I'm looking for some expert opinion about a potential rig I plan to get very soon. Up to this one I've always bought pre-built and upgraded mildly, gfx cards and other simple things like low end gfx card OC, etc. But, it looks like I can get more power, cheaper, by ordering the parts and doing it myself.
My current computer is a pre-build HP Pavilion a1330n media center, AMD Athlon 64 Processor 3800+, 2.39 Ghz single core, 2GM RAM, 2005 build, NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GT, RivaTuner OC'd...mildly, get real bad clipping, sputters at extreme OC, the card is dated. This was "ok" for FFXI and it handles WoW decently at middle settings, windowed at 1680x1050 24-bit color 24-it depth 1 x multisample (game can be configured up to 4 x multisample) in game 30-50 fps, lows as low as 15 fps in high crowd areas. The thing is old now, and the stutters that used to not bother me, are.
Thing is being I've never dona full build, and I am prepared to drop a pretty substancial amount of $ in doing it I am gun shy about buying the items without some confirmation that I what I am getting are compatible, balanced items. Any bottlenecks you see, things like that.
So here goes, the real question, I have had my eye on a HP pre-build for a while so I'm going to list the parts of both here. I'm looking for suggestions on what I may need to change in my potential parts (if any), and further whether I should get the pre-build if they are close enough to not matter. I got the bug for a new gaming computer specifically for preperation for FFIV, the benchmark kicked the crap out of my current 2005 build, 860 score when Square-Enix recommends at least a 1,500.
The processor is pretty well set in stone, I've seen plenty of "vs" reviews saying the i5 and i7 processors do better on current games but the 1090T can be OC'd to 4gHz and is way cheaper than the i series. The i7 is reeeealy nice, but expensive.
The pre-built machine has the following specs (HP):
Operating system: Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Processor: AMD Phenom(TM) II X6 1090T six-core processor [3.2GHz, 3MB L2 + 6MB L3 shared, up to 4000MHz]
Memory: 8GB DDR3-1333MHz SDRAM [4 DIMMs]
Hard drive: FREE UPGRADE! 1TB 7200 rpm SATA 3Gb/s hard drive from 750GB
Office software Microsoft Office Starter 2010
Security software Norton Internet Security(TM) 2010 - 15 month
Graphics card: 2GB ATI Radeon HD 5570 [DVI,HDMI, DP, VGA adapter]
Speakers: No speakers
Primary optical drive: FREE UPGRADE! Blu-ray player & Lightscribe SuperMulti DVD burner
Networking: Integrated Ethernet port, No wireless LAN
Front Productivity Ports 15-in-1 memory card reader, 1 USB, 1394, audio
TV & entertainment experience No TV Tuner
Sound Card: Integrated sound
Keyboard and Mouse HP USB keyboard and optical mouse
Total: 1,089.99 (keep in mind I'd be looking to add things like bigger processor fan right after purchase as well as maybe having to drop the 2x5570 for 2x5850 or 5870, lower configuration would have one 5850, with ability to xfire down the road). This one is cheaper now by a little...wasted money in a short time.
Items picked for DIY build (Newegg):
Operating system: Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Motherboard: MSI 890FXA-GD70 ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130274&Tpk=N82E16813130274
Processor: AMD Phenom II X6 1090T Black Edition 3.2GHz Socket AM3 125W Six-Core Desktop Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16819103849
Thermaltake Frio Overclocking-Ready Intel Core i7 (six-core ready) & i5 Compatible Five 8mm Heatpipes Dual 120mm Fans Intel ...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835106150&Tpk=N82E16835106150
Memory: OCZ Reaper HPC 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2000 (PC3 16000) Desktop Memory
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16820227415
Optical Drive: LG Black Blu-ray Disc Combo SATA Model CH10LS20 OEM LightScribe Support
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16827136195
Graphics: XFX Radeon HD 5850 HD-585X-ZAFC Video Card w/ Eyefinity
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16814150477
Case: Rosewill DESTROYER Black Gaming Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16811147144
Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 1TB 3.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16822148433
Power Supply: XFX Black Edition XPS-850W-BES 850W Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16817207001
Total: $1,274.92 (Not including Win7, see below)
First and foremost, am I missing anything, do I need to change anything up? Are there things I can downgrade while maintaining the same computing power (perhapes motherboard is overkill?). However, many of the items listed above are package pricing...actually almost every piece is part of a pair of items.
I need to know which copy of Win7 I should get, this is a completely new build obviously so can't get the cheeper priced upgrade only disks, so the price there may throw this one out of the picture. That is also a thing that worries me, never built the software from a completely fresh build, any links I need to research to negate potential problems or is it a simple plug everything up and load? The cooler is large and from what I have read has a chance to cover one of the DIMM slots, but with 3 x sticks it shouldn't be an issue. I realize all of these items are going to be more friendly to OC and this will not have all the junk preloaded that comes on pre-built machines.
Still, I can't get over the worry associated with being a first time builder. The reason I buy pre-made, if its done wrong, can always have them repair/replace. I screw up these parts, out of pocket.
