Advice on a 1500$ Gaming Rig

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lost0822

Limp Gawd
Joined
Mar 10, 2004
Messages
270
I’m building a machine for the first time in about 4-5 years so, yeah, it has been a while. I had 2 little boys since and they sucked up most of my money. Well my father-in-law wants me to build him a machine for gaming and general purpose. I will be using this build as a template for a build I would like to do in Dec/Jan. I have been researching some over the past month to get my self back up to date as to what is out there. I put some part together but still need suggestions (particularly on the motherboard and RAM) as if these parts will work together well and any other suggestions you might have.

He has given me a 1500 dollar budget but that is a little flexible

Thanks!

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Gaming mostly….web browsing and excel stuff
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
1500 dollars but that is somewhat flexible
3) Where do you live?
U.S.
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.
Everything…I can pick out the keyboard mouse unless you have suggestions
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Nothing being reused
6) Will you be overclocking?
He will not be no
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
1920x1080
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Next couple of weeks
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
None…just a basic motherboard since he will not be overclcoking and using a single card
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license?
No

Parts I’ve put together….not set in stone though.

COOLER MASTER Storm Scout SGC-2000-KKN1-GP Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case – Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119196

SAPPHIRE 100281SR Radeon HD 5870 (Cypress XT) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card w/ATI Eyefinity – Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102856&cm_re=5870-_-14-102-856-_-Product

PC Power & Cooling S75CF 750W EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341011

Intel Core i5-750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115215

HITACHI 0A38016 1TB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822145233

ASUS VW246H Black 24" 2ms(GTG) HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 1000:1 (ASCR 20000:1) Built in Speakers - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236049

Pioneer Black 5X BD-ROM 12X DVD-ROM 32X CD-ROM SATA Internal Blu-Ray Combo Model BDC-202BK - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827129015

SAMSUNG Black 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA DVD Burner – OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151187

Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit for System Builders w/ Tech Guarantee - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116677

I realize some of these are out of stock but I’ll waiting for some to come back to purchase….especially the monitor there.

Again thanks for any help and suggestions!
 
i'll check....i think i saw it would fit by watching a review of the case on YouTube...and that there are removable drive cases as well for such a thing.

thanks for the power suggestion with the rebate...but is 750w overkill?

also any mobo and ram suggestions?
 
The Ripjaws have better timings, but you won't notice the difference in everyday usage. Though, for $10 more, not a bad choice. I also recall the Ripjaws OC'ing better, if you need them to. Either kit will work fine with P55 mobos.

Yes, 750W is overkill, but thats not a mail-in-rebate... thats an instant rebate. :p And frankly, for $90 you're getting a damn good PSU thats not only modular but also sleeved. Great deal.

If you live near a Microcenter, the i5 750 is only $160, IIRC.

You can get this and ditch the samsung:
$100 - LG Black 8X BD-ROM 16X DVD Burner SATA UH08LS10K

I havent checked on the performance of Hitachi's lately. Most people have been going with the WD Caviar Black or Samsung F1 (I haven't read up on the F3 either, lol). Get whichever one is faster of those.
 
any mobo suggestions?

just noticed that was an instant rebate thanks!

thanks for all the advice so far as well!
 
I'd go for this Intel Core i5 750 + Gigabyte mobo combo:
$325 - Intel Core i5 750 CPU + Gigabyte GA-P55-UD3R Intel P55 ATX Motherboard Combo
 
I agree.

Heh, I just realized I've sold all my other non-gigabyte boards aside from my P4P800-vm, lol.
 
lost0822 said:
i'll check....i think i saw it would fit by watching a review of the case on YouTube...and that there are removable drive cases as well for such a thing.

thanks for the power suggestion with the rebate...but is 750w overkill?

also any mobo and ram suggestions?
Click to expand...

Storm Scout isn't going to fit a 5870 or barely. I suggest either Coolermaster 922 or 5850.
 
yeah i have dropped the Scout and i'm looking at the Sniper or the full tower HAF 932 now

my father in law comes into town today so i'll let him choose but i'm sure he will go for the cheaper route.

someone else suggested this MSI board since i said i worked with them in the past and he will not be doing SLI/Crossfire....an reason you would still choose the Gigabyte board over the MSI?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130240

awesome advice so far guys
 
I built this about 2-3 months ago. Was a little cheaper thanks to Microcenter (got processor, case, and dvd drive for cheaper)RAM was also cheaper back then. Since you have the $1500 budget you change the video card, or add another 260.

It's a little different then what you have above...

Heres the list with links...

