New rig

[Phoenix VII]

I'm building a new rig and any advice on where I can save some money or made any mistakes will be appreciated.

1.) What PC will be used for: Gaming and movies.
2.) Budget: $1,700.
3.) Countries parts are being bought from: USA.
4.) Brand preference: None.
5.) Parts being re-used: Windows x64, monitor, and all peripherals.
6.) Overclocking: Hope to overclock to 3.4-4.0 Ghz.
7.) Resolution: 1680x1050 will upgrade to a 1920x1200 in the future.
8.) I'm hoping to build this ASAP.

COOLER MASTER HAF 922 RC-922M-KKN1-GP Black Steel + Plastic and Mesh Bezel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
GIGABYTE GA-P55A-UD4P LGA 1156 Intel P55 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard w/ USB 3.0 & SATA 6 Gb/s
Intel Core i7-870 Lynnfield 2.93GHz 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor BX80605I7870
CORSAIR DOMINATOR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMP4GX3M2A1600C9
Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
SAPPHIRE 100281-3SR Radeon HD 5870 (Cypress XT) 1GB 256-bit DDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card w/ Eyefinity
CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX 850W ATX12V 2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply
LG Black 10X BD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM SATA Internal Blu-ray Disc Combo Model CH10LS20 R LightScribe Support
Thermaltake V1 Max-Performance CPU Cooler with Massive 110mm Blue LED Full-Range Variable Speed Fan CL-P0401

 

[Sp12]

Save 1$ and get 1.35 voltage ram with nicer timings.

Motherboard looks expensive, do you plan to Crossfire/SLI within the next 6 months?

CPU could be dropped an i5-760 and give you the same game performance.

Hard drive could be 15$ cheaper for the same performance.

Could save 15$ and get a nicer PSU.

5870 is overpriced when a GTX 470 can be had 260$ and often beat/match it in performance.

And with that 380$ saved consider either an SSD or new monitor. Possibly a different mobo as well.

 

[Blain]

5.) Parts being re-used: Windows x64, monitor, and all peripherals.

Is that Windows XP x64, Windows Vista x64 or Windows 7 x64?

 

[mfenn]

Save 1$ and get 1.35 voltage ram with nicer timings.

Motherboard looks expensive, do you plan to Crossfire/SLI within the next 6 months?

CPU could be dropped an i5-760 and give you the same game performance.

Hard drive could be 15$ cheaper for the same performance.

Could save 15$ and get a nicer PSU.

5870 is overpriced when a GTX 470 can be had 260$ and often beat/match it in performance.

And with that 380$ saved consider either an SSD or new monitor. Possibly a different mobo as well.

Pretty much this. You can get that new monitor right now instead of having to wait. None of these changes will affect the performance of the rig in any appreciable way.

 

[Phoenix VII]

Ok, here's the new motherboard and RAM. OS is Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit, btw.

GIGABYTE GA-P55A-UD3 LGA 1156 Intel P55 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
G.SKILL ECO Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL8D-4GBECO (RAM link was broken so not sure if this was what was recommended)

I'm going with Sp12's recommendation on the other parts. I was particularly surprised about the Core i5 760, I thought Core i5s were less powerful than i7s but the 760 looks to be the same as the 860, only without the hyperthreading. Thanks for the help.

 

[Phoenix VII]

Also with the money saved I'm thinking of going with a ASUS VW266H Black 25.5" 2ms(GTG) HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 1000:1 (ASCR 20000:1) Built in Speakers w/ component connector. Is it a good buy?

 

[mfenn]

That display is pretty good. It's been recommended by AT in their buyer's guides several times. Be aware that it is 1920x1200 on a 25.5" screen, so the pixels may be bigger than you're used to.