Gaming PC Build $1500-$1700

[AudiS4]

This is my first build, although I have replaced numerous parts in PCs over the years. I just want to make sure everything is compatible and that I haven’t picked some parts that are hard to install or get working correctly.

It will be used primarily for gaming (TF2, L4D, COD4, MMROPG if a decent one comes out) with some HD editing. It will be hooked up to a Dell 2408WFP monitor.

My budget is roughly $1500-$1700 although that is fairly flexible. My biggest concerns and questions are as follows:

Is there a better fit then 2-260’s in SLI for roughly this price?

Is this a solid motherboard?

Correct HD? I know some people are still freaked about Seagate but I keep reading how the firmware issues are fixed and performance wise, this drive is good.

Is Zalman still the cooler of choice?

Suggestions and comments on those questions above and anything else would greatly be appreciated.

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: ASAP

BUDGET RANGE: $1500-1700

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Newegg and Amazon

PARTS PREFERENCES: None

OVERCLOCKING: Yes but not aggressive

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Yes

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1920x1200

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Make it easy for me.

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202
Intel Core i7 920 - $290

Mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131365
Asus P6T Deluxe V2 - $290

GPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130433
XFX GeForce GTX 260 x 2 - $370

RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227381
OCZ Platimum 6GB - $75

HDD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148337
Seagate 1.5TB - $130

PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139009
Corsair 850TX - $115

Optical Drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151171
Samsung SF-223F - $25

Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811163121
Silverstone FT01 - $175

Proc Fan: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103055
Coolmaster V8 - $70

OS: Vista Ultimate 64-bit OEM - $125

 

[Transmaniacon]

The Updated version of that motherboard is the same price, it lacks the SAS controller, but gains higher memory capacity. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131365

I would avoid those older seagate drives, and stick with a faster more reliable western digital. This one for example is a fantastic choice http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136284

This http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103055 is a much better CPU cooler that will let you push the i7 as far as you want to. It is rated higher on Frostytech than that Zalman, http://www.frostytech.com/articleview.cfm?articleid=2314&page=5, not to mention it looks pretty awesome =).

Everything else looks pretty good, unless you need the business features of Vista, Home Premium will be a good choice with less bloat and a cheaper price tag.

 

[kamkal]

Yea...what trans said

 

[AudiS4]

Thanks for the feedback so far.

So the Asus board is the current board of choice? I have read about a few Gigabyte boards that seem good also.

 

[AudiS4]

Added it to the previous post.

 

[Transmaniacon]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128362

&

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128374

Are both great x58 boards as well. It really just comes down to how much money you want to spend. The differences in the three boards are pretty minimal. The UD5 will benefit Crossfire more with the faster lanes, and the UD4 is a very strong overclocker. The Asus has the best of both worlds.

 

[Proximon]

I wish I had a single strong contender in the X58 area, but really there are many decent ones it seems.

The Asus P6T Deluxe V2 is a good choice. I don't know that you need quite that much, but if there is no strong budget constraint then go for it.

I also agree that the Zalmann is not the right cooler. They haven't competed well on the CPU cooler front for the last year or so.

V8 is good. Xigmatek Dark knight is a nice budget choice. Noctua is popular because of quiet operation and good cooling:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608007
Personally, the color turns me off You could replace the fans... but they are high quality Noctuas and that's the whole point.

Scythe Mugen is a good mix at a great price:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185093
Just be sure to not use RAM with raised heatspreaders 😛 And possibly the Gigabyte UD4P board would be a better fit there.


I love my Silverstone TJ09... but that case (FT01) is a bit overpriced for what you get. Probably fine if you need to save a bit of space AND really like the looks. Otherwise get something larger.
A bit nicer for less money:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112198

Maybe a HAF?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119160&Tpk=HAF
If may not be as pretty but the design is pretty near flawless. Better cooling, better cable management, more room.


On a side note - WTH?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112217

 

[AudiS4]

Switched the build to the newer Asus board and went with the CM V8 cooler. I guess I could save a few bucks on another case, but $170 isnt too crazy and I like the looks. Just gotta decide on the video card/cards and a hard drive.

I could change it up to:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136296
paired with a
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136284

and go with this card instead of going SLI.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130475



And on your side note, WOW that is one fugly case.

