Need help with my build also!

[Thunderdrunk]

Bet you guys get this one a lot huh? Heh well this current PC I built back in '05 on a 939socket. It's quite outdated now, pretty much it's a Model T compared to today's Bugatti Veyron. I'm getting most, if not all, of these parts off Newegg since I can spread out the payments since I can't quite afford it all right now. But I can definitely overtime quite easily. The objective of this build is to build a powerhouse for gaming with options for upgrading in the future. But my knowledge of parts and such are from '05 so I know almost nothing of what's great today.

Alright I got the sticky up in another tab so let's answer those questions.

1. This is meant for gaming and lots of it! Maybe some minor graphic work but just the average Photoshoping and such. Also some TV/Anime watching. But I want the system to be QUIET while doing so. I'm tired of hearing my current system.

2. Budget I don't really have since I'll use Newegg's Bill Me Later promotion. But I would like to keep it under $2500, maybe a bit more.

3. I live in the USA, not buying parts from Canada or overseas.

4. I was a AMD fanboy, but Intel really seems to have some great offerings nowadays. So this build will be my first tim....Intel build. I'm not really a fanboy of anything else.

5. Current parts I might use are my 500GB storage drive, speakers and monitor I'm not sure of. I'll get more into that later.

6. I haven't read most threads on this forum, I have though on other sites like Tomshardware and such. I'm doing so while typing this and awaiting responses though.

7. I would like to finally try overclocking with this build, did some research and I think I got a good starter build but I do need help with additional items.

8. Well I certainly want to stop gaming at 1024x768, it's the new 640x480! I don't quite know, I don't want anything bigger then a 19"-22" at max LCD so I believe that's 1650x1200 or something along those lines.

9. Now. Or at least I want to order all the parts before the 12/31 deadline for that Bill Me Later promotion ends. Plus there's some good deals going on it looks like (free games, discounts etc etc).

Alright here comes the list!

First off it's not QUITE complete. Things I do need help with are a great but QUIET CPU cooler. I'll probably need a couple of extra fans for the case, but I'll just pick that up locally so don't mind that. I do also need help with a LCD,Sound card, HDDs and speakers (or a good pair of headphones.)

Here's a pic of it. Links to them are below

2 x Pioneer CD/DVD Burner Black SATA Model DVR-218LBK LabelFlash Support - OEM

1 x Antec P193 Gunmetal Gray Aluminum / Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

2 x XFX HD-585A-ZNBC Radeon HD 5850 (Cypress Pro) 1GB Black Edition 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported ... - Retail

1 x CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power ... - Retail

1 x Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM

1 x Mushkin Enhanced Redline 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model 998691 - Retail

1 x GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD5 LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

1 x Intel Core i7-920 Bloomfield 2.66GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80601920 - Retail

1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM

Appreciate you guys and gals help. With how quick PCs get outdated in 5 years I think I know how my Mom feels with dealing with the electronics of today!

EDIT: Oh and on the HDDs. I would like to have one somewhat small one dedicated to the OS. One dedicated to the games and maybe another storage drive alongside my 500GB one.

 

[z1ggy]

I don't know how much power these new 5 series cards use, but there is some chance that the 750w might not be enough. ( I am assuming that the more output of these cards, the more power they are using as well, but please don't quote me here). You def. should invest in a good cpu cooler if you are going to do an OC, along with good case fans. I also like my Fantom external HD. You can pick up a 1tb for fairly cheap now and use it to hold all your media. Your case is going to be fairly swamped with two internals, a large cpu cooler, plus those 2 gpus and you don't want to restrict air flow. Back tracking really quick... not sure if the psu is modular or not, but I think it is a good idea if you get one that is.. if not, invest in some zip ties and extra time routing your cables.

 

[Thunderdrunk]

Well the HDDs are going to be at the bottom of the case along with the PSU. So it's in it's own compartment. PSU wise I'm thinking about that, also thinking of using one of Antec's PSU using a proprietary standard, but it's got some extra long cables and I can route those behind the case. It's also about 850W or so. P193's a really nice update to my rev 1 P180.

 

[MisterDonut]

If you want a small one dedicated to OS, OCZ 30g vertex is only a hundred bucks on newegg. You can get a 5970 for the price of both 5850's, but somebody else would have to tell you if that's better (I don't actually know anybody who's cfx'ing those or anybody who has a 5970. Just the 5870, and it rocks). The Zalman CNPS10X Quiet/Flex is a nice cooler, as are the TRUE and Megahalem (There are a ton of good air coolers), but you should check out the Corsair H50 and see how that fares. Otherwise, go all out and buy a full on watercooling kit.

EDIT: If you don't want an SSD, the Caviar Black is a great HDD

 

[z1ggy]

Well the HDDs are going to be at the bottom of the case along with the PSU. So it's in it's own compartment. PSU wise I'm thinking about that, also thinking of using one of Antec's PSU using a proprietary standard, but it's got some extra long cables and I can route those behind the case. It's also about 850W or so. P193's a really nice update to my rev 1 P180.

Ah I see.. I didn't look at he internal config of the case, I guess I just compared to my case, where the HDD's sit more in the middle. It's just my opinion that you might want to try having one more powerful card rather than the two 5870's. Performance wise, I don't know which is better, but for me, it just makes more sense having less in the case if possible.

 

[Thunderdrunk]

Yeah I looked further into the Radeon 5970. Looks like it hasn't matured enough yet. Single one is slower then a pair of 5870s due to the power needed. Needs to be OC'ed then it starts to whoop two of them, but seems like it's not quite stable while doing so. Power wise if I were to ever run them in CrossfireX I'd need something over 1000W+. Plus I can't find a single vendor online that has them in stock! Well one that I'd buy from. Looks like there's issues with it actually fitting inside of the case, but I should be able to just pull out the adjacent 3.5" cage and no problems.

All the negativity aside, from what the reviews say about it. It DOES look like one very nice card.

 

[MisterDonut]

Haha, it is a beautiful card, no doubt there. I do understand that it isn't stable yet because I brushed up on a bit of homework , and yeah, I think a 5870 would be enough to blast away at those gnarly games. And yeah, I think any card that will push 60+ fps on Crysis maxed is pretty darn brutal.