Need advice on building a new PC

Bongbuster · Sep 4, 2009, 02:20 AM

A mate and I are both going to get new PC's and we've been talking to people on the best system to buy that would suit us. Basically we are after a good gaming PC that cost between US$1100 to US$1300.

So far after talking to people this is the system we are looking at buying

MONITOR Benq G2411
CASE Thermaltake V9
PSU Seasonic PSR650+
HD Seagate 1Tb SATA
DVD/CD Pioneer DVR-218 SATA
MOBO Gigabyte MA770T-UD3P
CPU AMD Phenom II X3 720
CPU COOLER Cooler Master Hyper TX2
GFX HIS Ati 4890 1Gb
RAM 4Gb DDR3 1600 G.Skill-NQ

I'm not too sure about this so I'd really appreciate feedback because you guys are the experts on PC builds, components etc.

So if you think this system is good, bad, what you'd change and why, please tell me.

Soylent Joe · Sep 4, 2009, 02:31 AM

Possible substitute for the Seasonic? I know for a fact CM makes quality stuff.

Why not get this card with better ratings and whatnot if it's going to be the same price?

I don't know about the case, it could be nice. Just make sure you get a nice case, something you like. If you're disappointed with the case it just ruins everything.

Bongbuster · Sep 4, 2009, 02:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Soylent Joe

Possible substitute for the Seasonic? I know for a fact CM makes quality stuff.

Why not get this card with better ratings and whatnot if it's going to be the same price?

I don't know about the case, it could be nice. Just make sure you get a nice case, something you like. If you're disappointed with the case it just ruins everything.

Ok, so the card you are recommending is the "XFX HD-489A-ZDFC Radeon HD 4890 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card"

Thank you for you feedback Soylent Joe. That card looks good. I noticed it does not have HDMI output, it uses a DVI to HDMI instead. Not as good as straight HDMI is it?

LittleLizard · Sep 4, 2009, 02:55 AM

its ok but i wouldnt change the seasonic psu.

also the cooler, get a xiggy or the rosewill forte 120 (sorta like that)

Soylent Joe · Sep 4, 2009, 02:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bongbuster

Ok, so the card you are recommending is the "XFX HD-489A-ZDFC Radeon HD 4890 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card"

Thank you for you feedback Soylent Joe. That card looks good. I noticed it does not have HDMI output, it uses a DVI to HDMI instead. Not as good as straight HDMI is it?

I wouldn't think that it'd make much of a difference. HDMI isn't like component where some tainted contacts can mess the picture up, it either gets the nice shiny pic or it doesn't, or at least that's what I heard

Edit: Actually, just nvm me. If that first card has native HDMI instead of using an adapter get that. I'm sure it'll work just as good as the XFX. I'm not being sarcastic or anything, I have a HIS and it's the bomb.

n-ster · Sep 4, 2009, 03:08 AM

doesn't HDMI = DVI + sound therefore no difference? I believe atm the corsair 650 is on special at newegg as well as the crucial 4gb ddr3... Both are great... I would also change the board and case and cooler but atm I don't have time... I may be able to help you tomorrow

Bongbuster · Sep 4, 2009, 03:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by n-ster

doesn't HDMI = DVI + sound therefore no difference? I believe atm the corsair 650 is on special at newegg as well as the crucial 4gb ddr3... Both are great... I would also change the board and case and cooler but atm I don't have time... I may be able to help you tomorrow

You are probably right, DVI is HDMI with out sound.

Helping tomorrow would be great if you can.

lilkiduno · Sep 4, 2009, 04:05 AM

i agree with n-ster the corsair is on sale at newegg and it is a champ i own on myself!

n-ster · Sep 4, 2009, 02:54 PM

MONITOR: ASUS 23.6" 1080p 200-10MIR or Hans-G 24" 180$
CASE: CM Storm Scout 90$ OR CM HAF 932 140$
PSU: Corsair 620-HX
HDs 2x in RAID 0: WD Caviar Black 640gb
DVD Burner: HP burner Retail 24x
MOBO: Gigabyte MA770T-UD3P IDK so I'll just leave this one for now
CPU + GFX: 720BE + 4890 Vapor-X
CPU COOLER: Xiggy S1283
RAM: The famous Crucials OCs very well

