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$800 Core i5 Gaming Build Critique?

g3ck0

Junior Member
My old computer was built back in 2003 surrounding the P4C 2.4 chip. My budget is around $800 and I am building this mostly for gaming. I would like it to last/run well for at least the next 3 years. Could you guys let me know what you think? Here's is my proposed build:

CPU
Intel Core i5-750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115215

Mobo
MSI P55-GD65 LGA 1156 Intel P55 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813130239

Memory
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL7D-4GBRH - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231276

Video Card
POWERCOLOR AX5770 1GBD5-PPG Radeon HD 5770 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 CrossFireX Support Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814131327

Hard Drive
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/Produc...tCode=10011016

Optical Drive
SAMSUNG Black 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 22X DVD-R 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA DVD Burner LightScribe Support - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827151188

PSU
CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139005

Case
LIAN LI Lancool PC-K7B Black Aluminum/ SECC ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811112154

Thanks! 🙂
 
Great build, but two possible improvements.

1. That 5770 has a custom fan with shroud, and I've heard that it's quite loud. You could get a 5770 with the Rev 2 cooler, it's slightly cooler and much quieter than the original reference design.

2. Right now the most cost effective hard drives are 1 TB or 1.5 TB, for about $45 more you could double your storage capacity and increase your disk speed (twice the cache and denser platters). But if you don't really need the space then the 500 GB is fine (or maybe get one from Western Digital).

Also just a note, the CPU and motherboard may last you 3 years, but the GPU may not. But then you could just grab another 5770 and CrossFire. Enjoy your build!
 
Yeah, get the 5770 with the Rev. 2 cooler, and pick up a WD Caviar Black (32mb cache) otherwise it's a great build.
 
Thanks for the replies guys. Are the REv. 2 coolers only available from certain manufacturers?
 
Pretty sure that MB supports SLI. Do you ever plan on running 2 NVidia cards in there? If not, you can probably shave off ~$15 or so by getting a non-sli supporting mobo from whichever manufacturer you fancy.
 
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