Help me finalize a new rig

[wuggle]

Couple weeks ago, my trusty old PC passed away. She was a good rig, bout 5 years old, AMD X2 3800+, MSI Neo4, 2 gigs of ram, 7800 GT, *tear*

But alas, it is time to move on and build a new, modern PC. I've been doing some research and heres the build I have put together. One big piece that is missing is the PSU. I'll be honest, I have no idea what to get for one, hoping for some [H]elp from you guys


The Build:
Intel i5 750 - $199
MSI P55 GD65 - $159
2x 2GB DDR3 1333 Patriot Viper II Sector 5 (7-7-7-20) - $129
MSI Radeon 5770 1GB - $159
Intel X25-M 80GB - $224
Windows 7 Home Premium - $179
SATA DVDRW - $25
Arctic Silver 5 - $10
Total - $1090


NewEgg wishlist:
https://secure.newegg.com/WishList/MySavedWishDetail.aspx?ID=10767054 (not sure if this link will work)


Some questions for you guys:
1) I need a good PSU. How much power do I need for this build? Whats a good brand? etc?
2) What to do for RAM? I picked a random one from newegg with good timings. Any better recommendations?
3) Do I need a standalone sound card? How good is onboard sound nowadays?
4) 4GB or 8GB ram?


And my answers to the questions from the sticky:
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Gaming, some software development and web browsing

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
$1500

3) Where do you live?
NYC, but I have shipping options available to NJ

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.
Need the whole nine yards. CPU/MOBO, RAM, video, power suppy.

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Re-using my case, monitor, mouse/keyboard

6) Will you be overclocking?
Minimal overclocking

7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
Hyundai L90D+, 19", max res 1280x1024. Will be upgrading at some point to something bigger at some point in the future.

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

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
No need for RAID. Would like SLI/CF as an upgrade option.


10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? 32bit or 64bit?
No. Need to buy win7

 

[tiraides]

Your wish list link didn't work, but it's a moot point.

Go with this RAM kit instead: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 2x2GB DDR3 1600. In fact, you can buy it alongside the Core i5 750 in a combo deal. As for whether or not you need 8GB of RAM, you need to tell us what type of software development you're working on.

You should also buy a cheaper version of Windows, specifically the OEM/System Builder version.

Here's a good PSU: the Antec TruePower New PT-750. While it's more power than you'll ever need, especially if you don't go with a dual-GPU/card setup, the price is nearly unbeatable for a PSU of that quality.

While Arctic Silver 5 works fine, Arctic Cooling MX-2 works just as well yet it requires no curing time.

When are you planning on buying this new monitor? Which resolution are you considering?

 

[haquocdung]

CPU: Intel Core i7 860
Mobo: Asus P55 Deluxe
Ram: 4gb DDR3 OCZ Reaper
GPU: GTX470 (yeah, hold you for a while)
Display: Dell U2410

 

[Dangman]

1) Covered by Tiraides
2) Covered by Tiraides
3) Do you have an excellent speaker setup? Are you an audiophile?
4) What exactly do you mean by "Software development"?

 

[tiraides]

CPU: Intel Core i7 860
Mobo: Asus P55 Deluxe
Ram: 4gb DDR3 OCZ Reaper
GPU: GTX470 (yeah, hold you for a while)
Display: Dell U2410

CPU: Hyper Threading is nice, but depending on the OP's choice(s) for "software development," it may or may not be a necessary feature.
Mobo: Which "Asus P55 Deluxe"?
RAM: Uh, NO. OCZ is not a good brand to use with the Intel Core i5/i7 series, as it runs at 1.65V or higher. 1.65V is the limit for safe operation with the Core i5/i7 processors (which have the RAM's MCH embedded within the processor).
GPU: I'm against getting anything more powerful than the HD5770 until the OP buys a larger monitor.
Display: Expensive, but it may not work that well with games. The NEC EA231WMI-BK may be a better all-around choice for a bit less.

