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$1500.00 build

H

Hedge

Weaksauce
Joined
Jul 9, 2003
Messages
72
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
***Gaming,Web browsing and whatever else in that order...
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
***1500.00 including monitor.
3) Where do you live?
***DFW Texas
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.
***Everything but the case. I'm going to build all new. I'm upgrading from the rig in my sig. I currently have a thermaltake Tsunami case.
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
***The case will be reused
6) Will you be overclocking?
***Not at first, but yes!
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
***23 inch HP widescreen lcd 1920x1080 capabilities at 60hz. Model S2331.
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
***Within the next few days.
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
***I believe the one I picked has all the right stuff.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? 32bit or 64bit?
***I do have win XP pro. But looking to get Win 7 64 bit and use DX11.



Here is what I have at this time. I would have just posted a link to my wishlist but for some reason its not posted public at newegg yet?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106335
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136073
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131366
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150476
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106276
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829102006
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16836121006
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231277
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103727
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116716
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835100007
http://www.walmart.com/ip/HP-S2331/14170445

$1300.82 plus 20.00 shipping. Monitor is around $200 at wally world. Close to the 1500.00 mark. Gonna use my projector as a home theater in the future. It hasn't seen much use in a while anyway. As you can see from my sig, I plan on keeping this for a while so I had that in mind when putting it together. Hopefully it looks good.

So does anyone see anything glaringly wrong with this setup that I missed? Any pointers or suggestions?
 
That's what my girlfriend said too. But I was worried about having to reinstall later. I guess if I don't change the mobo for any reason I would be ok right?
 
Couple things:

1) You can get a HDD that is faster and twice the size for the same price (Samsung F3)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185&cm_re=spinpoint_f3-_-22-152-185-_-Product

2) never ever go Soundblaster soundcard. To be honest, most modern mobos have fantastic sound and and they wont effect performance so i recommend just using mobo. Then if you MUST get a soundcard go with Asus Xonar.

3) Speakers are OK, but if you want PC speakers that will blow your mind, i mean really good, get these Klipsch for $120.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Klipsch+-+ProMedia+2.1+Speaker+System+(3-Piece)+-+Black/9382232.p?id=1218095770265&skuId=9382232&st=klipsch%20promedia&cp=1&lp=1

4) The Phenom 955 is 15 bucks less and pretty much the same (but I would get the 965 like you have listed). However, for a little bit more, you can get the hex core (if you need the extra cores)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103851

5) Bad call on the monitor. For this system treat yourself to a nice monitor, as it is really the only thing you will see. If you have to go for a cheap TN, then get it locally (do you have a Costco) or go with the Asus models. if you are willing to pay a bit more (around $300) I highly recommend the NEC EA231wmi or Dell U2311h.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236052
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236049
 
Notleh said:
You can get a HDD that is faster and twice the size for the same price (Samsung F3)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185&cm_re=spinpoint_f3-_-22-152-185-_-Product
Click to expand...

The Samsung is $75. The WD 500GB Blue is $55. How is that the same price? Did you mean to link to another store?

Why get that Lite-on DVD ROM drive when you can get an actual DVD burner for the a little less:
$20 - LG iHAS124-04 DVD Burner

The speakers do not fit the sound card IMO. I highly recommend trying out the onboard audio FIRST and then decide whether or not you need a dedicated sound card. Most of the time, unless you're an audiophile or have a very good and relatively high-end audio setup (not that Logitech X-540 set), you're not gonna need that dedicated sound card.

As for the OEM question, as long as you don't change your mobo that often, you'll be set.

For about $5 more, you can get a significantly larger and better quality PSU with the same exact RAM you chose from this combo deal link:
$208 - G.Skill Ripjaw Series F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL 2 x 2GB DDR3 1600 RAM + XFX XPS-850W-BES 850W Modular PSU

You can shave off another $20 by getting the Phenom 955 CPU and motherboard from this combo link:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.500637

GPU wise, I don't think the HD 5870 is worth it now that the price of the HD 5850 has dropped so much:
$260 - Gigabyte GV-R585OC-1GD Radeon HD 5850 1GB PCI-E Video Card

I'm more than willing to bet that the HD 5870 will not last that much longer than the HD 5850 to justify the extra $130. So I recommend the HD 5850 instead.
 
