New PC build (gaming)

Yes, but performance is well above-par for a 5400RPM drive.

Hey guys,

After talking to Relic and reviewing your suggestions and builds I went back and put something together. After having cancelled the last order, I'm in no hurry to buy a new computer, so feel free to let me know if you could improve on it or if I got it completely wrong.

New Build:

DVD Burner
Video Card
PSU
RAM
OS + Case
HDD + Card Reader
CPU + MOBO

$989~
$1074~ w/tax & shipping


Revised Build:

DVD Burner
Video Card
PSU
RAM
OS + Case
HDD + Card Reader
CPU
MOBO

$1034~
$1123~ w/tax & shipping

I'd recommend this set-up:

i5 750-$185 free shipping

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115215&cm_re=i5_750-_-19-115-215-_-Product

GIGABYTE GA-P55A-UD3- $139.99+$2.99 shipping

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128412

CORSAIR XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3- $54.99 free shipping

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145260

OCZ ModXStream Pro 700w- $79.99 free shipping

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341018&cm_re=ocz_modular-_-17-341-018-_-Product

XFX 6850 -$199.99+$4.99 Shipping

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150505&cm_re=xfx_6850-_-14-150-505-_-Product

Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB - $89.99 Free Shipping

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136533&cm_re=wd_black-_-22-136-533-_-Product

Sony Optiarc Black 24X DVD+R - $19.99 Free Shipping

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118039

COOLER MASTER HAF 922 - $89.98+$9.99 Shipping

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119197&cm_re=haf_922-_-11-119-197-_-Product

Total- $877.89
And if you crossfire which would be beast - $1082.87

This also leaves you room to buy a cpu cooler of you're choice, and or w/e else you may also want, gaming mouse/keyboard. If I added wrong I'm sorry I'm half asleep.

I'd advise getting a Samsung SpinPoint F3 1TB HDD and a 550W+ 80 Plus Silver or Gold certified PSU (the Kingwin LZG-700 is a great one), as well as a cheaper card reader (like this one) and this burner. Also, why spend more for that MSI GTX 460 (over cheaper GTX 460s)? Is it because you're concerned about the card overheating?

Everything else looks alright to me.

A bit iffy about that Radeon, I've always heard they have driver problems and that the price isn't worth the headache.

I'm still wondering if the MOBO is a good idea to save money or if I should shell out for it now and have a space open in case I can do Sli.

A few things:

1) What's wrong with the HDD?
2) The card reader ends up being cheap when in combo with the HDD.
3) What's wrong with the Burner?
4) I trust MSi and this 460 touted better specs.

I was going to suggest a custom machine from DigitalStorm since they have an A+ BBB rating, 10% discount currently, and a 4 year parts and labor warranty. However, Modena's hypothetical build is superb for the money.

1)It's slower than the competition, although cheaper; not worth it IMHO. This HDD is a better choice.
2)That's if you buy it with the Seagate drive, which I don't recommend.
3)Nothing, just that you can get that Sony drive for slightly cheaper with free shipping. No real discernible performance difference either.
4)Better specs? It's just overclocked, and has a custom cooler, which this GTX 460 also shares, although the MSI is clocked higher. Still, IMHO it's not worth the $30 or so extra over the Gigabyte card, especially since you can OC the card yourself too. And from experience, Gigabyte is as good a brand as any, barring maybe eVGA, who're still king when it comes to reliability.

It's still upto you though.

How is the Spinpoint faster? It has the same specs. I'm not doubting you here, I just want to understand how you can tell.

Alright, revision time:

DVD Burner
(1)(2)Video Card
PSU
RAM
OS + Case
HDD
CPU
MOBO

(1)
$1008~
$1094~ w/tax & shipping

(2)
$1033~
$1121~ w/tax & shipping

Not entirely convinced on the graphic card change.

I'd go with a different board, it looks low-quality, and I don't know how reliable Biostar is. For $25 more you can get this quality board.

MSI P55-GD65 LGA

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130239

@ramonsterns, the SpinPoint F3 has a large cache, only two 500GB platters (lower no. of platters = lower seek times) and a superbly-programmed drive controller, among other things, which help it eclipse other drives in performance. Check out some reviews, and see for yourself.

@Modena, Biostar's T series boards are among the high-end boards out there, and are superb overclockers. The MSI is actually inferior, in terms of OC performance, and also has a smaller warranty coverage period as well.

Oh, I see. The website doesn't tell me how many platters it has, but that's good to know, thanks.

I still want to get a few more opinions on the graphic cards, though.

EDIT: I found this. What do you think?


