# New Game build - need some recommendations, plz



## deahamlet (Dec 20, 2009)

Some notes from me before the questions...

I looked at the $1200 Intel build posted (great work, guys!) and I'd like to go from there, but with some questions and possible new directions? I'm willing to spend around 1500. Also, some suggestions for monitors would be GREAT, I'm so lost there!!! [around $300 max, 24", 1080p or 1920x1200]

CPU: the suggested one is i7-860. Is this good enough for what I have in mind? Is there something better to suggest since January? Or maybe even, is an i5 that is close enough to performance in gaming that would save me some money?

Mobo: I could only find the ASUS P7P55D-E Deluxe, not pro and that is $70 more than pro. For that $250 is there a better choice for motherboard? If I should go with a different CPU, I'm letting you know I'm willing to spend the $250. [also, it'd be nice if the mobo supported 4 hdds and 2 media drives]

The big questions: GPU/Videocard: the suggestion was HD 5770 Sapphire 100283-2L. I have several dilemmas/questions:
- Is it worth going to the HD 5850 (sapphire 100282-3SR) or should I get 2 HD 5770 crossfire? [cost is equivalent]
- does the brand matter? what are some good choices? Sapphire? Diamond? worth going with a different brand than Sapphire?
I plan on running 2 monitors at some point, I do need HDMI, but if anyone can find any of those cards with HDMI and VGA, it'd be even better.

Case: I want a full tower, is Cool Master the best option considering that I plan on having 4 HDDs eventually? Any great cases you know of?

The rest of the specs look okay to me, other than maybe a faster hdd for boot and another hdd for data.

Thanx, I posted the questions with answers below.
-Andreea



__________
Budget: How much money are you willing to spend on the new build?
*$1500 on the computer itself, around $300 for a monitor [Canadian dollars]*

Brands: Are there any brands of components you want or don't want?
*I want an Intel build, don't want AMD. Other than that, no biases here.*

Multitasking: Will you be multitasking with this computer and if so, how much?
*Yes, I usually do that. I have a tablet to use with this new PC, I use Photoshop and other Adobe products a lot; do a bit of video editing here and there. The usual office apps and browsing stuff too. *

Gaming: Will you be gaming and if so, how much and how new are the games?
*Yes, the whole point of this new machine is that it should be able to game. I'm interested mostly in FPS, but I also play a lot of RPGs and some other games. I don't expect the machine to run the most graphic intense games, but a big chunk of new-ish games. *

Calculations: Will you be doing any intense calculations or media encoding?
*Some video encoding, not too often though.*

Overclocking: Do you plan on overclocking and if so, how much?
*No. I'd like the best machine for the money that doesn't require me to OC. Especially no overclocking the GPU.*

Storage: How much storage will you need and what will you be storing?
*1TB should be fine; I'll be adding later on. If the computer runs faster with a faster main drive and a secondary 1TB data drive, I'm willing to go that route.*

Legacy Support: Will you need support for older hardware like parallel, serial, or PS/2 devices?
*No.*

Operating System: Do you want Windows XP or Vista, or Linux compatibility?
*Mainly Win 7 (student pricing: $99), but might consider dual-boot with ubuntu. *

Case: Do you want help selecting a case and if so, how big do you want it?
*Yes, full tower. basically a tower that can easily handle 4 hdd's and 1-2 media drives in terms of air-flow and cooling. Cool Master Cosmos 1000 and HAF 932 look interesting, but I'm open to new ideas. Under $200 hopefully. It's important that the USB/eSATA/audio ports be at the top front. *

Accessories: Do you want a keyboard, mouse, or other items included?
*No, I have those figured out already.*

Recycled Components: Will you be reusing any components you already have?
*No*

Monitor: If you want a monitor, what size do you want and should it be widescreen?
*24", under $300 or a bit above. Haven't seen any 1920x1200 much lately, so 1080p is where it's at I guess. I'd like something very sharp and speedy enough to run the games.*

