Newbie help needed..Mid-level gaming rig

K

Kbreeze

New Member
My comps are always just used for gaming and net surfing, not much else. I like to build them so they are good for about 5 years (without buying the very latest games of course). Please let me know what you think. Comments? suggestions for changes? Thanks in advance!

CoolerMaster 690 II Advanced Mid-Tower Gaming Case

Thermaltake TR2 RX Power Supply w/ Active PFC - CrossFireX/SLI Ready 850 Watts TR2 RX Modular PSU - PN: W0319RU

MSI 770-G45 AM3 770 Chipset CrossFireX Support DDR3 Socket AM3 ATX Mainboard w/ 7.1 HD Audio, GbLAN, USB2.0, SATA-II, RAID, 2 Gen2 PCIe, 1 PCIe X1, & 3 PCI

AMD Phenom™II X4 965 Black Edition Quad-Core CPU w/ HyperTransport Technology

CoolerMaster V8 Gaming CPU Cooling Fan

ATI Radeon HD 5770 1GB DDR5 16X PCIe Video Card

Kingston HyperX 4GB (2GBx2) DDR3/1600MHz Dual Channel Memory Module

150GB Gaming Western Digital VelociRaptor 10,000RPM SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache WD1500HLFS

Microsoft® Windows® 7 Home Premium

Creative Labs SB Audigy SE

LG 22X DVD±/±RW + CD-R/RW Dual Layer Drive

CoolerMaster Thermal Fusion 400 Extreme Performance CPU thermal Compound

NZXT Sentry-2 Fan Touch Screen Fan Control & Temperature Display
 
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Pretty good. I'd go for a 790-series chipset on the motherboard. ASUS and Gigabyte make the best ones. MSI is a little behind them, but still ok.

For the CPU, you can very easily overclock a 955 to match the 965. A 955 with c3 stepping will overclock better anyway. Might as well save the cash..


The Velociraptor isn't really worth it either, IMO. They do well in RAID arrays, but alone, you're better off getting a couple of faster 7200 drives and running them in RAID0. A couple of cheaper drives actually beat the VR in benchmark tests:
http://www.harddrivebenchmark.net/common_drives.html

The #2 and #3 spots are the Samsing Spinpoint F3 500GB and 1TB models.(respectively)
500GB- http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10011016&prodlist=froogle
1TB- http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10011440&prodlist=froogle
 
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Mobo + PSU - Are you going to Crossfire?
If yes, I recommend 790FX chipset motherboard
If no, you won't need more than 550W PSU

I generally recommend Gigabyte/ Asus for their overclocking abilities than MSI

HDD - 150GB Gaming Western Digital VelociRaptor do not worth the money.
If you want it really fast, SSD HDD is the way to go.

Sound card - How much is Creative Labs SB Audigy SE? I personally think that is not good enough...
 
Thanks very much for the feedback and suggestions!

Ok, first I changed the PSU, reducing the wattage 200 watts:
Thermaltake TR2 RX Power Supply w/ Active PFC - 650 Watts

Question on that though...I selected this option:
Maximum Enemax 120MM Case Cooling Fans for selected case (Maximum Silent Operation) (500-1,200 RPM White Color with White LED Twister Bearing 8-14 dBA

...And this case takes up to ten 120mm fans, so will the 650 watts still be enough? Remember also I added the Coolermaster V8 cpu cooler and fan controller/display.

As far as the motherboard, I changed to this:

GigaByte GA-790XTA-UD4 AMD 790X Chipset CrossFireX Support for Socket AM3 AMD Phenom II CPU DDR3/1333 Mainboard ATX w/ 7.1 HD Audio, GbLAN, IEEE1394a, USB3.0, 2 x SATA-III RAID, 2 Gen2 PCIe, 2 PCIe X1, & 3 PCI

And changed the HD to this:

128 GB Kingston 2.5 inch SATA Gaming MLC Solid State Disk

As far as the sound card I actually removed it and decided to just use the onboard 7.1. Anything wrong with this? I listen to a lot of music on my current computer which only has the onboard sound and it sounds fine to me, but maybe a good card would sound much better??

Please let me know what you think! Thanks again.
 
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my motherboard has onboard audio (7.1 as well i believe) and i have absolutely no problems with it. i would not recommend getting a sound card in this case. everything else looks good now. i am not sure if the ssd is worth it though. i have heard that they really don't offer THAT much more performance and i am pretty sure they are still ridiculously overpriced. that motherboard looks really good. i would recommend maybe upgrading the psu to 750w. just allows you to do a lot more without worrying at all about being short on power. here is a power supply calculator:
http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp
i find it to be useful.
 
joh06937 said:
my motherboard has onboard audio (7.1 as well i believe) and i have absolutely no problems with it. i would not recommend getting a sound card in this case. everything else looks good now. i am not sure if the ssd is worth it though. i have heard that they really don't offer THAT much more performance and i am pretty sure they are still ridiculously overpriced. that motherboard looks really good. i would recommend maybe upgrading the psu to 750w. just allows you to do a lot more without worrying at all about being short on power. here is a power supply calculator:
http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp
i find it to be useful.
Click to expand...