With the most expensive configuration I offer you, it comes to 1150$ - 70$ MIR = 1080$

if you want i7 920, if you live near MicroCenter, it'll come to about 1300~1350$... 100 more for processor 100 more for mobo, 30 more for RAM and 20 more for cooler

thebluebumblebee · Sep 4, 2009, 03:32 PM

I won't say anything bad about the Seasonic PSU's except that you will pay a premium price for them. I have a 380 watt unit and it works flawlessly and quietly. Corsair also has a great reputation and they have a huge sale going on through 9/5. The TX and VX units are not modular, the HX are. I also have a 550VX and it's a gem.
The only reason's to spend more are brand loyalty and the desire to have an even higher efficiency rating, IMHO.
You said "mate", so I have a stinking suspicion that you're not in the U.S.A., which means I just wasted my time.

n-ster · Sep 4, 2009, 03:37 PM

yea "mate" made me think UK too... so I might have wasted my time too xD but maybe he moved from england to US? btw after I'm done with all that on my previous post then I'll make it much cleaner and easier to read lol

EDIT: much cleaner

rammolo · Sep 5, 2009, 05:23 PM

Consider a 10,000 RPM Velociraptor drive, that will give a boost to your gaming performance

n-ster · Sep 5, 2009, 05:25 PM

Never go Velociraptor IMO... waste of money, less GB, barely any speed gained... NOISY...

lilkiduno · Sep 6, 2009, 03:26 PM

plus you could also get an SSD, fot the OS only and HDD for storage and it would be wicked fast... I myslef would drop to a 500 GB westeran Digital clavair black. it has 32mb cache and plenty of space

rammolo · Sep 6, 2009, 03:47 PM

you will get a pretty good performance boost if you use a velociraptor and properly configure ACH10 drivers,however many people just throw in the velociraptor as an IDE device, that surely wont give any boost

JrRacinFan · Sep 6, 2009, 03:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rammolo

Consider a 10,000 RPM Velociraptor drive, that will give a boost to your gaming performance

Maybe some online MMO but offline a faster hdd will only increase game loading times and with games that have alot of textures, Oblivion for example.

@n-ster

The Gigabyte 770 is good if you need to save some cash from going 790GX. It's what I call, an intermediate chipset thats falls somewhere between 785G and 790GX.

Bongbuster · Sep 7, 2009, 05:18 AM

Thank you every one for all your advice and suggestions. Went to my local PC market yesterday and the price for this system with a 22" Samsung monitor is US$1080. The only major surprise is the 4890 1GB card was almost $100 more expensive. Comes from living in a back water.

Thinking of having the same system as discussed here but with two PCI slots and two graphics cards. But that is a story for another thread

Sep 4, 2009, 02:20 AM	#1
Bongbuster Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 41 (0.02/day) Thanks: 0 Thanked 4 Times in 3 Posts	Need advice on building a new PC A mate and I are both going to get new PC's and we've been talking to people on the best system to buy that would suit us. Basically we are after a good gaming PC that cost between US$1100 to US$1300. So far after talking to people this is the system we are looking at buying MONITOR Benq G2411 CASE Thermaltake V9 PSU Seasonic PSR650+ HD Seagate 1Tb SATA DVD/CD Pioneer DVR-218 SATA MOBO Gigabyte MA770T-UD3P CPU AMD Phenom II X3 720 CPU COOLER Cooler Master Hyper TX2 GFX HIS Ati 4890 1Gb RAM 4Gb DDR3 1600 G.Skill-NQ I'm not too sure about this so I'd really appreciate feedback because you guys are the experts on PC builds, components etc. So if you think this system is good, bad, what you'd change and why, please tell me. __________________ Addicted to console games http://www.megagames.com/console/console.shtml