Stores: Do you have any online stores that you prefer to purchase from?
*Newegg.ca (some of the US products are not available there) and/or Tigerdirect.ca*

Location: What country do you live in?
*Canada*


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## linderman (May 20, 2005)

I would say the i7-860 is a red hot choice; it will keep pace with the more expensive i7-930 which is overkill in a stand alone desktop application

the i5-750 is another very good choice if you need to tone down the budget a bit

as for gpu if you have the room in your budget I would opt of the 5850 as a better choice than two 5770's / teaming up two cards only works when the software title allows it to work and the software title dictates how much improvement the second card affords you, I have seen wayyyyyy too many systems where the "theory" just didnt produce what the expense was

the 5850 however will deliver outstanding performance, any cards above that price point are just money wasters IMHO unless, you are going to a 30 inch display or larger >>>> ATI card manuf = *Sapphire for me*

as for faster hard drives; hmmmm

dont waste your time with the Velociraptors and that hype, the SSD drives are faster, but you will pay a pretty penny for those few seconds faster boot times; once any application is loaded into memory, the drive speed is no longer an issue, its a passenger in the car at that point.
not worth what you pay for them at this point, but if you dont mind spending; by all means, enjoy / I just cant say they are a "value"

motherboard = I am not a fan of spending over $200.00 on a motherboard, the motherboards that have given me the most grey hair and heart burn are the systems I sold with the above $250.00 motherboards, its almost like they tried to pack too much into them :4-thatsba

Asus P7P55D is the king of performance and stability in socket 1156 / gigabyte is close BUT gotta call a spade a spade.....even though I am a huge Giga fan


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## linderman (May 20, 2005)

http://ncix.com/search/?categoryid=0&q=asus+p7p55D



the P7P55D-E Pro would be my $$$$ limit

the deluxe is a nice board for sure, but it left the "value" room after $225.00 IMHO


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## linderman (May 20, 2005)

http://www.directcanada.com/search/?kw=asus P7P55D



they have the Deluxe at $207.00 after rebate / thats a keeper !


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## linderman (May 20, 2005)

these are good full tower cases for sure / but again $30.00 to $40.00 more for what ? pretty blue lights ........if you are into that ?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...010090007 50008348 1054808289 4017&name=XClio


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## linderman (May 20, 2005)

The coolermaster Haf 932 is my personal favorite / its BIG / plenty of cooling and well made

spending more may get you more bling-bling but not more bang for the buck 

set-up this machine as we have discussed in this thread and next year or two years from now when you feel the urge to "tinker" you will be able to overclock this system without spending any money, overclocking is just like getting a free computer upgrade as long as it was set-up right at the start with quality parts, which so far you havent discussed anything that hasnt fit that catagory


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## linderman (May 20, 2005)

http://www.directcanada.com/category/?minorcatid=1746&pricerangeid=1006&vendorid=1404


top of the heap right here:

http://www.directcanada.com/category/?minorcatid=1746&pricerangeid=1007&vendorid=1404


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## deahamlet (Dec 20, 2009)

linderman said:


> http://www.directcanada.com/search/?kw=asus P7P55D
> 
> 
> 
> they have the Deluxe at $207.00 after rebate / thats a keeper !


That's the P7P55D Deluxe not P7P55D-E Deluxe. Does the E actually add anything? I'm only apprehensive b/c the recommendation was for the -E pro and therefore I'm thinking maybe there was a reason for -E versus no E.

Thank you!!!


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## linderman (May 20, 2005)

you may not find the cpu cooler we linked

this one will work just fine

http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=11130AC9893&vpn=RR-UV8-XBU1-GP&manufacture=COOLERMASTER


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## deahamlet (Dec 20, 2009)

linderman said:


> The coolermaster Haf 932 is my personal favorite / its BIG / plenty of cooling and well made
> 
> spending more may get you more bling-bling but not more bang for the buck
> 
> set-up this machine as we have discussed in this thread and next year or two years from now when you feel the urge to "tinker" you will be able to overclock this system without spending any money, overclocking is just like getting a free computer upgrade as long as it was set-up right at the start with quality parts, which so far you havent discussed anything that hasnt fit that catagory


I don't care for cool lights, nobody would see it anyway under the desk, lol.

