Building new computer soon, need help!

Epitaph64

Limp Gawd
Joined
Nov 17, 2009
Messages
156
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Gaming
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
1000 (shipping and tax included)
3) Where do you live?
Tucson, AZ
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.
All necessary.
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
I have a 450 watt vxw corsair PSU. I'm not sure this will be enough, so I most likely plan to replace it. I have mouse/keyboard/speakers. Just looking for the box stuff. I have a DVD drive as well, that's fine for my needs of just installing games occasionally.
6) Will you be overclocking?
Perhaps I will. If it's safe/easy I would like to, so I probably want an aftermarket fan.
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
I'd like the build to include a monitor. Whatever resolution will be best for the build, not that picky on this. My current 19" Hanns G has capacitor issues so I can't really use it without problems.
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Within a month.
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
It would be nice to have SLI expandability, in case I want to squeeze some extra performance out of it down the line, but it's not necessary. Don't need RAID or firewire, just plain old USB2.0 and a decent built in sound card/ethernet.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license?
Yeah, I have a win7 pro x64 I will put on it, and revert to vista on my laptop.


Thanks for the help, to anyone who reads. I'll be upgrading to this computer from an AMD 3000+ 1.8 ghz single core, 8800GTS 320 MB, 1 gig DDR ram box, so I'm pretty much excited to get this and move out of the stone age! :p

EDIT: Also, on a side note, I plan to LAN quite a bit with friends, so a durable case would be preferred to a more flashy one.
 
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For under $1,000 this outta kick ass.

Antec Earthwatts EA650 + Antec Three Hundred both for $109.94 w/free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.285167

GIGABYTE GA-P55-UD3R + G. Skill DDR3 1600 both for $220.98 w/free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.289749

Sapphire Radeon HD 4890 1GB + Intel Core i5-750 both for $374.98 shipping is $7.56
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.280749

Seagate Barracuda 500GB for $54.99 w/free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148395

Acer X233Hbid 23" for $169.99 w/free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009163

Total: $930.88
Shipping: $7.56
Grand Total: $938.44
 
Oh btw: this is the build I made myself, but I may have made some dire mistakes.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811517004 - AZZA Solano 1000 case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157172 - Asrock p55 extreme
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150447 - XFX 5770
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006 - Corsair 750TX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115215 - i5 750
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231277 - gskill ripjaw 4gig 2x2gb
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231277 - WD caviar black 750gig
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009145 - Acer 22" (may replace with the suggested monitor if the system can handle 1920 res easily)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186134 - arctic cooler
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835100007 - arctic silver 5

Total is 1,126 with the shipping which is somewhat pushing my budget, but I may be able to get away with if this build is good. Anyways, what do you guys think?
 
Cool another Tucsonian!!

In you build you need to look for combo deals to reduce cost.Look on the left side of the screen about mid way down, and the in parenthenses it will say combo deal.
If you want to run a western digitial hardrive, choose a 640gb model, preferably black. They use a 2 platter design (750 uses 3-platter) so they are faster and quieter.
 
Ah I didn't know about the platters, so thanks for telling me. I will definitely look at some combo deals, but I'm waiting for my broker to cash some stock at the moment, and so I'll look for the deals once I get the cash.
 
should I toss in an aftermarket cooler? I somewhat wanted to clock the i5 to around 3.2+ ghz or so if possible.
 
No one else has thrown in an AMD build so I will :) [dont have time to get links, i should started sleeping 20 min ago, but this forum is too adicting]

CPU- AMD Phenom II X2 550 - ~$100 ... has yet to stop on me in gaming
Mem - OCZ Reaper HPC 2X2GB - ~ $100
Mobo - Asus Croshair III - ~$200
GFX - Any ATI, probably a 4890 prices have dropped
HDD - WD 500 GB - ~$50-60
PSU - OCZ GameXStream - ~$60-70

if you look at my sig, all components in it were bought for under 1000, my prices are what they were when i bought....my machine RIPS through everything, and my bottleneck is the 9800 GTX


thought i would throw in the AMD solution
 
Here's a system I put together for you.

