New Gaming PC (Advice PLZ)

Hey All Wanted some feedback on my proposed upcoming build.

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Mostly Gaming, Some Design / CAD Work
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
Ideally no more than $2000.00 CDN
3) Where do you live?
Ottawa, ON
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
CPU, RAM, CASE, FANS, PSU??, HDD's, OS, GPU & COOLING
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
PSU? Not sure if it will be adequate. GPU?? Not sure if adding a second would be worth while, or just picking up a 5870?
6) Will you be overclocking?
Not primarily, but I like having the option.
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
Currently Have a Dell 3007-WFP (Rez @ 2560x1600
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
In the coming few months (2-4)
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
Crossfire Support for Sure
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? 32bit or 64bit?
Will Be purchasing WIN7 Home 64bit


NEWEGG Corsair Obsidian Series 700D CC700D Black Aluminum / Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case - $239.99

NEWEGG ASUS P6X58D Premium LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard - $304.99

PC CYBER Intel Core i7-920 Bloomfield 2.66GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80601920
(GET NEWEGG TO PRICEMATCH) - $267.77

NEWEGG Prolimatech Megahalems Rev.B CPU Cooler - $59.99

NEWEGG Kingston HyperX T1 Series 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) XMP Tall HS Desktop Memory Model KHX1600C9D3T1K3/6GX - $197.99

NEWEGG ASUS EAH5870/2DIS/1GD5/V2 Radeon HD 5870 (Cypress XT) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support ...$422.99

NEWEGG Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive - $104.99

NEWEGG Noctua NF-P12-1300 120mm CPU Cooler and Case Fan -$47.98
($23.99 each)

NEWEGG Noctua NF-P14 FLX 140mm Case Fan - $71.97
($23.99 each)

NEWEGG Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM - $109.99

Canada Computers Corsair HX Series CMPSU-1000HX 1000W ATX EPS12V Power Supply (GET NEWEGG TO PRICE MATCH) -$259.99

Canada Computers Enermax Cluster White UCCL12 120x120x25mm (500~1200rpm) (8 to 14dBA) Chassis Fan (4 REQUIRED) $55.96
($13.99 each)

buy a i7-930 instead

Is that the only change you would make? If so, i guess that means it looks like a good machine?

Case: Decent, a little expensive. I would get something cheaper and free up a bit for an SSD.
Mobo: Overkill, stick with the Gigabyte X58A-UD3R
CPU: Good, if you can get the i7 930 for the same price then grab it, otherwise the 920 is fine.
CPU Cooler: Way way overkill. Stick with something like the Cogage True Spirit, which is still overkill, but if you aren't even really planning on overclocking, atleast not right away then don't bother with such an expensive heatsink.
RAM: I would go with the G.Skill DDR3-1600 6GB Kit
GPU: Go with XFX instead of ASUS
HDD: Good, the Samsung F3 1TB is also a viable option
OS: Good
PSU: Way overkill, you could easily power a 5870 + i7 system with a quality 650-750w psu (from Antec/Corsair/Seasonic etc)

With the money you save from making these changes I would suggest grabbing an SSD, preferably the Intel X25M-G2 80GB.

^^ Great advice. I could make the changes to the mobo, heatsink, memory and GPU no problems, the HDD i picked was to use the SATA 6.0gbs. I can recycle my PSU from my existing system which is a PC Power 750W.

Thanks for the input.

-=WooDWorKeR420=- said:

^^ Great advice. I could make the changes to the mobo, heatsink, memory and GPU no problems, the HDD i picked was to use the SATA 6.0gbs. I can recycle my PSU from my existing system which is a PC Power 750W.

Thanks for the input.

Click to expand...

No problem, as for the sata6.0 thing, there is no single mechanical drive that uses the full bandwidth of sata3.0 so having that one to say sata6.0 is almost pointless. That being said, both the Black 1TB (FAEX) and the Samsung F3 1TB both use dual 500gb platters, just giving you another option. Which exact PSU are you reusing?

Keep the quality HSF -- it's not that expensive, it'll last you, it's one less thing to worry about, and you have the option of OCing if you should decide to. i7s run hot, don't cheap out on the HSF.

The cheaper RAM is fine. DDR3 is DDR3, and that's plenty fast.

Forget the SSD, it's really not worth the money. You'd be better off with a second GPU considering the 30" LCD.

I'd pick XFX over ASUS for warranty reasons, assuming the price is similar.

Assuming you do stay with a single GPU system the PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Quad (which I'm assuming is what you have, from what you've said) should be more than sufficient. If you decide to go dual GPU, sell it and get at least a 1Kw supply like the HX you were looking at (though with its odd rail layout, I'd look elsewhere).

