Help building a new pc

[nylax99]

I posted this in the wrong forum the first time so sorry if some of you read this in another forum. Hopefully I can get more help here

- I will be using this computer to replace my current pc for gaming. Buying new parts for everything.
- buying in the U.S.
- no brand pref.
- a barebone kit would be preferable so I have less to install, but i'm not opposed to doing everything from scratch if the optimal parts are not in any barebone pc combos.
- overclocking would be nice, but i'm fairly new as it's been more than 7 years since I built a computer. so I need to do some research before overclocking too much.
- total price range exclude monitor is maybe 900-1000(up to 1200 if it's enough of a performance boost)


I've found 3 barebone kits from newegg that seem to have a good starting point. Trying to get a system that I can play current games(mostly WoW and SC2) at max settings. And be able to at least last me a few more years(possible crossfire/SLI upgrade). For graphics card. I'm leaning towards a GTX 460(been reading that it's the best prices for that price range). But if the next step up is a big enough of a jump in performance...I would seriously consider it? Is there any benefit to get an ATI over AMD cards other than personal preference?


Combo1

Combo2 without graphics card

Combo3 without graphics card



Thank you guys for your help!

 

[mfenn]

First, Newegg's supercombos are not barebones kits. You'll still have to install everything just like you picked out the parts separately. Anyway, neither of those combos are a very good deal.

Second, "upgrading to SLI/Crossfire" is rarely a good idea. You'll pay more up front for SLI-capable parts, and by the time you're ready to upgrade, a matching card will no longer be a good value.

Third, AMD cards are just as good as Nvidia ones. It really all comes down to pricing. For example: at $175, the GTX 460 is probably the best bet. Above $200, the 6870 and clearance 5870's are better bang for the buck.

With that said, here's a build:
i5 750 + GA-P55A-UD3 $318
G.Skill DDR3 1600 $50
Radeon 6870 $250
Samsung F3 1TB + 650TX $115 AR
Samsung DVD Burner $20
Cooler Master 690 $40 AR
Total: $793 AR

There was a really killer i5 760 + mobo combo earlier today but the 760 sold out.

If you need a Windows 7 license, add another $100. That'll put you right at $900 after rebates. If you want to be closer to $1000, the only really good bang for the buck upgrade that I can see would be an SSD (G.Skill Phoenix Pro, Mushkin Callisto Deluxe, OCZ Vertex 2, Corsair Force, etc.).

 

[nylax99]

wow thank you for such a detailed and fast response!

I thought to get a SLI/crossfire setup all you have to do is buy another card of the same kind? Is there more to do other than software setup?

Was trying to pull up a benchmark for the 6870 in anandtech, but can't seem to one. Searching on the web it seems it's around below the GTX 470 range is that about right? Reason I looked at the 470 is cause all of the 6870s with any user reviews are all sold out.

Also, would I benefit from 6gb ram rather than 4gb?

Sorry for the noob questions, still fairly new at all this and researching as I go

 

[DominionSeraph]

$823 after rebate. That's GTX 460 SLI with 8GB.
Another $85 for Win7.
Leaves plenty of room under your $1200 cap for a SSD, which would definitely be worth it in the "performance" department. (But I am not up sufficiently knowledgeable in that segment to make a suggestion on which SSD)

To answer your 6GB vs 4GB question, the Lynnfield processors (like the i5 750) have a dual-channel memory controller vs the triple-channel on the more expensive LGA 1366 processors. So you buy in pairs instead of triples.

 

[mfenn]

wow thank you for such a detailed and fast response!

I thought to get a SLI/crossfire setup all you have to do is buy another card of the same kind? Is there more to do other than software setup?

Was trying to pull up a benchmark for the 6870 in anandtech, but can't seem to one. Searching on the web it seems it's around below the GTX 470 range is that about right? Reason I looked at the 470 is cause all of the 6870s with any user reviews are all sold out.

Also, would I benefit from 6gb ram rather than 4gb?

Sorry for the noob questions, still fairly new at all this and researching as I go

For SLI/Crossfire, you also have to buy a motherboard that supports it (typically more expensive) and a PSU that provides enough power (also more expensive). The 6870 is slightly slower than the GTX 470, but also produces much less heat and noise. Furthermore, mist of the 6870's are reference cards right now, which means that they are the same except for the labeling and packaging.

No, you would not likely benefit from 6GB of RAM, and it would force you into a suboptimal DIMM config. or 8GB is the way to go for 1156.

 

[betasub]

4GB should be fine, unless OP has some specific usage or apps that are very RAM hungry.

 

[nylax99]

Thank you mfenn and DominionSeraph for the specs. Im getting horrible internet at the hotel room here so won't be able to pull up all the detailed specs till tomorrow. But I am thinking of going for the 8GB ram and possibly a SSD. Is a SSD going to have a significant performance increase?

 

[mfenn]

Thank you mfenn and DominionSeraph for the specs. Im getting horrible internet at the hotel room here so won't be able to pull up all the detailed specs till tomorrow. But I am thinking of going for the 8GB ram and possibly a SSD. Is a SSD going to have a significant performance increase?

8GB is pretty pointless for gaming right now. Plus, RAM is so easy to upgrade that you can just buy another 2x2GB kit when 4GB isn't enough.

An SSD will provide a huge performance increase in general usage. Gaming, not so much.

 

[DominionSeraph]

8GB is pretty pointless for gaming right now.

