Computer Upgrade Advice Needed

Well, I do a computer upgrade every two years around the holidays and I was a little worried this year with all the end-of-year expenses for the kiddos, but somehow the wife managed to surprise me with 1500 bucks!!

I figure I should be able to do a nice little overhaul for that price. I intend to reuse at least a couple parts (case - Lian Li Armorsuit mid-tower, HDD - WD6400AAKS/640GB, monitors - LG 24" & Dell 20" [I have a dual-monitor set-up]).

I've done some research and it seems like i7 920 is a good value and I've had good luck with Intel over the years. I also want to get an SSD with enough capacity to put my OS on as well as my MMO of choice.

As far as what I use the computer for. Mostly, I play World of Warcraft but I do mix in other games periodically like Dragon Age: Origins and Crysis. I also want to have a computer thats ready to handle the next couple of years worth of MMOs (e.g., Star Trek On-Line).

Don't worry about figuring in the OS as part of the price. I currently have XP, but I'm considering using this new Windows 7 license I already have. Any advice on that would be greatly appreciated as well.

One of the other features I was looking for was the ability to play my Blu-Ray movies on my PC.

Also, I don't intend to overclock.

I know everybody's busy taking down the Christmas decorations and preparing for the dreaded return to the workplace, but if you get a couple minutes to steer me in the right direction, I would really appreciate it.

Thanks very much and Happy New Year to you all!!!

Finneal

Since your gaming needs are primarily based on MMOs, you don't need a Socket 1366 Core i7-based setup.

Here's a Core i5 build instead:

$195 - Core i5 750 (free shipping)
$150 - Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD3P (free shipping)
$94 - G.Skill Ripjaws 2x2GB DDR3 1600 dual channel kit (free shipping)
$244 - Intel X25-M Gen2 80GB SSD (special order; may take longer to ship)
$190 - LG WH08LS20 Blu-ray/DVD burner (free shipping)
$310 - XFX HD-585A-ZNFC Radeon HD5850
$90 - Corsair TX650 650W PSU (free shipping)
=====
$1273 - Subtotal (not including shipping, taxes, or rebates)

Granted, even a Core i5 quad-core is overkill for your gaming needs, but since you're reusing a few parts, you can easily afford a high-end video card and SSD with your $1500 budget. The only thing of note is that the SSD -- the Intel G2 SSDs are the best for single-SSD operation -- may take longer to ship than any other component (it was out of stock at the majority of the online retailers that I checked).

If you don't already have it -- I personally don't know what to recommend -- you'll need to buy some media playback software that can recognize and read/play Blu-ray discs.

Tiraides,

Thanks so much for the great reply. The way it works in my house is if I don't spend all my 1500 dollars, the wife does a magic trick and makes the rest disappear. I know you said I don't need the 920 due to the lower performance requirements of MMOs, but could you show me what changes I would need to make if I wanted to go with one of those. There is a new Battletech mod for Crysis that all my buddies are playing and some more performance for it wouldn't hurt.

Thanks again bud!

Finneal

With the Core i7 920, you would then need an X58 motherboard and (ideally) a 3x2GB tri-channel set of DDR3 RAM. For example, you could replace the processor, motherboard, RAM, and video card in the above build with:

$594 - Intel Core i7 920 and XFX HD-585A-ZNBC Radeon HD 5850 combo deal (free shipping on both)
$190 - MSI X58 Pro-E (+$8 std. shipping)
$136 - GeIL GV36GB1333C9TC 3x2GB DDR3 1333 CL9 tri-channel kit (free shipping)

However, the total jumps to about $1444 before shipping and taxes are factored in.

Just don't show your wife this thread, or she might pull another magic trick.

Thanks again for the great information. I've been looking at motherboard choices and there are three others in the same price range that have similar reviews.

What are the benefits of going with the MSI over say the ASUS P6T or the Gigabyte UD3R or the Asrock X58 Extreme? The Asrock seems to be the cheaper of the bunch and has 6 memory slots to boot.

Also what would you recommend in the way of a modular Power Supply? Does a PSU have to say Core I7 Ready to be compatible with the new processors? Would my current PSU work?

Would this memory be ok?

I'm almost ready to pull the trigger on the purchase!!

I plan on making this purchase today or tomorrow. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

tiraides build is damn near perfect

Asrock is Asus' budget line, and it isn't as good. There are no real benefits from choosing the MSI board over the competition -- I chose it because it was pretty cheap at the time.

The memory you chose is fine, but you don't need DDR3 1600 RAM if you aren't going to overclock. Here is a (somewhat) cheaper tri-channel kit.

Since you're making a new build, I recommend a new power supply. Get one from Antec (but avoid the Basiq line), Corsair, Silverstone, or Seasonic with at least 40A combined on its 12V rails and 80 Plus certification. (However, modular PSUs are more expensive than their non-modular counterparts.) One good example is the Corsair HX650.

Just wanted to post an update. I had already ordered the Asrock X58 Extreme before your last post, but was able to cancel it in time and then reorder with the MSI mobo you originally recommended. I did wind up sticking with the more expensive memory I asked about in case I ever want to try and overclock. Also, I changed out the Blu-Ray burner you recommended with a Samsung Blu-Ray player to save a chunk of money. I don't intend to write Blu-Ray discs any time soon (if at all).

Other than that I had to buy a 1366-bolt-through kit so I could reuse my TRUE 120 HSF.

Also, I went with the original Corsair PSU (non-modular) you recommended. I will do my best to hide the extra wires. One of my friends pointed out that modular PSUs just have another point of failure and really don't get you much.

At the end of the day, the total was right at about 1470. The wife is happy I stayed under budget and so am I.

Thanks again for all your help!!

Finneal


P.S. - Im hoping everything arrives in time to do the build next weekend. If you have any tips or gotchas I should know about, don't hesitate to post them =p I will make sure to post how the build goes.

Nice choices. Good call on not getting the AsRock. I'd only get AsRock if I had no other choice between the higher tiered brands. I was gonna say get another SSD instead, but since SSD prices will likely continue to drop over the years, you can simply upgrade that later for less than a core replacement would cost, me thinks. Please post pics. If you need build guides to refresh your memory, there's a list in the GenHard FAQ. I typically recommend the mechbgon guide.

FYI, the build went great. I am very pleased with all the hardware you guys recommended. Thanks so much.

I do have pictures but didn't see a button to upload them from my PC.

Thanks again HardOCP !!

Fin

Use image shack or some other hosting site (flickr, photobucket, tumbler, etc).