Planning to build a new gaming rig soon.
Goals:
-Moderate to high end gaming performace (running FPS, MMOs, and really just anything in general).
-Regular daily use
-Cost effective
Budget:
-Up to $1000 (base system, before peripherals), but the cheaper the better.
Other considerations:
-Primary display will be a 32" LCD HDTV if that makes any difference at all.
-I would like to OC a fair bit. Nothing crazy, but a little added performance.
-A small pet peeve of mine, I'd like the system to be a quiet as possible.
Ok so this is what I have so far...
Case: Apeva Telstar
I chose this case mostly based on looks, as I fell in love with it and it will fit perfect in my workspace. A good argument could talk me out of it, but the reviews I've read from these cases (not just this color, on the whole they are more positive across like models) are pretty decent. The 250mm side fan is a nice perk as well.
Power Supply: Corsair 650
I've tried to read up on PSUs, but honestly I don't totally understand all the mumbo jumbo. I know this has a lot of buyers on ebay (with a strong rating), it has one 12v rail (I still don't understand if this is necessarily better), and it seems to provide enough power. Will this be enough to power two 5850s?
Mobo: ASrock P55 extreme (open box)
I have to admit that I don't know a ton about mobos. I do know this one got decent reviews, it's cheap, it can OC, and it will run my primary video card at x16 and my secondary (when I get it) at x8. Other suggestions welcome.
CPU: i5 750
Once again someone can try to talk me out of it, but this processor really seems to fit in what I want. I doubt I need to spend the money on the i7, but neither do I really want to downgrade to an AMD.
Memory: OCZ Gold 4gb
On sale for $99, this RAM seems like as good a deal as any. Someday I'll probably add another 4gb, but for now this seems like enough.
Video Card: Radeon HD 5850
This particular model is $319, but it comes with a copy of MW2, which I don't yet have for PC. So I count the price as under $300. Either way, powerful card, right? I've given serious thought to just running a 5770 though. Any Input welcome (even though I realize this probably just comes down to preference and what I'm comfortable spending). For what it's worth, either way I will probably end up buying another card in the future (when prices drop), so I can run crossfire.
Hard Drive: Western Digital 500gb
Didn't do a whole lot of research in this area, so if there are better options I'd love to know.
Optical Drive: HP Multidrive
Not the cheapest of the cheap, but it comes with nero and high ratings at a fair price. Again, other suggestions welcome.
_________________________________________________________
Besides components above I have a few other concerns.
1) Cooling. My case has two fans in it, do I need to add another? If so what should I buy. Also, if I wish to OC my processor to 3.6 or 3.8, do I need to pick up an aftermarket fan for that?
2) As I said earlier, my primary (only) monitor is going to be an LCD TV. Am I going to have problems setting my computer up with just this as a screen? Also, what sorts of connections do I need to make this work as a monitor? Just an HDMI cable?
I think that's it for now. Thanks for any help!
Goals:
-Moderate to high end gaming performace (running FPS, MMOs, and really just anything in general).
-Regular daily use
-Cost effective
Budget:
-Up to $1000 (base system, before peripherals), but the cheaper the better.
Other considerations:
-Primary display will be a 32" LCD HDTV if that makes any difference at all.
-I would like to OC a fair bit. Nothing crazy, but a little added performance.
-A small pet peeve of mine, I'd like the system to be a quiet as possible.
Ok so this is what I have so far...
Case: Apeva Telstar
I chose this case mostly based on looks, as I fell in love with it and it will fit perfect in my workspace. A good argument could talk me out of it, but the reviews I've read from these cases (not just this color, on the whole they are more positive across like models) are pretty decent. The 250mm side fan is a nice perk as well.
Power Supply: Corsair 650
I've tried to read up on PSUs, but honestly I don't totally understand all the mumbo jumbo. I know this has a lot of buyers on ebay (with a strong rating), it has one 12v rail (I still don't understand if this is necessarily better), and it seems to provide enough power. Will this be enough to power two 5850s?
Mobo: ASrock P55 extreme (open box)
I have to admit that I don't know a ton about mobos. I do know this one got decent reviews, it's cheap, it can OC, and it will run my primary video card at x16 and my secondary (when I get it) at x8. Other suggestions welcome.
CPU: i5 750
Once again someone can try to talk me out of it, but this processor really seems to fit in what I want. I doubt I need to spend the money on the i7, but neither do I really want to downgrade to an AMD.
Memory: OCZ Gold 4gb
On sale for $99, this RAM seems like as good a deal as any. Someday I'll probably add another 4gb, but for now this seems like enough.
Video Card: Radeon HD 5850
This particular model is $319, but it comes with a copy of MW2, which I don't yet have for PC. So I count the price as under $300. Either way, powerful card, right? I've given serious thought to just running a 5770 though. Any Input welcome (even though I realize this probably just comes down to preference and what I'm comfortable spending). For what it's worth, either way I will probably end up buying another card in the future (when prices drop), so I can run crossfire.
Hard Drive: Western Digital 500gb
Didn't do a whole lot of research in this area, so if there are better options I'd love to know.
Optical Drive: HP Multidrive
Not the cheapest of the cheap, but it comes with nero and high ratings at a fair price. Again, other suggestions welcome.
_________________________________________________________
Besides components above I have a few other concerns.
1) Cooling. My case has two fans in it, do I need to add another? If so what should I buy. Also, if I wish to OC my processor to 3.6 or 3.8, do I need to pick up an aftermarket fan for that?
2) As I said earlier, my primary (only) monitor is going to be an LCD TV. Am I going to have problems setting my computer up with just this as a screen? Also, what sorts of connections do I need to make this work as a monitor? Just an HDMI cable?
I think that's it for now. Thanks for any help!