Sep 4, 2009, 02:31 AM	#2
Soylent Joe Join Date: May 2009 Location: Brunswick, GA Posts: 3,033 (2.08/day) Thanks: 2,777 Thanked 676 Times in 460 Posts System Specs	Possible substitute for the Seasonic? I know for a fact CM makes quality stuff. Why not get this card with better ratings and whatnot if it's going to be the same price? I don't know about the case, it could be nice. Just make sure you get a nice case, something you like. If you're disappointed with the case it just ruins everything. __________________ Heatware SteamID

System Name:	Timucua 2.1
Processor:	i7-2700K
Motherboard:	Gigabyte Z68X-UD3H-B3
Cooling:	Corsair H100
Memory:	16GB G.Skill Ripshits X 1600MHz
Video Card:	Sapphire HD 5850 1GB
Hard Disk:	Kingston 128GB SSD + WD Black 640GB + 2x 1.5TB
Optical Drive:	LG DVD burner
CRT/LCD Model:	24" Acer G245HQ + 19" Lenovo L194
Case:	NZXT Switch 810 White
Sound Card:	Fox Magic
PSU:	Corsair TX750W
Software:	Windows 7: Electric Boogaloo

Sep 4, 2009, 02:55 AM	#4
LittleLizard Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Latin America, Uruguay Posts: 3,380 (2.05/day) Thanks: 339 Thanked 584 Times in 516 Posts System Specs	its ok but i wouldnt change the seasonic psu. also the cooler, get a xiggy or the rosewill forte 120 (sorta like that) __________________ "oh no, i make a very good person. I eat poop and sleep just like everyone else. My sense of humour just happens to fall under the DnD category of Chaotic Evil." - Mussels "I was expecting a line of EVGA FTW condoms or something like that." - DrPepper "I like my sex like my basketball, one on one, and with as little dribbling as possible" - Robert-The-Rambler

System Name:	The Lizard
Processor:	Intel Core 2 Duo E4600
Motherboard:	Zotac G41 MAT-A-E
Cooling:	Intel Stock Fan
Memory:	2GB Kingston Value DDR2 @ PC2 5300
Video Card:	XFX GeForce 8600 GT 512mb DDR2
Hard Disk:	160GB Samsung F1 Sata
Optical Drive:	Samsung WriteMaster DVD R/RW
CRT/LCD Model:	AOC 917Sw 19' LCD
Case:	Generic Black Case
Sound Card:	Onboard Realtek
PSU:	Biswal 500W
Software:	Windows 7 Ultimate x64

Sep 4, 2009, 03:08 AM	#6
n-ster Eligible for custom title Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Montreal Posts: 8,304 (5.20/day) Thanks: 1,206 Thanked 1,420 Times in 1,153 Posts System Specs	doesn't HDMI = DVI + sound therefore no difference? I believe atm the corsair 650 is on special at newegg as well as the crucial 4gb ddr3... Both are great... I would also change the board and case and cooler but atm I don't have time... I may be able to help you tomorrow __________________ My Heatware

System Name:	Overkill? naaa, browsing TPU with this is extra special :)
Processor:	i7 3930k @ 4.5 Ghz
Motherboard:	AsRock Fatal1ty Pro
Cooling:	Corsair H80 Push-Pull Noctua fans
Memory:	16GB (4x4gb) 2133Mhz CL11 T1 Samsung UDIMM
Video Card:	7970 @ 1050 core
Hard Disk:	240GB Intel 520 SSD + 60GB Vertex 2 + (2+1)TB Seagate
Optical Drive:	Lite-On 24x DVD burner
CRT/LCD Model:	27" 2560x1440 [Korean] PCBANK
Case:	Lian-Li K62 + steelseries Sensei RAW or WoW Catalyst
Sound Card:	iBasso D10 + ATH-AD870 or Shure 750DJ
PSU:	Corsair HX850 + TT Meka G1 or Corsair K60 Mech Kbs
Software:	Windows 7 Professional X64

