New Build Help ~$1000

[florak]

About me: very low tech, other than getting around on the web and gaming. Everything I know/like is from reading tons of articles on AT and other random articles.

Would like to build a new gaming computer ground up for around $1k +/- $200 after rebates. Mainly to play MMORPGs, other Blizzard games and general web tasks.

Current computer is a 4 yr old Alienware which was paid for by a very nice tax return that seemed to have shrunk this year.

Personally do not know anything about overclocking, but I'm not adverse to grabbing a geek in the family to do it.

Plan on cashing in on the Black Friday deals, but outside date is that I'd like to get the computer built before the end of the year.

Mouse & KB: reuse
Monitor: Dell 24" (reuse)

CPU-really think this is best bang for $200 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115215

MB-I had some bad luck with Gigabyte & MSI in the 90's, kinda turned me off them, but someone can change my mind! http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813188054 or?

Case-Prefer a midtower I can fit under my desk. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811133086 or?

GPU-http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814161299 or?

PSU-http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139006 or?

RAM-http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145236 or?

CD/DVD-http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827136147 or?

OS-Only experience is with Windows products http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116754 or?

HD-Black WD?

Cooling-?

Anything else I missed. I also have no idea if there will be compatibility issues with the stuff I picked (hence, low-techie). Please help!

Flora

 

[ScorcherDarkly]

If you have a Microcenter near you the i5 can be had for $160.

Good GPU choice. The new 5800 parts are too expensive for your build, and the 4890 outclasses the 5700 series.

Your PSU is overkill for what your system will need, but that's a good price on a good unit. Its what I've got right now, so I'm a bit biased .

For an i5 system, you need to find dual-channel DDR3 memory. Look for 2x2gb kits. The 3x2gb kit you've chosen is for X58 chipsets that support tri-channel memory. It'll work in an i5 system, but won't run optimally. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145260 is the same RAM you have picked out but in the right size. Another good brand to go with is G.Skill if you want some more choices.

Motherboard wise, you can probably get a cheaper board that will satisfy all of your needs. The one you've picked out is in the upper mid-range for P55. I don't have a ton of knowledge on what a good choice would be though, so I'll leave that to someone else.

Harddrive, WD black is a good choice, just pick a size you like. A SSD will be the fastest you can find, and would be worth getting if you can squeeze it into your budget.

If you're not planning to overclock you don't need to worry about getting a heatsink. If you are, a Xigamtek Dark Knight with the mounting kit for 1156 is a good choice. Relatively cheap and good cooling.

About the OS: Win7 HP is a good choice, but the edition you've picked is the OEM version. The reason its priced so low is because after you install it, it becomes tied to your motherboard in your computer. So no transferring that OS to another system down the road. If you care about that, then you need to buy the retail version that's full price. If you don't, enjoy the savings.

 

[ViviTheMage]

get this case :

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-066-_-Product

Antec 300, $49 shipped right now from newegg.

 

[redz]

I'm looking to build soon with the same budget, and I have many of the same parts in mind. However, there are a couple changes you may want to consider to save a few bucks, which others have mentioned as well:

A cheaper motherboard ($124.99):
MSI P55-GD55 LGA 1156 Intel P55 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817371015
Look over the specs to see if that will work for you. If you were planning on CrossFire, this one says it supports it, but it looks like the extra PCIe slot runs at x4 instead of x16. I'm not sure how that will affect performance.

A cheaper power supply ($79.99-$30.00 MIR = $49.99):
Antec EarthWatts EA650 650W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817371015
As was said in a post above, the one you have picked out is overkill considering the rest of your parts.

Dual channel ram ($88.99):
Crucial 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820148262

For hard drives, you may want to consider the WD 1 TB, lots of storage relatively cheap:

Western Digital Caviar Black 1 TB ($109.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136284

If you're a student, check out http://win741.com/. Windows 7 Home or Professional Upgrades (need valid version of XP or Vista) for $30.

 

[Syran]

Right now, if you are going with an I5, I would stick to an eVga motherboard, as they seem to have better memory/cpu compatibility then the others... I went thru 2 other motherboards and 5 sets of memory until I read about the Lotes thing (which has gotten even more confusing, as it seems it's only a clip) before an eVga motherboard solved my issues. Seems if you have a Foxconn locking bracket + i5, there may be some connection issues. Socket issues w/ Overclocking and Memory issues in the Budget showdown. Please note, I was not trying to do any overclocking; and 4 of the 5 sets were on the compatibility lists for the motherboards I tried prior to evga (Gigabyte & Intel P55 mATX boards).

This is just a word of caution.

Oh, and go ahead and do some aftermarket cooling, the retail hsf's on the i5/i7 series are not very good at all.

 

[djnsmith7]

Redz, you should have started your own thread...

 

[florak]

Thanks for the replies.

Sorry to add another question.
I was at Microcenter and saw that they were offering the Intel i7-920 for $199.99 http://www.microcenter.com/single_pr...uct_id=0302727
Would it be worth the $50 vs i5-750?

 

[redz]

Thanks for the replies.

Sorry to add another question.
I was at Microcenter and saw that they were offering the Intel i7-920 for $199.99 http://www.microcenter.com/single_pr...uct_id=0302727
Would it be worth the $50 vs i5-750?

I'd say no. The i5-750 performs very close to the i7-920. Also, getting the 920 will require getting a different motherboard because it's socket 1366 compared to socket 1156 for the i5-750. The cheapest socket 1366 motherboard on Newegg is $144. With that motherboard change comes triple channel RAM, which will also be more expensive (although you could probably use 1 or 2 sticks of RAM if you really wanted to). It's a lot of added cost for a performance improvement you'd never notice outside of benchmarks.