~ Antec 902 case - $124.95
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129058

~EVGA x58 SLI LE motherboard - $239.99, $219.99 with $20 mail in rebate. Free 4gig flash drive too.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188049

~i7 920 2.66ghz CPU - $279.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202

~OCZ XMP 6GB (3 x 2GB) DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) - $147.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227388

~MSI 260gtx 896mb 448bit, 216 cores. - $174.99, $159.99 with $15 mail in rebate.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127430

~Western Digital Caviar Black 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache HDD - $74.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319

~Corsair 850tx PSU - $139.99, $119.99 with $20 mail in rebate.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139009

~HP Black 24X DVD - $33.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827140041

Total without shipping ~$1,216.88
Total with shipping ~ $1,241.97

There isn't an OS, using the W7 RC. Going to wait awhile to get W7 more then likely.
I added a Corsair H50 about a week later, due to the stock cooler sucking. That was like $80.
Now i'm adding custom water cooling, a $340 investment lol.

Anyways, good luck!
 
King Icewind said:
I built this about 2-3 months ago. Was a little cheaper thanks to Microcenter (got processor, case, and dvd drive for cheaper)RAM was also cheaper back then. Since you have the $1500 budget you change the video card, or add another 260.

It's a little different then what you have above...

Heres the list with links...

~ Antec 902 case - $124.95
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129058

~EVGA x58 SLI LE motherboard - $239.99, $219.99 with $20 mail in rebate. Free 4gig flash drive too.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188049

~i7 920 2.66ghz CPU - $279.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202

~OCZ XMP 6GB (3 x 2GB) DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) - $147.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227388

~MSI 260gtx 896mb 448bit, 216 cores. - $174.99, $159.99 with $15 mail in rebate.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127430

~Western Digital Caviar Black 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache HDD - $74.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319

~Corsair 850tx PSU - $139.99, $119.99 with $20 mail in rebate.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139009

~HP Black 24X DVD - $33.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827140041

Total without shipping ~$1,216.88
Total with shipping ~ $1,241.97

There isn't an OS, using the W7 RC. Going to wait awhile to get W7 more then likely.
I added a Corsair H50 about a week later, due to the stock cooler sucking. That was like $80.
Now i'm adding custom water cooling, a $340 investment lol.

Anyways, good luck!
Click to expand...


thank you

problem is i really wanted to get him the 5780 card so that board and all would not work....thanks for the other suggestions though.
 
lost0822 said:
thank you

problem is i really wanted to get him the 5780 card so that board and all would not work....thanks for the other suggestions though.
Click to expand...

Why would that board not work? :confused: ATI cards work in all intel chipset motherboards. In fact, the X58 supports both Crossfire and SLI, so it HAS to accept both ATI and NVIDIA cards. ;) There isn't a mainstream motherboard out there today that won't accept any brand of GPU/vidcard.

lost0822 said:
... someone else suggested this MSI board since i said i worked with them in the past and he will not be doing SLI/Crossfire....an reason you would still choose the Gigabyte board over the MSI? ...
Click to expand...

Personal preference, IMO, when it comes to X58 boards, aside from the standard feature set. They're all the same chipset, so the main differences are chipset cooling and onboard features. The only ones that OC better than the rest are those that have advanced power designs (the more expensive boards). Personally, I like gigabyte boards because they tend to come out with BIOS updates more frequently to address reported issues. I also like the BIOS profiles and how their BIOS is setup, along with dualBIOS. My homie likes Asus because of ExpressGate (onboard Linux).
 
enginurd said:
Why would that board not work? :confused: ATI cards work in all intel chipset motherboards. In fact, the X58 supports both Crossfire and SLI, so it HAS to accept both ATI and NVIDIA cards. ;) There isn't a mainstream motherboard out there today that won't accept any brand of GPU/vidcard.



Personal preference, IMO, when it comes to X58 boards, aside from the standard feature set. They're all the same chipset, so the main differences are chipset cooling and onboard features. The only ones that OC better than the rest are those that have advanced power designs (the more expensive boards). Personally, I like gigabyte boards because they tend to come out with BIOS updates more frequently to address reported issues. I also like the BIOS profiles and how their BIOS is setup, along with dualBIOS. My homie likes Asus because of ExpressGate (onboard Linux).
Click to expand...


lol@me

see i told you i have been out of the game for a while now...i just assumed that since you said SLI that it had a Nvidia chipset and would not work well with an ATI card.....chalk up another dumb statement by me!

i'll check it out and the Gigabyte board as well
thanks again
 
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