Sep 4, 2009, 04:05 AM	#8
lilkiduno Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Kansas City, Ks Posts: 408 (0.22/day) Thanks: 99 Thanked 48 Times in 46 Posts System Specs	i agree with n-ster the corsair is on sale at newegg and it is a champ i own on myself! __________________ Signature is GREATLY done by SkyKast “try using everything you can. it doesn't lock you out ... If not google it, or call MS, I'm sure they have a backdoor fix all password or some sort of "hop on one leg, rub your stomach, pinch your left nipple all while screaming out BILL! BILL! BILL!"” -Gilletter “Minivans outsell Lambo's, does it make them better?” -1Kurgan1

System Name:	The "H3X" / beaut
Processor:	AMD X6 1090t /Intel Q6600
Motherboard:	GIGABYTE 990FX UD3 / eVGA 780i FTW
Cooling:	Corsair H70/ Stock Intel
Memory:	8GB Mushkin Silverline Enhanced 1333 / 4 Gigs Corsair Dominator ddr2 1066
Video Card:	XFX 5850 /eVGA 9800 GTX+ (dual SLI)
Hard Disk:	OCZ Vertex III 120 GB + Hatichi 1TB / WD Blue 640GB
Optical Drive:	LG Blu-Ray Burner / SATA DVD burner
CRT/LCD Model:	3x Acer S211H/ (buddies) Vizio 37" LCD HDTV
Case:	Corsair Obsidian 800D / Antec 900
PSU:	Corsair 850 Modular/ Corsair 750
Software:	Win 7 Ultimate /Windows Vista Ultimate

Sep 4, 2009, 02:54 PM	#9
n-ster Eligible for custom title Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Montreal Posts: 8,304 (5.20/day) Thanks: 1,206 Thanked 1,420 Times in 1,153 Posts System Specs	MONITOR: ASUS 23.6" 1080p 200-10MIR or Hans-G 24" 180$ CASE: CM Storm Scout 90$ OR CM HAF 932 140$ PSU: Corsair 620-HX HDs 2x in RAID 0: WD Caviar Black 640gb DVD Burner: HP burner Retail 24x MOBO: Gigabyte MA770T-UD3P IDK so I'll just leave this one for now CPU + GFX: 720BE + 4890 Vapor-X CPU COOLER: Xiggy S1283 RAM: The famous Crucials OCs very well With the most expensive configuration I offer you, it comes to 1150$ - 70$ MIR = 1080$ if you want i7 920, if you live near MicroCenter, it'll come to about 1300~1350$... 100 more for processor 100 more for mobo, 30 more for RAM and 20 more for cooler __________________ My Heatware Last edited by n-ster; Sep 4, 2009 at 04:29 PM.

Sep 4, 2009, 03:32 PM	#10
thebluebumblebee Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Portland, OR USA Posts: 2,143 (1.20/day) Thanks: 1,559 Thanked 884 Times in 628 Posts System Specs	I won't say anything bad about the Seasonic PSU's except that you will pay a premium price for them. I have a 380 watt unit and it works flawlessly and quietly. Corsair also has a great reputation and they have a huge sale going on through 9/5. The TX and VX units are not modular, the HX are. I also have a 550VX and it's a gem. The only reason's to spend more are brand loyalty and the desire to have an even higher efficiency rating, IMHO. You said "mate", so I have a stinking suspicion that you're not in the U.S.A., which means I just wasted my time.

System Name:	Current/NEW!
Processor:	AMD Athlon 64 X2-4400+/i7-2600K
Motherboard:	Gigabyte GA-K8NS Ultra-939/GA-P67A-UD4-B3
Cooling:	OCZ Vendetta/H80
Memory:	2GB DDR-400/8GB Corsair DDR3 1600
Video Card:	RADEON 9800 PRO AGP/2x GB GTX 560 Ti
Hard Disk:	Seagate 160GB IDE/120GB Samsung 830 & Seagate 2TB
Optical Drive:	LITE-ON DVDRW LH-20A1L/Pioneer DVR-219LBK
CRT/LCD Model:	Samsung SyncMaster B1940/Asus 24' LED
Case:	Ever Case E4252WSF-F/Antec P280 It's huge!
Sound Card:	SB Audigy 2 ZS/on board
PSU:	Corsair VX550/SeaSonic S12II 620
Software:	XP MCE SP3/Win 7 Home Premiun 64 Bit
Benchmarks:	Are you kidding?/3DMark11 basic P8681

