Building First Time Comp 800 - 1000$

[DirtyPlunger]

Heya, new to the forums.
I'm looking into building a gaming rig.
I admit im a complete noob when it comes to computers,
so i need your help =)
I mainly play MMOs like: WoW or GuildWars2 and D3 when they come out Also StarCraft 2, I wana be able to handle these games well with high settings.

Heres the Set-Up im looking at right now, let me know what you think!

Processor:
- Intel Core i7-920
- Prolimatech Megahalems Rev.B CPU Cooler
Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, LED LCD TV, Digital Cameras and more!
337$
(I'm not a picky/HARDCORE gamer and i heard this processor may be abit overkill and i could go with something cheaper.. Whats the next step down from this if thats the case?)

MotherBoard:
- ASUS P6X58D
- Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, LED LCD TV, Digital Cameras and more!
320$
(Again is this overkill, or is this ok for what im looking for?)

Hard Drive:
- Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5
Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
100$

Memory:
- CORSAIR XMS3 4GB
Newegg.com - CORSAIR XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMX4GX3M2A1600C9
109$

DvD Drive:
- LITE-ON Black
Newegg.com - LITE-ON Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA DVD Writer - Bulk - LightScribe Support - CD / DVD Burners
22$

Case:
- Antec Twelve Hundred
Newegg.com - Antec Twelve Hundred Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case
170$
(Still looking around at other cases..)

Graphics Card:
- NVIDIA GeForce 9600GT (Already Own It)

Power Supply:
- LSP Ultra 740W ATX Power Supply (Already Own It)

Monitor:
- Samsung SyncMaster 206bw 2ms 3000:1 Dynamic Contrast: (Own It)

Total: $948.93

Am i missing anything?
Anything i should change up or cut down on..
lemme know your thoughts, i relly wana make sure im geting the right stuff befor i buy.
Thanks!

 

[Muffin Man]

you're focusing too much of your money on the cpu and mobo. while the i7 920 is powerful, it won't help improve gaming with that 9600gt.

i would get an i5 750 or phenom II build instead, which should free up room in your budget to get a better gfx card.

 

[Sean W.]

deffinaltly, an look at AMD processors, they are cheaper, but you can still get a quick quad core processor... also, try selling the graphics card you have and use that money to buy at least a Radeon 5770, i reccoemend you try to find the funds to get into the 58xx series graphics cards, the cheapest of which is the 5830, then the 5850, and finally Radeons single GPU flagship card the 5870 ( which i have and im in love with it ).

are you planning on over clocking the CPU? thats another way you can supercharger your computers performance for almost free ( the cost of keeping it cool, anywhere from $30 - $400+ depending on how crazy you want to go ).


remember, bling cost money and doesnt help the processing power of a computer at all... go with a antec 900 or 300 and save an extra $80, go with a 640gig hard drive instead of 1tb and save $40, i dont know much about mother boards,but i think yo have an over kill mother board, get a $180 mother board and save $140, add all that and you have an extra $260 that you can put into your graphics card, ram and processor and it will run much faster.

with budget gaming machines you have to focus as much money and energy onto components that impact performance, IE CPU, GPU and RAM.

good luck!
so look into AMD processors and Radeon Graphics cards, if you this procsessor with this graphics card you will be good to go!

Processor:
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

Graphics card:
Newegg.com - SAPPHIRE 100297L Radeon HD 5830 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card w/ ATI Eyefinity Technology


EDIT: also, try to find combo deals, like the mother board and processor you want in a bundle and it will save you another $25. also, look for these parts in other places than newegg, craigslist, amazon, tiger direct, shop around and find the lowest possible price for each component and save your self as much money as you can, so you can focus those funds into parts that increase the processing power of your computer!