Antec Earthwatts EA650 + Antec Three Hundred both for $109.94 w/free shipping (yeah, I took this from HardwareGuru, but it's really a good deal.)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.285167

AMD Phenom II X4 955 BE + MSI 790FX-GD70 + OCZ Obsidian 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 1600 w/ free shipping $401.97 plus a $20 MIR so $381.97
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.294655

ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro (thanks Epitiaph64 for showing this cooler)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186134

HIS Radeon HD 4890 1GB w/ free shipping $179.99 ($159.99 after $20 MIR)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161299

Western Digital Caviar Blue 640GB w/ free shipping $69.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136218

Acer X233Hbid 23" for $169.99 w/free shipping (again, I took this from HardwareGuru, but this is a good deal.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009163

Subtotal is $965.86 (there no price for shipping, everything's free shipping)
$925.86 after $40 worth of MIR

This should be able to do whatever you want it to do, especially with a good OC. Here's a tip on the monitor. Check out this 24.6 inch Hans-G monitor. It was just $190 this past weekend. But now it's $230 :(
 
Ah that build looks quite nice as well. Anyways, the money is now being shipped to me, so I hope that the majority of the combo deals will be there by the time that it arrives! Otherwise, I'll just scout out a few new ones if I have to. However, the RAM in your build Aaron11, looks quite bad. Most people say that it isn't stable at the rated speeds or even the lower speeds in some cases, so I probably will avoid it.
 
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Oh btw: this is the build I made myself, but I may have made some dire mistakes.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811517004 - AZZA Solano 1000 case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157172 - Asrock p55 extreme
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150447 - XFX 5770
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006 - Corsair 750TX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115215 - i5 750
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231277 - gskill ripjaw 4gig 2x2gb
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231277 - WD caviar black 750gig
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009145 - Acer 22" (may replace with the suggested monitor if the system can handle 1920 res easily)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186134 - arctic cooler
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835100007 - arctic silver 5

Total is 1,126 with the shipping which is somewhat pushing my budget, but I may be able to get away with if this build is good. Anyways, what do you guys think?

Cases are subjective, so go with what you like.

The 5770 should be fine if you stick with a 22", but I'd suggest at least an HD4890 for a 1080p LCD (HG's build), IMO.

750W is way overkill for your build. A good 550W would be fine, and a good 650W would be more than enough.

Your computer is as fast as your slowest component, which is typically the HDD in most, if not all, systems. Go with a faster/newer HDD that uses 500GB platters instead of the older designs. Samsung F3 and Seagate 7200.12 500GB and 1TB drives are such examples.

AC F7 Pro was fine for Core2, but i5 gets much hotter when OC'ing, so I'd recommend something better, like the CM Hyper 212+ instead.

No one else has thrown in an AMD build so I will :) [dont have time to get links, i should started sleeping 20 min ago, but this forum is too adicting]

CPU- AMD Phenom II X2 550 - ~$100 ... has yet to stop on me in gaming
Mem - OCZ Reaper HPC 2X2GB - ~ $100
Mobo - Asus Croshair III - ~$200
GFX - Any ATI, probably a 4890 prices have dropped
HDD - WD 500 GB - ~$50-60
PSU - OCZ GameXStream - ~$60-70

if you look at my sig, all components in it were bought for under 1000, my prices are what they were when i bought....my machine RIPS through everything, and my bottleneck is the 9800 GTX


thought i would throw in the AMD solution

I agree, for pure gaming (with GPU bound games), an i5 is not necessary, so if you'd like to save some cash, go for AMD Ph2 X3/X4. I'd highly suggest sticking with at LEAST an X3, though, instead of an X2. X2 would be in the low budget range, IMO.

No point in spending $200 for the mobo of a midrange-high end system, IMO, especially if its not an X58 board.

IIRC, WD is still using 2-platter designs for their 500GB, so a Samsung F3 or Seagate 7200.12 would be a faster option (500GB/platter vs 320GB/platter; higher platter density = faster).

The GXS 600W/700W is based on the notorious FSP Epsilon design, which has out of spec ripple at high loads. Such voltage fluctuations could damage all your parts over time. Granted, you may never reach such high loads, but why pay for something you can't use to its full advertised specs? There are much better choices out there -- better design, cleaner power, and overall better quality.


Here's a system I put together for you.

Antec Earthwatts EA650 + Antec Three Hundred both for $109.94 w/free shipping (yeah, I took this from HardwareGuru, but it's really a good deal.)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.285167

AMD Phenom II X4 955 BE + MSI 790FX-GD70 + OCZ Obsidian 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 1600 w/ free shipping $401.97 plus a $20 MIR so $381.97
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.294655

ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro (thanks Epitiaph64 for showing this cooler)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186134

HIS Radeon HD 4890 1GB w/ free shipping $179.99 ($159.99 after $20 MIR)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161299

Western Digital Caviar Blue 640GB w/ free shipping $69.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136218

Acer X233Hbid 23" for $169.99 w/free shipping (again, I took this from HardwareGuru, but this is a good deal.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009163

Subtotal is $965.86 (there no price for shipping, everything's free shipping)
$925.86 after $40 worth of MIR