I like the HAF 932, so I'll just go with that.

Quick question re: PSU. Should I dish out the money for 850w now just in case I want to upgrade the video card later on or put 2 in?

Thanx for the monitor recommendations, I definitely like Samsung.

And I found the cooler on newegg.ca at 37.99: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103057
(that's the same one, right? should I dish out for the V8 extra 20+ bux? makes a difference?)


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## linderman (May 20, 2005)

I would go with the corsair 850 watt for sure to address any future power needs

and I would spend the extra $20.00 for the V8 cooler

if you need to trim the budget at all; I would opt for the i5-750 as the best and smartest savings that will hurt the least


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## linderman (May 20, 2005)

deahamlet said:


> That's the P7P55D Deluxe not P7P55D-E Deluxe. Does the E actually add anything? I'm only apprehensive b/c the recommendation was for the -E pro and therefore I'm thinking maybe there was a reason for -E versus no E.
> 
> Thank you!!!



the only diff you will find from one version to another might be one more pci slot / or an extra pci-express slot / or couple more sata ports

something along those lines, in summary

any P7P55D series board costing $150.00 or more, will make almost anyone thrilled to own

The P7P55D- Deluxe or the Pro are great boards

the P7P55D-E Deluxe is the overkill flavor IMHO


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## deahamlet (Dec 20, 2009)

You've been of great help. 
I am trying to decide if I should get the Sapphire HD 5850 Toxic? It's ~$50 more and seems to perform better. Or should I just go all the way and get an HD 5870?

Also, if I cannot find OCZ, what other brand of RAM is comparable?

Everything thus far: (prices just as an idea in CAD from Canada Computers and/or Newegg, whichever was cheaper)

Motherboard: ASUS P7P55D-E Pro @ $206.99

CPU: Intel Core i7-860 Lynnfield 2.8GHz @ $319.99

Video Card: SAPPHIRE 100282-3SR Radeon HD 5850 @ 321.99

Ram: OCZ Platinum 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 1600 @ $140.99

Case: COOLER MASTER HAF 932 @ $142.99

Power Supply: Corsair 850-TX @ $152.99

DVD Rom Drive: LG (whichever really) @ ~$33.99

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master V8 @ $69.99

Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 32MB Cache @ $99.99

Total: $1489.91
Plus: OS: $99


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## linderman (May 20, 2005)

thats a damn solid build you have put together there!

I do not reccommend buying ANY video card more than $300.00 ish mark.....the 5870 would not serve you any better than the 5850 when using less than 30 inch monitor / display

things like toxic and vapor-x coolers are marketing instruments IMHO they have some performance gain, but not $50.00 worth


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## linderman (May 20, 2005)

memory

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145260


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## deahamlet (Dec 20, 2009)

linderman said:


> memory
> 
> http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145260


Would that be better or worse than the OCZ? (http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227297)

Only asked for suggestions outside OCZ b/c Canada Computers (who is in town) does not have that particular OCZ memory with 7-7-7-24 only 8-8-8-24 and 9-9-9-24 memory and I have no idea what that means even .

But if the OCZ originally suggested is better, I'll just get that from newegg if needed.

The build is coming together nicely, and fast!


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

Those numbers are the RAM timing-The lower the number the "faster" it is.


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## deahamlet (Dec 20, 2009)

Tyree said:


> Those numbers are the RAM timing-The lower the number the "faster" it is.


Thank you!


