Building my first Gaming Desktop

C

Computear

New Member
USAGE:
Primary: Gaming (World of Warcraft, Fallout3, etc.) @ high(est?) settings/resolution.
Secondary: Music/Video storage, Photoshop

Ordered today.
My final build / budget (for those interested):

CASE: Antec 1200 Full Tower
PSU: CORSAIR 850TX 850W
CPU: Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition
MOBO: ASUS AM3 790X
GPU: XFX Radeon HD 4890 1GB 256-bit
MEMORY: 4GB (2x 2GB) DDR3 SDRAM
HARD DRIVE: WD 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" HDD
DISC DRIVE: Sony CD/DVD Combo
MONITOR: 25" (24.6" visible) 1080p HDMI LCD
KEYBOARD/MOUSE: Microsoft Comfort Curve Ergonomic Keyboard/Mouse Combo
OPERATING SYSTEM: Windows Vista Home Premium 64bit w/ Windows 7 upgrade

TOTAL: ~$1500 after rebates.


Also grabbed:
Anti-Static Wrist Strap and Thermal Compound

Upgrades coming soon:
25" (24.6" visible) 1080p HDMI LCD (2nd for dual monitors)
XFX Radeon HD 4890 1GB 256-bit (2nd for Crossfire or standalone for 2nd monitor)
4GB (2x 2GB) DDR3 SDRAM (to total 8GB)
WD 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" HDD (to total 2TB)
Aftermarket CPU heatsink/cooler

And OVERCLOCKING!

Possible Upgrades:
HITACHI 73GB 15,000 RPM 16MB Cache (boot/program drive)
To boot faster, and load programs such as Adobe Photoshop CS4 faster.


Any tips on putting it together? This will be my first rig built from scratch.
What all tools will I need? I'll be building it on a marble floor with anti-static wrist straps.
 
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Well i dont know if youve noticed but your PSU is outta stock on newegg so ya might wanna consider a new 1, and also, the Phenom II quad core you have has 3.2 GHz. you might consider getting the 550 which is the phenom II x2 black edition, which runs at 3.1 GHz. its also cheaper by a whole hundred bucks and u can also try unlocking the hidden cores if you want
 
and the graphics card is good, my friend used it 2 monthes ago on his computer and he plays Wow with it and can play empire total war with all graphic settings on highest
 
 
 
 
I'm holding out on the Videocard atm since Sept10 ATI is unveiling the new Radeon HD 5800 series, which i might buy, or even if i dont buy a 5850 or 5870, their release will drive down 4870 / 4890 prices.

I made a few changes to my current build:
**AMD BUILD**
AMD Phenom II X4 955 @ 3.2GHz
ASUS AM3 AMD 790GX Motherboard
Radeon HD 4870 1GB (holding out to see official prices/specs of HD 5850/5870)
4 GB (2x 2GB) DDR3 SDRAM 1600
1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s HDD
Antec Truepower New 750W PSU

*edited a lot so links might not be current anymore
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118030
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136284
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131366
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150394
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220371
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103674
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817121045


or


**INTEL BUILD**
Core i7 920
some Intel X58 mobo
OCZ Gold 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 RAM
Radeon HD 4870 1GB (holding out to see official prices/specs of HD 5850/5870)
1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s HDD
Antec Truepower New 750W Continuous PSU
 
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Bodaggit23 said:
I'm talking about the budget range. Makes no sense to spend $1000-1500
and not buy an i7.
Click to expand...


I'm scraping against my budget with either build; so I think I agree that Core i7 vs top-end AMD build is competitively priced, with Intel coming out on top performance-wise.

I don't like the mobo you chose though.


It's looking like $200 more for the intel build i want; worth it for i7 + X58 vs P2 + 790GX and the extra 2GB RAM ?
 
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Computear said:
SPECS:
I made a few changes to my current build:
**AMD BUILD**
AMD Phenom II X4 955 @ 3.2GHz
ASUS AM3 AMD 790GX Motherboard
Radeon HD 4870 1GB (holding out to see official prices/specs of HD 5850/5870)
4 GB (2x 2GB) DDR3 SDRAM 1600
1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s HDD
Click to expand...