At this point, the X4 955 BE and the X6 1055T have the best bang-per-buck for AMD processors. Go with one of those two.

There's no good reason nowadays to have two optical drives. Plus, Lite-On drives are known to be louder than competing brands. Save yourself a considerable bit of money by going with one drive instead:
$18 - LG GH22LS50 SATA DVD burner (or, go with Danny Bui's choice)

I second the recommendation for an OEM copy of Windows 7. Unless you plan on changing motherboards often, you don't need to worry about the validity of the OS license. Likewise, unless you have very good hearing and have something along the lines of what I have (Swans M200MkII), try out the onboard sound first.

If you buy the Samsung F3 1TB HDD and use the $15 off promo code before Labor Day -- in other words, order it TODAY -- then yes, it's a much better value than the WD Caviar Blue 500GB HDD. Alternatively, if you live near a Micro Center B&M store, the F3 is available for $65.

Here's another reason to go with the HD 5850 as Danny recommended: It has a combo deal with an OEM copy of Windows 7 Home Premium.

Stupid question, but since you plan on overclocking in the future, why don't you consider a third-party CPU cooler now? In other words, grab this:
$30 - Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 120mm CPU cooler

D'oh! I forgot about the monitor. Get something other than whatever Wal-Mart has:
$190 - Asus VH242H 23.6" 1920x1080 monitor

The Asus is of better build quality than anything you could find at Costo, Wal-Mart, or the like. And while it does use a TN panel, the primary advantage of TN panels (over the E-IPS panels in the two monitors that Notleh recommended) is faster refresh rates for gaming. If you did a lot of graphics work, however, you should spend the $300+ for one of those monitors.
 
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Danny Bui said:
The Samsung is $75. The WD 500GB Blue is $55. How is that the same price? Did you mean to link to another store?
Click to expand...

There is a $15 store coupon listed right in the newegg window, which brings it to $60.

Nice work on those combo deals Tiraides and Danny_bui!
 
Ok good deal. I definetly see the advantages of some of these componets and combo deals!

Definetly going to replace the HDD with the 1TB one! I like the psu/ram combo deal! And the walmart monitor is out... Going to snag one of the asus monitors! I also like the win 7/5850 combo deal as that really slashed the overall price. Just not sure about that 5850...

Also I chose this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204 to replace the lite on burner and dvd rom. Figured a good all in one unit was better right? I just want to be able to watch dvds, play games, and burn dvds/cd for family video savings.

I'm not sure about the 955 cpu combo deal though. Same mobo I picked so no problems there. But if I understand it right, the 955 is basically the same as the 965. So get the 955 just to save the money? Not sure the Thurban is what I need right now...And I understand the price difference savings on the 5850 over the 5870, but is the 5850 really as good as the 5870? And what about if I do decided later on to go bulldozer? Is the 5850 gonna let me down? Or would I be looking to crossfire them to keep up?

Bottlenecking is a big concern for me as I have learned that the hard way with my current system over time. My old rig has been very good to me, but that area is the one thing I never considered back then..

Thanks for the suggestions so far!
 
Hedge, Bulldozer requires a new socket, so you are looking at a new motherboard if you upgrade.

Also, no one knows for sure, but Bulldozer doesn't look to be a massive boost over current line of chips, so any of the 5XXX should not hold you back.

if you want to get an idea on 5850 vs 5870, go here and play with settings for game/monitor.
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/GPU/88

******************************
@tiraides: I recommend Costco to people because its easier on people who dont know what they want and removes potential frustration:
1) If you get a bad monitor you take it right back and get a new one instead of twiddling your thumbs for a couple weeks.
2) Anything goes wrong in 18 months they will replace it on the spot.
3) they only sell Samsungs, and the P2370x is actually rated pretty well for a TN.
 
Last edited:
Oh I was under the impression that bulldozer was going to be backwards compatible with this mobo. I guess I was mistaken.

Thanks for the link. I will check it out.
 
