Second Build: Gaming Rig '09

S

Stiffy

Limp Gawd
Joined
May 3, 2006
Messages
278
Wow so it has been 5 years since I last built a system. I need a new computer!

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
GAMING, regular web browsing, watching movies etc
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
I'm shooting for $900 can add a little more if ned.
3) Where do you live?
Oklahoma (Sooners baby!)
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.
Everything but monitor keyboard/mouse.
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Samsung Syncmaster 941BW
6) Will you be overclocking?
Would like to, never have done so though.
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
I realize a high end video card will be bottlenecked by my 19" widescreen, so i'll probably get a 22" @ 1920x1200 or something.
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
2 weeks maybe
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
xfire not necessary, but if it fits with budget why not.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license?
Will be getting w7 yes.

This is what I've gathered so far:

Intel Core i5-750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80605I5750 - Retail
MSI P55-CD53 LGA 1156 Intel P55 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
XFX HD-577A-ZNFC Radeon HD 5770 (Juniper XT) 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2000 (PC3 16000) Desktop Memory Model F3-16000CL9D-4GBRH - Retail
Antec Three Hundred Illusion Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 ... - Retail

All will be purchased from newegg - Subtotal = $779.90
Suggestions? Addons? Changes?
Oh and I forgot to add that any suggestions on HDD and DVD drives? All I really need is 500gb but I would like it to be fast.
Thanks!
 
Last edited:
I was thinking maybe a
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
for the HDD. Is that any good?

And a basic
LITE-ON Black 24X DVD Writer Black SATA Model iHAS-324-98 - Retail
for the drive.

This makes the total to $866.88
 
I own that case for my gamer and used to use the TX750 Corsair PSU but there is a slight problem. When you have the fan pointed upwards all of the PSU's cables are at the wrong side to make cabling impossible: (not my rig, same idea)

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o53/Lord_Omni_des_Omega/SD530574.jpg

Also when you flip the PSU over and have the fan pointing down the PSU runs hot due to only having 1-2mm of space to draw air from.

Being a cabling nut I ended up purchasing an HX750 (in your case the 650) as it is modular which cleaned up my cabling significantly. Just a thought :D

Also regarding hard drives if you are running a single drive I would suggest the Western Digital Black 640GB model. It is a much faster drive then the Samsung and from my experience and the thousands of others who use it I call it a great drive for the money.
 
Ditch the DDR3 2000 RAM. You won't notice an iota of performance difference between that DDR3 2000 RAM and a DDR3 1333 RAM set in most real world apps and games. I'd recommend getting this RAM instead so that you can save an additional $32:
$88 - G.Skill Ripjaws F3-12800CL8D-4GBRM 3 x 2GB DDR3 1600 RAM

Case wise, for that amount of money, there is a significantly better quality, better cooling and larger case to work with:
$70 - Cooler Master RC-690-KKN1-GP ATX Case

So definitely go with the RC-690 over the Antec 300.

PSU wise, I'd recommend getting this better quality and semi-modular PSU for the same price:
$100 - Antec Truepower New TP-650 650W PSU

HDD wise, I'd spend the extra $5 for an extra 140GB of storage with the same performance:
$60 - Western Digital WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
 
come on danny... rc-690 doesn't have better cooling than antec 300. As both have similar case temps.
 
lt_shiro said:
come on danny... rc-690 doesn't have better cooling than antec 300. As both have similar case temps.
Click to expand...
Meh. That's what I've noticed in my own personal testing. Even if I'm wrong about the better cooling, can't deny that the RC-690 is still a better choice for the money considering that it now has free shipping and has more room to work with than the Antec 300.
 
Thanks for saving me some money Danny! However that ram you posted is now $104. I guess it went up. Still some saving though (I'll take your word that it doesn't make any difference)!

I've read your posts and consider you wise on your knowledge of PSUs, so I'll switch to that one.

I suppose with the money saved from the ram I could upgrade the HDD a bit - so i'll go with that too. ;) As far as the case, I like that CM but I'm still undecided.

Regardless, thank you all for your advice!!!
 
Oh a couple more things. Will the i5 come with thermal paste already applied?

Also, I was wondering if the default HSF has ever been used to overclock this cpu(with success)? I'm sure obviously you would want a third party one for extensive clocking, but you get my drift.
 
Stiffy said:
Thanks for saving me some money Danny! However that ram you posted is now $104. I guess it went up. Still some saving though (I'll take your word that it doesn't make any difference)!
Click to expand...
Wow, jumped up within a few hours after I posted. Ouch. But there is a combo deal with a similar set of RAM for more savings:
$280 - Intel Core i5 750 + G.Skill Ripjaws F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL 3 x 2GB DDR3 1600 RAM

Stiffy said:
Oh a couple more things. Will the i5 come with thermal paste already applied?

Also, I was wondering if the default HSF has ever been used to overclock this cpu(with success)? I'm sure obviously you would want a third party one for extensive clocking, but you get my drift.
Click to expand...

The stock HSF will have the thermal paste pre-applied. No CPU ever comes with the thermal paster pre-applied ;)

Haven't heard of anyone trying to OC with the stock HSF.
 
Nice grammatical error. :p

Either way thanks for the info and the heads up on that combo! Sweeeet.
 
Oh wait I read that wrong, no error on your part. ;)

So, I've decided to overclock, and am wondering what is a good (but cheap) third party HSF that you guys could recommend for me. Something that wouldn't interfere with access to ram slots or anything like that, please.

Also, I've never installed one before so prefferably something simple and straightforward. :)

Gracias,

Stefan
 
Lol so are you saying it is not simple to install these?

I just don't want to mess anything up as it has been forever since I built my own rig and I used the stock hsf on the amd 3500+ i got.

And I'll look into those two you mentioned. Thanks!
 
go on youtube and watch installation videos. Guides they normally come with are very badly written.
 
Cool thanks for the advice man. Another question, I assume I have to purchase some thermal paste for it, right?
 
Alright, thanks for the help! I just hope the Coolermaster hyper 212 fits in the case. I decided to go with the rc-690 for more work room.
 
Ok so I ordered all the parts listed above. Decided to go with the rc-690 case. All of my parts came in on the 25th EXCEPT my video card and optical drive.

Now I'm stuck (because of damn TURKEY DAY) without the rest 'till Monday. Sigh....

Either way just wanted to thank you all again and say I'll post pics. :D
 
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