Gaming build

[Climber]

Well my old gaming rig finally died on a bad BIOS flash so I guess it is time for a new rig.

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc

100% gaming. It will be my secondary gaming rig for friends or LAN

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?

800 (1200 if I can't reuse my old stuff) T & S are included

3) Where do you live?

Denver, so yes there is fabled Microcenter near by. If orrdering online I generally use Amazon for all my parts.

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc.

CPU, MOBO, SC, VC, SSD, possibly RAM, PSU

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 8 GB of DDR 2 800 ADATA, Corsair 550VX, WD 6400, and my case. Parts that I don't want to keep using but can are the CL Sound Blaster, and an old BFG 8800 GTS 512.

I would like to continue using the RAM if at all possible. Not the end of the workd if I can't. Just a shame to get rid of it. Which is perhaps the only reason I'm asking for build advice, to see if I can build a semi nice gaming rig with the old DDR 2 stuff. The PSU would be nice to keep, but I can always find a use for it if it is showing its age nowadays.

6) Will you be overclocking?

But of course. Nothing major I keep ll my systems on air. I wouldn't be amiss to keeping the stock cooler on this CPU if necessary.

7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?

Currently using a 27" LCD at 1920 X 1080

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?

Around black friday (just to take advantage of the deals)

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? etc.

Nothing fancy. RAID and SLI are probably the only things that I would really take advantage of sooner or later.


10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?

Yes, 64 Bit Win 7 Professional.

Thanks for the advice and help in this build. I'm just really lost looking at the various offerings in trying to build around the old memory if at all possible. Again this isn't my primary gaming rig. it is a secondary gaming rig for the girlfriend, friends, and lan machine.

 

[Climber]

So spent some time researching AMD's offerings since it seems that is the route I need to go if I want to use my RAM still. Here is what I've come up with so far. How does this look?

MSI 790xt

X4 955 BE

MSI6870

489 + shipping

So I guess my question here is 2 fold:

Will my Ram and PSU work with this setup?

Or is it worth it to consider upgrading to perhaps i5 setup? I realize that will double the cost, but it is still within budget.

i5 760

EVGA P55

GSkill 8GB

735 for the i5 setup, only if I can use my PSU still.

If I need to upgrade the PSU I was looking at the XFX 750 which adds 130 to either build, but it looks solid.

Ideas or thoughts?

 

[Dangman]

Your current RAM and PSU should work just fine with that setup. No, the Core i5 setup is not worth spending the extra cash for in your particular situation.

Oh and I recommend gettting the XFX made HD 6870 instead: The XFX branded HD 6870 costs the same but comes with a significantly longer warranty (lifetime VS 3 years for the MSI). Since both cards are reference designs, in terms of quality, they're basically the same. So why get the card with the longer warranty?:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150506

SSD wise, hold off on that for a bit more.

 

[bastage]

I agree with danny, although I would also add that given its use I would consider going with this mATX Mobo & a NZXT Vulcan.. Would make the rig much more Lan Party friendly then using a Full ATX.. Would still allow plenty of budget to get the remaining parts..

 

[Climber]

I considered the xfx card, but it has seemed like quite a few complaints to shoddy build quality the last year or so with many of their cards. Now that I think about it the complaints generally seem to be on their non reference design cards.

I don't like matx boards, I'm insecure so I need the bigger boards, and since the LAN parties occur at my place not a huge demand for me to move it far.

Thanks for the advice guys. I'm going to wait a few days and see if any BF deals pop on those components.

 

[bastage]

I considered the xfx card, but it has seemed like quite a few complaints to shoddy build quality the last year or so with many of their cards. Now that I think about it the complaints generally seem to be on their non reference design cards.

I don't like matx boards, I'm insecure so I need the bigger boards, and since the LAN parties occur at my place not a huge demand for me to move it far.

Thanks for the advice guys. I'm going to wait a few days and see if any BF deals pop on those components.

lmao.. Thats the best justification I have seen for a full ATX board in a long while.. You could always show that you dont have a little penis though & build a mITX..

 

[Climber]

lmao.. Thats the best justification I have seen for a full ATX board in a long while.. You could always show that you dont have a little penis though & build a mITX..

I already have a Prius how much more emasculated can I get!