My first gaming rig build

[death123]

Hey guys I'm looking to game on a 1080p monitor for as cheap as possible.

I put this build together and will probably(hopefully) be getting it in a month.

My budget was around 900 but it totaled out to be over 1k.

Is there anything I can improve on in terms of bang for buck?

CPU: I5 750 $214.99
http://www.canadacomputers.com/produ...item_id=025781
MOBO: Asrock H55M 94.99
http://www.canadacomputers.com/produ...item_id=027942
RAM: G.SKILL 2x2GB 1333MHZ 7-7-7-21 109.99
http://www.canadacomputers.com/produ...item_id=025408
GPU: asus 5850 3 yr warrenty $336.99
http://www.canadacomputers.com/produ...item_id=027805
CASE&PSU: generic ATX with 500W 39.99 WILL DOUBLE CHECK FOR THE PCI-E 2.0 plug
http://www.canadacomputers.com/produ...item_id=019734
HDD: WD 500GB sata 46.99
http://www.canadacomputers.com/produ...item_id=010671
I/O:
Samsung DVD 22x $22.99
http://www.canadacomputers.com/produ...item_id=027426
Logitech keyboard 8.99
http://www.canadacomputers.com/produ...item_id=023947

Subtotal: 875.92
+ tax 113.87
+ electronic tax?!?! 50??
Estimated total $1168


All prices are in canadian dollars. I am however worried about my motherboard because I read some reviews saying that it can't over-clock too much.

 

[mfenn]

Ixnay on the included PSU. You need to get a quality unit any PSU that comes with a $40 case is going to be crap. I would suggest something like the Corsair 650TX.

That will of course increase you price a bit. 🙁 In you want to cut costs, you might be better served by going down to a Phenom X4 II 955 and something like the ASUS M4A77TD.

Also, shop NCIX and Newegg.ca to see if you can get better prices.

 

[death123]

But the recommended PSU for a 5850 is 500w and im guessing ati took into account that people will buy cheap PSUs? THe phenom X4 II 955 is like only 40 dollars cheaper from where I live.

 

[Sp12]

But the recommended PSU for a 5850 is 500w and im guessing ati took into account that people will buy cheap PSUs? THe phenom X4 II 955 is like only 40 dollars cheaper from where I live.

Yes and no. The PSU is arguably the most important part of your system for stability purposes, and you're running on the bare-minimum 'recommended'. I can tell you that it's not going to be a good PSU for that cost, and a majority of cheap PSUs do not actually output their stated wattage.

Hardocp has some excellent PSU reviews, and they can demonstrate some of the scarier things like cheap 700w PSU's outputting 450 :S

 

[mfenn]

But the recommended PSU for a 5850 is 500w and im guessing ati took into account that people will buy cheap PSUs? THe phenom X4 II 955 is like only 40 dollars cheaper from where I live.

Sure they do. However, you'll be singing a different tune when that "free" 500W PSU fries out your $300 5850 because it was really only a 250W PSU with a different sticker slapped on and the OCP (over-current protection) circuit was left out to get the cost down.

Take Sp12's advice and do some research on this topic. You'll find out about some very shady practices by the cheapie PSU ODM's.

 

[Cheesetogo]

Yeah, you don't need to spend a ton on a PSU, but you don't want to cheap out on one like you're doing either.