Need help with my first build

T

tmdg

n00b
Joined
Feb 26, 2010
Messages
4
I'm building a computer for the first time and I need some guidance.

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Gaming (mostly Starcraft 2), Coding, Web Browsing
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
around $1000 total, don't mind spending a bit more if it's worth it
3) Where do you live?
San Francisco Bay Area
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.
I need everything to build a computer except for a monitor, keyboard, mouse, and speakers. Please let me know what that is :)
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Monitor (20 in. Dell), keyboard, mouse, speakers
6) Will you be overclocking?
Probably not
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
20 in.
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Within the next week
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
I'm not sure... any advice?
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? 32bit or 64bit?
No, I will probably want to get Windows 7
 
Besides StarCraft 2, are there any other games that you want to play?

How old is the monitor you're currently using? Which resolution do you use? Are you planning on buying a new one any time soon (like, within the next 12 months)?

Do you want this system to be designed more for gaming or coding?

Have you performed an in-forum search of recent build threads of $1000-or-less systems?
 
Other games I might play: Heroes of Newerth, Diablo 3 when it comes out

My monitor is about 6 years old. I run it at 1600x1200 resolution. There's a good chance I might buy a new one in the next 12 months.

I'd like it more designed toward gaming.

I have searched a bit and found some posts, but since I don't really know what I'm doing, I thought I'd make a post to get specific recommendations for my situation.

Thanks for your help!
 
XFX HD-577X-ZNFC Radeon HD 5770 1GB 128-bit DDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card - Retail $160

COOLER MASTER ELITE 335 RC-335-KKN1-GP Black SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail $50

CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V V2.2 80 PLUS Certified Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - Retail $100

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive $90

SAMSUNG DVD Burner Black SATA Model SH-S223L LightScribe Support - OEM $27

OCZ Obsidian 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model OCZ3OB1600LV4GK - Retail and Intel Core i5-750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80605I5750 - Retail $285

GIGABYTE GA-P55A-UD3 LGA 1156 Intel P55 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail $135

and SSD (optional)

Kingston SSDNow V Series SNV425-S2/64GB 2.5" 64GB SATA II Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) - Retail $141
 
Thanks for your help. Really appreciate it! I'm wondering if my money would be better spent on the SSD or on a better video card (maybe 5850?) if I want to optimize performance in game. What is the use case when SSD would be the better option?
 
Between the SSD and the video card, the video card would offer more of an improvement in gaming. The SSD loads the game faster, but it doesn't improve upon the frame rates while gaming. The video card allows for smoother gameplay at higher resolutions. However, with a 1600x1200 resolution, the HD5850 is overkill for the most part.
 
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