Seeking advice on $850 Gaming Rig (Overclocking)

[shadeobrady]

Hey there everyone!

I used to always build my PCs, but have used a combo of macs and prebuilts lately - haven't custom built in probably 8 years (relearning where we're at was fun). I could definitely use some advice here from a community as informed as this one.

Any advice is greatly appreciated =)

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APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: A few pieces at a time over the next 4-5 months

BUDGET RANGE: $850 After Rebates

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming & Graphic Design

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, OS, power supply, chassis, sound card, after-market heat sink, hard-drive, CD/DVD RW

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: newegg.com - but best price wins

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: United States

PARTS PREFERENCES: AMD would be best as I'm overclocking, but no real preferences

OVERCLOCKING: Yes

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Eventually

MONITOR RESOLUTION: Variant (multiple monitors sometimes)

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Definitely need a fast computer that can handle graphics

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It may be a few months and I'll buy these one at a time - So I'll continue to look for combos. For now the best looking graphics and RAM are separate.

$320- COMBO: AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz Socket AM3 125W - with - ASUS M4A89TD PRO/USB3 AM3 AMD 890FX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.430434]

$295 - XFX HD-585X-ZAFC Radeon HD 5850 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card w/ Eyefinity
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150477&cm_re=5850-_-14-150-477-_-Product]


$98 - G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...e=G_Skill_Ripjaw_DDR3-_-20-231-277-_-Product]

This one will be an upgrade more towards winter - hopefully a pricedrop by then:
$160 - Mushkin Enhanced Callisto Deluxe MKNSSDCL60GB-DX 2.5" 60GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226151
* Updated to reflect responses. I've decided to wait to get the hard drive last - only need the CPU, GPU, RAM, and Motherboard

 

[mrhoshos96]

ssd for a budget like that isn't worth it

a build for $757.93

mobo ram: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.448757

cpu+gpu: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.432367

hsf: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185142

hdd: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185

odd: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136180

 

[ererr10]

The 965 is just a factory OCed 955, so especially if you're planning to OC yourself get the 955.

 

[lowriderflow]

First of all.... the GTX460 at $200 blows the 5830 away. Look around online for some benchmarks and they'll all show you teh same thing. The gtx460 is cheaper and superior to the 5830 - If you insist on sticking to ATI, I've seen some 5850's on newegg for $250 after rebates. Get alot more power than the 5830 for just a little more.

SECONDLY - you do not want that memory kit. 'Tri-Channel' memory kits are for intels i7 processor lineup. Your AMd build motherboard will use 'dual channel' - simply put, you want to keep your memory in pairs (NOT triplets) - so either go with 2sticks, or 4 sticks.

Also, do not buy a biostar motherboard. For the same price, you should be able to get a name brand like Gigabyte.
-When shopping on newegg... make sure you look at the available combos. You could probly combo a few of those things together and save an extra $40 or $50 bucks

 

[lowriderflow]

Get the 955 but make sure you get a good cooling unit. Never wise to do overclocking on the factory heatsink. Also need some thermal grease like Arcitc Silver 5 if you do get a nice heatsink

 

[shadeobrady]

Hey guys - thanks for all of your recommendations. I realized I had a little more research to do on RAM after those. I've updated my initial post up top with the new GPU, CPU, motherboard, and RAM I'm looking at.

As I buy I'll be looking for better combos if possible. Does this all seem decent?

 

[mrhoshos96]

everything looks good to me but u can save some money by getting these

cpu+gpu: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.459277

mobo+ram: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.453710 (excellent ram kits)

 

[shadeobrady]

Thanks! What's the deal with SSD and their speed compared to price? I've seen a few 50gigs at read at ~180mg/s that weren't too expensive.

Is my HD choice not going to be so much of a bottleneck that I shouldn't spend extra now on the lower end SSDs?

 

[mrhoshos96]

ssd's aren't worth the money for a budget like that
the hdd i mentioned is insanely fast.

 

[jim donalson]

mrhoshsh96 is correct