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First Gaming Build

C

Cirdan

Weaksauce
Joined
May 5, 2009
Messages
75
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
1920x1200 Gaming, programming, some photoshop.

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
There isn't a hard set budget, but I would like to keep things as reasonable as possible

3) Where do you live?
California

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.
Everything

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Just my monitor

6) Will you be overclocking?
Whatever is reasonable under air

7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
24" BenQ v2400W 1920x1200

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Haven't quite decided, either this summer or towards the end of the year

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
Nothing special

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? 32bit or 64bit?
I don't have an OS yet, would be buying Windows 7 x64


My current parts list:
Newegg Wishlist (Should be public)

Intel i7-920
XFX Radeon HD 5850 1Gb
EVGA 141-BL-E757-TR LGA 1366
CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX 550W
Antec 300
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 1600
HITACHI Deskstar HD30500 500Gb

It's currently at $1,112 before tax, which is a bit on the expensive side for me. (Then again, compared to the 27" iMac, this thing would be a steal, even if I nabbed the 5870)
 
Yeah your wishlist is not public.

You wouldn't happen to live near a Microcenter do you?

Go with this faster hard drive:
$56 - Western Digital WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

Go with this larger and sligthly better quality PSU for $6 less:
$90 - Corsair 650TX 650W PSU

Try to narrow down as to when you're planning to build this PC. If it's towards the end of the year or more than two months from now, you've pretty much wasted your time making that build list.
 
Fixed you link:
Wishlist
CPU: I would get the i7 930 instead of the 920
Cooler: If you want to overclock, You shouldn't use the stock cooler
Motheboard:I would suggest this motherboard
 
I do live near a Microcenter. I just saw that they have the 860 for $199. I think that's an excellent deal! Is that a special sale, or is that their price? I'd like to build it in the next month or two

Wishlist

Intel i7 860 (Microcenter)
VisionTek Radeon HD 5870
G.SKILL 4Gb DDR3 1600
Gigabyte LGA 1366 X58
CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W
 
Cirdan said:
I do live near a Microcenter. I just saw that they have the 860 for $199. I think that's an excellent deal! Is that a special sale, or is that their price? I'd like to build it in the next month or two

Wishlist

Intel i7 860 (Microcenter)
VisionTek Radeon HD 5870
G.SKILL 4Gb DDR3 1600
Gigabyte LGA 1366 X58
CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W
Click to expand...

Looks fine except for the motherboard. The i7-860 uses the LGA1156 socket while the X58 is LGA1366 exclusive. And LGA1156 processors are not at all pin-compatible with LGA1366. Therefore, you will need to buy an LGA1156 motherboard for the i7-860 (a good example is a Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD3, which for such a moderate price features onboard SATA 6 Gbps and USB 3.0 controllers and ports). The X58 motherboards are only for the i7-9xx series (of which, MicroCenter sells the i7-930 for the exact same price as the i7-860) - but to make the most of the X58/LGA1366 platform you will need to buy a triple-channel memory kit (6GB, via 3 x 2GB modules).

Also, although the 650TX is adequate for your setup (with the proper LGA1156 motherboard), I'd recommend stepping up one power level to a 750TX PSU. You don't want a PSU that leaves barely any room to play with.
 
Oh, I didn't even see that. They also have the Antec case pretty cheap. I'll have to check for my parts there.
 
Should I consider getting i5? I've read benchmarks, and there doesn't seem to be a big different, at least for gaming. This would bring the cost down to a bit more comfortable level.
 
Cirdan said:
Should I consider getting i5? I've read benchmarks, and there doesn't seem to be a big different, at least for gaming. This would bring the cost down to a bit more comfortable level.
Click to expand...

Stick with the Core i7 860 if you can get it for the $200 MC price.
 
Cirdan said:
I do live near a Microcenter. I just saw that they have the 860 for $199. I think that's an excellent deal! Is that a special sale, or is that their price? I'd like to build it in the next month or two ...
Click to expand...
It's one of their loss leaders, and nobody knows how long they'll keep it at that price. They also have the i7 930 for the same price, but the X58 platform is more expensive due to the more expensive boards and triple channel RAM. They had the i7 920 for $200 for most of last year, but the i5 750 was only at $150 for a few months, so get it while you can! Oh, and don't order online and pickup in-store, just go and ask a sales guy for it, so those kids get some commission and Intel Retail Edge points. :p
 
Go with the XFX HD 5870 instead. It has a "double lifetime" warranty and much better CS.

The EA650 is good enough for the 5870, and it's comparatively cheaper than the TX650.
 
Whil what Tiraides said about the EA650 is true, once you factor in shipping, the 650TX is only $10 more than the EA650. I highly recommend spending the extra $10 for a larger (more amperage on the +12V rail) and better quality PSU.
 
This is just me talking.....

You might want to consider this GPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...2893&cm_re=hd_5870_2gb-_-14-102-893-_-Product

This VaporX model has 2GB of video RAM and may come in handy for higher levels of graphic performance. There's a ton of debate about that.....but if you even think about EyeFinity, the 2GB will help you.:D

There is a Toxic version of this card, but it has beem hard to find.....but may be worth waiting for.

I vote for Corsair power. Their PSUs are stout and generally very well placed as far as price, often going on special.:D
 
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