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD3R-SLI LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=I7-920 $265.99 Free Ground Shipping
Intel Core i7 Processor i7-920 2.66GHz 8MB LGA1366 CPU, OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233029 $39.99
XIGMATEK Dark Knight-S1283V 120mm Long Life Bearing CPU Cooler - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186020 $6.99
ARCTIC COOLING MX-2 Thermal Compound - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231247 $94.99 Free Shipping*
G.SKILL 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319 $79.99 Free Shipping*
Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136152 $24.99 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

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116488 $99.99 Free Shipping*
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit for System Builders - OEM

Total: $788.92 *(not including shipping and rebates)
 
Ok theres a lot there. Thats an excellent post. Thanks a lot.

Will two 9800 GTs be enough or should i just go with a 285 or that sapphire radeon?

Is there a big difference between that velociraptor HD and western digital one? The amount of space is irrelevant to me. Ill never use 300 gb let alone 640 gb.

I figure both builds will cost just about the same after you add in the monitor and gpu.

I just need some input from the experts, do i go i7 or do i go phenom? Im using it mostly for gaming.

Im leaning towards the i7 mostly because of the ddr3 over ddr2 ram and the ability to upgrade in the future over the phenom.
 


There is minimal difference between the Raptors and those 640 Black editions. That's why everyone like myself is posting them in these builds. As far as i7 vs Phenom goes...well I look at it like this. The i7 beats the crap out of the Phenom 7 ways to Sunday. Not to mention the i7 is the flag ship of PC technology these days. So how much money do you save on a Phenom build? Not enough. It's your choice...drive a Ferrari or drive a Camaro for a few dollars less.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125255 <---great deal on a gtx 285

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/graphics/2009/01/16/nvidia-zotac-geforce-gtx-285-1gb/1 <---gtx , ati review
 
Ok lemme look into all of that.

I already have a 9800gt. Is the cost difference there worth the performance boost between 2 9800s and a gtx285?

I was always leaning towards nvidia but someone said that ATIs technology works better when blizzards graphics engines. I cant remember the specifics, just that that was the general thought. Does it matter?

Should i just go with a 285gtx and let this 9800 collect more dust?
 
Whyme what do you think about a monitor? Do you have a preference? I was leaning towards that asus 25.5 but for no particular reason i guess.

Ok im gonna forget the 9800 and head towards a single GPU system.

Is the 285gtx worth the additional money over a 260gtx? Im reading the comments after that page you posted with all the testing and the final conclusion seem to both point in the direction of a 260 saying the price difference isnt worth it.

What do you think?
 


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236047 <---that Asus looks like a sweet deal.

Also if you ever feel the need you can always pick up another gtx 285 later on and run them together in SLI. That psu will easily push two of them. Of course two of those cards in SLI would be something comparable to a F-22 fighter jet....lol.
 
Ok so im gonna go with all of your suggestions whyme. Thanks a lot for all the advice and everything.

Anyone else have anything to add before i begin swipin the credit card tomorrow?
 
So i ordered all of the components listed above from the different sites and everything. After tons of research, i decided to go with exactly what whyme recommended picking up. Im expecting the shipments to start arriving between tomorrow and the end of the week.

My question is can someone point me to a guide/tips/advice for assembly?

A step by step thing would be best but if thats not available somewhere, just some general dos and donts would probably suffice.

Thanks.
 
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