New ~$1400 game rig, help on PSU + other please?

[mr_chuckles]

Hey guys, big fan of the forum, been following it for a while but unable to contribute because im learning .

Pay day has come, and SC2 is on the way. So a good time to build.

I'm in NZ so i cant use new egg, buy a good site for it over here is PriceSpy - The new generation of price comparisons which compares shops prices and displays the lowest. This list comes to ~1400 US. New egg links would be fine though, as long as they aren't unique specials or combo's.

CPU - Intel Core i5 750 2.66GHz Socket 1156 Box

MOBO - Asus P7P55D-E

GPU - Gigabyte Radeon HD5850 DDR5 HDMI DisplayPort Dual-DVI 1GB

RAM - G.Skill Ripjaws DDR3 PC12800/1600MHz CL9 2x2GB

PSU - Corsair CMPSU-650TX 650W

Case - CM Storm Scout (Black)
Alternative Cooler Master HAF 922 Mini (Black)

HD - Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST31000528AS 32MB 1TB

DVD - Lite-On iHAS324


Periphery :

Keyboard - Logitech Gaming Keyboard G110 (EN)

Mouse - CM Storm Sentinel Advance Gaming Mouse

Speakers - Logitech LS21

I'd really appreciate any advice , specially if someone spots a incompatibility or bad mix.

Q's

#1 Is 650W sufficient? It's been suggested if i want to upgrade in a couple of years that i should up the power.

#2 I'd like to get the CM scout case, but am unsure if it matches up to the CM HAF.

 

[Sean W.]

for $1400 you should be able to go with a i7, is there any particular reason you went with an i5?

youd be much happier with an i7 over an i5

 

[mr_chuckles]

I think you're right, i will be happier with an i7 =p.

I've changed to a gigabyte 1366 mobo, with a i7 930 and 3 ram sticks.

Going with an 850W power supply too *** the upgrades bumped it up to 600W minimum.

Thanks for the confirmation Sean =)

 

[Sean W.]

if you are going to overclock the processor an i7 920 overclocks better than a 930, and if you do plan on overclocking you need a CPU cooler. also id get a 5870 over a 5850. and a 850 is more than enough, but make sure you get a good quality name brand one, not a cheapo knock off brand, get a good one, save urself the headaches.

This is one of the top 5 CPU coolers:

Newegg.com - Noctua NH-D14 120mm & 140mm SSO CPU Cooler

this is an other really good CPU cooler

Newegg.com - Noctua NH-U12DX 1366 120mm SSO CPU Cooler

and here is another good one:
Newegg.com - Thermalright U120eXtrem1366RT R-C 120mm Fluid Dynamic CPU Cooler

and here is a 5870:

Newegg.com - XFX HD-587A-ZND9 Radeon HD 5870 (Cypress XT) 1GB XXX Edition 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card

and far as a good powersupply, anyone from these companies would be good:

Antec, Corsair and coolermaster

 

[VishKapish]

Other reliable brands include OCZ, Silverstone, PC Power and Cooling, and XFX.

With a $1400 budget, you could probably get a solid state drive.

Also, the price gap between a 5870 and a 5850 is quite large, and I'm not sure if the extra performance warrants it. I'd check a few reviews of the two cards to see what you think.

 

[patonb]

Unless you really want state of the art, I'd stick with the i5, or i7 1156. You're wasting money going 1366 just to plasy SC2. The i5 can easily be oc to match the i7, but doesn't have the hyperthreading, which you don't need. Remember, if you go i7 930/20 you'll need 3x3Gig ram as its meant to triple channel.

Keep the 650tx.. corsair psus are under rated, and more Amps then most. I run 2 260s on a 700W, but did run them, just for fun, on a Corsair 520hx.

Upgrade the gpu, just cause it'll be worth it, but the reswt of your build is good.

Seans suggestions are nice, but a waste of money to run SC2, and pretty much anything thats not cpu intensive, like encoding or photoshop stuff

 

[mr_chuckles]

The computer will also be for Diablo 3, and im partial to most games =p, so i'm lookin for a comp to last a bit longer.

Your prices seem to be alot better =p. By bumping up to an i7, with a 1366 and the extra stick of ram the price went up by $250. And now a xfx 5870 bumps it up by another $130.

I'm not an experienced over clocker and don't see the need to until the computers performance cant keep up with the games. Later on i may look at overclocking a bit with a cooling system, but it's not a priority. So i figure the i7 930 will do.

And i agree with the 5870 now looking at it, spending this much in the first place i may aswell go for as you said Sean.W + VishKapish, there's a decent gap between them.

This build is looking more like Memory's every time hah.

Thanks for the help guys, i'm going to order now with the:

CPU - i7 930 (may kick myself later, but i dont plan to overclock for years)

GPU - XFX 5870

MOBO - GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD3R LGA 1366 Intel X58

And yeah i know about the tiple channel thanks =), bumped the 2 sticks up to 3 sticks.

Thanks for the help all. Your knowledge makes me feel better about bumping the price from ~1400 to ~1800 haha. Completely un-needed for SC2 and most games for a while.. but atleast it'll last a little longer.

 

[Abstract Hero]

Other reliable brands include OCZ, Silverstone, PC Power and Cooling, and XFX.

With a $1400 budget, you could probably get a solid state drive.

+1 on brand recomendations, OH anything cooler master+++

but I wouldn't go with a solid state. Not a big enough bang for the buck imo. The barracuda HDs hold their own I just got a 500gb one and I'm thrilled with it just watch your temps I went from a 100 to the 500 and apparently that means 5 more degrees. So you might want to invest in a HD fan if you haven't already.

 

[Sean W.]

The computer will also be for Diablo 3, and im partial to most games =p, so i'm lookin for a comp to last a bit longer.

Your prices seem to be alot better =p. By bumping up to an i7, with a 1366 and the extra stick of ram the price went up by $250. And now a xfx 5870 bumps it up by another $130.

I'm not an experienced over clocker and don't see the need to until the computers performance cant keep up with the games. Later on i may look at overclocking a bit with a cooling system, but it's not a priority. So i figure the i7 930 will do.

And i agree with the 5870 now looking at it, spending this much in the first place i may aswell go for as you said Sean.W + VishKapish, there's a decent gap between them.

This build is looking more like Memory's every time hah.

Thanks for the help guys, i'm going to order now with the:

CPU - i7 930 (may kick myself later, but i dont plan to overclock for years)

GPU - XFX 5870

MOBO - GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD3R LGA 1366 Intel X58

And yeah i know about the tiple channel thanks =), bumped the 2 sticks up to 3 sticks.

Thanks for the help all. Your knowledge makes me feel better about bumping the price from ~1400 to ~1800 haha. Completely un-needed for SC2 and most games for a while.. but atleast it'll last a little longer.

this'll be a truly beastly rig and you will be able to handle anything you can throw at it for a really long time!

i look forward to this going from the planning stage to the actual build! keep us updated!

remember, tripple channel ram doesnt mean you need 3 sticks of ram, you need tripple channel ram, just an FYI to avoide any misscomunications and headaches later on.

 

[mr_chuckles]

this'll be a truly beastly rig and you will be able to handle anything you can throw at it for a really long time!

i look forward to this going from the planning stage to the actual build! keep us updated!

remember, tripple channel ram doesnt mean you need 3 sticks of ram, you need tripple channel ram, just an FYI to avoide any misscomunications and headaches later on.

Ah gotcha, yeah i not only ordered another stick of ram, but changed it to 3 sticks of tripple channel. Thanks for the warning.

For sure, will tell post how it goes =D.