New Build: 1200 Budget Input Appreciated

[astralusion]

First build since a 3400+ Socket 754 + 9800 Pro, so it's been a while.

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.
Primarily gaming and for television/movies/music (experimenting with no cable tv).
Internet and normal office stuff.

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% Would like to keep it around 1000, but can push to 1200 (maybe a smidge more).

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.
United States
Primarily from NewEgg (Located in Berkeley/Oakland, CA, So I do have access to Frys/MicroCenter)

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.
Not a brand preference, but from the reading i've been doing I feel like i'm probably looking at a AMD/ATi combo. Could be wrong.


5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.
Monitor: A benQ E2200HD (not HDA) so resolution 1920*1080
I have keyboard and mouse, but might be purchasing some new ones (but wouldn't include this in the budget)
Have a pair of Sennheiser 555s (and I might steal my dad's 595s because he doesn't use them), so speakers aren't needed, i might get some in the future, but not something to consider for this thread.

6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads.
A bit.


7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.
I plan to do some minor overclocking of both CPU and GPU, but nothing drastic. (The idea being I through in a 212+ or whatever and have a nice stable extra bit of performance)


8. What resolution YOU plan on gaming with.
1920*1080 for now, might be getting a new monitor later, so 1920*1200 max.

9. WHEN do you plan to build it?
Not until the beginning of June at the earliest, the date could be pushed back by a month at most if there was some very good reason.

Other notes:
I want to use a nice-ish case. So looking at Lian-Li K62 or 7B plus II, but again, open to other suggestions.
I do like the idea of grabbing a 5850 now and throwing in another in a year or so. So power supply would have to be able to handle crossfire.
Also like the idea of being able to upgrade the CPU in 2-3 years without a MB swap.

General ideas for what would go in right now (890GX/FX board, Phenom II X4 955 or 965, Radeon 5850, a 1TB Spinpoint (and then waiting for the Intel SSD refresh), Ripjaw 2x2g sticks, a 750W PS, XFX BE?)

Your input is appreciated.

 

[mfenn]

What you listed sounds good.

You really don't need more than a 550-650W PSU though. A Corsair 650TX would work well.

As for case, I would be concerned about whether or not a long GPU would clear the HDD cage in the K62. There is a better chance that one would fit in the 7B, but it would depend on the exact placement of the PCIe x16 slots. If anyone has one of these cases, please chime in. I know for a fact that one will fit in an Antec P183 or P193 because the upper HDD cage is removable. I have the predecessor to the P183 and it is really a very nice case.

 

[astralusion]

Exactly the kind of advice I'm looking for thank you. I'll have to look at a few cases then, and more carefully consider their measurements, maybe see if I can find reviews for them.

 

[mfenn]

Exactly the kind of advice I'm looking for thank you. I'll have to look at a few cases then, and more carefully consider their measurements, maybe see if I can find reviews for them.

Newegg has a feature where you can search the customer reviews of a particular item. You could try searching for "5850" or another long card to see what other people's experiences have been.

EDIT: According to Newegg reviewers, the K62 will fit a 5850 (9.5"), but a 5870 (10.5") barely fits. The 7B will not fit a GTX 280 (10.5") without removing the lower HDD bay.

 

[astralusion]

Do you think a case like the Cooler Master ATCS 840 would be overkill (size-wise, weigh-wise)?

It's only like 30 bucks more expensive than the K62 because it has free shipping right now at Newegg.

 

[astralusion]

I feel like I'll probably go K62. It is supposed to have clearance for a 29cm card, which is almost a foot, so a 9-incher like a 5850 should be fine.

Also I'd probably be looking for a 140mm fan to replace the stock fan, due to not wanting the LED. Any recommendations?

Any other inputs?

Would it be worth it to try and stretch towards an i5-750?

 

[RaistlinZ]

I would. i5-750 is superior to the Phenom II 965 BE. The couple extra dollars you'll never miss. The extra performance you'll always enjoy.

 

[mfenn]

I feel like I'll probably go K62. It is supposed to have clearance for a 29cm card, which is almost a foot, so a 9-incher like a 5850 should be fine.

Also I'd probably be looking for a 140mm fan to replace the stock fan, due to not wanting the LED. Any recommendations?

Any other inputs?

Would it be worth it to try and stretch towards an i5-750?

Sounds good on the case. Noctua fans (140mm) are very nice (high CFM/dB) but pricey. There don't seem to be many other quality (non LED) choices on Newegg at the moment. If you don't want to go for the Noctua, just grab one of the cheap Cooler Masters. It won't be as quiet, but it will get the job done.

Platform (mobo, RAM) costs should be the same, and the 750 is only about $15 more so I would go for it.

 

[astralusion]

Now I get that the 750 is a better performer and that the board prices are similar as well. The question would be is the i5-750 the fastest processor that will ever come out for the 1156.

Would it be better to go with an AM3 platform that (I'm making an assumption here), would allow for an upgrade path (possible Bulldozer), or would the i5 be powerful enough that it wouldn't need an upgrade even with subsequent GPU upgrades (an added 5850, or 6xxx card for instance).

