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Judge my mid-level gaming build
singlecell
Member Posts: 37
Any suggestions or comments are appreciated.
I will mostly be using this for Warcraft and HD movies.
CPU - AMD Phenom II X6 1090T - $199.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103849
MOBO - MSI 870A-G55 - $99.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130558
VIDEO CARD - Sapphire 6870 1GB - $209.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102909
MEMORY - G.Skill DDR3 1600 x6GB - $69.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231225
MAIN HDD - Crucial 64GB SSD - $134.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148357
STORAGE HDD - Seagte 1TB - $64.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148433
CASE - Cooler Master Centurion - $54.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119068
POWER SUPPLY - Antec 550W - $64.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371016
Grand total - $994.05 including tax and shipping
Comments
on the ram get 4 or 8 gb's not 6
Why is that?
While the processor will fit the motherboard, it might not entirely play nicely with it. My solution would be to change both.
On a $1000 budget, you kind of have to decide whether you want to pay more for a Sandy Bridge system, or go with a cheaper AMD system. You're kind of at the borderline between which makes sense. A Phenom II X6 doesn't make sense for most people, as few programs scale well past four cores--and in particular, very few games will in the near future. If you want to go with a cheaper AMD system, then get a more modern motherboard like this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131647
and then a cheaper processor like this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103808
The processor is also available in a combo deal with the video card you picked:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.593507
Alternatively, you could pay more for a Sandy Bridge system. Here's a processor/heatsink combo deal:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.618267
There aren't a lot of Sandy Bridge motherboards back in stock, but on your budget, you could try something like this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128476
That's more expensive than what you picked, but the processor is a lot better. Note that for an AMD system, you don't need an aftermarket heatsink and fan, as the stock one is reasonably good.
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Whether you go with Intel or AMD, you're getting a dual channel memory controller, so you want two memory modules, not three. 4 GB of system memory is plenty:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231396
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That case really isn't a good value when you consider the shipping costs. Something like this would be better:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129066
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119233
Both of those come in a combo deal with the OS for $5 off, too. Speaking of which, you're missing an OS license.
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The power supply you picked isn't that bad, but it is Antec's lowest end line, so you might want something better. Unfortunately, I don't see a good value on a power supply around 500 W. This one is a good value for a higher wattage power supply, but also more expensive:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371021
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If you simply forgot the OS license and need it, but need to fit within a $1000 budget, you've got a couple of obvious options. One would be to drop the SSD and get a faster hard drive instead, like this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136283
The other would be to go with the cheaper AMD processor that I linked above, the Phenom II X4 955, and call it good enough.
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You also don't list an optical drive or peripherals. If you're salvaging those from an old system, that's fine, but make sure you have them.
Wondering why you chose that processor ....
http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/desktop-cpu-charts-2010/3DMark-Vantage-GPU-Performance,2417.html
It just seems you can spend $200 on something with a little more umph.
http://www.straightdope.com/
Why did you just link to a list of processor performance in a video card benchmark?
Also, if you're reading processor benchmarks, you have to take into account how many cores the benchmark scales to. A benchmark that scales well to 12 cores is not indicative of gaming performance.
The reason you want to go with 4GB/8GB is because the processor and mobo are dual-channel memory; the kit you have is for triple channel memory controllers. Basically, your mobo has 4 memory slots, and filling 3 of them is inneffiicient. Either get a 4x1GB kit or a 4x2GB kit and you'll be good to go.
Killer 100% Socializer 40% Explorer 33% Achiever 27%
Wrong link .... was suposed to be overall performance.
http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/desktop-cpu-charts-2010/3DMark-Vantage-Overall-Performance,2416.html
Meh ....
http://www.straightdope.com/
Following Quiz's advice, the following builld is actually cheaper while being superior?
CPU - Intel i5-2500 Sandy Bridge 3.3ghz + Heatsink
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.618267
MOBO - Gigabyte GA-P67A-UD3-B3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128476
VIDEO CARD - Sapphire 6870 1GB - $209.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102909
MEMORY - G.Skill DDR3 1600 2x2GB (4GB) - $49.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231277
MAIN HDD - Crucial 64GB SSD - $134.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148357
STORAGE HDD - Seagte 1TB - $64.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148433
CASE - Cooler Master HAF - $59.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119233
POWER SUPPLY - Antec 550W - $64.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371016
Grand Total: $962.01 including tax and shipping
The Phenom II's in general are very nice CPU's, but unless you are diehard AMD fan, I would stay away from the 6-cores for the near term.
Most games only scale to 2 cores, and very few scale as far as 4 cores, so the extra money spent getting the 6 core is more or less just wasted. This probably isn't going to change anytime in the next couple of years either. Now if you plan on using the computer for something other than gaming that can actually use all those cores (there isn't much outside of the server arena aside from video/audio encoding, and you wouldn't game on a server), then by all means.
Budget-wise, you are better off an X4 (the BE 955 is probably the best bang for the buck there). You can stay with the feature-rich and inexpensive AM3 motherboards, and save around $70 on the CPU
And if you are just looking at raw performance, the Intel 2500k only costs slightly more CPU for CPU, although the motherboard selection is slim and much more expensive right now (roughly double what an equivalent AM3 board will cost).