Not sure.. What your goal is as far as your system being.. Super Super Awesome or modernization or gaming computer. I have been strapped for money for the past five years. And I was just able to upgrade last week. I see your coming from quite an old system. So, to me, your going to be happy with just about anything. And like you I had to build from the ground up. And I had to cut costs b/c I was trying to pay with money I had and ended up using billmelater to fill out the gaps. But I'm not done. Anyways. I was able to get a lot of computer for about $1300. And am thoroughly happy. Now compared to the top end enthusiasts, my rig is weak. But from where I was coming and how I use it. It's awesome. The only bottleneck I really have is the cpu. But even with that. I get really good framerates all over. So, really depends on how much money you want to pour into it. And what your end process will be. I feel like my rig has a lot of upgradablity in it. I also wouldn't mind an SSD. But it's not a make or break deal at this point.
 
Last edited:
I understand the cash strapped position for sure.

I really am looking for the best gaming rig I can buy within my budget and figure that if it does well there, it will be good enough for the rest of what I might use it for. That philosophy proved to work well on my last build.

My biggest concern really is the cpu to gpu bottleneck, and any future proofing after that. But I will prolly do exactly what I did last time...build it, use it until it's really outdated and then replace it with new stuff.

I really like the cost cutting combo buys posted above, but if I go the 5870 route, I will loose some of that and add to cost. I was looking at just over $1500.00 before, but after those "tweaks" posted above; I cut that back $400.00! Biggest issue I had there was the 5850 vs the 5870. Other than that it seemed like the same thing for 400 less!!
 
Check the benchmarks between the GTX 460 SLI setup and one HD 5870; it reinforces Danny's opinion that the 5870 is a bad buy. Benchmarks between the 5870 and 5850 show that while the 5870 is the better card, the 5850 isn't that bad of a card.

I forgot that Costco sold Samsung monitors... they would work just as well as the Asus monitor I recommended earlier. Just keep in mind that all monitors sold at B&M stores use TN panels that are good for gaming, OK for movies, and bad (compared to IPS panels) for everything else.
 
Im a little confused...i'm reading that the 5850 doesnt support dx11. But the specs show it does. Seems that a lot of people are having trouble getting dx11 to run smoothly. Any feedback on this?
 
I haven't heard or experienced that problem myself. All HD 5-series cards support Direct X 11.
 
Ok i'm about to pull the trigger on this....one last question.

If I understand this dvd burner/reader stuff correctly... This http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204 is all I need for my dvd rom and burner needs right?


Right now i'm leaning towards the XFX 5870 (lifetime warranty) and the 965 cpu just because I can, I suppose. I did use the psu/ram combo, and decided to get the OEM win 7home for 99.00 to save some dough. I decided to go with the asus monitor and the better HDD on special.

Totaled up it will all cost 1350.00 after shipping and rebates. I have a budget build using all the combo deals posted above (5850 and 955 included in this one) and it came out to 1143.00 shipped and after all rebates. I'm just thinking 200 bucks for lifetime warranties, better gpu/cpu, etc. is a small price to pay for several years of use.

If anyone could comment on the dvd burner question and maybe critique my thought about my decision it would be greatly appreciated. Gonna order this in a little while so I need some feedback one last time. Thanks
 
Right when I was about to leave, too....

The Asus optical drive is fine; I recommend going with the cheapest one (no Lite-On, as they're loud) that you can find (hint: look for combo deals).

I'm not a fan on rebates as the majority of them are more trouble than they're worth (and there's no 100% guarantee that you'll receive all of your rebates). While it's not worth nitpicking over the 5870, try to find one with a few good combo deals that will help you lower the overall price even further. However, don't go for the X4 965, as you'll see no performance benefit over the X4 955.
 
Hedge said:
If I understand this dvd burner/reader stuff correctly... This http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204 is all I need for my dvd rom and burner needs right?
Click to expand...
Yes.
Hedge said:
Right now i'm leaning towards the XFX 5870 (lifetime warranty) and the 965 cpu just because I can, I suppose. I did use the psu/ram combo, and decided to get the OEM win 7home for 99.00 to save some dough. I decided to go with the asus monitor and the better HDD on special.

Totaled up it will all cost 1350.00 after shipping and rebates. I have a budget build using all the combo deals posted above (5850 and 955 included in this one) and it came out to 1143.00 shipped and after all rebates. I'm just thinking 200 bucks for lifetime warranties, better gpu/cpu, etc. is a small price to pay for several years of use.
Click to expand...