I realize there is a lot of information to mull over on the items, and if need be I will make links to all the items for ease. Really looking for good advice and from all the research I've seen, this is the place to get it. Thanks for any and all help.
My current computer is a pre-build HP Pavilion a1330n media center, AMD Athlon 64 Processor 3800+, 2.39 Ghz single core, 2GM RAM, 2005 build, NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GT, RivaTuner OC'd...mildly, get real bad clipping, sputters at extreme OC, the card is dated. This was "ok" for FFXI and it handles WoW decently at middle settings, windowed at 1680x1050 24-bit color 24-it depth 1 x multisample (game can be configured up to 4 x multisample) in game 30-50 fps, lows as low as 15 fps in high crowd areas. The thing is old now, and the stutters that used to not bother me, are.
Thing is being I've never dona full build, and I am prepared to drop a pretty substancial amount of $ in doing it I am gun shy about buying the items without some confirmation that I what I am getting are compatible, balanced items. Any bottlenecks you see, things like that.
So here goes, the real question, I have had my eye on a HP pre-build for a while so I'm going to list the parts of both here. I'm looking for suggestions on what I may need to change in my potential parts (if any), and further whether I should get the pre-build if they are close enough to not matter. I got the bug for a new gaming computer specifically for preperation for FFIV, the benchmark kicked the crap out of my current 2005 build, 860 score when Square-Enix recommends at least a 1,500.
The processor is pretty well set in stone, I've seen plenty of "vs" reviews saying the i5 and i7 processors do better on current games but the 1090T can be OC'd to 4gHz and is way cheaper than the i series. The i7 is reeeealy nice, but expensive.
The pre-built machine has the following specs (HP):
Operating system: Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Processor: AMD Phenom(TM) II X6 1090T six-core processor [3.2GHz, 3MB L2 + 6MB L3 shared, up to 4000MHz]
Memory: 8GB DDR3-1333MHz SDRAM [4 DIMMs]
Hard drive: FREE UPGRADE! 1TB 7200 rpm SATA 3Gb/s hard drive from 750GB
Office software Microsoft Office Starter 2010
Security software Norton Internet Security(TM) 2010 - 15 month
Graphics card: 2GB ATI Radeon HD 5570 [DVI,HDMI, DP, VGA adapter]
Speakers: No speakers
Primary optical drive: FREE UPGRADE! Blu-ray player & Lightscribe SuperMulti DVD burner
Networking: Integrated Ethernet port, No wireless LAN
Front Productivity Ports 15-in-1 memory card reader, 1 USB, 1394, audio
TV & entertainment experience No TV Tuner
Sound Card: Integrated sound
Keyboard and Mouse HP USB keyboard and optical mouse
Total: 1,089.99 (keep in mind I'd be looking to add things like bigger processor fan right after purchase as well as maybe having to drop the 2x5570 for 2x5850 or 5870, lower configuration would have one 5850, with ability to xfire down the road). This one is cheaper now by a little...wasted money in a short time.
Items picked for DIY build (Newegg):
Operating system: Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Motherboard: MSI 890FXA-GD70 ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130274&Tpk=N82E16813130274
Processor: AMD Phenom II X6 1090T Black Edition 3.2GHz Socket AM3 125W Six-Core Desktop Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16819103849
Thermaltake Frio Overclocking-Ready Intel Core i7 (six-core ready) & i5 Compatible Five 8mm Heatpipes Dual 120mm Fans Intel ...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835106150&Tpk=N82E16835106150
Memory: OCZ Reaper HPC 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2000 (PC3 16000) Desktop Memory
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16820227415
Optical Drive: LG Black Blu-ray Disc Combo SATA Model CH10LS20 OEM LightScribe Support
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16827136195
Graphics: XFX Radeon HD 5850 HD-585X-ZAFC Video Card w/ Eyefinity
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16814150477
Case: Rosewill DESTROYER Black Gaming Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16811147144
Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 1TB 3.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16822148433
Power Supply: XFX Black Edition XPS-850W-BES 850W Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16817207001
Total: $1,274.92 (Not including Win7, see below)
First and foremost, am I missing anything, do I need to change anything up? Are there things I can downgrade while maintaining the same computing power (perhapes motherboard is overkill?). However, many of the items listed above are package pricing...actually almost every piece is part of a pair of items.
I need to know which copy of Win7 I should get, this is a completely new build obviously so can't get the cheeper priced upgrade only disks, so the price there may throw this one out of the picture. That is also a thing that worries me, never built the software from a completely fresh build, any links I need to research to negate potential problems or is it a simple plug everything up and load? The cooler is large and from what I have read has a chance to cover one of the DIMM slots, but with 3 x sticks it shouldn't be an issue. I realize all of these items are going to be more friendly to OC and this will not have all the junk preloaded that comes on pre-built machines.
Still, I can't get over the worry associated with being a first time builder. The reason I buy pre-made, if its done wrong, can always have them repair/replace. I screw up these parts, out of pocket.
I realize there is a lot of information to mull over on the items, and if need be I will make links to all the items for ease. Really looking for good advice and from all the research I've seen, this is the place to get it. Thanks for any and all help.