Gaming Build

[CJ4]

Hi all,

I am building my first PC ever and its going to be used soley for gaming. I am complied a list of parts I am considering and would like some input. Let me know if you see any compatibilities issues. I havent set a budget yet, but am trying to keep it relatively low.

Another thing to keep in mind is this machine will be used soley through a home theater system as well. No need for a monitor as I will be using my 52" Sony Bravia LCD for a display and audio will be running through my av receiver, so no need for speakers. (well technically both will be running through the rec)


Cooling: Corsair-Hydro Series H50

RAM: Corsair 3 pack(3x2GB)

Video Card: Asus - ATI Radeon HD 5870 1GB GDDR5

Proc/MB: Intel Core i5-750 2.66GHz Proc and ATX Motherboard w/ 8MB L2 Cache & up to 16GB RAM

HD: Western Digital-Caviar Black 1TB Internal Serial ATA

Drive: LG-22x Internal Double Layer DVD+RW

Case: Antec-Sonata III Super Mini Tower (Comes with 500 watss Power Supply)

So a few questions I will ask right off the bat:

#1: Do you think 6GB of RAM is sufficient?
#2: With this video card, do I need this much processor?
#3: Is 500 watts enough power?
#4: Is liquid cooling so much more efficient than fans to justify the price?
#5: Do you see a place I could possibly downgrade in light of another product I plan to use?
#6: Am I going overboard on my video card?
#7: I also wanted to ask if getting a "Killer Xeno Pro" is worth it

Thanks for taking the time to help.
Jason

[Khalil]

6GB memory is for tripple channel, you need double channel for socket 1156, that combo is a bad deal because the Intel motherboard is no good and it is from Bestbuy, you need Asus and I recommend you shop at newegg.com.
500W is not enough power to run the 5870 you need 650W to be on the safe side.
Liquid cooling is good for those who have a lot of time on their hands and don't mind dealing with leaks and all kinds of other issues and problems. Liquid cooling is not for a beginner that's for sure, if this is your first build then stick to air cooling.
Antec makes great cases. Asus ATI cards are pretty much the best. Western Digital Black is also awesome!

[CJ4]

Originally Posted by Khalil 6GB memory is for tripple channel, you need double channel for socket 1156, that combo is a bad deal because the Intel motherboard is no good and it is from Bestbuy, you need Asus and I recommend you shop at newegg.com. 500W is not enough power to run the 5870 you need 650W to be on the safe side. Liquid cooling is good for those who have a lot of time on their hands and don't mind dealing with leaks and all kinds of other issues and problems. Liquid cooling is not for a beginner that's for sure, if this is your first build then stick to air cooling. Antec makes great cases. Asus ATI cards are pretty much the best. Western Digital Black is also awesome!

Could you please provide a couple of recommendations for motherboards and RAM?

[Khalil]

OK
ASUS P7P55D-E LX

Kingston ValueRAM 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 and you can double this if you want to go 8GB

[orbrit]

what games are you playing?

I play COD MW2 on my gaming PC. (ECS P55H-A Mobo, Intel i5-750, 4Gb DDR3, HD 5770, Corsair 550W PSU)
All in, my build was under $800 (without OS - I get that through Microsoft Partnership)

It only uses about 1.4Gb on top of the OS, so 4Gb is sufficient for that.
My video details are turned to max detail at 1920x1200 and I run about 90+ FPS.

I generally play with 3 or 4 friends at a time, and I'm always the first to connect and load the map.

I'd really like to know how much difference you can see between a HD5870 and 5770.

[CJ4]

My first game will probably be Star Wars:The Old Republic(RPG-MMO). I was looking at this particular video card is for my diplay and HMDI. If you guys have suggestions, I am all ears.

Would this video card be sufficient for what I am doing?

[Khalil]

I would lower the CPU to an i3-530 and spend the money on a 5850 instead of a 5770, gaming rigs are all about the video card, the better the card the better the game will play. An MMO like Old republic will be very video demanding specially when entering in multi player battles, that is where you will see your frames go to zero very quickly if you are not using a high end card.

[CJ4]

Thanks for the advice. Do you believe 4GB of RAM will be sufficent? I also wanted to ask whats the difference between dual and triple channel RAM? Is there much of a performance gap between the two?

[Khalil]

Originally Posted by CJ4 Thanks for the advice. Do you believe 4GB of RAM will be sufficent? I also wanted to ask whats the difference between dual and triple channel RAM? Is there much of a performance gap between the two?

Because of the limitations of current memory controllers there is virtually no advantage at all from Tripple Channel here is an Article that is a good read on this matter.

Yes 4GB is all you need, I have tried 8GB and 16GB using 64bit OS and I saw no performance gains on my gaming rig.

[CJ4]

You are providing great info. I greatly appreciate it! Can I get your opinion on video cards? The video card I have chosen above seems to be top dog but its $400+ everywhere I have seen it. The 5770 is half the price. So the question is: is the extra money worth spending on the 5780 and needed to display properly on my tv? or will the 5770 be sufficient?

[David M]

Your frame rates will be the same whether the game is being displayed on a computer monitor or a television screen, unless your television has a relatively low frame rate limitation...such as 30 FPS for example. You may want to check that. Your eyes cannot distinguish the difference between 60 FPS and above

In your case as a gamer, I would put the money into the higher end 5870 ATI card. The only higher power card is the 5970 which are not readily available right now. The more powerful the card, the higher the frame rate plus the more game settings you can have turned up. I think its worth it.

http://www.amd.com/us/products/deskt...-overview.aspx

Tom's Hardware has charts that compare graphics card speeds.
http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/

[orbrit]

Another option would be to get a CrossfireX capable motherboard and buy one 5770 now, and then save for a second 5770.

In the meantime you can determine if the single 5770 performance is sufficient for your gaming needs.

This review site shows the CrossfireX 5770's outperforming a single 5870 in COD MW2
Max power consumption only increased 19W.
http://techgage.com/article/ati_rade...performance/11

[Khalil]

Biggest issues I have with both Crossfirex and SLI are reliability and stability!