Yeah not a good plan at all. I usually recommended a XFX branded card whenever I reasonably can but in this case, it's simply is not a good idea. Yes the Gigabyte only has a 3 year warranty compared to XFX's lifetime and yes the HD 5870 is slightly faster. But those two factors alone are not worth the extra $130. In about 3 years, I'm more than willing to bet that there will be a video card out there will outperform the HD 5870 for $130. And more than likely that card will have a 3 year warranty. Considering that six years from now you'll be due an upgrade anyway, that lifetime warranty won't really help.

As for the CPU, the 965BE is only 200Mhz faster than the 955BE. Totally not worth the extra $35.

So to repeat: that extra $200 is not gonna make your system last that much longer in the long run to justify the extra costs. An extra month at the MOST.
 
Ok so I thought about this and you guys are prolly right. That and the fact my girlfriend pulled the common sense card out on me, made me decide that budget was the way to go. I was so about to go big kahuna on it but heres what I did...

I couldn't resist the XFX lifetime warranty so I went with their 5850 version which killed the combo deal on that one, but for 35 bucks more than the combo price, I got the OEM Win 7Home and the XFX 5850 1GB seperately. My BFG 6800GT crapped on me after a few years and the free replacement was nice. So heres what I did....

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131366
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150494
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207001
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103808
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231277
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236052
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116754
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835100007
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16836121006

Total price was $1205.98 shipped. And I still have $50 in mail in rebates coming (fingers crossed) making the total $1155.98. Overall I saved right at $400.00 from my original build, and actually added some better choices thanks to the advice I recieved here. Thank you guys very much!! That's why I always look here for my advice. I'm sure I will be very happy with this build as I was when the [H]ard Community helped me with the barton build years ago. I'll post back and let yall know how the build went. Can't wait to max out the settings and buy a couple new games!!! :D
 
tiraides said:
There's no good reason nowadays to have two optical drives. Plus, Lite-On drives are known to be louder than competing brands. Save yourself a considerable bit of money by going with one drive instead:
$18 - LG GH22LS50 SATA DVD burner (or, go with Danny Bui's choice)
Click to expand...

To add to that:

There is no good reason nowadays to have a burner and a separate read-only optical drive in the same system. However, if you must have two optical drives in the same system, make them both burners - and then, I'd recommend the dual- or multiple-burner setup only as a CYA measure with media which may burn well in one burner but not in the other (I have run into quite a few batches of known good media that are like this lately).
 
Hedge said:
...my girlfriend pulled the common sense card out on me...
Click to expand...

You do know you used up all your collateral buying this system, right? Now you are fucked :eek:

Over the next month you are going to be helping her shop for bras or presents for her Grandma. :D
 
Actually she was just caught looking at purses on the laptop. And I don't mean your average run of the mill purse. I'll give her credit though, she went for the combo deal....3 purses for 800.00!!! Yeah i'm screwed.:cool:
 
Indeed! Always feels good to get what ya want and walk away with some cash left over. Thank you for your help.
 
Well a little update.

I was in costco today buying some cases of water and I walked by the electronics....And I found they had one of these http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001379&Tpk=samsung p2770h for $299.00. I bought it! Called newegg, i'm gonna refuse the asus delivery tomorrow and get a refund.

I couldn't resist! Total impulse buy but man it rocks! Hooked it up to the old barton and 6800gt and cranked it up to 1920x1080! WOW....Totally awsome. I thought the projector was bad ass back when I bought it. It was, but man this is super sharp, clear, and big when you sit this close to it.

I should have the rest of the items I ordered tomorrow or Friday so I will post again when I get it all together. Can't wait.
 
So I started unpacking the items yesterday and was looking at the xfx 850w psu. I have a question that I didn't think about really when I ordered it.

1. Is this a bottom mount design only? Just wondering because of the size of this psu.

2. I tried to power up the psu out of the case (thermaltake tsunami)to see how the heat is exhausted via the fan for mounting it in my case. Well it doesn't power up when plugged into the wall by itself. Is this normal? I'm guessing it must be connected to something before it will power up? My old psu wasn't like this iirc.
 
1. What do you mean by bottom mount design?

2. Perfectly normal. Most PSUs do that these days. Just do a google search for "PSU paper clip test" and you should find a way to start up that PSU.

Just a FYI however, that XFX just draws air from the bottom and then that air is pushed out the rear.
 
I saw that paper clip thing. Honestly, If you say its normal i'm good with that. lol.

