New Build on a budget, see any issue? Thanks!

DJohnson

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Feb 12, 2011
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18,510
Hey everyone, first post here though I always love the great advice from the community.

I haven't built a system in ages and my old one is beyond the point of patchwork upgrading so it's time for a full build!

Basically I'm posting to see if there are any compatibility issues or anything that you guys see. I'm also a LITTLE worried about making sure everything fits in the case I chose.

Found good pricing already on newegg, so I really just need to know if any of this is going to be a "bad" choice, for whatever reason.

Primary USE is going to be gaming and MS Office Pro for work. Currently I'm using a 720p LG 22LE5300 TV as my monitor. I'm hoping with this rig I'll be able to run upcoming AAA titles like Shogun 2 or Elder Scrolls V without having to turn the graphics down, as well as current titles with the graphics up high.

Antec Nine Hundred Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021

ASUS M4A88TD-V EVO/USB3 AM3 AMD 880G SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131646

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-10600CL8D-4GBHK
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231180
(sold out of Cas 7 G.skill but I hear the difference is negligible)

CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power ...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006

ASUS 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 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204

AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ955FBGMBOX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103808

XFX HD-685X-ZDFC Radeon HD 6850 1GB 256-bit DDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150515


Will be running Win 7 home premium also, and I went with the 955 because I read that its excellent for mild overclocking, thus saving money versus a 965 or 970 without a performance hit. I don't have any fancy cooling solutions planned as of now, though.

Thanks for any input!
 
Solution
The BP550 has gotten good reviews and is recommended!
On the crossfire question, I had planned on going to a dual card setup twice but ended going to a more powerful single card with new features in both cases.

DJohnson

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Feb 12, 2011
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The question at that point is whether it would be better in a couple of years to Crossfire another mid-range card with this one, or just buy a new single card.

I'm thinking the chances are that by the time I want to upgrade I'd be better off buying a single new card rather than crossfiring another 6850. Not to mention that crossfire adds other concerns in terms of heat that my basic cooling might not be enough for.

So, say I wanted to go for a single card setup... keep my mobo and buy a smaller PSU? If so, anybody have a good recommendation?

I saw this Antec one looks popular on Newegg:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371016
 

DJohnson

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Feb 12, 2011
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Ok one last question!

If I'm feeling like I'm not likely to Crossifre, are there other features on the board I chose that make it worth the cost?

That Asrock extreme is a great deal cheaper and I'm betting I can find other boards under the pricepoint as well... which has got me wondering why this Asus board I chose is running more and if its worth it.
 

DJohnson

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Feb 12, 2011
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18,510
Thanks for the great information guys.

I'm still pondering if there is sufficient value to keep the 880g board but I'm feeling better about it.

Ultimately I just don't want to run into a situation where my mobo is my "weakest link" for a long time, as that has been a frustrating issue with my CURRENT PC in the past. When your mobo is holding you back it can interfere with plans to upgrade other individual parts.

Also, I have seen the mobo become a performance bottleneck due to low bandwidth in a particular spot, or in the case of my current mobo, no PCI-e slot! (it was a steal at the time but I didn't realize AGP was already on the way out).