 

[Proximon]

How about keeping the much faster SLI and just using two Caviar Blacks in RAID 0?

Just because I was very interested, a comparison between the space of the two cases when it comes to long video cards:

FT01 review

They don't want me direct linking the pic, but if you r-click it you can open in a new page/tab


Lian-Li Review... not sure this will work, translated page

 

[AudiS4]

My current set up is in raid and I never really noticed the difference.

Would two-260's in SLI and one Black Caviar be better then one 275, a raptor and a Caviar?

That is $475 versus $505?? I think that is right. So it is cheaper to go SLI if that is better. Or I guess I can bump it to $580 if raid is that big of a difference.


And you really prefer the Lian case? I liked the black inside the Silverstone and the reviews were good. I suppose I can go Lian.

 

[Proximon]

GTX 260 CF would be a lot faster than one GTX 275.

A Velociraptor is going to be about the same speed as RAID 0 Caviar Blacks, with the Caviars having a slight edge. The faster drive configurations won't do anything at all for FPS, but might make loading that level of Crysis a second or two faster.

The money is better spent on graphics if a choice needs to be made.

I like the space in the Lian Li more than the Silverstone. I think the engineering is smarter and less gimmicky. It should be slightly quieter.

I think the Silverstone case is a bit better cooled though.

For the same high quality, the same brushed aluminum finish, and all the room and cooling you would ever need:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811215010


When you are talking about nice cases, I find there are certain things that are most important: cooling, airflow, THEN looks.

You get something like this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119194

And then you have the right balance.

You start looking harder at looks and feel, like with the two cases pictured above or my TJ09... then you start to loose some of the other stuff. You start making sacrifices.
The ABS I linked has a pretty good balance, but you pay more.

The cooler master I linked you pay less and end up with more plastic, but the design is soo much better.

 

[Transmaniacon]

Cooling: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129043

Appearance: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119138

Both solid choices, I dont like LED fans, so I would probably swap out all the blue fans for clear ones on the Antec 1200. Even though it has high airflow, it is still a very sharp looking case.

 

[hundredislandsboy]

Reconsider the GTX 260 SLI for a less pricey motherboard and a more pricey GTX 295. Why? Less parts, less heat, less fan noise, less power usage, less SLI stuttering, less stress on the system overall.

 

[Helloworld_98]

or a 4870 X2, since there's only a slight performance difference between the two and you save $100.

 

[Why_Me]

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/gigabyte-nvidia-sli-motherboard,7463.html <--- Gigabyte: Enable SLI On X58 Boards

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119160&Tpk=HAF $139.99 Free Shipping*
COOLER MASTER HAF 932 RC-932-KKN1-GP Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail
$15 off with promo code EMCLRPL24, while supplies last

http://www.buy.com/prod/corsair-750w-tx-series-80-plus-certified-power-supply-corsair-tx-cmpsu/q/loc/101/206178325.html $114.99 Shipping: FREE
Corsair TX CMPSU-750TX ATX12V & EPS12V Power Supply

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

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=N82E16835185093 $36.99 Free Shipping*
Scythe MUGEN-2 SCMG-2000 120mm Sleeve 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=N82E16814130475 $249.99 ($229.99 after $20.00 Mail-In Rebate) Free Shipping*
EVGA 896-P3-1170-AR GeForce GTX 275 896MB 448-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130475 $249.99 ($229.99 after $20.00 Mail-In Rebate) Free Shipping*
EVGA 896-P3-1170-AR GeForce GTX 275 896MB 448-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231247 $89.99 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=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/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.186064 Combo Discount: -$20.00 Combo Price: $154.98
Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Hard Drive - OEM
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit for System Builders - OEM

Total: $1,512.89 | $1,472.89 w/rebates

*or switch out psu and vid cards in this build with these down below....

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139009 $149.99 ($139.99 after $10.00 Mail-In Rebate) Free Shipping*
CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX 850W ATX12V 2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply - 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

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

Total: $1,707.89 | $1,637.89 w/rebates

 

[Transmaniacon]

Addtionally you could crossfire 2 HD4890 and meet those two builds in the middle. I would go with the GTX 275 SLI build personally as its plenty of power and will last quite a while.

 

[Why_Me]

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-275,2266.html <--- gtx 275, gtx 285, ati 4890, etc...results