P55 Build, help!

[Alanstein]

Well, let's start with the poll.


1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Gaming, editing photos, web browsing, HD video, f@h, and possibly editing some videos in the future.
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
650$, without monitor, case, cpu, and power supply.
3) Where do you live?
California, sales tax is a bitch.
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.
Specifically...
-at least one hdd that has 500 gigs or more
-p55 mobo
-DVD rw with at least decent read/write speeds
-Heatsink
-At least one video card, something that can play games akin to Far Cry 2 @1900x1200 maxed out. Looking at the 5850 and 5870.
-Fast DDR3 with some decent timings
-An all in one card reader would be nice
-Wireless router as a bridge/pci wireless card.

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
-PSU is a Truepower-New 750W I just purchased for $97. It apparently can pull ~900W
-Case is an Antec 902 that I inherited from my friend who likes LEDs. It's a bit small.
-CPU is a core i5 750.
-Monitor is some Dell 23" 2100x1100 widescreen monitor. it's nice.
-MX518
-Keyboard

6) Will you be overclocking?
Absolutely, but an incredibly modest overclock. 3.4-3.5
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
23", 2100x1100, etc.
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Within the next two months, sooner being better than later.
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
SLI support, support for raid0 would be nice, and an easily navigated BIOS. First time builder, so a friendly mobo would be nice.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license?
Absolutely, I love MSDNAA.


Essentially I want a P55 computer that's capable of playing many games maxed out at a resolution that is slightly bigger than 1900x1080. I've had tremendous luck with you guys regarding a case, so I'm sure you all can point me in the right direction as to what parts to fill my case with.

 

[engiNURD]

Check out the Gigabyte UD3R/UD4, Asus P7P55D, and MSI GD45/CD53 boards.

For HDD, get either the Samsung F3 500GB or Seagate 7200.12 500GB.

Get whatever SATA DVDRW drive has free shipping thats $30 or less.

Heatsink, either the Cogage True Spirit, Xigmatek Dark Knight, or something similar.

Yah, you want the HD5870, XFX brand for lifetime warranty.

G.Skill or Mushkin DDR3-1600 CL9 is all you need. 4GB kit.

Get as many items from Amazon as possible, and if you're near Microcenter (which I assume you are, since you already have the 750), bring a printout of your newegg cart and see if they'll pricematch whatever they have in store.

 

[lt_shiro]

Since when true spirit or dark knight support 1156 socket?

 

[engiNURD]

Dark knight just needs a bracket. I assumed the same for the true spirit, but I didn't check. But the catchall there is the ending... "or something similar." hehe.

 

[Alanstein]

thanks guys! I actually had a little list of components before i posted, but didn't want that to sway how people posted.

My original idea was to do:
- GA-P55-UD4P
- XFX 5850
- Cavair Black 640
- i5 with a hyper 212 plus by Cooler M.
- 902
- Ripjaws series ddr3 1600
- Truepower 750


I went with the 5850 because it had lower power consumption at load, and i wasn't sure if xfired 5870s would be getting enough juice. However, this will probably be a non issue. I was, and still am, fearful that the 902 would not be able to fit two of these things into it.

The single platter 500G spinpoint is awesome, I'll probably get that.

What are the advantages of the UD4P over other xfire motherboards, and will I see much of a difference between this ram and another 9 cas stick? Should i spend 10$ more and go with ddr3 2000?

 

[Dangman]

Even if you weren't doing Crossfire, I still wouldn't go with the 902 case. If you compare it to other cheaper and equally cooling case, it's pretty cramped. I recommend checking out the Coolermaster RC-590 or RC-690 cases.

You can see the differences between the motherboards here:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...2E16813128401,N82E16813131404,N82E16813128400

Also, how much are the Ripjaws you're talking about? Seems odd that a DDR3 2000 set would only be $10 more.

 

[Alanstein]

Even if you weren't doing Crossfire, I still wouldn't go with the 902 case. If you compare it to other cheaper and equally cooling case, it's pretty cramped. I recommend checking out the Coolermaster RC-590 or RC-690 cases.

You can see the differences between the motherboards here:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...2E16813128401,N82E16813131404,N82E16813128400

Also, how much are the Ripjaws you're talking about? Seems odd that a DDR3 2000 set would only be $10 more.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231281
vs
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231279

I might bite on the HAF 922 for 89.99 deal. Seems like a wonderful case for the price.

And i'm still not sure whether to get a 5850 or a 5870. help!

 

[engiNURD]

DDR3-1600 could get you to 4+Ghz on the i7 750, so its really all you should need; but you can probably run the DDR3-2000 at CL7/DDR3-1600 speeds anyhow, since they're only $5 more.