DVD Burner
PSU + Video Card
RAM
OS + Case
HDD
CPU
MOBO

$1018~
$1108~ w/tax & shipping.

It would look like that. What do you guys think?

If you look at this review you'll see that the Set-up I recommended will out-perform that single GTX460 by a ton. They mention no issues with the card and they tested it through a ton of games. Because IMO the rig setup you have there isn't optimum for gaming with the budget you set.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ATI/Radeon_HD_6850_CrossFire/

Why isn't it optimum? Also, I don't like ATI/AMD cards. I don't feel the money saved is worth the headache later with the iffy drivers. Not going through *that* again, I tell you that.

Hey Ramon this is what I would do,

CPU - Intel Core i5-760 Lynnfield 2.8GHz - $205
Motherboard - GIGABYTE GA-P55A-UD3 - $140 after MIR $130
RAM - G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB - $64
HDD - Samsung Spinpoint F3 - $70
GPU - GIGABYTE GTX 460 1GB - $200 after MIR $190
PSU - XFX 650W - $100 after MIR $70
Optical Drive - LITE-ON DVD Burner - $26 The one you selected was OEM which won't have a SATA cable for installation, so I chose a retail drive. The board I chose does come with two but it's nice to a have an extra one in case you need it.
Case + OS Bundle - Storm Scout + Windows 7 - $150 after MIR $140 By the way good choice on the Storm Scout, as an owner of one I have to say I very much like it :grinthumb.

Total = $955 after MIR $895

As you can see I made a few changes some more on personally preference. One being I think the Gigabyte motherboard would be a better choice and RAM wise I don't think you really need 8GB initially as 4GB should serve you well. For a video card as we discussed earlier with a 1440x900 resolution you won't be taking full advantage of your GTX 460, but as long as you put that left over money towards a new monitor you should be fine. Regarding the vendor choice I agree with Rage, unless you plan on fully using the MSI card with overvolting/clocking, I think the Gigabyte one will be plenty & save you some money.

@Modena His resolution is 1440x900 so whatever card he chooses will be virtually identical. However the 6850 is pretty awesome and as an owner of one I love it .

Sorry to hear that, as an AMD/ATI user I don't find myself with any overbearing driver issues. I'd say the problems of the past have been rectified at least from my experience, however if you are an early adopter of new hardware this may be a different case but this goes for Nvidia too.

@ramonsterns, hmm, that looks extremely good for the price, especially with the discount and rebates. IMHO, go for it. It's too fantastic an offer to pass up. Also, AMD has no driver issues anymore as far as I know, so don't let that dissuade you. However, I'd recommend going with whatever's cheaper and non-factory-OCed. Overclocking is pretty easy and can be done yourself, so paying extra for it doesn't make sense to me from a price vs performance POV.

Regardless, if I were to get an NVIDIA card, I'd get it from eVGA if possible. They're the top dog right now, so to speak, with XFX and BFG's exit from the NVIDIA OEM market. Gigabyte's not far behind either.

@Modena, the HD 6850 matches the GTX 460 1GB in performance. The HD 6870 surpasses both, quite obviously. The OP cannot go wrong with either.

@Relic, the SpinPoint F3 is cheaper than the WD, and offers higher performance and larger capacity; I'm just sayin'. Also, this PSU is a higher efficiency, modular version of the 650TX, and it costs exactly the same as well, down to the rebate. Lastly, won't getting the 768MB version of the GTX 460, be better, since the OP won't be needing the 1GB VRAM at the resolution he intends to game at?

I already have a 22" monitor.

EDIT: Sun at the beach, the PSU Video Card combo is gone/

I didn't really bother to look at the HDD, most of my personal drives are Western Digital and I have no experience with Samsung drives. However I have quite a bit of other Samsung electronics and they've not disappointed so I will have to check out the F3's in the near future.

You're completely right regarding the PSU from XFX, I completely forgot about that one since we lasted talked about it and I agree it's better.

For video cards, ya I think a 768MB would be a better choice to start with, but if he upgrades within the next couple months I don't see why not investing in a 1GB initially.

So you won't be gaming at 1440x900? If that's the case then no worries the 1GB will serve you well.

^, seconded.

I have been gaming with it since I bought this computer 3 years ago.

Alright, so this is what I have so far.


DVD Burner
PSU - (More power, same price) EDIT: ****ing Newegg removed the discount.
Video Card
RAM - If I want to bump the resolution up a bit, will 4gb be enough?
OS + Case
HDD
CPU
MOBO - Has 2 slots in case I can afford a second card in the future, also cheaper.

$939
$1020 w/tax

Should I invest in a CPU cooler or more fans?
Is RAM with lower Cas Latency worth it? Like this