Request feedback on new build (or suggestions for similar)

[Wolfspawn]

New to forums here and havent built a computer in over 4 years so I know nothing of what is out there, what works with what and so on.. I found a build that seemed to meet my needs but after trying to research what was posted I ended up more confused (the 16x vs 8x/8x for single graphics card vs 2 in an SLI.... clueless?) Anyhow, I will attempt to follow previous sticky rules 🙂

1. It will be used for gaming, primarily first person shooters, some MMORPGS and others (currently COD black ops, WoW, future FPS and MMORPGs)

2. Budget, I am aiming for 850ish not including monitor/keyboard/mouse. (I do need suggestions on monitor though, but I was looking at some 23" ones that were on sale near me).

3. Components will be bought in USA (Las Vegas if local Frys have sales)

4. No brand pref, I just want good bang for buck and reliable makers. My current PC has lasted me about 4 years and I am just now starting to notice issues with COD BO-- I expect decline in performance over the next 2 years but I would like it to still be feasible, haha.

5. No, no current parts outside a mouse/keyboard.

6. I have read threads and will post what I was looking at.

7. I havent overclocked a CPU since I had a 50mgz back in like 1992 so I am not sure I would feel comfy doing it, but I will if it doesn't hurt the life of the CPU

8. I have not tried many resolutions, I think I play with 1024, but I would like a better resolution if it completely overhaul the build

9. I would like to build it ASAP--- someone mentioned waiting til Jan 2011 but there is no guarantees the prices will be similar to what I want.... and I am ancy for a PC

I saw this build on a site this week and wondered what you guys thought--
Intel i5-760 2.8ghz lga1156
or
Intel i7-870 2.93ghz lga1156

ASRock p55 extreme4 cf 8x8x sata 6gb usb 3
OR
ASUS maximus III formula w/sound

MSI Hawk geforce gtx 460 1gb
OR
Two Geforce gtx 460 768mg in SLI
(the previous three OR's were all leading up to whether the dual gx card in SLI is worth it with the 8x8x... read conflicting stuff and i dont know what is true. if dual is worth it i was going to take the bottom options)

corsair xms 4gb (2x2gb) ddr3 2000mgz
or
gskill 8gb (2x4gb) ddr3 1333mhz (if you guys think i need 8g)

samsung f3 1tb sata II 3 gb

dvd drive

corsair 850w 80plus power supply (read i needed the extra power if dual gx cards)
OR
seasonic m12II 620w

case -- antec three hundred illusion or nine hundred

built in sound, maybe upgraded CPU fans?

sorry for the long post....

thanks

 

[Wolfspawn]

is this to big of a bite to take on or? 20 reviews or so and nobody responds. I am just trying to build a new gaming pc....

 

[fffblackmage]

Welcome to AT forums. Have some patience... you'll get plenty of feedback tomorrow.

i5-760 - $205
The i7-870 is too expensive for barely any performance gain (for gaming).

ASRock P55 PRO/USB3 - $105
The ones you listed are kinda pricey because of the SLI support.

MSI N460GTX Hawk GTX 460 1GB - $190 ($160 AR)
OR
ASUS ENGTX470 GTX 470 1280MB - $260 ($230 AR)
GTX 460 768MB SLI - not worth it considering additional cost of mobo and PSU.
Really, a single GTX 460 768MB will work great for something like 1280x1024, but the GTX 460 1GB and GTX 470 will be more suitable for a 1080p monitor.

A-DATA 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1333 - $50 ($40 AR)
OR
G.SKILL Ripjaws 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1600 - $60
DDR3-1600, if you feel like overclocking. DDR3-2000 is way too expensive and won't net you any noticeable performance gains (unless you like doing memory benchmarks?).

Samsung F3 1TB - $70
This is fine.

Samsung DVD burner - $17

Antec 300 Illusion - $70

SeaSonic S12II 620 Bronze - $75
Modular is nice, but the non-modular version is much cheaper, at least on newegg anyways.

Well that brings to total to $782-862 (not including rebates).

Unless you were planning on finding some uber slick deals, I'm not sure how you were thinking of picking up all those parts you listed for under $850....

 

[betasub]

Yes, patience: you'll get plenty of views. Then the ppl who have time to construct a thought-out post containing a full build will get to reply... assuming it is the right time of day/night in their part of the world. Perhaps mfenn & Davidh373 will be along soon? 🙂

 

[Wolfspawn]

ty for replies.
blackmage, what do you mean by "if you feel like overclocking" on the memory? if i buy the 1600 is there something else I need to do to get it to run appropriately ? also, would it be worth going with 8gb RAM ? will it help at all?

 

[fffblackmage]

ty for replies.
blackmage, what do you mean by "if you feel like overclocking" on the memory? if i buy the 1600 is there something else I need to do to get it to run appropriately ? also, would it be worth going with 8gb RAM ? will it help at all?

DDR3-1333 is the fastest official standard for DDR3. The mobo will support faster memory through overclocking.

DDR3-1333 in dual channel is fast enough that you don't really see significant performance gains with DDR3-1600. However, DDR3-1600 would be preferable for more flexibility when you want to overclock the CPU.

8GB of ram is worth it if you actually use it. I have yet to actually use more than 4GB in practice.

 

[mfenn]

:thumbsup: to both of fffblackmage's posts! His build is a lot better than the original one that you had.

As for monitor, I like this 24" ASUS in the $200-250 range.

EDIT: One other thing to consider is getting a Radeon 6870 instead of a GTX 470 if you are sensitive to noise.

 

[Wolfspawn]

:thumbsup: to both of fffblackmage's posts! His build is a lot better than the original one that you had.

As for monitor, I like this 24" ASUS in the $200-250 range.

EDIT: One other thing to consider is getting a Radeon 6870 instead of a GTX 470 if you are sensitive to noise.

My current PC sounds like a plane is taking off when you power it up, it has like 10 or 12 fans in it I think (been a LONG time since I cracked her open), so the noise won't bother me much. I am very ancy to start buying the parts, but I am debating holding out the 3-4 weeks for the sandy bridge technology. Can I safely buy the monitor/case/psu/HDD/dvd while I wait? Do we even know if the new sandy bridge stuff will be around my same budget components that blackmage suggested?

 

[mfenn]

I would suggest that you buy everything at once so that you can test for DOAs within the return period. Sandy Bridge is going to have pretty much the same list prices as what you're looking at right now, but prices will likely be inflated for the first few weeks.