I guess I'm asking if the i5 will maintain system balance even with a GPU upgrade, and I know that this is all very speculative, just looking for thoughts/opinions.

 

[Reincus]

I suspect an overclocked i5-750 will be more than fine for 2 GPU generations. Probably considerbly longer.

 

[mfenn]

I suspect an overclocked i5-750 will be more than fine for 2 GPU generations. Probably considerbly longer.

This.

There are faster 1156 CPUs available now (860, 870), but they probably aren't worth upgrading to as an OC on the 750 will get you there. You will be good for at least one GPU upgrade. DDR3 will be around for a while, so really a mobo+CPU upgrade is only marginally more expensive than a CPU upgrade (i.e. Sandy Bridge + mobo, vs Bulldozer CPU only).

 

[heyheybooboo]

If you are coming from a ""3400+ Socket 754 + 9800 Pro"" I would set your heights a little lower on the cpu/mobo - and maybe the video subsystem, too.

And if you are going "off-cable" do we need to find you a TV tuner card?

A single HD5850 will cover your needs for a good while, and by the time you are ready to 'crossfire' we will be well into the next generation, and all other kinds of 'new tech'. So a single PCIe Gen2 x16 slot would work 'just dandy' --- or a 'GX or X' series with a single HD 5770 would blow you away - with room for a 'CrossFire for the Holidays' when you get that upgrade itch.

You can easily save $20-$30+ over an 890GX/FX with a 790x/785g (depending upon how you wish to go with the PCIe x16 slots). Take a gander at the Asus M4A79XTD EVO AM3 790X and the M4A785TD-V EVO AM3 785G.

As far as your processor, the Phenom 720BE or even the Athlon II X3 435 Rana will provide all the 'kick' you need.

You've saved enough cash for the $130 64GB Gen2 SSD for your OS/Apps that pops up on e-Blast every couple weeks --- Then .... you are ready to kick back and wait for a SS receiver/speaker combo to pop up on the Egg, too

and/or

Snag a 42-inch plasma from your local Big Box Store for $500 (12-month no interest is around $42/month).

That will show your Pops how fiscally responsible you are - LOL




--

 

[astralusion]

Fry's is running a i7 930 & Asus P6T SE Motherboard Combo for 330. Should I just go that route? I know that will bump up memory costs a bit.

Or 1055 x6 plus MSI 890GXM-G65 (mATX) for 210.

Or should I just wait until they have a deal with a 955, 965, or i5 750?

And a TV tuner card might be something I want to add eventually (when NFL and College Basketball are back). Also thanks for the mobo suggestions, I'll look at them. I already have a 42" TV too, so no worries there.

 

[HumblePie]

Fry's is running a i7 930 & Asus P6T SE Motherboard Combo for 330. Should I just go that route? I know that will bump up memory costs a bit.

Or 1055 x6 plus MSI 890GXM-G65 (mATX) for 210.

Or should I just wait until they have a deal with a 955, 965, or i5 750?

And a TV tuner card might be something I want to add eventually (when NFL and College Basketball are back). Also thanks for the mobo suggestions, I'll look at them. I already have a 42" TV too, so no worries there.

If you are going best bang for the buck and upgrading from a really old setup like yours basically I would jump on that Fry's deal.

Grab the i7 930 combo. Look on the clearance shelves for a decent 120mm fan based cpu heatsink with direct touch heatpipes. All of the brands of those are very close performance wise. So if you can get a cpu heatsink for $10 or less from the clearance rack then go for it.

Pick up a 6GB kit of DDR3 of the cheapest you can find of either the Patriot, Mushkin, G Skill, or OCZ. You won't go wrong with any of those. Should be around $150 on average now for a 6GB kit.

After that, the rest looks fine. Good PSU will always serve you well for years to come. Same with a good case and optical drive which can be cheap if you know where to shop.

The last big consideration to think about is hard drives and performance. I am of the mindset of getting at least a 60GB solid state disk (SSD) drive and a decent size (about 1TB) mechanical high density disk (HDD) drive with 500GB density platters. Should run you about $270 to $300 for that. Load the operating system and some of your basic, most used programs on the SSD drive and put everything else on the HDD drive.

For anyone making a new PC today with a decent budget this is the way to go.

 

[astralusion]

Decided to not go i930, save ~150 bucks, grabbed a 965BE + Gigabyte 790xta combo at Fry's (about 190 after tax).

Also grabbed the spinpoint 1gb for 75 shipped.

Figure there is no problem gathering a few of the components ahead of time.

Now looking for deals on 5850s.

 

[busydude]

Now looking for deals on 5850s.

Quick, PM Gothax. 5850 for $260 on FS thread
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2075651

 

[MisterDonut]

Decided to not go i930, save ~150 bucks, grabbed a 965BE + Gigabyte 790xta combo at Fry's (about 190 after tax).

Also grabbed the spinpoint 1gb for 75 shipped.

Figure there is no problem gathering a few of the components ahead of time.

Now looking for deals on 5850s.

Good choice. I admit, I'm an incredible fan of saving money .