Review my gaming pc plan

[PFPunks]

Here is my plan with prices(Tigerdirect). I'm going to be using my old cd/dvd for now because of budget considerations. I just want peoples opinions. If you see any obvious overkill areas, any bottlenecks or have any advice for better value combinations i'd love to hear them. I do plan on upgrading to a second gpu some time to take advantage of SLI.

20 Corsair 4GB DDR2 PC6400
99 XFX GeForce 9800 GT 512MB Video Card
229 Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 1TB Hard Drive Bundle With Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit DSP OEM DVD
299 XFX nForce 680i LT SLI & C2Q Q6700 2.66GHz OEM
90 Corsair TX750W 750 Watt Power Supply 60amp on 12V

Also, this will be my first build. I was planning on using my current case which was upgraded a while back. I dont know the name, but its a full tower, fancy gaming one. My budget is 750-1000max. I'm all about buying the right components to maximize future upgrading potential. Go easy, i'm obviously a noob.

Thanks,
Andrew

 

[Proximon]

It looks like a post from 18 months ago.

Before I jump in with both feet here I'd like to get all the info up front:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/261222-31-build-advice

 

[PFPunks]

Thanks Prox, i'll reformat everything.

 

[aevm]

I'd suggest something more modern for that budget. Q9550 (or at least Q8200), GA-EP45-UD3P, HD 4870 (one now, one later). +1 for the Corsair PSU and RAM.

 

[xthekidx]

CPU/Mobo: Q9650 and GA-EP45-UD3P
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.173013

Ram: G Skill HK 4gb DDr2-800
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231219&Tpk=g%20skill%20hk

Case/PSU: CM 690 and Corsair 850tx
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.176939

Optical: LG DVDRW
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136152

HDD: WD6401AALS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319&Tpk=wd6401aals

GPU: MSI HD 4870 1GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127413

CPU Cooler:Xigmatek S1283v DK
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233029&Tpk=s1283v

That comes to $1001. Then you get $60 MIR. If you need an OS to fit the budget, you can go with the Q9400 which is also available in a combo with that mobo, or perhaps PII 940 in this combo:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.165047

 

[Why_Me]

There ya go Andrew. Save yourself some money for shipping cost and treat yourself to pizza while your putting this together with the money you saved on this build.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341022 $79.99 ($64.99 after $15.00 Mail-In Rebate) Free Shipping*
OCZ Fatal1ty OCZ550FTY 550W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Modular Active PFC Power Supply - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128359 $114.99 ($99.99 after $15.00 Mail-In Rebate)
GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3R LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
2 oz copper PCB + Easy Tune 6 for OC

http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=Q9400 $215.99 Free Ground Shipping
Intel Core 2 Quad Processor Q9400 2.66GHz 1333MHz 6MB LGA775 CPU, OEM

http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=FAN-LBU1# $28.99
Cooler Master Hyper Z600 RR-600-LBU1-GP CPU Cooler

http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=FAN-MX2 $6.49
ARCTIC COOLING MX-2 Thermal Compound

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814143155 $178.99
BFG Tech BFGEGTX260MC896OCE GeForce GTX 260 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail / OC Edition overclocked at 590MHz

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231209 $44.99 Free Shipping*
G.SKILL PI Black 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual 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: $875.40 *(not including shipping and rebates)

 

[PFPunks]

You guys are awesome. I'm just taking my time going through it all. Couple quick questions.

This doesn't support crossfire, correct?
6813128359]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813128359 $114.99 ($99.99 after $15.00 Mail-In Rebate)
GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3R LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
2 oz copper PCB + Easy Tune 6 for OC

Also, you both recommended 550W PSUs. Will that be sufficient?
I'm seriously stoked. I can't wait to get this all up and running.

Andrew

 

[Proximon]

The UD3R is not crossfire, the UD3P is. A good quality 550W will run any single GPU, but not so much crossfire or SLI.

The Cooler Master CPU cooler Why_Me lists is an interesting choice for the price. It's not quite as nice as the Xigmatek that thekid linked, but it's a good performer.

All good recommendations, but I'm jumping ship on the Intel build here. Have a look at this:
Phenom II X3 720BE & CrossFire X Performance - Does it Compete?

Seems that you can get a pretty sweet build out of this 720BE that will compete for gaming.
Phenom II 720 BE $135.00
ASUS M4A79 Deluxe AM2+/AM2 AMD 790FX $200
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 $60
Also see:
http://promotions.newegg.com/AMD/March09/index.html?cm_sp=Cat_CPUs-Processors-_-AMD/March09-_-http://promotions.newegg.com/AMD/March09/478x88.jpg

 

[x_2fast4u_x]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139009
Corsair 850watt PSU $129.99 Future proof, for upgrades.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188026
EVGA 750i SLI FTW $159.99 GREAAT for overclocking why not have $350 cpu performance for less then $200.00 for the CPU itself.

Have fun with the build, the first one is always the most special.

 

[Why_Me]

The UD3R is not crossfire, the UD3P is. A good quality 550W will run any single GPU, but not so much crossfire or SLI.

The Cooler Master CPU cooler Why_Me lists is an interesting choice for the price. It's not quite as nice as the Xigmatek that thekid linked, but it's a good performer.

All good recommendations, but I'm jumping ship on the Intel build here. Have a look at this:
Phenom II X3 720BE & CrossFire X Performance - Does it Compete?

Seems that you can get a pretty sweet build out of this 720BE that will compete for gaming.
Phenom II 720 BE $135.00
ASUS M4A79 Deluxe AM2+/AM2 AMD 790FX $200
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 $60
Also see:
http://promotions.newegg.com/AMD/March09/index.html?cm_sp=Cat_CPUs-Processors-_-AMD/March09-_-http://promotions.newegg.com/AMD/March09/478x88.jpg

You can blame the xthekidx for me choosing that single card mobo. We were having I guess what would be called a "build off" (my i7 build vs his ghetto AMD build), and seeing how those ghetto AMD boards only let people use Crossfire...which limits people's choice for vid card...his explanation on his build was "better one powerful vid card now" then to Crossfire in the future. Of course it was his excuse for using a 4870 x2 and a psu that wouldn't push two of them...had to keep it in budget of course eh kid.

<3 ya kid, but I'm never going to forget that post of yours about Xfire in the future, and one vid card now...and of course making the OP's budget....ok, I'l shut up now.

 

[belial2k]

If you want to try overclocking its still hard to beat the old Q6600 paired with an Asus p5q pro. Huge headroom with that combo can get you to at least 3.6ghz without any trouble every time, and the board supports crossfire.

 

[xthekidx]

Q6600 is old and hot and innefficient. I would go with a Q9400 or Q8200 instead.

 

[Outlander_04]

Whats the upgrade path for an intel socket 775? The line is dead , intel have moved on .

Value for $$ lies with Phenom AM3

New article on anandtech comparing the 720 , 940 , intel C2Q and Ci7

 

[xthekidx]

Whats the upgrade path for an intel socket 775? The line is dead , intel have moved on .

Value for $$ lies with Phenom AM3

New article on anandtech comparing the 720 , 940 , intel C2Q and Ci7

Where? I can't find it...I wanna read it.

 

[aevm]

I think he meant this one:
http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=3512