 

[wuggle]

Tiraides- thanks for your recommendations. I have a question about the RAM... from what I've read, you can't run the RAM at 1600 on a i5 750 withing o/c'ing the CPU. Is that true? In that case, would it be better to go for 1333 RAM with good timings? I don't want to put myself into a situation where I *have* to overclock to make the most of my system.

To answer the "software development" questions, I spend a lot of time in visual studio and remoted into unix servers and doing stuff over there. The main thing that I want to prevent is the box being completely taken over by VS whenever I am compiling. The CPU/SSD should be enough to handle that (hopefully), so I'm not too worried on that front.

The 4gb/8gb question is more of a "how much does Win7 with modern games need to function smoothly" question. I havent had any problems with 2 GB on a XP box, but I don't know how that transfers over to Win7/64 bit OSes. I don't plan on doing anything too crazy, just wondering what the standard recommendation is.

For the monitor, I haven't started looking into that. Its been one of those things that I have been putting off for awhile. If anything, it'll be a 24" wide screen or something along those lines. I dont want to give up desk space for 2 monitors. One thing that I forgot to mention in the OP was that I'd like to be able to stream from my PC to my TV. The video card I picked has HDMI output, so that should be ok.

I have a set of logitech 5.1 speakers. I am not an audiophile. The reason I bring this up is that when I last looked into this (5 years back), onboard sound was not that great. I could hear the difference between onboard sound and not. This may or may not be the case now, just thought I'd ask. Either way, I can always pick up a sound card later in case I don't like the onboard sound.

Thanks for the feedback guys.

 

[E4g1e]

Tiraides- thanks for your recommendations. I have a question about the RAM... from what I've read, you can't run the RAM at 1600 on a i5 750 withing o/c'ing the CPU. Is that true? In that case, would it be better to go for 1333 RAM with good timings? I don't want to put myself into a situation where I *have* to overclock to make the most of my system.

Actually, the others have suggested alternatives simply because what you were originally planning to buy is a bit overpriced. That particular DDR3-1333 kit is actually more expensive than several DDR3-1600 kits. And most so-called "DDR3-1600" memory is actually made with native DDR3-1333 DIMMs anyway, so your system will downclock the memory to 1333 speed unless you select the XMP profile in the BIOS.

 

[Dangman]

The 4gb/8gb question is more of a "how much does Win7 with modern games need to function smoothly" question. I havent had any problems with 2 GB on a XP box, but I don't know how that transfers over to Win7/64 bit OSes. I don't plan on doing anything too crazy, just wondering what the standard recommendation is.

For the monitor, I haven't started looking into that. Its been one of those things that I have been putting off for awhile. If anything, it'll be a 24" wide screen or something along those lines. I dont want to give up desk space for 2 monitors. One thing that I forgot to mention in the OP was that I'd like to be able to stream from my PC to my TV. The video card I picked has HDMI output, so that should be ok.

I have a set of logitech 5.1 speakers. I am not an audiophile. The reason I bring this up is that when I last looked into this (5 years back), onboard sound was not that great. I could hear the difference between onboard sound and not. This may or may not be the case now, just thought I'd ask. Either way, I can always pick up a sound card later in case I don't like the onboard sound.

Thanks for the feedback guys.

4GB is more than enough for gaming. And yes 4GB of RAM is the standard recommendation nowadays.

Tiraides caught something that I didn't: When exactly will you be getting that larger monitor? If you wait too long, that GTX 470 will essentially be overkill and a total waste of money for 1280x1024. So I concur with Tiraides: Until you can provide a reasonable timeframe as to when you'll be buying the larger monitor, there is zero or intelligent reason to get the GTX 470 for a 19" monitor. At most, I'd recommend the HD 5770. So essentially, ignore haquocdung's video card recommendation.

Yeah pick up the sound card last, onboard audio has improved in the last few years.

 

[engiNURD]

furthermore, the vidcard is the fastest depreciating component in a gaming PC, so you wouldn't want to waste money on one that wouldn't give you any more performance than a much cheaper option.