Entertainment/ Gaming PC build around 2k???

[tmizzle]

So I have been researching building vs. buying and have come to the conclusion that I should build. But the problem is I don't know what i need, or even what I can get with that price range. I have saved and saved specifically for this occasion and I think the time is better than ever to build my own with what we have out. So I have an unfinished build here and would love some feedback on alterations or suggestions as to what would make it better, more efficent, or cheaper(without sacrificing efficiency) so I can have am all purpose (mostly gaming) pc.

Motherboard: Evga E758-TR (has sli)
CPU: Obv. i7-920 (D0?) or standard...
Memory: Corsair XMS3 6gb (7-7-7-20)
Cooler: Sunbeam CR-CCTF 120 w/ TX-2
(will need retention brckt)(will this cover the heat if I ended up getting 2 cards?)
Video Card: $$$$XFX HD-5970$$$$ (Uber spendy)
Opt Drv: Still deciding. Looking at a 24x dvd+r but might want blu ray
Pwr Supply: Corsair 950 TX (sli? will this work?)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 932(Looks awesome and is huge for that gpu)
Hard Drive: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1tb (x2) (I'm set on this one but can't decide the RAID. Never messed with it.)
OS: Win 7

 

[Ste]

Looks fine.

The power supply is perfect, though I think there are better cpu coolers, IM not really sure without a link.

I would recommend getting one dvd burner and one Blue ray burner.

Cpu should be bought OEM if you can find one.

As for the harddrives, you can get like two small SSD's in RAID 0 then just one large normal storage drive.

 

[tmizzle]

Here's the link for the cpu cooler:
Newegg.com - Sunbeam CR-CCTF 120 mm Core-Contact Freezer CPU Cooler W/TX-2 - CPU Fans & Heatsinks

If I can get a better cooler around the same price are there any others you would suggest?
Thanks!

And uh... What kind of monitor should I end up getting? I'm just talking specs right now. I do know with the graphics card I'm looking at I will want something with killer resolution. If ya'll have any ideas as to what I should go for at around $350 or less let me know. Thanks guys!

 

[Ste]

Looks ok, might want this one though.

Newegg.com - Scythe MUGEN-2 SCMG-2000 120mm Sleeve CPU Cooler - CPU Fans & Heatsinks

Im not a heatsink expert, could wait for someone else.

A monitor like this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001280

 

[tmizzle]

So when everyone says it looks fine it sounds like I could be doing better... So there's nothing anyone would change if they were me? I'm really up for anything. pay in mind this is my first time actually building a computer. Would really like some input as to if I can do better with my budget or if this is the best I can do and if I can get some killer response once built. Thanks again for any suggestions and for the help on the cooler!

 

[aliasaid]

put prices up next to your parts. The ram looks good, but it *looks* to be awfully expensive, i don't really know though. With your budget you should be able to squeeze in an SSD (not all that important...).

 

[Hefemeister]

Would love a link to the ram as we could do better there.

The sunbeam is the best cooler at that price range. If you want to spend more look at the true 120 or Megahalem

I would go ssd for os and programs and a single data drive. Only raid that would make sense with what you have is raid1 which would be slower. Raid0 would not be a good idea to create a 2tb drive.

What resolution do you plan on pushing as a 5870 would most likely be plenty of card.

 

[tmizzle]

I reposted this in another thread but it got deleted. Here are all the links provided:
1st time build. Need help?

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Hey everyone, I was wondering if ya'll could help me out. I'm wanting to build a computer but I have no idea what I'm getting myself into. I would say over the past six months I have researched a good 200 hours trying to find the perfect system for right around $2000. I'm almost done except for a couple questions and concerns.. Here's my set-up thus far:

Mobo:EVGA E758-TR 3-Way SLI
Newegg.com - EVGA E758-TR 3-Way SLI (x16/x16/x8) LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards

CPU: i7 920 D0 Stepping... OR i7 975 extreme (obv this puts my total above 2k)
Intel Core i7 920 D0 Stepping

Newegg.com - Intel Core i7-975 Extreme Edition Bloomfield 3.33GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops

RAM:Corsair XMS3 6GB
Newegg.com - CORSAIR XMS3 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model TR3X6G1600C7 G - Desktop Memory

Cooler:???Sunbeam CR-CCTF 120mm w/ TX-2???
Newegg.com - Sunbeam CR-CCTF 120 mm Core-Contact Freezer CPU Cooler W/TX-2 - CPU Fans & Heatsinks

Video Card:XFX HD-5970
Newegg.com - XFX HD-597A-CNF9 Radeon HD 5970 (Hemlock) 2GB 512 (256 x 2)-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Dual GPU Onboard CrossFire Video Card w/ Eyefinity - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

Optical Drive:Samsung 24X DVD+R SATA, (might want a blu ray player along with this, any suggestions?)
Newegg.com - SAMSUNG 24X DVD+R SATA 24x DVD Burner - Bulk - CD / DVD Burners

PSU:Corsair 950TX
Newegg.com - CORSAIR TX Series CMPSU-950TX 950W ATX12V v2.3/EPS12V v2.91 SLI Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Power Supplies

Case:Cooler Master HAF 932
Case - Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER HAF 932 RC-932-KKN1-GP Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Computer Cases

Hard Drive:Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB (x2)
Newegg.com - SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
(This was a actually a suggestion to throw them in raid 0 to get maximum performance but I had heard partitioning is pretty crazy... honestly never done that before as I had always bought prebuilt.)

OS:Windows 7 Home

Monitor: Have no clue. What will the best performance be for the build I have with the 5970 ocing?
1920x1080 ok? or do I NEED 1920x1200 for minimum?


All in all I love this setup. It will keep me satisfied for a couple of years. Just making sure there isn't something better out there. And with the i7 975 ex I am more wanting to know if that would be a better choice in the long run or just go with the ocd 920. I want max performance really. And please don't just reply that's fine I don't know if that means "eh it's okay, but I could have done better" or "holy cow that's nice" lol. Any feedback or suggestions or criticism is happily appreciated.

 

[bkolk]

What does that build come to total $?

 

[Hefemeister]

1600 cas7 is nice but for $100 less you could have this cas8:
Newegg.com - G.SKILL 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL8TU-6GBPI - Desktop Memory

No to the 975 unless you have money to burn.

Anything less than 1920x1200 would be a waste of a 5970 and the 5870 would still be more than acceptable.