This should be able to do whatever you want it to do, especially with a good OC. Here's a tip on the monitor. Check out this 24.6 inch Hans-G monitor. It was just $190 this past weekend. But now it's $230 :(

Freezer 7 Pro is for Intel. Freezer 64 Pro is for AMD. You downgraded the CPU, downgraded the HDD (performance-wise; upgrade space-wise), and upgraded the CPU Cooler for $25 more -- sorry man, but thats terrible bang for buck. :( :confused:

An AMD build w/ the same vidcard as the i5 build, for that same budget and purpose does not sound like a good idea. The only reason I'd drop from i5 to Ph2 X4 would be to raise the vidcard budget, since its a gaming system. However, you'd need to cut it down enough to significantly upgrade the vidcard. Using the same vidcard but downgrading the CPU while not upgrading anything else is just pointless, IMO. :confused: i5 dominates the X4. Though, for GPU bound games, performance difference is negligible; so its important to upgrade the GPU on a gaming system if downgrading the CPU.

HG's build is much better bang for buck, and its faster.

For under $1,000 this outta kick ass.

Antec Earthwatts EA650 + Antec Three Hundred both for $109.94 w/free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.285167

GIGABYTE GA-P55-UD3R + G. Skill DDR3 1600 both for $220.98 w/free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.289749

Sapphire Radeon HD 4890 1GB + Intel Core i5-750 both for $374.98 shipping is $7.56
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.280749

Seagate Barracuda 500GB for $54.99 w/free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148395

Acer X233Hbid 23" for $169.99 w/free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009163

Total: $930.88
Shipping: $7.56
Grand Total: $938.44

Best option so far for your listed budget of $1k. The only thing its missing is an SSD. :p
 
Yeah, it turns out that the check will take awhile to cash since it's from out of state, so most of these deals will be expired sadly =/ I'll post back here once I have the money ready to spend though, but thanks to all that have been helping me out so far!
 
EFT FTW! Though, some banks still delay the post date of an EFT. :confused:
 
OK, here's another build I came up with.

Acer X233Hbid Black 23" w/ free shipping for $169.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009163

HIS Radeon HD 4890 1GB w/ free shipping for $179.99 ($159.99 after $20 MIR)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161299

ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro w/ free shipping $26.98 (eniginurd, you're wrong. This cooler supports Intel Socket 1366, 1156, 775 and AMD Socket AM3, AM2+, AM2 and 939)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186134

Raidmax ATX-798WB + GIGABYTE GA-P55M-UD2 + Raidmax RX-730SS + Intel Core i5 750 + Corsair (XMS Series) 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 1600 + Western Digital Caviar Green 1.5TB w/ free shipping for $577.99 ($648.93 before combo discounts)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.293841

Total: $954.95 ($934.95 after $20 MIR)

Personally, I'd get this system if I had the money. The only issue is that I don't think the mobo supports crossfire. You should be glad you don't live in California, because if I were to buy this, you have to add $78.78 worth of tax! :( Which turns out to a total of $1,033.73. Ouch!

Edit: If you don't like the PSU, you could get everything in the combo except for the PSU (the combo's about $70 off so it's like getting the Raidmax PSU for free). You could get this OCZ 700w PSU for $97.99 ($67.99 after $30 MIR). Your new total would then be about $982.95 ($932.95 after $50 worth of MIR's)
 
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:shakes head: @ raidmax recommendation.
scratchhead.gif
 
haha. Well, like I said, he could get the OCZ 700 watt PSU I edited in the post.

neither are worth the money. neither are good quality PSUs. there are MUCH better choices out there. heck, ANY corsair would be a better choice than either of those; much better quality and good, clean power (ripple kills components over time, so by the time you see the effects, its too late). The FSP Epsilon design is fine for 500W and lower, but why pay for a 700W PSU that can't be loaded to its advertised specs?
 
Really-Thats better?
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2009/03/03/ocz_modxstream_pro_700w_40c_update/

Sorry to tell you, most people who want quality I believe would take the New True Power TP-650 in its place.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371021
Well, thanks for letting me know. I haven't really bought a new PSU in a long time. I based that recommendation off of mostly reviews. Yeah, I'd get the PSU you mentioned. It's clearly a better buy, not to mention better quality as well. I'm not going to bother to edit my previous post again. A 2x fail is more than enough. :eek: But other than the psu, what do you think of the build?
 
ugh, my bad... Sorry, I didn't bother to look at the link... thought it was an FSP Epsilon based GXS you were talking about, not the MXS Pro (Sirtec). It was W.Feather that mentioned the GXS. :eek: ok ok... its an ok psu... not a complete waste of solder. :p
 
As far as gaming performance, would getting a 5850 instead of the 4890 be a significant improvement? I might want to cut back on some other parts to squeeze it in if it were, since I primarily want gaming performance. The main reason I mention this is because I primarily game on FPS and plan to get MW2. However, I'm pretty much a twitch player, so I like to have nice fps at all times (60ish average around). So I may get a 1680 res monitor if I have to to achieve that kind of framerate in my budget limits.
 
