Newbie looking to build ~$800 Gaming Rig

[Jayrod0428]

Note: Please disregard a majority of the commentary in this topic as it will make no sense since I've edited 75% of my original post.

Hello techPowerUp! community!

I've been wanting to upgrade from my god-awful notebook computer for three years now and I finally have the money to do so. I've decided to build rather than buy pre-built for the obvious savings and exact part specifications. However, I'm still a newbie, but I've done a lot of research over the past week.

I would be building this rig sometime this summer, probably near the end of July. I would like to keep this rig under $1000, so I've set $800 as a cap, and will only raise it if something is just unstoppably bad-ass (as in high priceerformance ratio, not all-out raw power) and worth the price increase. I'd vastly appreciate any tech-savvy individuals keeping a wizened eye over my build as I plan it.

Edited 6/23:

Part: Motherboard $79.99 $7.93 shipping
Item: GIGABYTE GA-MA770T-UD3P AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
URL: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128392

Part: Graphics Card $114.99 $10.00 rebate
Item: HIS Hightech H485FN1GP Radeon HD 4850 1GB 256-bit GDDR3 CrossFire
URL: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814161275

Part: Processor/CPU $119.99
Item: AMD Phenom II X3 720 2.8GHz 3 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3
URL: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103649

Part: Memory $57.99 $2.99 shipping
Item: Crucial 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333
URL: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820148262

Part: Power Supply $60.49
Item: BFG Tech 550 Watt ATX12V Power Supply
URL: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817341016

Part: Hard Drive $69.89
Item: WESTERN DIGITAL Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB SATA II 7200 RPM
URL: http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/Produc...tCode=10010082

Part: Optical Drive $29.99
Item: LITE-ON Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW
URL: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106291

Part: Cooling Fan $34.98 $7.00 shipping $10.00 rebate
Item: XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler - Retail
URL: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835233003

Part: Computer Case $49.99
Item: NZXT Beta Series CS-NT-BETA-B Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
URL: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811146055

Part: LCD Monitor $189.99
Item: Acer X233Hbid Black 23" 5ms HDMI Full 1080P Widescreen LCD Monitor
URL: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824009163

Part: Operating System $-
Item: Windows 7 RC

Total = $806.81

So what do you guys think of this build?

This is the best possible build I can get for around $800, including the monitor. I like having the Phenom II X3 720 for additional computing power over similarly priced Intel duo processors. Also, I think the 4850 is a good choice. If the 4870 1 GB gets marked down before the end of July I'll swap it in.

It took me a while to get out of CrossFire mode, after hearing how it tended to make rigs unstable. I'll be happy with one good card. Do you think this rig will be able to run Spore, and any of the upcoming games by Blizzard (Diablo III, Starcraft 2)?

[Darren]

$167.99 for an E8400,


you can get a Phenom II quadcore for cheaper.



Apart from the extortionate prices the build is solid.


I didn't see a dedicated video card, I'm presuming that this is a office system? But the lack of dedicated video card is negated by a crossfire motherboard. Makes no sense.

[Jayrod0428]

Originally Posted by Darren

$167.99 for an E8400,


you can get a Phenom II quadcore for cheaper.



Apart from the extortionate prices the build is solid.


I didn't see a dedicated video card, I'm presuming that this is a office system? But the lack of dedicated video card is negated by a crossfire motherboard. Makes no sense.

Graphics Card $114.99 - free shipping - $10.00 rebate
HIS Hightech H485FN1GP Radeon HD 4850 1GB 256-bit GDDR3 CrossFire
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814161275

^--- Is this not a dedicated video card? It's also CrossFire capable... I'm sure you might have missed it.

And what do you mean by extortionate prices? Is the Phenom II Quadcore that much better for the price? I'm concerned with heating a quadcore as well. Doesn't it require substantially more wattage as well?

[hv43082]

Looks good. You need CPU cooler.

LCD for $200

Total $1000.

[LittleLizard]

The build is pretty good but you may have to do some changes.

1 - High oc mobo + High oc cpu + Stock cooling = FAIL. You should get a decent cooler like this one.
2 - Dont buy a new os now. Download Windows 7 RC. It will work for almost a year from here and then u can choose which os u can buy.
3 - Get a higher wattage psu just for have room to spare in case u go crossfire soon.

Otherwise astounding rig.

[hv43082]

Or use this guide if you want it as cheap as possible and then add the CPU cooler and LCD I recommended earlier.