From what I understand, DDR3 RAM is triple channel, so wouldn't you have to put something like 6Gb (3 x 2Gb or 6 x 2Gb) in?
If it is dual channel then 4Gb would be fine.

Personaly, being an Intel fan, I'd go for Intel. If your underbudget I'd change it a bit and get a 4890 and since you haven't specified, a good case. Or as you said what for the 5xxx to come out, because when they do the 4xxx prices will drop a bit.
 
The Chad said:
From what I understand, DDR3 RAM is triple channel, so wouldn't you have to put something like 6Gb (3 x 2Gb or 6 x 2Gb) in?
If it is dual channel then 4Gb would be fine.

Personaly, being an Intel fan, I'd go for Intel. If your underbudget I'd change it a bit and get a 4890 and since you haven't specified, a good case. Or as you said what for the 5xxx to come out, because when they do the 4xxx prices will drop a bit.
Click to expand...

There is dual channel DDR3 which AM3 motherboards use and the socket 775 motherboards. X58 motherboard is the only one that uses triple channel DDR3.

I wouldn't break the bank for an i7 it just not worth it if you spend every last bit on it. That money could go towards something else.
 
Fatback said:
There is dual channel DDR3 which AM3 motherboards use and the socket 775 motherboards. X58 motherboard is the only one that uses triple channel DDR3.

I wouldn't break the bank for an i7 it just not worth it if you spend every last bit on it. That money could go towards something else.
Click to expand...

Yeah I've decided to go with my AMD build for $200 less; and put that extra $200 toward the new HD 5870 when it comes out;

also buying a nice 24.6" monitor
 
Bodaggit23 said:
How much is the AMD build exactly? You said you had a $1500 build and
I posted a $1000 i7 build. :confused:
Click to expand...

My budget is about $1000-$1500; but I wanted to try to keep the final cost (OS, monitor, keyboard, etc. included) under $1500; i dont have specifically $1500 sitting around devoted to this; thats just about what i wanted to spend; and depending on the costs of the new HD 5800 series; ill probably fall just short of that im looking at $1100-$1200 w/ OS + Monitor ($200 25" LCD) after taxes & S&H (using FedEx for HDD / CPU / MOBO) for my AMD build; (wouldve been $1300-$1400 with an intel build, i didnt like the mobo u chose and add $200 monitor, $20 keyboard; etc.) I appreciate your help but im going AMD :P also thx for showing me the newegg offers vista + win7 coupon for a lot cheaper than it is on microsoft.com

saving the rest for the new HD 5800s
 
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Ordered today.
My final build / budget (for those interested):

CASE: Antec 1200 Full Tower
PSU: CORSAIR 850TX 850W
CPU: Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition
MOBO: ASUS AM3 790X
GPU: XFX Radeon HD 4890 1GB 256-bit
MEMORY: 4GB (2x 2GB) DDR3 SDRAM
HARD DRIVE: WD 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" HDD
DISC DRIVE: Sony CD/DVD Combo
MONITOR: 25" (24.6" visible) 1080p HDMI LCD
KEYBOARD/MOUSE: Microsoft Comfort Curve Ergonomic Keyboard/Mouse Combo
OPERATING SYSTEM: Windows Vista Home Premium 64bit w/ Windows 7 upgrade

TOTAL: ~$1500 after rebates.


Also grabbed:
Anti-Static Wrist Strap and Thermal Compound

Upgrades coming soon:
25" (24.6" visible) 1080p HDMI LCD (2nd for dual monitors)
XFX Radeon HD 4890 1GB 256-bit (2nd for Crossfire or standalone for 2nd monitor)
4GB (2x 2GB) DDR3 SDRAM (to total 8GB)
WD 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" HDD (to total 2TB)
Aftermarket CPU heatsink/cooler

And OVERCLOCKING!

Possible Upgrades:
HITACHI 73GB 15,000 RPM 16MB Cache (boot/program drive)
To boot faster, and load programs such as Adobe Photoshop CS4 faster.
 
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