Sep 4, 2009, 03:37 PM	#11
n-ster Eligible for custom title Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Montreal Posts: 8,304 (5.20/day) Thanks: 1,206 Thanked 1,420 Times in 1,153 Posts System Specs	yea "mate" made me think UK too... so I might have wasted my time too xD but maybe he moved from england to US? btw after I'm done with all that on my previous post then I'll make it much cleaner and easier to read lol EDIT: much cleaner __________________ My Heatware Last edited by n-ster; Sep 4, 2009 at 04:16 PM.

Sep 5, 2009, 05:23 PM	#12
rammolo Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 4 (0.00/day) Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Consider a 10,000 RPM Velociraptor drive, that will give a boost to your gaming performance

Sep 5, 2009, 05:25 PM	#13
n-ster Eligible for custom title Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Montreal Posts: 8,304 (5.20/day) Thanks: 1,206 Thanked 1,420 Times in 1,153 Posts System Specs	Never go Velociraptor IMO... waste of money, less GB, barely any speed gained... NOISY... __________________ My Heatware

Sep 6, 2009, 03:26 PM	#14
lilkiduno Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Kansas City, Ks Posts: 408 (0.22/day) Thanks: 99 Thanked 48 Times in 46 Posts System Specs	plus you could also get an SSD, fot the OS only and HDD for storage and it would be wicked fast... I myslef would drop to a 500 GB westeran Digital clavair black. it has 32mb cache and plenty of space __________________ Signature is GREATLY done by SkyKast “try using everything you can. it doesn't lock you out ... If not google it, or call MS, I'm sure they have a backdoor fix all password or some sort of "hop on one leg, rub your stomach, pinch your left nipple all while screaming out BILL! BILL! BILL!"” -Gilletter “Minivans outsell Lambo's, does it make them better?” -1Kurgan1

Sep 6, 2009, 03:47 PM	#15
rammolo Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 4 (0.00/day) Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	you will get a pretty good performance boost if you use a velociraptor and properly configure ACH10 drivers,however many people just throw in the velociraptor as an IDE device, that surely wont give any boost

System Name:	Mine; Hers; Our HTPC; NAS Box
Processor:	i7 2600k : i3 2120 : Celeron G440 : P4 2.6Ghz Nwood
Motherboard:	Asrock Z68 Extreme4 : Asus P8P67 Pro : Asrock H61M/U3S3 : Dell
Cooling:	CM 212+ w/ scythe jyuni : Stock : Stock :Stock
Memory:	2x4GB Ripjawx 1866 cl9 : 2x2GB Corsair 1600 cl9 : 2x2GB Ridgebacks 1066 cl5 : 768MB PC3200
Video Card:	Palit GTX560Ti 2Gb : XFX HD5770 : Integrated : Integrated
Hard Disk:	2x 750GB Raid 0 + Maxtor 500GB : WD Black 1TB+Corsair Nova 2 64GB : Toshiba 750GB : Leftover ATA133
Optical Drive:	Lite-On DVD-RW : Samsung DVD-RW : None : None
CRT/LCD Model:	AOC 21" : AOC 20" : Philips 42" HDTV : Headless
Case:	Rocketfish : CM HAF 912 : Bgears Cube Style case : Dell
Sound Card:	X-Fi Xtremegamer : Onboard : Onboard : Onboard
PSU:	Tt 750W Modular : Antec 500W Earthwatts : Corsair CX430 : Dell's OEM

Sep 7, 2009, 05:18 AM	#17
Bongbuster Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 41 (0.02/day) Thanks: 0 Thanked 4 Times in 3 Posts	Thank you every one for all your advice and suggestions. Went to my local PC market yesterday and the price for this system with a 22" Samsung monitor is US$1080. The only major surprise is the 4890 1GB card was almost $100 more expensive. Comes from living in a back water. Thinking of having the same system as discussed here but with two PCI slots and two graphics cards. But that is a story for another thread __________________ Addicted to console games http://www.megagames.com/console/console.shtml

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