A Desire to Game

So I recently sold my rig and 21.6" Samsung LCD for $600 and I now have $1600 to build a new rig including a monitor to play with. What you would guys build?

Currently looking at...
i7 920, Gigabyte X58A UD3R, 6gb ddr3 1600, 750W modular PSU, Sata dvd burner, Caviar black, ASUS 5850 (unlocked voltage), corsair h50, and a 24/26" LCD. Maybe ssd if there is money left in the budget. I dont plan on upgrading for another 3yrs unless I add another video card in the mean time.

Not sure about a case but I'm feeling the Raven 02. (something simple/clean/somewhat professional)

Gimme some advice and input guys...I could really use it. Thanks.

O ya, rig will be 85% gaming, 10% web browsing, and 5% office apps...thats about it.

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Three is my new favorite number. (SATA III, USB 3.0, and triple channel memory)

BlueMak

The new 6 core CPUs will be out soon, can you wait for them? If you are going to have this system for 3 years minimum, you might as well get a 6 core CPU...

As for GPU, the 5850 is fine, but it is not going to last you 3 years if you are going to want to play new games at native resolution (my guess you will go for an at least 1680x1050 monitor). Unless of course as you said buy another GPU later on or do crossfire.

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The people who are regarded as moral luminaries are those who forego ordinary pleasures themselves and find compensation in interfering with the pleasures of others(Bertrand Russell)"You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil,You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them." - Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis
This is slavery, not to speak one's thought. [Euripides-The Phoenician Women (c.411-409 B.C.)] http://www.macedonia.info/FALLACIESANDFACTS.htm Sic semper tyrannis.

A Desire to Game

I thought the 6 core were going to be beyond reason price wise?

__________________
Three is my new favorite number. (SATA III, USB 3.0, and triple channel memory)

BlueMak

Why? Nothing beyond reason.
You can always (I might whenever I build my next system in 20...) go the AMD for much cheaper CPU.

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The people who are regarded as moral luminaries are those who forego ordinary pleasures themselves and find compensation in interfering with the pleasures of others(Bertrand Russell)"You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil,You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them." - Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis
This is slavery, not to speak one's thought. [Euripides-The Phoenician Women (c.411-409 B.C.)] http://www.macedonia.info/FALLACIESANDFACTS.htm Sic semper tyrannis.

Takaharu

I don't think the AM3 route is a bad idea. With a bit of tweaking to upgrade here or there:

AMD Phenom 2 x4 965
Kingston HyperX 4GB (2x 2GB) DDR3 1600
Thermaltake TR2 (750W Modular PSU)
Sapphire HD5850
ASUS M4A79XTD EVO
LG W2343T 23" 1920x1200
WD Caviar Black 1TB
Silverstone Raven Rv02
ASUS 24x DVD Burner
That came to $1,329.87 on NewEgg

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isaak

I heard that Intel's top end hexa core (the X980) was going to be the one and only from intel for a few months....

the 5850 will suit you fine, and you will probably go xfire later on.

Also as Takaharu mentioned, the AMD route is just as good, their solutions perform exactly the same as intel's in gaming. Intel has the clear win for video editing/encoding and what not though.

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The first step... shall be to lose the way. - Galway Kinnell

A Desire to Game

I'm traditionally an AMD guy but all my friends and coworkers are intel fan boys. Guess I just wanted to know what I was missing with the all powerful i7. You think the 965 is more future proof than an i7? Maybe its the am3 platform that is more future proof?

Thanks for your help guys.

__________________
Three is my new favorite number. (SATA III, USB 3.0, and triple channel memory)

comp_ali

AMD is plannig its 6 cores cpu as well , probably will be an AM3 CPU . I guess quad core is just fine for now as the pricing for the new 6 cores when it comes out won't be in anyway near the highest end 4cores cpus IMO.
About the models : I am certainly gald you choose a Gigabyte motherboard (don't change) , I have tried different motherboard models (4 Gigabyte , Biostar , MSi and some Intel in my cousins computer ) The best of them are Gigabyte and Intel . Don't buy Biostar even if they were giving it for free.

