$1500 -$1800 Gaming Rig

[jpfan18]

Hello guys,

Can you please rate and give me advice on my second build? I'm mainly building this system to max out Battlefield Bad Company 2 and many newer games being released this year. Max budget is $1800 but I would like to spend as little as possible for great performance.

Here are the parts I picked out. I'm willing to consider any changes or cheaper alternatives. The below build is roughly $1638 before taxes/rebates. Do you guys think the price of ATI cards will go down within the next month? Someone told me that NVIDIA will soon release their new card which will drive ATI prices down. I'm willing to wait a bit if that is the case.


Is the RAM I picked suitable for overclocking? Will the the video card fit in the case I picked? Is my cpu cooler adequate for overclocking to 3.6+. I still need a quality monitor (21" to 24" ). Considering a dual setup with my current 17"
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APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: (End of this Month. I can wait longer if prices are expected to go down in the near future)

BUDGET RANGE: ($1500 - $1800) Before Rebates

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: (e.g. GAMING (would like to max most games), multitasking, internet)

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Keyboard, mouse, speakers

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Newegg but will consider cheaper alternatives

PARTS PREFERENCES: Any quality parts and brands

OVERCLOCKING: Yes (First Time Overclocker. Want to overclock the cpu to 3.6+)

CROSSFIRE: Yes (in the future)

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1920x1080/1920x1200 ???

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COOLER MASTER HAF 922 RC-922M-KKN1-GP Black Steel + Plastic and Mesh Bezel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER HAF 922 RC-922M-KKN1-GP Black Steel + Plastic and Mesh Bezel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Computer Cases

CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - Retail
Newegg.com - CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - Power Supplies

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM
Newegg.com - Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - Operating Systems

(1)XFX HD-587X-ZNFC Radeon HD 5870 1GB 256-bit DDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card - Retail
Newegg.com - XFX HD-587X-ZNFC Radeon HD 5870 1GB 256-bit DDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

ASUS P6T Deluxe V2 LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Newegg.com - ASUS P6T Deluxe V2 LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards

CORSAIR XMS3 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TR3X6G1600C9 - Retail
Newegg.com - CORSAIR XMS3 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TR3X6G1600C9 - Desktop Memory

(2) ASUS Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM
Newegg.com - ASUS Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - CD / DVD Burners

Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM
Newegg.com - Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - Thermal Compound / Grease

COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus Intel Core i5 & Intel Core i7 compatible RR-B10-212P-G1 120mm "heatpipe direct contact" Long life sleeve CPU Cooler - Retail
Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus Intel Core i5 & Intel Core i7 compatible RR-B10-212P-G1 120mm "heatpipe direct contact" Long life sleeve CPU Cooler - CPU Fans & Heatsinks

Intel Core i7-920 Bloomfield 2.66GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80601920 - Retail
Newegg.com - Intel Core i7-920 Bloomfield 2.66GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops
(I already purchased this product. $212 @ tigerdirect with promotion and bingcashback)

(1)Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST31000528AS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Newegg.com - Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST31000528AS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

(1)Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3500418AS 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Newegg.com - Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3500418AS 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

 

[dirkpitt45]

Ok looks pretty good, couple thing's I'd change though.

For the heatsink the hyper is kinda small, which wouldn't be that good for an i7.
Newegg.com - Sunbeam CR-CCTF 120 mm Core-Contact Freezer CPU Cooler W/TX-2 - CPU Fans & Heatsinks Core contact is a solid budget cooler, think there's someone on here (forgot who) has one with an i7 920. Plus it comes with a fan, controller, and mx-2, which is better then AS5. AS5 is obsolete now, only reason its still around is cause of of fanboyism.

Or higher priced meghalems. Newegg.com - Prolimatech Megahalems Rev.B CPU Cooler - CPU Fans & Heatsinks Though you'd need to buy a fan and thermal paste.

I'm also not a fan of seagate. Only hard drives I've had fail on me were seagates, but some people say otherwise. I believe WD blacks are slightly faster as well. Though a SSD, intel 40gb is cheap atm, is far faster. but you wouldn't have as much space.
Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Also what do you need 2 DVD burners for? Why not just get one?

Maybe go for this RAM instead, cheaper and better then the corsairs. Unless you're relying on the rebate, then stick with the corsairs
Newegg.com - G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL8T-6GBRM - Desktop Memory

EDIT: Forgot about monitor. This one looks pretty good http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236059

 

[jpfan18]

Thank you for the input. I think I'll go with the Sunbeam cooler/fans and the WD drives.

As for the RAM (Newegg.com - G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL8T-6GBRM - Desktop Memory) , will that be decent for overclocking? This will be my first time overclocking and I want to get my i7 to around 3.6...

 

[dirkpitt45]

TBH I couldn't tell you. But the Gskill has tighter timings (8-8-8-24) as opposed to the Corsair's (9-9-9-24) so that may help a bit. 3.6 should be fairly easy to get, seems most people manage 4.2 on air no problem.

 

[Muffin Man]

get this ram, it's cheaper than both the corsair and g.skill plus it has the same timings as the g.skill.
Newegg.com - OCZ Gold 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Low Voltage Desktop Memory Model OCZ3G1600LV6GK - Desktop Memory

and if you're going to get core contact you also need this separate retention bracket for the 1366 socket.
Newegg.com - Sunbeam CR-LGA1366 LGA 1366 Core I7 Socket Retention Bracket Set - CPU Fans & Heatsinks

 

[dirkpitt45]

^^ Yeah sorry I still had that tab open didn't edit it in yet.

 

[dragonjr45]

Hey guys, I'm kinda new at this, but have been doin a little research into building my own computer. My question is what would be the benefit to using the DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) with an I7 900 series processor? Upon reading this, Processors — Frequently asked questions , about halfway down the page it states that the I7 900 series processor will "support DDR3 memory with a maximum frequency of 1066 MHz. If faster DDR3 memory is used (such as 1333 MHz or 1600 MHz), it will be down-clocked to operate at 1066 MHz." So wouldn't it save a little money to down grade the Memory you have listed and still give the same performance (or you could simply get more)? Or do you want to be able to upgrade your processor in the future?

 

[dirkpitt45]

Most motherboard BIOS's use 1066 as default, and your ram gets clocked down to that. Simple enough to go in there and turn it back up to what its rated to run at. Though I don't think there's a limit to what frequency an i7 can use.

 

[orihS ‪‪‪Shiro]

Apparently all I write is crap, so you can just ignore this post.

 

[Slaymate]

I recommend you drop the 5870 for the 5850, drop the deluxe motherboard for the standard, and invest the saved money elsewhere. (*Note, the deluxe and standard have the same overclocking potential and in many cases the standard is better, it's also cheaper. Also the 5850 is usually within 5-10 FPS of the 5870 if those few FPS are really worth the hundred dollars or so, go right ahead... Don't blame me when you come down with a case of the buyer's remorse.)

Ignore this crap. Just where do you find all of this so called info? You need to quit visiting whatever site your harvesting this help from.