Right now the price/performance breakdowns are such that for a new build, either you go with the AM3/Phenom II X4, or you bump up to the 1155/Intel 2500k. The rest of the CPU/motherboard options don't really have a good price/performance ratio for gaming purposes unless you can find a killer deal on something.
And as mentioned before, you have a triple channel memory kit, your motherboard requires a dual channel kit (2 or 4 DIMMs, probably a 4 or 8G kit). That type of RAM is fine, just get it in a dual channel kit rather than triple:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231193&cm_re=G.Skill_DDR3_1600-_-20-231-193-_-Product
Yeah, that would be a considerably better system. Note that your case link still goes to the original case you picked, not the one I linked.
You still don't list an OS license, optical drive, or peripherals. If you have them from another source, that's fine, but just don't forget about them.
I'd still be a little skittish about that power supply. After some searching through other sites for you, I finally came up with this as something better for about the same price.
http://www.amazon.com/Enermax-Epr525Awt-Pro82-Atx12V-Shielding/dp/B0015QT4B4/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1300000580&sr=1-1
I own the processor in question myself (the AMD Hexa core) and while it isn't the ultimate gaming processor it is actually pretty nice.
I would still recommend you to get a slightly faster quad instead unless you have special needs, few games support 6 cores today.
I myself usually runs loads of programs at the same time, that is the reason I went for 6 cores instead of 4, that and the fact that I got a good price on it just after release.
Processor power is never a problem for me in any game, even though a computer can't be too fast.
Looks really nice, but I would upgrade the PSU to a 650W one instead if that is within your budget. 550W is somewhat small, particularly if you upgrade the GFX card or add more harddrives later. Better safe than sorry.
I already have an OS, perphs, and a dvd writer. Im all good there.
I will also spend a few extra bucks on a better psu.
Any comments from anyone on the GPU? It looked to be a pretty good value on the tomshardware charts
A good quality 550 W power supply would be plenty for nearly all gaming systems. In practice, he'll probably never draw 300 W from it. The part that would make me nervous is not the wattage, but the quality. Antec Basiq isn't bad, but it isn't that good, either. It's Antec's lowest end line for a reason. I'd compare it to Corsair's CX "builder" series: the worst power supplies from a good brand.
If that's your budget, then go for it. You might want to consider this one instead, I guess:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150506
Same card (both reference cards, so they're physically identical), same price, but a bigger rebate and XFX is generally regarded as having better warranty service.
The next natural step up would be a Radeon HD 6950:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161361
I don't think anything faster than that would be reasonable on your budget.
In the other direction, if you'd rather get something a little slower to save money, then try a Radeon HD 6850:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131374
I am not really an Antec fan myself. I might be recommending a slightly higher power than needed since I myself usually have 4-5 harddrives and some extra fans in my machines, once you had to replace a PSU you are rather careful.
Heck, I have a 950W myself and even if my 480 GTX sucks powers I will never be near that much, but it cost me 10 more bucks than a 850W so why not?
A really good 550W should do, but a few extra watts wont hurt, unless it is a cheap crap PSU that always runs at full power of course, in that case it will actually be a nasty surprise for the electric bill.
CORSAIR 8gb (2*4gb, 1600) $99.99 - $15 with promo code EMCKGJK39 = $84.99 - Far better deal imo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-324-_-Product
Where was this deal a week ago when I ordered =(
Spec'ing properly is a gateway drug.
12 Million People have been meter spammed in heroics.
First, that's got a higher stock voltage, so you're basically paying Corsair extra to overclock the memory for you. The Sandy Bridge memory controller only officially supports 1333 MHz memory, and while 1600 MHz memory should run just fine, if you're going to overclock the memory controller, I'd much rather have memory at the usual 1.5 V.
Second, on a $1000 budget, there's no sense in getting 8 GB of memory for a gaming system. On a larger budget, maybe you go ahead and get 8 GB. But on a $1000 budget, there are more important things to get first.
Extra? It's cheaper with the promo code per gb from a very reputable brand. I've never used G.Skill, though its what is in my new PC (lol stupid mobo). I've got nothing against g.skill, that just looks like a killer deal to me. I wish it had been there a week ago.
Spec'ing properly is a gateway drug.
12 Million People have been meter spammed in heroics.
If you could find a 16 GB kit for $160, that would be cheaper yet per GB, but hardly a sensible purchase for a $1000 gaming computer.
Lol, yep, 16gb wouldn't be sensible.
I know 4gb is comfortable. I personally chose 8 so that it's not something I'm upgrading later. Anything more than 8, right now, imo is just a waste of money for most people especially with how quickly ram prices fall. 8 will comfortably take care of anything a gamer regularly does and anything else they want to dabble in--graphic design, home movies, weather prediction =D.
It's just a good deal from a good brand.
Spec'ing properly is a gateway drug.
12 Million People have been meter spammed in heroics.
It's a question of budget. On a $1500 budget, sure, get 8 GB of system memory. On a $1000 budget, there are other, more important things to get first. Having 4 GB rather than 8 GB is unlikely to cause issues in the foreseeable future, and likely won't make any meaningful difference in the useful life of the machine. And then when you replace the computer, you'll need DDR4 instead, so you'd have to replace the memory anyway. Indeed, having an SSD, so that prefetching is unnecessary, eliminates one of the main advantages of having a lot of system memory for most people.