As far as gaming performance, would getting a 5850 instead of the 4890 be a significant improvement? I might want to cut back on some other parts to squeeze it in if it were, since I primarily want gaming performance. The main reason I mention this is because I primarily game on FPS and plan to get MW2. However, I'm pretty much a twitch player, so I like to have nice fps at all times (60ish average around). So I may get a 1680 res monitor if I have to to achieve that kind of framerate in my budget limits.
The 5850 would be a significant improvement over the 4890, but that comes at an extra $100. Check out these benchmarks to see the 5850's performance for yourself. As for an adequate fps, I'm fine with 20fps at the bare minimum in first person shooters. But in racing games, I prefer at least 35fps. If you want a 5850, you may not be able to fit the Core i5 into your budget.
 
As far as gaming performance, would getting a 5850 instead of the 4890 be a significant improvement? I might want to cut back on some other parts to squeeze it in if it were, since I primarily want gaming performance. The main reason I mention this is because I primarily game on FPS and plan to get MW2. However, I'm pretty much a twitch player, so I like to have nice fps at all times (60ish average around). So I may get a 1680 res monitor if I have to to achieve that kind of framerate in my budget limits.

At 1680x1050, not a significant enough improvement to justify the added costs and the cut back of other parts.

With that said however, if you went with HG's build (the one that Enginurd recommended), you'll have enough cash leftover for the HD5850 if you can find it for $260.
 
Ah well, the build some had suggested was a 1920x res monitor, so I thought that a 4890 seemed a little underpowered. Would it be best to get a 1680x res monitor for this priced build? Will it look worse for not much performance increase?
 
At 1680x1050, not a significant enough improvement to justify the added costs and the cut back of other parts.

With that said however, if you went with HG's build (the one that Enginurd recommended), you'll have enough cash leftover for the HD5850 if you can find it for $260.
I doubt he'd be able to find a 5850 for $260; they just had an XFX 5850 on Newegg about half an hour ago and it was at $310. But yeah, if he wants a 5850 go ahead and get it, but the 4890 will play whatever game you throw at it, especially @ 1680x1050. To be honest though, I'd get a 5770. I know they don't match anywhere near the 4890's performance, but I like the DX11 support, and Eyefinity, plus the low power consumption. But again, it's what epitaph wants. Also, may I make a suggestion for an HD? Check out this Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB. It performs well and gives you lots of space for only $85.

Ah well, the build some had suggested was a 1920x res monitor, so I thought that a 4890 seemed a little underpowered. Would it be best to get a 1680x res monitor for this priced build? Will it look worse for not much performance increase?
Well, take look at these benchmarks of the 4890. Only six frame decrease from 1680x1050 to 1920x1080 on HAWX. But you said you like 60fps avg, so maybe you'd still like 1680x1050.
 
I may break it up a little. I haven't got the money yet, but a friend of mine is falling behind on rent and I may help them out a bit. So therefore, I may buy the computer and get the video card and monitor later. I have an 8800GTS 320 mb and 19" monitor I can use until I can upgrade those, so I only would have to use them for a week or so. I'll let you all know, but so far that seems to be the most likely course. However, if this is the case, I think I'll just grab a 5850 to have DX11 and a bit nicer performance. Will the 5850 handle CODmw2 at 1920 res smoothly? Otherwise I'll probably just grab a 1680 monitor and call it a day.
 
The Radeon HD 5850 will easily run CODmw2 at 1920 x 1200 or 1920 x 1080 smoothy with all settings maxed. You should be pushing well over 60fps with all setting on high.
 
Ah that's good to hear. Since I probably will be spacing out the computer purchase, I can most likely up the budget to get that as long as it's available for purchase whenever that will be. Anyways, should the 8800GTS 320 mb run modern warfare 2 at 1280x1024 okay? Not on highest I would assume, but at least playable? Otherwise I may just get that game with the video card at the later date.
 
Yup, the 8800GTS 320MB should run COD at 1280 x 1024 res at reasonable settings and framerates.
 
A friend of my family who works at Intel may be able to get me an i5 for free tomorrow, so we'll see how that goes. That would improve my budgetary spending though quite nicely! Then again, it's kind of slim chances, so trying not to get my hopes up haha.
 
Yeah, I wonder when SSDs will come down to the point that normal hard drives won't be used for even data storage. Probably 3-4 years?
 
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