[Jayrod0428]

Originally Posted by LittleLizard

The build is pretty good but you may have to do some changes.

1 - High oc mobo + High oc cpu + Stock cooling = FAIL. You should get a decent cooler like this one.
2 - Dont buy a new os now. Download Windows 7 RC. It will work for almost a year from here and then u can choose which os u can buy.
3 - Get a higher wattage psu just for have room to spare in case u go crossfire soon.

Otherwise astounding rig.

I actually don't know how to or plan on OCing. I'm not very familiar with the process. I'd be glad to get a low-down on it, but I'm afraid I'd break something. Is it really worth my while with the mobo and cpu I've selected? Thanks for the cooler suggestion - I'm all for wanting my parts to be at a good temperature since that's where the root of most problems can begin.

I don't want to dish out for an OS before W7, just like your suggestion. However, how am I to install it without an OS? Do I download it and burn it onto a CD now? Sorry just not familiar with installing OSes - I've been using stock PCs forever...

How much higher wattage should my PSU be? I don't intend on going CrossFire immediately (within the next year), but I'd like the performance boost if needed.

Thanks everyone for the advice!

[Darren]

Originally Posted by Jayrod0428

Graphics Card $114.99 - free shipping - $10.00 rebate
HIS Hightech H485FN1GP Radeon HD 4850 1GB 256-bit GDDR3 CrossFire
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814161275

^--- Is this not a dedicated video card? It's also CrossFire capable... I'm sure you might have missed it.

And what do you mean by extortionate prices? Is the Phenom II Quadcore that much better for the price? I'm concerned with heating a quadcore as well. Doesn't it require substantially more wattage as well?

Nice choice in video cards, the 4850 will serve you well. I'd probably drop the crossfire motherboard for a regular one and just pick up a single better solution such as the 4890 or 4870 X2. Heck a single 4850 is overkill.

For the price the Phenom X3 720, 810 and 920 are cheaper and faster than the E8400, it will be enormously faster in a year or two when more multithreaded applications appear.

Power consumption I can not comment on, Phenom IIs have better power consumptions than the i7, not sure about dual cores, I doubt it.


Edit:

Originally Posted by Jayrod0428

Why is one 4850 overkill? I plan to use the rig for gaming, not for the office-PC you alluded to in your first post. Also, I like the mobo I've selected quite a bit, and the Phenom is incompatible with it.

The 4850 actually isn't overkill. But my point is that its more than enough for gaming, even a single 4850 is enough for today’s games. It makes little sense buying a crossfire board with the hope to crossfire in a year or so, because when you decide to find a secondary 4850 they might not be in demand, they are even becoming hard to find now. In a year there will be a one card solution faster or as fast as two 4850s (most probably with DX11) for cheaper.


If you are going to crossfire do it straight away or do not bother at all.

Edit 2:


Also a non-crossfire motherboard would mean that you can put more money into a much single card solution now, crossfire is great when it works.


Edit 3:


You can crossfire any ATI 48xx series together.

For example the 4870 with the 4850 or the 4850 with the 4870 X2

So yes, the 4850 can be crossfired with the 4850 X2.


You have to trust us on this one, drop this crossfire idea. two 4850s and a crossfire ready motherboard will cost way more than a 4890. The 4890 would be faster 90% of the time. - actually performance is about the same, but from a price/performance ratio a single 4890 is the better choice.

The 4890 is only $200

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814161277

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814161276

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814127427

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814150359

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102831

[phanbuey]

Originally Posted by hv43082

Or use this guide if you want it as cheap as possible and then add the CPU cooler and LCD I recommended earlier.

w0w... that is retarded... the $2500 enthusiast rig which couldn't overclock more than 3.2Ghz???? Who puts those components in a crappy Micro-Atx case?... lol Thermal Shutoff FTW!!! At least a mini-p180 or something.

90C load temps on the processor of the enthusiast system? jehusus. idiots.

[Jayrod0428]

Originally Posted by Darren

Nice choice in video cards, the 4850 will serve you well. I'd probably drop the crossfire motherboard for a regular one and just pick up a single better solution such as the 4890 or 4870 X2. Heck a single 4850 is overkill.

For the price the Phenom X3 720, 810 and 920 are cheaper and faster than the E8400, it will be enormously faster in a year or two when more multithreaded applications appear.

