# First Gaming Desktop Build



## Pyunik (Jun 17, 2011)

Hello everyone, after reading some of the posts here in this forum and taking a look at the recommended components I have finally narrowed down my build and plan on buying all the parts as soon as I get some feedback. 

My budget was in the $1000 (CDN) range, going for intel based mobo/cpu, and hoping to pick up most of my parts in store (I live within 20-30km of Canada Computers and Tiger Direct), but I will be buying some components from bestdirect.ca since they offer free ground shipping on most of the parts I need. Also, as I am a complete newbie with computer hardware (computer hardware in general) I will not be overclocking this rig anytime soon, most likely a year or two down the road. 

Without further ado, here is what I have picked so far.

*Motherboard:*
ASRock P67 Extreme4 1155 - *$164.99*
ASRock P67 Extreme4 (B3)Socket 1155 Intel P67 Chipset Dual-Channel DDR3 2133(OC)/1866(OC)/1600/1333/1066Mhz 7.1 CH HD Audio Gigabit LAN 4x SATAIII 6.0 Gb/s 4xSATAII 3.0Gb/s 3x USB 3.0 6x USB 2.0 ATX | Canada Computers

*CPU:*
Intel Core i5-2500k Quad Core - *$214.59*
Buy Intel [BX80623I52500K] Intel Core i5 2500K Quad Core Unlocked Processor LGA1155 3.3GHZ Sandy Bridge 6MB

*Video Card:*
Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 6870 1GB - *$204.99*
Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 6870 1GB GDDR5 ATI Radeon HD 6870 Chipset (900Mhz) 1GB GDDR5 (4200Mhz) Memory HD Audio Quad Display (Dual DVI) /HDMI/2x Mini Display Port PCI-Express 2.0 Graphics Card | Canada Computers

*RAM:*
G.Skill 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1600 - *$54.07*
Buy G.SKILL [F3-12800CL7D-4GBRM] G.SKILL F3-12800CL7D-4GBRM Ripjaws 4GB 2X2GB DDR3-1600 CL7-8-7-24 240PIN Dual Channel i5 Memory Kit

*Case:*
Corsair Graphite 600T ATX Case- *$144.99
*Corsair Graphite Series 600T Mid Tower ATX PC Case (CC600T) | Canada Computers*

Power Supply:*
Corsair Professional 750W ATX Modular PSU - *$142.29*
Buy CORSAIR [CMPSU-750HX] Corsair Professional HX750W 750W ATX 12V 62A 24PIN ATX Modular Power Supply Active PFC 140MM Fan

*Optical Drive:*
Asus DRW 24 B1ST DVD Burner - *$24.99*
ASUS DRW-24B1ST Black SATA 24X DVD-Writer 24xDVD+R/-R 24xDVD+/-R DL 8xDVD+RW/6xDVD-RW 48xCD-R OEM | Canada Computers

*Hard Drive:*
Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 7200RPM 64MB - *$69.79*
Buy Western Digital [WD1002FAEX] Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB SATA3 6GB/S 7200RPM 64MB Cache 3.5IN Dual Proc Hard Drive OEM

*Subtotal: $1,020.70
After Tax: $1,153.39

*Now, I have a few questions. First, I have read a lot of of the moderators comment that Asus and Gigabyte mobo's are the best, but after reviewing some of the user feedback and comments on newegg.ca I noticed there were a lot of complaints and problems with the motherboards at this price range, while there were fewer complaints about the ASRock, and more praise. I also noticed a few people complaining that their asus/gigabyte mobo's crashed/stopped working after a given amount of time (half a year to year range iirc), and I am wondering if this is common for mobo's at this price range, or if it was just a case of people OC'ing recklessly. Any clarification would be great.

Second question I have in mind is whether or not I will be needing an aftermarket cooler, or fan. This rig will be used primarily for gaming and schoolwork, with the intent of playing on the maximum settings and resolution. I will mostly be playing EVE online, League of Legends, and picking up Crysis 2, and looking forward to Mass Effect 3. My hope is that this rig will be able to play all new games in the foreseeable future at *decent* resolutions, settings and frames. But overheating is something that I am worried about, and I have heard that stock fans are generally garbage, so would it be worth spending another $50-100 for a decent cooler/fan now, or should I worry about that later on when I decide to OC the computer?

Also, is the PSU I have selected good enough to handle my needs? I know how important it is to have a good quality PSU, especially for high end gaming. I read that 4GB of ram is sufficient, but I have this nagging feeling that I should have spent another $40 or so and gotten a pair of 4GB to futureproof. 

Regarding SSD's, I read that it is a good idea to get one and use it to boot up the OS, and use the hard drive for storage, but the prices for SSD is too much imo, and would put me over budget. Knowing nothing about this sort of thing, my question is, would it be possible to pick an SSD up later on and upgrade my computer, and have the OS boot from the SSD?

I had a few more questions to ask but I forgot them at this point, I knew I should have written them down 

Any comments, suggestions and recommendations are welcome.


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## DBCooper (Jun 11, 2010)

Hi Pyunik,

Forget the SSD and save your money. Yes, it provides faster boot time but it will only make a negligable difference. As for your system, everything looks good. Hope everything works out well for you.


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

ASRock Mobo's use lower quality components/circuitry. Asus & Gigabyte are top quality Mobo's and that is why they are used by more knowledgeable builders.
OEM CPU fans are quite sufficient if no OC'ing is involved.
4GB (2X2GB) is more than sufficient now and will be for some time to come. There are no games and few apps that can utilize over 3GB of RAM and problems with 4GB sticks are not uncommon.
The PSU you selected will meet your needs and give you some head room.
SSD's will give you faster boot times but little more.


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## Pyunik (Jun 17, 2011)

Thank you Tyree and DBCooper for your comments, that is pretty much what I wanted to hear. 

Although now I am concerned about the mobo I selected. Is there a particular Asus or Gigabyte mobo that you would recommend over the one I have, preferably in the same price range?


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

See if this fills your needs. ASUS P8P67 $160: Newegg.com - ASUS P8P67 (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard


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