If you're going to keep this machine for more than a year keep SATA6 support. It'll matter soon enough, considering how quickly things are speeding up.

silent-circuit said:

Keep the quality HSF -- it's not that expensive, it'll last you, it's one less thing to worry about, and you have the option of OCing if you should decide to. i7s run hot, don't cheap out on the HSF.

The cheaper RAM is fine. DDR3 is DDR3, and that's plenty fast.

Forget the SSD, it's really not worth the money. You'd be better off with a second GPU considering the 30" LCD.

I'd pick XFX over ASUS for warranty reasons, assuming the price is similar.

Assuming you do stay with a single GPU system the PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Quad (which I'm assuming is what you have, from what you've said) should be more than sufficient. If you decide to go dual GPU, sell it and get at least a 1Kw supply like the HX you were looking at (though with its odd rail layout, I'd look elsewhere).

If you're going to keep this machine for more than a year keep SATA6 support. It'll matter soon enough, considering how quickly things are speeding up.

Click to expand...

The heatsink is complete overkill, a cheaper smaller heatsink would do the job fine, he said hes not overclocking (even if he did the cogage is good for 3.8) so why waste money?

The ram I chose IS cheaper so I hope that is what you are referring to.

If he has the spare budget SSD's ARE worth the money.

And what are you talking about with the sata6.0 thing? I said the specific drive it doesn't matter to have the sata6.0, the mobo I suggested supports it so I don't really understand what you are referring to.

I agree with most of Shadowssong's recommendations. I also think it's worth getting a small SSD as a boot drive, especially if you have the budget to spend $2,000 for this machine.

However, I would advise on getting the Megahalems HSF since you said in your original post you'd like to have the option of overclocking. The Mega will handle the job very nicely.

But dayem, there has to be someplace you can find those case fans for less. $24.00 each?

^^ Indeed.....Canada is terrible for prices on electronics (Depending on what your after of course)
Do you think it would be worth buying a second 4890 or just upgrading to a single 5870. and then future upgrades include another 5870, and then more ram if needed? I would ideally like to see this machine last me about 4yrs. My current rig (see sig) is pushing 4-5 years now, with minimal hardware upgrades (just ram and GPU)

-=WooDWorKeR420=- said:

^^ Indeed.....Canada is terrible for prices on electronics (Depending on what your after of course)
Do you think it would be worth buying a second 4890 or just upgrading to a single 5870. and then future upgrades include another 5870, and then more ram if needed? I would ideally like to see this machine last me about 4yrs. My current rig (see sig) is pushing 4-5 years now, with minimal hardware upgrades (just ram and GPU)

Click to expand...

Nah just stick with your new build, the 5870 is a good choice. 6GB of ram will be plenty for 99.9% of the users so I can't see you wanting anymore than that... unless you are doing VM'ing or heavy duty photoshopping you won't have a problem.

First off, two to four months is too long of a time period to start asking for advice on parts. Two or three weeks is a much better time frame. While you have a general idea of what you want now, prices may change and newer, better parts may arrive by the time that you place your order.

Nowadays, the Core i7 930 can be found for around the same price as, if not a bit higher than the Core i7 920. In fact, many of the NewEgg combo deals with the Core i7 930 (I can only talk about NewEgg from experience -- and, before I forget, make sure that you're using the newegg.ca site, not newegg.com) make it a better deal than its predecessor.

For a gaming machine, a better video card -- or, for your resolution, a second video card -- is a better choice than an SSD. While an SSD loads all games and programs faster than an HDD, it doesn't really improve frame rates much. Plus, if you plan on using high visual settings for your 30" monitor, you should be considering a multi-GPU setup. It won't generate a 100% performance upgrade, but it will be notable.

The "entry level" Gigabyte X58A-UD3R and a good yet inexpensive CPU cooler like the Cogage TRUE Spirit will give you a good base to work from should you decide to start overclocking in the future. Since it's not an immediate option for you, you don't have to spend a lot of money for parts designed primarily with overclocking in mind. If you can afford it, however, a third-party CPU cooler offers better cooling performance (even at stock CPU speeds) and generally operates quieter than the stock HSF.

How old is your PSU? Since you can afford to, I recommend replacing it if it's over two years old.

Some good advice here as well. The PSU would be about 3yrs old right now, so it might be time to change up. The 2nd GPU would be better for running res at 2560x1600. I will try and price up an option with the new PSU and (2) GPUS's.

The feedback is what I am after at this stage, parts may change slightly based on sales or deals, but getting back in touch with the current hardware and what is good, what is bad, and what is overkill or unnecessary is the advice I am after. After an upgrade I typically ignore the hardware scene for a while to avoid frustration at watching the next gen come out, days or weeks after my upgrade.

gonna have to say +1 on the true spirit, thing's hawtsauce for the price (can even get it to stand up to the more expensive hsf by lapping it, getting the optional bolt-through kit and using the washer mod).