Early 2009 Build

[hoot504]

Ok, I built a machine about 4 1/2 years ago, never less than thrilled with it. Sold that rig about a year ago, now looking to build a new one. Processor speed and video card power are the most important for me. I want both of those components to stay relevant for quite a while. After spending a bit of time on newegg last night this is what I came up with...

Antec P182 Case http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6811129025

Corsair 550W Power Supply http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817139004

MSI K9A2 Platinum Mobo http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813130136

AMD Phenom 9950 2.6 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819103291

XFX GeForce GTX 260 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814150330

Seagate Barracuda 250GB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6822148262

Card Reader/Floppy Drive http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820816002

LG DVD-Rom http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6827136149

Gigabyte Wireless Adapter http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6839121008

A few questions for you guys right off the bat...

Do I need to spend $150 on a case like this antec I have listed? If anyone has a nice alternative for $100 or so I'd love to hear it. Not only this, but I'm unsure if the P182 would fit the graphics card I selected, as it's over 10 inches long

Do I need a card reader/floppy drive in order to install drivers and get the computer up and running?

I don't think this video card is quite what I need, I'm willing to spend $400-450 on one, someone suggest a better one that will actually be worth the extra money

Should I go with AMD or Intel? Obviously the setup above uses AMD just because that's what I had in the past

... Any other suggestions are more than welcome, thanks for giving this a look

[Starman]

I would go with the Antec 900 instead. It runs under $100 usually, and is a great case.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...pk=antec%20900

With that kind of budget for a GPU, I would suggest either a GTX 280 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130365 or a 4870x2 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102768 either one is a good bet, I would personally suggest the 4870x2.

As far as Intel vs AMD, there are tons of threads around here on that subject, but I think almost everyone would recommend Intel today. It depends on what you want to use the computer for mainly, I would suggest either an E8500 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115036 for gaming or Q9300 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115043 if you are more of a multi-tasker. I would say the E8500 is your best bet.

Hope the build goes well!

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by hoot504 Processor speed and video card power are the most important for me. I want both of those components to stay relevant for quite a while.

Unfortunately, those are the two components that get obsolete the fastest as newer, faster replacements come out fairly quickly.

Originally Posted by hoot504 A few questions for you guys right off the bat... Do I need to spend $150 on a case like this antec I have listed? If anyone has a nice alternative for $100 or so I'd love to hear it. Not only this, but I'm unsure if the P182 would fit the graphics card I selected, as it's over 10 inches long

For larger video cards the manufacturer usually has a list of certified or approved cases that the card can fit into. The Antec 900 was designed as a gaming case, it may be what you're looking for.

Originally Posted by hoot504 Do I need a card reader/floppy drive in order to install drivers and get the computer up and running?

No, you don't need a card reader/floppy drive to get the computer up and running, just an optical drive. And you don't want to have a card reader installed and plugged in while you're installing the OS or the hard drive won't be the C: drive...one of the card readers ports will be C:.

Originally Posted by hoot504 I don't think this video card is quite what I need, I'm willing to spend $400-450 on one, someone suggest a better one that will actually be worth the extra money.

Sorry, I'm not a gamer and don't follow the video card market.

Originally Posted by hoot504 Should I go with AMD or Intel? Obviously the setup above uses AMD just because that's what I had in the past

I haven't been keeping up but last I heard Intel had the better performing CPUs between the two brands.

Cricket

[SCKiller]

If you're willing to spend the money go with the 4870x2 it is better than the GTX280 from what I've seen or if you want to go a little cheaper the 4850x2.

4870x2
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102768

4850x2
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102809

[Doom]

Another good case to look at is the Cooler Master CM 690. It is less than $100, is very easy to build with, features good cooling, features better wire/cable management and also has an external e-SATA connector on the front panel. I've used both the Antec 900 and the CM 690. Overall I prefer the CM 690, but either one is a great case to use. Both will hold the biggest graphics cards out there... I used a GTX 260 in the Cooler Master case and had plenty of room for wiring.

I chose the GTX 260 in my most recent build because it balanced performance and cost. Many people here like ATI.. but I'm an nVidia fan. I'd recommend against the GTX 280. You're paying about $100 more for just a few frames per second more in comparison to the cards that are ranked just under it. Check out the charts at www.tomshardware.com as a good place to help make a decision on graphics cards.

[not important]

I would suggest taking a look at the Cooler Master cases also. I have a CM 690 and a RC-534 and I'm more than pleased with both.