Yeah I actually changed the PSU to a Corsair 750W - I read the Corsairs were real good.
 
Drenlin said:
Pretty good. I'd go for a 790-series chipset on the motherboard. ASUS and Gigabyte make the best ones. MSI is a little behind them, but still ok.

For the CPU, you can very easily overclock a 955 to match the 965. A 955 with c3 stepping will overclock better anyway. Might as well save the cash..


The Velociraptor isn't really worth it either, IMO. They do well in RAID arrays, but alone, you're better off getting a couple of faster 7200 drives and running them in RAID0. A couple of cheaper drives actually beat the VR in benchmark tests:
http://www.harddrivebenchmark.net/common_drives.html

The #2 and #3 spots are the Samsing Spinpoint F3 500GB and 1TB models.(respectively)
500GB- http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10011016&prodlist=froogle
1TB- http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10011440&prodlist=froogle
Click to expand...

What about this HD setup:

HD: 40 GB Intel X25-M 2.5 inch SATA Gaming MLC Solid State Disk (Nearly Instant Data Access Technology)

Data HD: 320GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache 7200RPM HDD
 
Here is the setup I wound up going with:

Gamer Ultra 7500 (NO MONITOR) ULTRA7500Z, http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/system/Gamer_Ultra_7500/

* *BASE_PRICE: [+569]
* BUNDLE: None
* BLUETOOTH: None
* CD: LG 22X DVD±/±RW + CD-R/RW Dual Layer Drive (BLACK COLOR)
* CD2: None
* CAS: * CoolerMaster Storm Sniper Mid-Tower Gaming Case [+87] (Original Color)
* CASUPGRADE: None
* CS_FAN: Default case fans
* CPU: AMD Phenom™II X4 965 Black Edition Quad-Core CPU w/ HyperTransport Technology [+130]
* CARE1: Ultra Enhanced Packaging Solution - Protect Your Dream System During Transit [+19]
* CARE2: CoolerMaster Thermal Fusion 400 Extreme Performance CPU - Thermal Compound Optimized for Thermal Dissipation [+10]
* CARE3: Professional Wiring for All WIRING Inside The System Chassis - Minimize Cable Exposure, Maximize Airflow in Your System [+19]
* FLOPPY: None
* FAN: Asetek LCLC 120 Liquid Cooling System 120MM Radiator & Fan (Extreme Cooling Performance + Extreme Silent at 20dBA)
* FREEBIE_RM: FREE! 4GB USB Pen Drive
* FREEGAME_VC02: FREE Call of Duty: Modern Warefare 2
* FA_HDD: None
* FLASHMEDIA: None
* HDD: Single Hard Drive (1TB (1TBx1) SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache 7200RPM HDD [+42])
* HDD2: None
* IEEE_CARD: None
* KEYBOARD: Xtreme Gear (Black Color) Multimedia/Internet USB Keyboard
* MOUSE: XtremeGear Optical USB 3 Buttons Gaming Mouse
* MONITOR: None
* MONITOR2: None
* MODEM: None
* MULTIVIEW: Non-SLI/Non-CrossFireX Mode Supports Multiple Monitors
* MOTHERBOARD: * GigaByte GA-790XTA-UD4 AMD 790X Chipset CrossFireX Support for Socket AM3 AMD Phenom II CPU DDR3/1333 Mainboard ATX w/ 7.1 HD Audio, GbLAN, IEEE1394a, USB3.0, 2 x SATA-III RAID, 2 Gen2 PCIe, 2 PCIe X1, & 3 PCI [+55]
* MEMORY: 4GB (2GBx2) DDR3/1600MHz Dual Channel Memory Module (Kingston HyperX [+42])
* NETWORK: Onboard Gigabit LAN Network
* OS: Microsoft® Windows® 7 Home Premium (64-bit Edition)
* PRINTER: None
* PRINTER_CABLE: None
* POWERSUPPLY: Corsair Power Supplies [+75] (* 750 Watts CMPSU-750TX - Quad SLI Ready [+8])
* RUSH: RUSH!!! READY TO SHIP IN 5 BUSINESS DAYS [+49]
* SERVICE: STANDARD WARRANTY: 3-YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY PLUS LIFE-TIME TECHNICAL SUPPORT
* SPEAKERS: None
* SOUND: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO
* TEMP: None
* TVRC: None
* USB: Built-in USB 2.0 Ports
* USBHD: None
* USBX: None
* VIDEO: ATI Radeon HD 5850 1GB DDR5 16X PCIe Video Card [DirectX 11 Support] [+262] (Major Brand Powered by ATI)
* VIDEO2: None
* VC_PHYSX: None
* WNC: None
* _PRICE: (+1367)
* _view_: d

$1,367.00 x 1 $1,367.00
Coupon: MYSPACE ($30 MySpace Rebate) $-30.00
Subtotal: $1,337.00
Sales Tax (N/A): $0.00
Shipping: (UPS Ground): $65.00
Grand Total: $1,402.00
 
Lol, funny how you only mentioned the HD...
Did you think that case was only $87, That MB only $55, that CPU only $130, that PSU only $75 and that memory only $42? I wish! lol

Anyhow, thanks :)
 
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