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## linderman (May 20, 2005)

8-8-8-24 is fine to use / I would try to avoid 9-9-9-24

there isnt a big diff or even noticible diff from 7-7-7-24 to 8-8-8-24 but you do have to say "ok, thats my bottom line" at some point

thats why I dont settle for 9-9-9-24


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## deahamlet (Dec 20, 2009)

It seems choosing a monitor is harder than any other task, what with wanting great colors/performance for painting and photoshop and fast response for gaming.

What would an Nvidia alternative be to the HD 5850 if I decide to get the new 120hz Alienware (or the Acer)?


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## guitarzann (Jun 18, 2009)

Where do you live in canada? If you live in Calgary, Edmonton or Winnipeg, seek out Memory Express. A better place to order parts in Canada in my opinion is NCIX.com, they usually offer better shipping and their customer service is bar none. If you live in Vancouver, Burnaby, Richmond or Langley NCIX has retail stores that you can go to. If you live in Saskatchewan, OTV Tech has stores in Regina and Saskatoon. All of the stores I mentioned (except OTV) will match any price you find elsewhere (as long as it is a Canadian store and isn't a sale price).


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## linderman (May 20, 2005)

nvidia equal is 285gtx


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## deahamlet (Dec 20, 2009)

Thanx again!

I decided that 120hz technology isn't for me right now.
1. I'm not keen on NVIDIA cards at the moment and 120hz apparently only works with NVIDIA
2. I use my computer for daily things and drawing/photo editing more than gaming so the horrid 2D and color quality of the Acer and Alienware put me off completely.

I'm going for the Dell U2410 24" LCD as it is a good compromise for all my uses and still good enough for gaming.

I think that pretty much makes the built complete.
Only things that I'll be adding that I haven't mentioned before:

Razer Mamba mouse
(probably) Logitech Illuminated keyboard

No need for card reader as the U2410 monitor has a card reader on the side, how nice.


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## linderman (May 20, 2005)

very good choices


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## grimx133 (Jan 15, 2008)

IPS panel on the dell monitor, great colours there.


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## deahamlet (Dec 20, 2009)

grimx133 said:


> IPS panel on the dell monitor, great colours there.


I've read mostly great reviews and some complaints that are think are for those very picky people. I'm no color nazi, so for me it will be great.


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## grimx133 (Jan 15, 2008)

It's a very noticable difference, I got the 27" Dell 2709W, in the daily deals the other week. It's basically the bigger brother to the U2410. Colours are so much more vibrant, it was a rare case of actually seeing some "wow" factor. You will be pleased with that one. 

Not sure what you're going for in the graphics card, but I put in an HD5870 last week, it's been very good. One thing I didn't do, install the CCC, did driver only. I've always figured that the majority of ATI video issues stem from the Catalyst Control Center. For adjusting the fan speed and overclocking, use MSI Afterburner.
http://event.msi.com/vga/afterburner/


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## deahamlet (Dec 20, 2009)

I'm buying a Sapphire HD 5850, plenty of power for me.

I thought U2711 was the 27" version of the U2410. There is a 2409W tho.


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## grimx133 (Jan 15, 2008)

Could be, the U2711 is a newer model, capable of a higher resolution than the 2709W. 2560x1440 instead of the 1920x1200. I'm sure there are other differences as well, but that's the big one. Price too, naturally, $1249. for the U2711, $950. for the 2709W, though I got it for $600. in the sale.


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## deahamlet (Dec 20, 2009)

For people who know much about HAF 932 case... am I okay with the included fans or should I have 3 120 fans at the top and 4 120 fans on the side replacing the 230 fans (one in each location)?


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## linderman (May 20, 2005)

one @ top = exhaust

one at front = intake air

one at rear = exhaust

leave the 230 on the side = intake


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## deahamlet (Dec 20, 2009)

Sapphire HD 5850 comes in two versions... one with ATI board and cooling and one with Sapphire board and cooling. Does it really make a difference?


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## linderman (May 20, 2005)

IMHO; not really


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