Bottom mount is just what I have seen from others pics of their pc's. They all had them mounted on the bottom of the case. My case is setup for top mount. And this thing is huge compared to my old psu. Just seems like the 4 little screws aren't going to be enough to hold it in place. And the hole for exhaust air is a small hole.

I just don't think this beast is gonna work in my case afterall.
 
You can mount the PSU in the top of the PC. Yes 4 screws will be enough to hold that PSU. Looking at the rear of the case, that hole is more than enough for the XFX.
 
Well I went and bought a new case. I figured F it! Picked up this at frys for $69.00 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...=thermaltake_armor_a90-_-11-133-176-_-Product . At least I won't have to gut the old pc, who knows what i'll do with it now that its still complete setup. New case has way more room, much easier to work in.

Anyway putting it all together now and just wondering; should my hard drive or my dvd drive be on sata 1 port? Or does it matter?


Honestly the manuals on this build are lacking a bit from my last build so i'm in some murky water right now. I've got the case wires like ( HD audio with ac97 plug attatched, power led, reset sw, power sw, hdd led) that I have no idea so far on where to plug them in.
 
Hedge said:
Anyway putting it all together now and just wondering; should my hard drive or my dvd drive be on sata 1 port? Or does it matter?
Click to expand...
Doesn't matter.
Hedge said:
Honestly the manuals on this build are lacking a bit from my last build so i'm in some murky water right now. I've got the case wires like ( HD audio with ac97 plug attatched, power led, reset sw, power sw, hdd led) that I have no idea so far on where to plug them in.
Click to expand...

Read the motherboard manual for that.
 
Good deal.

I was getting tired and a little punchy yesterday. I found in the mobo manual where it showed that. Almost the last page. I'm one of those that doesnt skip to the end of a book...lol.

Got it all wired up and getting ready to see if she'll boot and then format the hdd. I'm excited. Hopefully all goes well. :cool:
 
Ok well she's up and running! :D

Wasn't all that bad of a build. A couple of the manuals were very basic but between you guys here, youtube, and the net (do they still call it that? lol) I got it all figured out. Total came to somewhere near $1370.00 if my math is correct.That was with $80 of mail in rebates. And that was buying a new case, which I think was worth it in the end. It saved me the time of tearing the other one down and having to work in that somewhat cramped space. And the extra I spent on the 27 inch samsung over the 23.6 inch asus lcd monitor. But again, I think it was worth it.

I haven't overclocked anything yet. Just letting her stretch her legs for a while. Besides I need to look over a few things before I venture there. Prolly get a couple new fans....Anyway she runs real good!

On the Barton system in my sig I was getting 10 to 30 fps in TF2 with everything on low @ 1024x768, with lots of lag in big fights. Now I get nothing less than 60 fps with everything maxed at 1920x1080 except 8x AF and 4x AA. Most of the time I'm between 75 and 100+ on all maps. On the Barton I got maybe 50 fps in BF2 with everything on low. Now the fps counter never goes below 100! Everything maxed again like TF2. On the Barton I was getting 3 to 10 fps in ARMA2 demo everything on low. Now maxed out I get 35 to 65 fps!

I haven't tried any other games yet, but I can say i'm very satisfied so far. This was a major jump up in performance for me. Windows 7 seems cool. A bit different of course but good. The onboard sound from the mobo is really good. Glad I saved some dough there. The cpu and ram only show to run at half on the g15 lcd screen when gaming, and the temps are nice and cool so far. The logitech speakers are much better than my old logitech speakers since they have the metal mesh screens and seem to be just built better with a nice remote that is wired to the sub for audio controls. Everything worked out of the box and I haven't had any issues to speak of so far....knock on wood.

I understand now what some said about the case and its cable management or lack of, but honestly I was able to just tuck all the excess to the side and behind the drive bays to conceal them. The XFX psu prolly helped there. That thing is just awsome! Overall it looks real clean I think. I'm not a blingy person anyway. I just want something that rocks and I definetly have it again! With the addition of a couple good fans and maybe a better heatsink, although the one that came with the cpu was actually really nice, except for the fan it came with; I will dive into the oc'ing.

Thanks to everyone that gave advice and feedback or opinions. It really helped me make a smart decision that in the end was exactly what I wanted to get from a new build. Gotta love the [H]ard community! :cool:

I'll post some pics soon.
 
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