Power consumption I can not comment on, Phenom IIs have better power consumptions than the i7, not sure about dual cores, I doubt it.

Why is one 4850 overkill? I plan to use the rig for gaming, not for the office-PC you alluded to in your first post. Also, I like the mobo I've selected quite a bit, and the Phenom is incompatible with it.

[Jayrod0428]

Originally Posted by Darren

The 4850 actually isn't overkill. But my point is that its more than enough for gaming, even a single 4850 is enough for todays games. It makes little sense buying a crossfire board with the hope to crossfire in a year or so, because when you decide to find a secondary 4850 they might not be in demmand, they are even becoming hard to find now. In a year there will be a one card solution faster or as fast as two 4850s (most probably with DX11) for cheaper.


If you are going to crossfire to it straight away or do not bother at all.

I might - I won't know until the computer is built and I have tested it out. A year was a bit of an exaggeration, I apologize. But tech will always advance, that is inevitable. All I can do now is buy bargain and hope that I'm making a good investment.

One question with CrossFire: Do you need to have an identical card to use it? For instance, could I add a 4850 X2 to it?

[Jayrod0428]

Originally Posted by Darren

You can crossfire any ATI 48xx series together.

For example the 4870 with the 4850 or the 4850 with the 4870 X2

So yes, the 4850 can be crossfired with the 4850 X2.


You have to trust us on this one, drop this crossfire idea. two 4850s and a crossfire ready motherboard will cost way more than a 4890. The 4890 would be faster 90% of the time. - actually performance is about the same, but from a price/performance ratio a single 4890 is the better choice.

The 4890 is only $200

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814161277

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814161276

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814127427

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814150359

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102831

I like the idea of getting one really good card, but I'm concerned about heat and size. Some of the reviews complain about both. All the reviews I read about the 4850 say that it runs cool and is of a modest size.

Sorry to shoot down whatever you have to say, I should be agreeing with you because of my newbishness, I'm just attached to the mobo. I don't think the CF capability increases the price all that much. I could get another 4850 for just $100, and the 4890 is just twice as much, so not much savings there.

[Jayrod0428]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817182191

Would this be a better PSU?

[Darren]

Originally Posted by Jayrod0428

I could get another 4850 for just $100, and the 4890 is just twice as much, so not much savings there.

If you keep the crossfire motherboard you'd be better off with the two 4850s, you'd only save money with the 4890 if you abandon the crossfire motherboard.

Originally Posted by Jayrod0428

I like the idea of getting one really good card, but I'm concerned about heat and size. Some of the reviews complain about both. All the reviews I read about the 4850 say that it runs cool and is of a modest size.

Also consider the 4770, it performs the same as the 4850 as a single card, its cheaper (usually) and scales better and hence it usually outperforms the 4850 when in crossfire!

The 4770 also runs cooler too.

Edit:

Also consider the 4830s in crossfire, they'll perform about the same as the 4850s and 4770s in crossfire, whilst saving you a lot of money.

Edit 2:

Originally Posted by Jayrod0428

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817182191

Would this be a better PSU?

The PSU is good. I'm not a PSU person so I couldn't offer you a better and cheaper alternative.


Edit 3:

Originally Posted by Jayrod0428

How about these 4830s in crossfire? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102822 Priced at $90 each I could get them for $180, being around $75 pricier than one 4850 but running a hell of a lot better. Also, it fills the $50 gap that I updated in my first post, leaving me with about $780 if I don't buy Vista and use W7 RC instead. Is that good?

Sounds like a plan,

[Jayrod0428]

Originally Posted by Darren

Edit:

Also consider the 4830s in crossfire, they'll perform about the same as the 4850s and 4770s in crossfire, whilst saving you a lot of money.

How about these 4830s in crossfire? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102822 Priced at $90 each I could get them for $180, being around $75 pricier than one 4850 but running a hell of a lot better. Also, it fills the $50 gap that I updated in my first post, leaving me with about $780 if I don't buy Vista and use W7 RC instead. Is that good?

[Jayrod0428]

I have edited my original post to include the revised build. Thanks!

[lilkiduno]

this is my suggestion
https://secure.newegg.com/WishList/M...px?ID=11000392
almost everything has free shipping leaning a bump towards $1000, no OS because i would download Windows 7

[Jayrod0428]

Originally Posted by lilkiduno

this is my suggestion
https://secure.newegg.com/WishList/M...px?ID=11000392
almost everything has free shipping leaning a bump towards $1000, no OS because i would download Windows 7

Sorry, that does not link to your wish list :/ I think Newegg changing something on their end to disallow people from linking directly.