Kingston is the value ram out there and I bought 3X2GB of them. If you want a better sol , There is OCZ (3x2GB Platinum (if you go i7) or (2x2GB or more Platinum) if you go i5 or AMD)

Sapphire is the best one to pick out here in the GPU solution in terms of noise level and thermal performance . I highly recommend you pick one of the Vapor-X models. Is there much price difference between 5850 and 5870 , if not then 5870 (or even 5890 when it comes out) is a better choice IMO. I don't recommend going 5970 , two of 5870 is better in thermal performance.

HDD : Pick a WD caviar Black (I have 1TB one and it is really solid)

PSU : Most reviewers agree that Crosair is the best Choice .

i7 has a slight performance gain over Phenom II cpus but the latter beats i7 in terms of pricing , I see there is a lot of people going for AMD route for that reason.

Takaharu

Considering the manufacturers that I listed down were all from personal experience, I haven't done badly to agree with comp_ali's post. I'm an ASUS motherboard fan, personally though.
You're never going to get a future-proof PC so eventually you're going to have to bite the bullet and get what's currently going, just as long as it's not technology that's on its way out (e.g.: AM2 or skt 775).

Btw, I got an e-mail this morning from ebuyer about a 21.5" 5,000,000:1 contrast, full-HD (1920x1200) LED monitor for £130 so you might want to try looking out for something like that.

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anonemus

Since it will mostly be for gaming, start with at least 24" 1920x1200 monitor and pick your components that will make you play smoothly on this LCD?

Most recommendation I read start with CPU first.

Isn't it more helpful to start with the end first: 24" 1920x1200, native res, all settings maxed, latest and soon-to-be released demanding games (FPS, RTS, etc). Then work back what you need in terms of GPU, CPU, PSU, etc...

BlueMak

You can still get 1920x1200 monitors there? Lucky guys. It looks like all they are selling here is 1920x1080 monitors here.

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The people who are regarded as moral luminaries are those who forego ordinary pleasures themselves and find compensation in interfering with the pleasures of others(Bertrand Russell)"You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil,You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them." - Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis
This is slavery, not to speak one's thought. [Euripides-The Phoenician Women (c.411-409 B.C.)] http://www.macedonia.info/FALLACIESANDFACTS.htm Sic semper tyrannis.

anonemus

Well, there are still 24" 1920x1200 here but its getting scarcer. New ones are 1080 already...

If the monitor will be used for gaming in the next three years, might as well get a 30" 2560x1600?

A Desire to Game

I was highly considering this 26" Samsung just for that reason. 1920x1200.

Newegg.com - SAMSUNG TOC T260HD Rose Black 25.5" 5ms HDMI Widescreen HDTV Monitor 300 cd/m2 DC 10000:1(1000:1) Build in TV Tuner & Dolby Digital Surround Sound - LCD Monitors

__________________
Three is my new favorite number. (SATA III, USB 3.0, and triple channel memory)

anonemus

There's your obejctive then! 25.5" 1920x1200, all settings maxed out with all the type of games you want to play.

But, really, three years in the gaming world is like three decades. Whatever you build soon will need to be upgraded within three years...

isaak

If you're into overclocking, then go the i7 920 route. Grab a nice Asus or Gigabyte mobo, some corsair or OCZ ram, corsair PSU, 5870 (or something cheap to hang out until fermi if you want) and a prolimatech megahalems CPU cooler.

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The first step... shall be to lose the way. - Galway Kinnell

BlueMak

I wasn't talking about me. I have a monitor (LG L245WPM) and I doubt I will get a new one in the near future.

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The people who are regarded as moral luminaries are those who forego ordinary pleasures themselves and find compensation in interfering with the pleasures of others(Bertrand Russell)"You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil,You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them." - Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis
This is slavery, not to speak one's thought. [Euripides-The Phoenician Women (c.411-409 B.C.)] http://www.macedonia.info/FALLACIESANDFACTS.htm Sic semper tyrannis.

anonemus

@Blue -- I know. The 30" suggestion was for Desire's eyes

comp_ali

I have a TOC samsung monitor as well , the colours are excellent but I found it not good enough in gaming . I notice a slight ghosting from time to time , or maybe I am just too picky but the fact that my older LG monitor was better in games and the monitor base can rotate easily unlike the samsung base.