Except it comes in that crazy-good combo making it only $20 for the extra 4GB.
$20 in a $1000 PC to double the RAM... yeah, I'm liking it.

Ok I read up on SSD's a bit. Looks like the SandForce-based Vertex 2 is pretty good and it's at a really good price compared to the C300.
As the case and DVD drive in my previous build went out of stock, I ran the build again.

$1119 after rebates inc. shipping.

 

[nylax99]

What do you think of the 8gb ram special:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=20-231-311&SortField=0&SummaryType=0&Pagesize=10&PurchaseMark=&SelectedRating=-1&VideoOnlyMark=False&VendorMark=&IsFeedbackTab=true&Page=2#scrollFullInfo
it's pc310666 instead of pc312800 though.....

I also found this combo for win7 and ssd:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.544791.20-139-132
it's only 64gb but I figure I can probably install just applications on that drive and games,music, etc on a normal drive?

 

[mfenn]

DDR3 1333 is fine, and 2x4GB gives you room to grow.

That SSD is a no-go. The SSDNow V series is just not up to par with the Intel, Sandforce, and Crucial drives.

 

[DominionSeraph]

What do you think of the 8gb ram special:

It's a good price for 2x4GB, but I don't get why you'd be pricing separate RAM.
What were you planning to find for video cards that would beat that Palit combo I posted? It's a -$30 combo with an inexpensive 1GB GTX 460 that has a $35 rebate! It's an absolute steal. For the last 4 days I've been putting that in suggested builds where the OP thought he could only afford a 5770/768MB GTX 460. I even squeezed it into builds in replacement of 4650's!

I also found this combo for win7 and ssd:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.544791.20-139-132
it's only 64gb but I figure I can probably install just applications on that drive and games,music, etc on a normal drive?

Kingston. No.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/3756/2010-value-ssd-100-roundup-kingston-and-ocz-take-on-intel/2

Stick with a Vertex 2.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820227610

If for some reason you wanted Win7 Professional:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...791.20-227-610

But that's $10 more than just buying Windows 7 Home Premium separately and I don't see why you'd need Professional.

 

[nylax99]

sorry for the delayed post, i'm still traveling for work lately.

Both of you guys listed the i5-750 instead of the AMD black edition. The benchmarks show intel beats out AMD, but do ppl pick the amd based on it being a little cheaper and able to overclock more?

I'm still entertaining the idea of SLI vs single card. If i'm playing say world of warcraft with 2 accounts open in windowed, would 2 cards provide that much more of a performance than say...one 470?

Thank you so much for all your help!

 

[Carver_inc]

I think most people go the AMD for the savings in overall budget which they apply to a beefier graphics card. I went with the i5-760, just b/c I think its a beast @ its price range AND mfenn suggestions when I came here looking for advice. so +1.

Don't quote me on this, but I've always heard that WoW is a bit more cpu intense than most games, and a quad-core like the i5 would be a great match if that's your game of choice.

 

[fffblackmage]

I think most people go the AMD for the savings in overall budget which they apply to a beefier graphics card. I went with the i5-760, just b/c I think its a beast @ its price range AND mfenn suggestions when I came here looking for advice. so +1.

Agreed.

The i5-7xx is roughly $200 at newegg. Most AMD CPUs are a bit cheaper than that (the 955BE is $145 at newegg).

Many P55 mobos are a bit over $100 and most AMD mobos can be had for under $100.

Basically, the i5-7xx is preferable as long as you have the budget for it. You don't want to sacrifice GPU power just for the i5-7xx.

 

[mfenn]

Don't quote me on this, but I've always heard that WoW is a bit more cpu intense than most games, and a quad-core like the i5 would be a great match if that's your game of choice.

Yep, WoW is actually quite CPU intensive.

 

[mfenn]

I'm still entertaining the idea of SLI vs single card. If i'm playing say world of warcraft with 2 accounts open in windowed, would 2 cards provide that much more of a performance than say...one 470?

Yes, two GTX 460s would be faster than a single GTX 470. They'd also cost more, product more heat, and have a more annoying software config.

 

[nylax99]

Yep, WoW is actually quite CPU intensive.

Would i5-760 be better than i5-750? It's got a higher Ghz. Although the bench for Wow is showing 750 with a higher FPS than the 760.

So far I have:
i5-7(5/6)0
does the mobo that you listed earlier have the capibility to overclock the cpu?
case - doesn't really matter(right?)
dvd drive - random something cheap
~100 for the SSD

this leaves ~300-400 for graphics card and ram. I tried to look up the 460/ram combo that dominionseraph had listed, but couldn't find it? since the mobo above supports ati crossfire(incase I want to do it later) i'm leaning towards the 6870 or possibly even the 5870?

 

[DominionSeraph]

All the combos died last night.

Might as well go for the i5 760. There's only a $5 difference now that the $15 instant on the i5 750 is gone.

Yes, all these motherboards can overclock.

 

[nylax99]

dah....all this traveling.... i'm so slow on getting in on the deals

 

[Carver_inc]

If your traveling quite a bit, try and see if you'll be around a Micro Center. They have the i5 760 for approx. $169.99. Getting it at that price, would save ya come coin or you could apply to a nice heat sink, and OC the bajeebus out of it.

 

[mfenn]

Might as well go for the i5 760. There's only a $5 difference now that the $15 instant on the i5 750 is gone.

Yes, all these motherboards can overclock.

:thumbsup: Though you will need an aftermarket HSF (Hyper 212+ is cheap and cheerful) if you want to overclock.