[phanbuey]

Start with the GFX cards... then skimp everything else.

4870 1gb's are pretty cheap these days... get 2 of those...

[Jayrod0428]

Originally Posted by phanbuey

Start with the GFX cards... then skimp everything else.

4870 1gb's are pretty cheap these days... get 2 of those...

Two 4870 1GBs are about $120 more than two 4830 512MBs. Do you think the difference could be that substantial? How do you think two 4870s would fare with my cooler and case?

I could drop the LCD monitor and save $40 from where I was originally, bringing me to about $910. I can do this since my 19" LCD HDTV has an HDMI port and gets resolutions up to 1920x1080.

[reverze]

Are you dumping the proc for a Phenom II?

[Jayrod0428]

Originally Posted by reverze

Are you dumping the proc for a Phenom II?

No, I don't plan to... Why? That would require changing the entire build.

[phanbuey]

Originally Posted by Jayrod0428

Two 4870 1GBs are about $120 more than two 4830 512MBs. Do you think the difference could be that substantial? How do you think two 4870s would fare with my cooler and case?

I could drop the LCD monitor and save $40 from where I was originally, bringing me to about $910. I can do this since my 19" LCD HDTV has an HDMI port and gets resolutions up to 1920x1080.

The difference in games is very substantial at 1920x1080. Do not drop the monitor, for 179 you can get the 23" version, do that. - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824009176

Drop the MB - you don't need something that expensive - get open box if you have sata cables and such. - just make sure it has 2x PCI-e 16x slots 8x if 2.0...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...2E16813131299R

Drop the Proc. An e7400 at 4Ghz is enough, no need to dump $200 into a dual core... or buy my e8500 for $100 (does 4ghz at 1.373) either way, no need to spend too much mula on a proc if you're gaming at 1080P.

now you save $59 on the MB and $48 on the proc... $107... get a burner +$10 its worth it, trust me... for those "free" video games you may or may not be torrenting..

So for $30 more over the old system, you get HUGE perf gain 2x4870 1gb, and 2 more inches on the screen to 23"... totally worth it. It really will seem like a higher-end build, and for $30 more? You get more framebuffer, which means more AA and more fluid FPS.... /rant

[LittleLizard]

Originally Posted by phanbuey

The difference in games is very substantial at 1920x1080. Do not drop the monitor, for 179 you can get the 23" version, do that. - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824009176

Drop the MB - you don't need something that expensive - get open box if you have sata cables and such. - just make sure it has 2x PCI-e 16x slots 8x if 2.0...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...2E16813131299R

Drop the Proc. An e7400 at 4Ghz is enough, no need to dump $200 into a dual core... or buy my e8500 for $100 (does 4ghz at 1.373) either way, no need to spend too much mula on a proc if you're gaming at 1080P.

now you save $59 on the MB and $48 on the proc... $107... get a burner +$10 its worth it, trust me... for those "free" video games you may or may not be torrenting..

So for $30 more over the old system, you get HUGE perf gain 2x4870 1gb and 2 more inches on the screen to 23"... totally worth it.

remember that he has not plans about oc.

[Jayrod0428]

Originally Posted by phanbuey

The difference in games is very substantial at 1920x1080. Do not drop the monitor, for 179 you can get the 23" version, do that. - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824009176

Drop the MB - you don't need something that expensive - get open box if you have sata cables and such. - just make sure it has 2x PCI-e 16x slots 8x if 2.0...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...2E16813131299R

Drop the Proc. An e7400 at 4Ghz is enough, no need to dump $200 into a dual core... or buy my e8500 for $100 (does 4ghz at 1.373) either way, no need to spend too much mula on a proc if you're gaming at 1080P.

now you save $59 on the MB and $48 on the proc... $107... get a burner +$10 its worth it, trust me... for those "free" video games you may or may not be torrenting..

So for $30 more over the old system, you get HUGE perf gain (and 2 more inches on the screen)... totally worth it.

Would this MB be better then? (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813135093) same components but for $35 cheaper. Also, this processor (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115206) the E7400, which is about $50 cheaper for just a 0.2GHz drop. Thanks!

Edit: Sorry, didn't see your new post.