Building a new PC

[xDimMaK]

My current PC is consistently falling short of the minimum requirements on new video games, so it's clearly time for an upgrade.

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.
Primarily gaming.

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread
$1500 is my absolute max considering I'm buying a new monitor on top of it. Though I'd like to go as below that as possible without sacrificing performance too much. Currently it seems like I can get a decent PC together for about $1300.

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.
United States, all parts being purchased from Newegg unless I can find better deals elsewhere.

4. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc, etc, etc, you get the picture.
Previously AMD/ATI, but this time around I'm leaning more towards Intel/nVidia.

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.
Current PC was bought prebuilt from eMachines several years ago, so I doubt I'll be reusing any of its components.

6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads.
Yes. I've done a ton of research in the past days (though mostly based on outdated information), but a few big questions remain to be answered.

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.
Planning to overclock. Nothing extreme, though.

8. WHEN do you plan to build it?
Mid-May, unless I find a reason to hold off on it until later. Though I definitely want to have it built before the Fall 2009 semester starts (which I believe is early-mid August).



Right now I think my biggest hurdle is deciding whether to go with a LGA 775 or LGA 1366-based system. Looking through parts on newegg, I can build them for roughly the same price (LGA 1366 costing $100-$200 more). And my research is suggesting I'd also get roughly the same performance, especially since I don't plan on going SLI/CrossFire (I've always preferred to spend money on a single faster card than two slower cards).

So my processor choices are essentially down to the Q9550 or the Core i7 920 (both would be cooled with a XIGMATEK S1283). Motherboards I was looking at for them were the GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P and the Asus P6T Deluxe V2 respectively.

For the sound card I was thinking of the Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer, but considering I won't be using surround sound (just my Logitech Z-4 2.1 speakers and cheap headphones) it seemed a little overkill at $91. However, all the cheaper cards seem to have reported driver issues with Vista x64 and/or choppy sounds when gaming. So I could definitely use some suggestions there.

For the video card I'm pretty much settled on a GTX 260, as I can't seem to justify paying $100+ more for a 280/285 or ~$300 more for a 295. I'll likely end up overclocking it to be comparable to a 280/285 anyway.

After I have all that figured out, I'm completely clueless on how good of a power supply I'd need. Would a 750W from PC Power&Cooling suffice, or should I consider bumping it up to a 850W corsair?

After I get some input I should be able to take care of the rest. Thanks for the help in advance. If you need any more information let me know.

 

[Slugbait]

Originally posted by: xDimMaK
For the sound card I was thinking of the Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer, but considering I won't be using surround sound (just my Logitech Z-4 2.1 speakers and cheap headphones) it seemed a little overkill at $91. However, all the cheaper cards seem to have reported driver issues with Vista x64 and/or choppy sounds when gaming. So I could definitely use some suggestions there.

The Gigabyte has ALC889A HD audio. The Asus has AD2000B HD audio. Apply that $91 toward the i7 system to make yourself feel better about overall cost.

Would a 750W from PC Power&Cooling suffice, or should I consider bumping it up to a 850W corsair?

750W is more than you need. I have one of those units, very nice.

 

[xDimMaK]

That still puts the LGA775 ~$200 less relative to the LGA1366. To be honest, the only reason I'm even considering LGA1366 is the the possibility of reusing the motherboard (and RAM) to save money when I upgrade again a few years from now. But with rumors that 2010-2011 processors already won't be LGA1366 anymore, that may completely backfire in that I'd be spending twice as much on the motherboard now and still have to buy a new one three years from now.

Then again, they are only rumors.

 

[Slugbait]

Originally posted by: xDimMaK
that may completely backfire in that I'd be spending twice as much on the motherboard now and still have to buy a new one three years from now.

Then again, they are only rumors.

Trying to guess the roadmap two or three years out is a gamble...most people lose. If you go with the 775, you will buy a new mobo and RAM three years from now. If you go with 1366, you might buy a new mobo and RAM three years from now.

It all depends on what you want to accomplish today. Since it's primarily gaming, and you've got the jitters about the future, then go with the Q9550 and save a few bucks.

 

[Hacp]

Why don't you consider the Phenom II 720BE? Processor+Motherboard will cost you just above 200 dollars. In 3 years, use that saved money to buy something that will totally outclass the i7.

Anandtech's new article on 720BE gaming!

http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=3533&p=1

However, if you plan on going SLI in the future, I can totally understand why you would favor intel.

 

[xDimMaK]

Meh. I decided to just suck it up and go with the i7 920 and DDR3 RAM. At the very least, the RAM should be reusable. And cutting out the sound card still saves a good bit of money (I figure I can always buy one later if I decide the onboard audio is inadequate, though I'm not too picky about sound quality to begin with).

I put in the order for the monitor, RAM, and power supply just now while they still have a combined savings of -$106. I'll buy the rest after I see how the prices are doing this summer (specifically hoping the $290 motherboard will drop in price within the next couple months).

Thanks for the help! I'll check this thread every so often in case anyone has any more suggestions.

EDIT@Hacp: Hmmm. A 720BE build comes in $200 cheaper as well, putting it at the same price as the Q9550 build while supporting the DDR3 RAM I bought. Considering this computer would be almost exclusively used for gaming, real-world performance would likely be comparable regardless of whether I choose the 720BE or the i7 920. I think this decision just became even tougher than the i7 920 vs Q9550 one.

Though any price drops or other savings for the Intel components by May would probably make the decision for me, to be honest. Even at their current prices I think I'm still leaning more towards the i7 920.