A Desire to Game

I was in the process of buying a 24" DELL ST2410 from dell.com and while I was finishing my order they jacked the price back up. $179 w/ free shipping was too good to be true. O well, it was a sign that I have to get the 26" now.

OC is definitely going to happen. Either way a near 4ghz amd or intel quad is gonna be in there. I'd hope the raven 02 with h50 would be sufficient to cool? OC was part of the reason I was leaning towards the ASUS version of the 5850 so much. Some of the benchmarks are remarkable with that thing once oc'd.

__________________
Three is my new favorite number. (SATA III, USB 3.0, and triple channel memory)

iPlayer

Should be more than fine with that cooling solution.

anonemus

@ Desire -- what 26" is that? I just read MaximumPC's review of a 26" 1920x1080 monitor (forgot the brand). Seems interesting from a gaming perspective to use this size

A Desire to Game

It's the Samsung T260HD. My best friend has a cheap o 26" Westinghouse I was gaming on over at his place and now I might be too spoiled to go smaller. I really want to notice a difference and I'm afraid 21.6" to 24" won't be that big of a difference.

__________________
Three is my new favorite number. (SATA III, USB 3.0, and triple channel memory)

A Desire to Game

Got a Samsung 2494SW for $179. Gonna put the extra $120 I woulda spent on the extra 2" on some nice components. Good call?

__________________
Three is my new favorite number. (SATA III, USB 3.0, and triple channel memory)

anonemus

Its really your call, Desire

Now to the business of choosing your GPU, CPU, etc. When do you plan to buy all the items?

A Desire to Game

Within the next couple weeks at least. I feel naked without my tower. I suppose I could bum one of my buddy's 4850's he has in Xfire in order to wait for Fermi next month...but it will be hard.

A coworker has family that lives near a Micro Center and he said he could get me a i7 920 for 199.99+ tax ($220) or a i7 860 for $230+tax ($253). Leaning toward the i7 920 or picking up an AMD 955/965 be and maybe a better video card due to the price difference in platforms. Plus my wife is getting me the h50 for valentine's day...I use to hate this holiday

__________________
Three is my new favorite number. (SATA III, USB 3.0, and triple channel memory)

BlueMak

I checked the price differences yesterday (here in Greece) between AMD and Intel CPUs, the difference is HUGE. I don't see why any gamer wouldn't go for an AMD CPU system now and save plenty of money doing so.

__________________

The people who are regarded as moral luminaries are those who forego ordinary pleasures themselves and find compensation in interfering with the pleasures of others(Bertrand Russell)"You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil,You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them." - Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis
This is slavery, not to speak one's thought. [Euripides-The Phoenician Women (c.411-409 B.C.)] http://www.macedonia.info/FALLACIESANDFACTS.htm Sic semper tyrannis.

iPlayer

For the budget minded build, I do think AMD is the better choice currently around here as well.

It depends on where you live though, in some places i5 750 and AMD's 955-965 BE cost about the same.

OldBuzzard

I'd be looking at an all AMD/ATI setup something like this:

Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER CM690 II Advanced Black Steel body / Plastic + Mesh bezel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Computer Cases
Newegg.com - CORSAIR CMPSU-650HX 650W ATX12V v2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply - Power Supplies
Newegg.com - AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops
Newegg.com - ASRock M3A790GXH/128M AM3 AMD 790GX HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard - AMD Motherboards
Newegg.com - CORSAIR XMS3 DHX 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TW3X4G1333C9DHX - Desktop Memory
Newegg.com - SAPPHIRE 100281SR Radeon HD 5870 (Cypress XT) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card w/ATI Eyefinity - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

$1,034.94 At Newegg

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When looking for a reason as to why things go wrong, never rule out sheer STUPIDITY

A Desire to Game

Nice setup Buzzard. Is there any real difference b/w a 955 or 965 be once they are OC'd to the same frequency. $160 or $180 is the price difference.

__________________
Three is my new favorite number. (SATA III, USB 3.0, and triple channel memory)

OldBuzzard

If there would be a difference, it would be so small that you would never notice it.

__________________
When looking for a reason as to why things go wrong, never rule out sheer STUPIDITY