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Gaming Build

M

mastermike707

Weaksauce
Joined
Jul 25, 2008
Messages
93
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Gaming on latest games
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
Within $100 of $800
3) Where do you live?
Mesa, AZ
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
Case, cpu, gpu, ram, hdd, ssd?, dvd rw, cpu cooler, power supply, OS.
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
None.
6) Will you be overclocking?
Sure.
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
47" 1080p
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Now, almost immediately.
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? etc.
None specifically.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
Need 64-bit Windows 7.

Here is my preliminary build:
5301059009_6e1c8d974e_b_d.jpg
 
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looks good but if you can hold off a few weeks those prices should drop big time.
 
Dudenell said:
looks good but if you can hold off a few weeks those prices should drop big time.
Click to expand...

Intel really isn't known for slashing prices on the older hardware. From what I've been told, they like to keep the prices the same, so people will buy the new stuff.
 
If you can wait a couple of more weeks, please do so.

Otherwise, that setup looks fine.
 
hossdaddy said:
that hd is great for storage but will slow the system due to the 5400rpm. Big drop from teh standard 7200. I would recommend that you stay with a faster main drive, and then add on one like this 2tb if your storage needs grow.
Click to expand...

True that. I have currently for my main drive a Corsair F60 SSD and then a Western Digital Cavaliar Black 1TB 7200 has my secondary. Still going to get the 2TB because I learned that you can chew a 1TB up very quickly. Thus the recommendation.

Butt yes I would go with either an SSD has a main drive or a 7200rpm one.
 
tiraides said:
If you can wait a couple of more weeks, please do so.

Otherwise, that setup looks fine.
Click to expand...

What happens in a few weeks Sandy Bridge? We still don't know the impact of it right? Or are there leaked benches and its here to make that core i5 look like a pentium 4?
 
both Intel and AMD have new offerings in Q1 & Q2 provided they meet their release dates. Then there will be all the, bugs, updates, availability issues. If its not letting you down you may do well to wait until they come out.
 
mastermike707 said:
What happens in a few weeks Sandy Bridge? We still don't know the impact of it right? Or are there leaked benches and its here to make that core i5 look like a pentium 4?
Click to expand...

Early previews and benchmarks show that the Sandy Bridge Core i5/i7 processors perform better than the Socket 1156 processors, and rumors persist that the Sandy Bridge processors will cost around the same as the current Core i5/i7 lineup.
 
If it was me I would really go for a 6950 and try to unlock it to 70 most polls show 80%+ Success rate .. and that is UNREAL value for your 300$ granted its 70$ more than you are spending right now on GPU but it will be massively worth it IMO.

If you cannot afford more I would dump the Intel CPU/Mobo and go AMD to save there and get the beefier graphics. Not like anything is very CPU bound when you have a quad of any brand anyway. You will always be GPU bound once you add enough eye candy in modern games and if you aren't (GPU bound) you will push 100+ frames anyway .. so who cares really?

You can get on newegg

AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ965FBGMBOX for 159.99 (You can OC that to 4.0 with very little effort with your custom cooler)
ASRock N68C-S UCC AM3/AM2+/AM2 NVIDIA GeForce 7025 / nForce 630a Micro ATX AMD Motherboard 41$
or
ASRock 870 EXTREME3 AM3 AMD 870 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard for 89$ (That leaves you the option to CF another 6950 down the road if you want to)


That right there saves you the 70$ in video power you will surely love. Granted it make lose a few points to the i5 in benchmarks, but in real life gaming you will get better FPS garanteed because of the 6950 that will mostlikely unlock.
 
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xAlex79 said:
If it was me I would really go for a 6950 and try to unlock it to 70 most polls show 80%+ Success rate .. and that is UNREAL value for your 300$ granted its 70$ more than you are spending right now on GPU but it will be massively worth it IMO.

If you cannot afford more I would dump the Intel CPU/Mobo and go AMD to save there and get the beefier graphics. Not like anything is very CPU bound when you have a quad of any brand anyway. You will always be GPU bound once you add enough eye candy in modern games and if you aren't (GPU bound) you will push 100+ frames anyway .. so who cares really?

You can get on newegg

AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ965FBGMBOX for 159.99 (You can OC that to 4.0 with very little effort with your custom cooler)
ASRock N68C-S UCC AM3/AM2+/AM2 NVIDIA GeForce 7025 / nForce 630a Micro ATX AMD Motherboard 41$
or
ASRock 870 EXTREME3 AM3 AMD 870 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard for 89$ (That leaves you the option to CF another 6950 down the road if you want to)


That right there saves you the 70$ in video power you will surely love. Granted it make lose a few points to the i5 in benchmarks, but in real life gaming you will get better FPS garanteed because of the 6950 that will mostlikely unlock.
Click to expand...

I like this logic! :)
 
xAlex79 said:
If it was me I would really go for a 6950 and try to unlock it to 70 most polls show 80%+ Success rate .. and that is UNREAL value for your 300$ granted its 70$ more than you are spending right now on GPU but it will be massively worth it IMO.

If you cannot afford more I would dump the Intel CPU/Mobo and go AMD to save there and get the beefier graphics. Not like anything is very CPU bound when you have a quad of any brand anyway. You will always be GPU bound once you add enough eye candy in modern games and if you aren't (GPU bound) you will push 100+ frames anyway .. so who cares really?

You can get on newegg

AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ965FBGMBOX for 159.99 (You can OC that to 4.0 with very little effort with your custom cooler)
ASRock N68C-S UCC AM3/AM2+/AM2 NVIDIA GeForce 7025 / nForce 630a Micro ATX AMD Motherboard 41$
or
ASRock 870 EXTREME3 AM3 AMD 870 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard for 89$ (That leaves you the option to CF another 6950 down the road if you want to)


That right there saves you the 70$ in video power you will surely love. Granted it make lose a few points to the i5 in benchmarks, but in real life gaming you will get better FPS garanteed because of the 6950 that will mostlikely unlock.
Click to expand...

I like the Logic... but OMG Did he really just recommended a 41 dollar nforce board to go with a 965..


Here is 70 bucks in savings over the intel combo..
 
bastage said:
I like the Logic... but OMG Did he really just recommended a 41 dollar nforce board to go with a 965..


Here is 70 bucks in savings over the intel combo..
Click to expand...

Ah well done bastage, I was at work and just grabbed the first Micro ATX AM3 board I found. I really would go with the 89$ board though just for the furture upgrade path. Well worth the 40$ extra.
 
The "future upgrade path" for you involves buying a new board when Bulldozer arrives. AM3+ will be just like the AM2+ and AM3 transition in that the newer boards are backwards compatible with the older processors, but not the other the other way around.
 
tiraides said:
The "future upgrade path" for you involves buying a new board when Bulldozer arrives. AM3+ will be just like the AM2+ and AM3 transition in that the newer boards are backwards compatible with the older processors, but not the other the other way around.
Click to expand...

If his main aim is to play games, I would argue the 965 @ 4.0 can carry him for the next 2~3 years unless games suddenly become CPU hogging monsters. I'm fairly sure he can hold out without any compromises in games at 1080p until the next generation comes.

I meant more that he could add a second 6950 down the road if he gets a 30" screen or to run next gen games that will require more GPU power.
 
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