~$1500 Gaming Build (AMD)

[ErikB]

Sorry if this ends up being a double post, my first attempt didn't go through it seems...

Hello everyone! I haven't built a system in years, and never anything this high-end. I've done a lot of research and gotten quite a bit of advice from this website and various forums. I have picked out the components I plan on buying/assembling in the next 2 weeks. Below are the components I've picked out with an explanation of each choice. I plan on spending around $1500 plus the costs of a gaming mouse/keyboard (which I would be buying anyways, which is why their costs aren't in the total budget).

This is a ground up build, I have no peripherals for it. So if there is a component or peripheral missing, please let me know.

This build will primarily be for gaming, with an eye towards upgradability in the future. I plan on overclocking everything I can.


Case

Antec Twelve Hundred

I decided on a full tower as an investment; I won't be getting another case for a number of years, and I want the one I get to be able to handle anything that comes along. I also looked at towers like the HAF 932, but like the aesthetics of the antec better.
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CPU

Phenom II 955 3.2 Ghz

I'm not willing to pay hundreds more for an intel cpu/mobo, and the 965 isn't worth the extra money for .2ghz. I'm planning to overclock to ~4Ghz, which should be plenty for gaming in the foreseeable future.
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GPU

Vapor-X HD 5770

I think this is an excellent price/performance ratio card, and when I need to upgrade graphics in a year or two I can put in another HD 5770 in crossfire. I also plan to OC this component.
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Mobo

MSI 790FX-GD70

Has two 16x pci ports for future crossfire, DDR3 1600 ready, all the ports I need and lower price than the comparable Asus board.
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RAM

4gb (2x2) G.Skill Ripjaws series DDR3 1600

I plan on overclocking the Ram, and this is the highest quality DDR3 I could find aside from Corsair. Corsair prices were higher, so I plan on using this brand. I can also add 2 more sticks when I upgrade.
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HDD

Spinpoint F3 500gb x2 (editted based on suggestion)

I plan on putting two of these in RAID 0. SSD isn't cheap enough for me yet, and these should do fine. I plan on using 32kb strips, but recommendations for a differing size for gaming are welcome.
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PSU

Corsair 650w modular power supply

Corsair is a great brand, energy efficient, great looking; really no downside I can see. Anyone know if I will need any power extensions for this particular case?
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CPU cooler

Tuniq 120 Extreme (editted based on suggestion)

This is one of the highest rated coolers I've found (based largely on frostytech) and should allow me to overclock without worry.
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DVD +RW

LiteOn DVD drive

well reviewed, pretty basic. Don't plan on putting it through a lot of abuse, just need it to have basic capabilities.
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LCD monitor

Asus 24" monitor

Well reviewed for gaming, and there aren't a whole lot of items in this price range that are gaming quality. Any other recommendations would be welcome.
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Speakers

Altec Lansing 2.1 speakers

If I'm going to be watching videos or listening to music, I want a decent sound system. I'm not particularly knowledgeable about speakers, but I know this is a good company and the product has some good reviews. I'm going to be using a headset for gaming most of the time, so the sound quality for games is less of an issue.

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Mouse I was going to buy anyways:

Logitech MX518

Seems like what I want; if there's a similar but better product feel free to let me know.
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Keyboard I was going to buy anyways:

Logitech ultra-thin illuminated keyboard

I like keyboard style keys. I'm a little concerned about the phantom key blocking; but I've heard it works well for gaming. That's good enough for me.
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I've done my research, but I know there are a lot of people here who know more than me and have actually worked with parts like these. Any advice or recommendations would be greatly appreciated. If you have any questions just ask.

 

[aliasaid]

Doesn't look like you even came close to your $1500 (excluding monitor).

If you're comfortable with the performance of the 5770, you should have more than enough money for an intel i7; unless of course you want to save your money.

If you want the best performance for gaming, you can stick with the phenom, but get a 5870. I could put a similar build like that for around $700. But it seems like you put a lot of money on a nice case and other peripherals. If you stick to the basics you could get much better components for $1500. You could even get an i5 with a 5870.

Good Luck.

 

[ErikB]

well, it's pretty hard to use a computer without a monitor. Adding up the current components I'm at 1464, so if you could point out how to find ~$200 for an intel i7 cpu/mobo (cheaper prices or different components) without creating a bottleneck in performance, please do.

 

[aliasaid]

I guess i was under the impression that you were spending $1500 PLUS monitor/keyboard/mouse.. i guess my mind shoved monitor in there with the keyboard/mouse.

You have some very nice parts picked out, but like i said before, having a really nice case, and expensive keyboard, mouse, etc. runs up the costs which is why you can only get a phenom + 5770. Its whats more important to you in the end. You want fastest + most powerful with plain-looking peripherals, or a very decent build (what you have) with some very nice looking peripherals.

 

[Ste]

You can buy cheaper RAM and a cheaper power supply to help save cash.
Buy lower speed RAM and just loosen the timings when overclocking.

PSU Suggestion:
Newegg.com - CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX 550W ATX12V V2.2 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - Power Supplies