I'm a noob building an awesome gaming rig

Andriko_08

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Hi, I've been looking around Newegg for making the best gaming rig I could :), and came up with these parts:


Graphics Card: XFX HD-597A-CNB9 Radeon HD 5970 Black Edition 2GB 512 (256 x 2)-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card Price : $694.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150460

Processor: AMD Phenom II X6 1090T Black Edition Thuban 3.2GHz 6 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Six-Core Desktop Processor HDT90ZFBGRBOX Price : $295.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103849&cm_re=AMD_Phenom_II-_-19-103-849-_-Product

Case: COOLER MASTER HAF 932 RC-932-KKN1-GP Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case Price : $139.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119160

Harddrive: Western Digital VelociRaptor WD6000HLHX 600GB 10000 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive Price : $279.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136555

SSD: Kingston SSDNow V+ Series SNVP325-S2B/128GB 2.5" 128GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) Price : $329.00 ($299.00 after $30.00 Mail-In Rebate ) $3.99 Shipping*
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820139113

Motherboard: MSI 890FXA-GD70 AM3 AMD 890FX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard Price : $199.99 ($179.99 after $20.00 Mail-In Rebate) Free Shipping*
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130274&cm_re=890FXAGD70_ATX_AMD-_-13-130-274-_-Product

PSU: COOLER MASTER Silent Pro RSA00-AMBAJ3-US 1000W ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V v2.92 SLI Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply Price : $164.98
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171049

RAM: CORSAIR DOMINATOR 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMP6GX3M3A1600C7 Price : $219.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145289&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-RSSDailyDeals-_-na-_-na&AID=10521304&PID=3463938&SID=

Monitor: LG W2453V-PF Black 24" 2ms(GTG) HDMI Full HD 1080P Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 50000:1 w/ Smart Package Price : $259.99 $8.99 Shipping*
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824005126&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-RSSDailyDeals-_-na-_-na&AID=10521304&PID=3463938&SID=


I'm not very sure about the monitor, partially because the graphics card(ATI Radeon HD 5970) has DVI outputs, and the monitor input is DVI-D, uhh would that work? :??: Also, the PSU I chose is only SLI Ready, I know what SLI means, but is the PSU better for NVidia cards? Also, is it possible to have some ATI cards in CrossFire that would do better than the 5970 and be cheaper? And would a 2.5" drive(the SSD I chose) fit in an expansion bay? Cause there aren't and 2.5" drive bays in the case I chose. And for the big question, are all these parts compatible with eachother? Thanks!
 
Solution
Fill out form in sticky, link in sig. Budget would be nice.

5970 is the top single slot card right now. You could get similar performance to stock 5970 w/ 5850 xfire for $580, sli gtx 460 1gb also gets close for $460.

SSD's come with adapter to fit 3.5" bays unless you buy OEM. Some newer cases feature 2.5" mounts for SSD's.

X6 is a horrible gaming CPU. Better off w/ a x4 955.

HAF 922 is more than big enough. As large as most other full towers.

Velociraptor is a waste of money. A Samsung Spinpoint F3 gets very close in benchmarks and is only $75 for 1tb.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185&Tpk=f3%201tb

Don't get a SSD now. Either get a 100 gb Vertex 2, Agility 2, or Intel X25-M 80gb.

Mobo wise...

banthracis

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Fill out form in sticky, link in sig. Budget would be nice.

5970 is the top single slot card right now. You could get similar performance to stock 5970 w/ 5850 xfire for $580, sli gtx 460 1gb also gets close for $460.

SSD's come with adapter to fit 3.5" bays unless you buy OEM. Some newer cases feature 2.5" mounts for SSD's.

X6 is a horrible gaming CPU. Better off w/ a x4 955.

HAF 922 is more than big enough. As large as most other full towers.

Velociraptor is a waste of money. A Samsung Spinpoint F3 gets very close in benchmarks and is only $75 for 1tb.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185&Tpk=f3%201tb

Don't get a SSD now. Either get a 100 gb Vertex 2, Agility 2, or Intel X25-M 80gb.

Mobo wise, go with GA or Asus. MSI's customer support is nonexistent, so if there's ever an issue you have a better chance of getting shipped a free new mobo by accident from Newegg than getting MSI to replace it.

PSU- don't get CM. Very few good PSU's from them. Best deal right now is the XFX 750W BE. $120 w/ $20 MIR.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207003&Tpk=xfx%20750

Dominators are a waste of money. Also AMD CPU's are also dual channel not tri channel, so you want 4gb. A G SKill eco kit is a excellent. $105
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231321

Monitor
Asus has very good deals. $189 for a 23.6" 1920x1080
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236052&cm_re=asus_23.6%22-_-24-236-052-_-Product
 
Solution

coldsleep

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All of the advice from banthracis is excellent, I couldn't have put it better myself.

I assume the quoted bit above meant don't buy the Kingston SSDnow, not "don't buy an SSD right now", though.

