$900 core i5 build

Xega

Junior Member
Dec 23, 2009
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I haven't built a system in five years and am coming from an Athlon 64 socket 754 with AGP build so this will be a significant step up. Just looking for comments on the hardware that I have chosen since I have not done a build in a long time. I would like this to last a long time like my last system, which still runs great, but can no longer play the latest games, I would like to get at least two to three years of gaming out of this with only a graphics card upgrade in the interim. The one part I am not sure about is the motherboard. Also if anyone knows of reputable places to get these or similar recommended parts for cheaper I am all for it.

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: This week, most likely will start getting some parts today
BUDGET RANGE: I would like to stay under $900 after rebates
SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: gaming (starcraft 2 and first person shooters), watching movies, video editing, photoshop
PARTS NOT REQUIRED: keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, OS
PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: newegg.com, amazon.com, zipzoomfly.com, local Microcenter
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA southeastern Michigan so no Frys for me.
PARTS PREFERENCES: would like a core i5 build
OVERCLOCKING: Maybe
SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Not right now but maybe in the future as a possible upgrade
MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1920x1080

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I would like a quietish PC

Case: $79.99 NZXT LEXA S LEXS - 001BK Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
Power Supply: $74.99-$25 MIR OCZ ModXStream Pro OCZ600MXSP 600W
Processor: $149.99 Intel Core i5-750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz LGA 1156
Motherboard: $159.99-$15 MIR MSI P55-GD65 LGA 1156 Intel P55 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Heatsink: $28.83 Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus
Graphics Card: $174.99 XFX HD-577A-ZNFC Radeon HD 5770
RAM: $104.99 G.SKILL ECO Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL7D-4GBECO - Retail
Hard Drive: $84.99 Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB
Optical Drive: $31.99 LITE-ON Black 24X DVD Writer Black SATA Model iHAS-324-98 - Retail
Thermal Compound: $8.99 Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM


Total: $899.74-$35 MIR = $864.74

The question that I have with regards to the motherboard is whether to get the MSI GD65 or to go with a USB 3.0 solution. The choices there are the Gigabyte P55A-UD4P or the ASUS P7P55D-E Pro.

With the Gigabyte P55A UD4P if there are two video cards installed, which I was considering at a later point in time, the USB 3.0 and SATA III drop down to normal speeds negating its advantage.

On the MSI it is $40 cheaper after rebate and I can get a PCIe x4 add on card for that board with USB 3.0 and SATA III when I actually have some hardware that can use it and I can still use the video slot at 16x or 8x/8x in CF. Or am I looking at that the wrong way? The gigabyte board only has PCIe X1 slots. I know that if I use a PCIex4 card on the MSI board all of the PCIex1 slots will be disabled.

Another option is the Asus P7P55D-E Pro for $190 which includes SATA III and USB 3.0 and allows the board to have two video cards at 8x/8x with the USB 3.0 still working, it is a better solution that the gigabyte but there are so few reviews out for it since it is new and I don't know if they are using the lotes or foxconn sockets. Any ideas?