If you have an SSD, there's absolutely no need for a Velociraptor. An SSD is much much faster than the VR at random reads/writes, and the Samsung Spinpoint F3 (or the Seagate 7200.12) is almost as fast as a VR at streaming reads, which is most of what a storage drive does.
 

banthracis

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lol, oops that does sound confusing. I actually meant both haha.

Don't get a kingston SSDnow, that series uses neutered Intel or neutered Sandforce controllers. Ether way it's bad.

Also, hold off on a SSD for now, as major price shift coming next few months. If you do have to get an SSD now (as in this moment) get one of the ones I recommended.
 

tecmo34

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Correct information on the Velocirator being a waste of money, specially when adding a SSD to the build. Not 100% accurate on the Samsung Spinpoint F3 close in benchmarks. It was true on the older 150/300GB versions but the newer 600GB SATA III version is much farther out in front of the Samsung Spinpoint F3.
 

Andriko_08

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Uh, just one thing, with the ram that banthracis said was good, I was looking at the reviews, and it looked like it worked better with intel platforms, mine is AMD, would you think the ram would be fine, or should I look for AMD ram.
 

coldsleep

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If you're talking about this:



That's just marketing. It means that the RAM is designed to not run at more than 1.65V, which is the max voltage that the newer Intel boards can safely run at. AMD does not have that limitation.

If people are saying that in the reviews, they don't know what they're doing. In general, RAM will work on any platform, as long as you have the right type of RAM for the board. DDR3 on AM3, not DDR2, that sort of thing. There wouldn't be much point in making Intel or AMD specific RAM...as a manufacturer, you'd be losing out on potential customers.

In short, you'll be fine.
 

Andriko_08

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Here are some snippets from reviews and my questions about them

Couldn't set timing to advertised 7-8-7-24 @ 1.35v on my AMD mobo (GA-790XTA-UD4). -- Why is it limited? Will it be limited for me?

Unfortunately not all AMD CPU/motherboards will be capable of DDR3-1600 CL7. This is why the memory is for Intel platforms, but as you know, as long as it is set to CL8, it will work just fine as well. -- What is CL7 and CL8? And how would I set it to CL8?


Oh, also banthracis said : HAF 922 is more than big enough. As large as most other full towers.
I have the HAF 932, do you mean that I should get the 922? I heard the 5970 needs lots of room.
 

banthracis

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G Skill RAM runs at advertised speeds. If not, you've got bad RAM so just RMA it?
Unlike OCZ G Skill will actually replace that RAM if it doesn't hit advertised specs.

Um, second part is just pure BS. Any mobo that supports DDR3 can run that RAM. It's like saying a USB mouse won't work on a computer because it's got an intel mobo. Wrong, it's an industry standard, it's universal. Poster of that comment is an idiot.

About the whole RAM thing.

AMD architecture favors tighter timings over faster speed for
performance increase. Intel, favors neither. That said, neither makes
a significant impact on performance to warrant a major price
difference.

CAS latency refers to how long it takes the RAM to do something after
it's given a command. Makes no difference to FPS in gaming, but like
an SSD, it improves system responsiveness.

Stock i7-930 is 133 block, 21 multiplier and 10x memory multiplier.
Though the latter is determined by MOBO not CPU. This fully saturated
1333mhz RAM. 133block speed x 10 memory multiplier= 1330.

To OC above this you'll need to either lower multiplier or get faster RAM.
In general, we recommend DDR3 1600 RAM if you plan on a OC.

Now, the reason why we recommend G Skill RAM is that memory can
perform better than rated speeds. Most companies sell you RAM that'll
perform at specs, G SKill tends to give you better than you pay for.
So their RAM can run at higher speeds, lower voltages and/or lower
timings than specs. OCZ is the opposite, hence we don't recommend
them.

High speeds requires looser timings to work. I'll avoid the
tech details as to why, but suffice to say this is a mechanically
imposed limitation. Now, because faster RAM must be of higher quality
to maintain the same latency as slower RAM, they're generally better
quality. As a result, the Trident DDR3 2000 kit that's rated at cas 9
at 2000, can hit CAS 6 at 1600 speeds. CAS 5 at 1333 speeds. This is
why people will buy extremely fast RAM. They're getting higher quality
RAM so they can run it at tighter timings for the speeds they want.

Now as to why 1600 7-8-7-24 kit is better than a 1333 7-7-7-21 kit, is
because, the 1600 kit can run 7-7-7-21 when under clocked to 1333
speeds.

HAF 922 is enough for your needs. Don't waste money on get 932.
 

coldsleep

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Wikipedia has a good overview of CAS Latency.

The lower the better, though the difference between CL7 and CL8 won't be noticeable in most normal usage.

As I started to write this, I see that banthracis has replied. Have you saved that explanation in a text file yet, man? :p

And multiple people have confirmed that the 5970 will fit in an HAF 922. If you want to, you can pay more and get the 932, but the 922 is more than large enough and it's less expensive.
 

banthracis

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I actually just copy paste from old post haha. I should throw it into a text file though. Save myself some time.


HAF 922 fits a 5970 with tons of room to spare.

DSCN0242.jpg
 

Andriko_08

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LOL THATS HOW BIG THE 5970 IS? OMG LOL!!!


Well, this is my new list of parts for my gaming rig :)

Graphics Card: XFX HD-597A-CNB9 Radeon HD 5970 Black Edition 2GB 512 (256 x 2)-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card Price : $694.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150460

Processor: AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ965FBGMBOX Price : $179.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103727&cm_re=AMD_Phenom_ii-_-19-103-727-_-Product

Case: COOLER MASTER HAF 922 RC-922M-KKN1-GP Black Steel + Plastic and Mesh Bezel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case Price : $89.98 $9.99 Shipping*
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119197&cm_re=COOLER_MASTER_HAF_922-_-11-119-197-_-Product

Harddrive: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive Price : $74.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185&Tpk=f3%201tb&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-RSSDailyDeals-_-na-_-na&AID=10521304&PID=3463938&SID=

SSD: OCZ Vertex 2 OCZSSD2-2VTXE120G 2.5" 120GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) Price : $309.00 ($279.00 after $30.00 Mail-In Rebate Card )
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227551&cm_re=Vertex_2-_-20-227-551-_-Product

Motherboard: MSI 890FXA-GD70 AM3 AMD 890FX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard Price : $199.99 ($179.99 after $20.00 Mail-In Rebate) Free Shipping*
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130274&cm_re=890FXAGD70_ATX_AMD-_-13-130-274-_-Product

PSU: XFX Black Edition P1-750B-CAG9 750W ATX12V v2.2 / ESP12V v2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply Price : $119.99 ($99.99 after $20.00 Mail-In Rebate ) $1.99 Shipping*
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207003&Tpk=xfx%20750&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-RSSDailyDeals-_-na-_-na&AID=10521304&PID=3463938&SID=

RAM: G.SKILL ECO Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL7D-4GBECO Price : $104.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231321

Monitor: LG W2453V-PF Black 24" 2ms(GTG) HDMI Full HD 1080P Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 50000:1 w/ Smart Package Price : $259.99 $8.99 Shipping*
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824005126&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-RSSDailyDeals-_-na-_-na&AID=10521304&PID=3463938&SID=

Total Price so far : $2220.84 tax included

What motherboard should I have, you said msi had bad customer support. I stumbled across the Asus Crosshair Formula IV, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131644 and boy is that one smexy motherboard :love: I also saw it had good reviews and the specs were somewhat similar to the MSI 890FXA-GD70, but that's not nearly as important as being the best looking motherboard ever! I mean, look at it :
Asus-Crosshair-IV-Formula.jpg
:love: did I mention it looked awesome?
 

coldsleep

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I have the Crosshair IV myself, and while it's got a lot of features, make sure you read up on the northbridge overheating issue if you end up buying one. Hopefully more recently manufactured boards don't have this issue and it was just a single batch or something. Feel free to PM me if you want more details.

It sure does look pretty, doesn't it? :)

Once you're looking at the 890FX boards, it really comes down to what features you want on the board. Compare the higher end models and see if there's anything that you think you'll use or if it's just fluff that you won't bother with. Keep price in mind, but clearly that's a secondary concern anyway.
 

Andriko_08

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Did you have to fix the overheating issue? Is the NB overheating issue fixed? It's amazing I see complaints from May to July about screws that are too long.. Also, is the cooling system that comes with the HAF 922 good enough for my needs? I won't be overclocking. Haha, also, where is the north bridge? Sorry for my noobiness
 

Andriko_08

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Now I've changed the monitor :
Monitor: ASUS VW246H Glossy Black 24" 2ms(GTG) HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 ASCR 20000:1 (1000:1) Built-in Speakers Price : $219.99 $8.99 Shipping*
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236049

And the motherboard :
Motherboard: ASUS Crosshair IV Formula AM3 AMD 890FX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard Price : $209.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131644

I dont care about NB, everyone who posted they don't have the skills to find a smaller screw are noobs.

Now, onto the graphics card, I'm still not sure which graphics cards to put in crossfire. I'm trying to find a set that's equal or better than a single 5970 and costs less.
 

coldsleep

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Your only options that may provide better performance than a single 5970 is either 5850 CF or 5870 CF. The 5850s should cost less than a single 5970 and may provide better performance. The 5870s will provide better performance, but probably won't cost less unless you get some wacky deal.
 

Andriko_08

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I found a combo deal which was basically a full computer, and I saw that it had the AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition, and the crosshair IV formula, AND 8gb ram, 4 sets of 2gb, does that mean that 4 cards of memory count as dual channel?