$1200 Gaming Build

[Scarf]

Hey guys,

I've been reading these forums for a while but this would be my first post. I'm looking to build a new home PC. The purpose, as the title said, is mostly for gaming.

I have a strict budget of $1200 for the tower alone, INCLUDING the operating system. I will purchase the keyboard/mouse/monitor later on(separately). I want to stay with trusted, name brands; however, I'd like to get the most possible bang for my buck out of this machine. I don't want to target this to a specific game or genre, I just want to squeeze out the maximum performance overall.

I really have no idea where to start in terms of hardware, so if someone could please make an initial recommendation so we can get the discussion going, that would be wonderful. The only thing that I'll elaborate on is the hard drive - it doesn't have to be anything too huge, I won't be using this computer to store movies or anything like that.

Please try to be as specific as possible!

Thanks in advance!

[glc]

Antec Nine Hundred + EA650 Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 650W Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129064

ASUS P7P55D-E LX LGA 1156 Intel P55 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131634

Intel Core i5-750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor BX80605I5750
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115215

Western Digital Caviar Black WD5001AALS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136320

ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827135204

CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 Desktop Memory Model CMV4GX3M2A1333C9
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145278

HIS Turbo H587FNT1GDG Radeon HD 5870 (Cypress XT) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card DirectX 11/ Eyefinity w/ Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 Game Coupon
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814161331

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116754

I come up with right around $1190 shipped. Specific enough?

[Scarf]

Originally Posted by glc I come up with right around $1190 shipped. Specific enough?

Awesome man! Thank you very much. I'm curious though, why did you go with Intel? Not that it's a bad thing; just wondering.

Another question: I unfortunately need to connect to a wireless router. What would be my best bet doing that?

[glc]

I'm an Intel person and have been for many years. I don't do AMD. It's just the way I am.

What brand and model is the router?

[Nikon]

here is my (i own this computer) amd gaming rig, price came to 1181 before shipping

case: Antec Twelve Hundred Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129043

Western Digital Caviar Black WD5001AALS 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5"
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136320

ASUS M4A89TD PRO/USB3 AM3 AMD 890FX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131655

ASUS ENGTX470/2DI/1280MD5 GeForce GTX 470 (Fermi) 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814121372

CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139006

AMD Phenom II X6 1055T Thuban 2.8GHz Socket AM3 125W Six-Core Desktop Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103851

A-DATA Gaming Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model AX3U1600GB2G9-2G
Free 2GB USB w/ purchase, limited offer
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820211409

ASUS Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827135204

edit: sorry i didnt include the OS, you could prolly go with a different videocard (a 58xx or so) to budget in an OS.

this seems a good deal:

HIS iCooler V Turbo H583FNT1GDG Radeon HD 5830 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card w/ Eyefinity
Modern Warfare 2 game included, limited offer $249 and comes with MW2

that card is a 100 bucks cheaper than the 470 that i have, and it comes with mw2! go for that one and get yourself an OS.

use the OS GLC provided unless you are warry of doing your own self tech support (afaik OEM licenses wont let you get tech support from microsoft. not positive i read something along those lines a while back here (on these forums))

[orbrit]

For a more equivalent AMD build (or possibly faster on the processor) for $1162.24 shipped
(based on glc's build with changes for AMD)

Antec Nine Hundred + EA650 Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 650W Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129064

ASUS M4A87TD EVO AM3 AMD 870 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131647

AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ965FBGMBOX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103727

Western Digital Caviar Black WD5001AALS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136320

ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827135204

CORSAIR XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMX4GX3M2A1600C9
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145260

HIS Turbo H587FNT1GDG Radeon HD 5870 (Cypress XT) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card DirectX 11/ Eyefinity w/ Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 Game Coupon
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814161331

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116754

[Scarf]

Originally Posted by glc I'm an Intel person and have been for many years. I don't do AMD. It's just the way I am. What brand and model is the router?

The router that I'll have to connect to at the moment looks like a basic Dynex "Enhanced Wireless G Router" Also, it will be basically a floor above me (I'm down in the basement) if that will matter.

Thanks to everyone else for their suggestions! I'll check them out.

[glc]

Any wireless-G PCI or USB adapter should work. I'd probably use this one because you can move the antenna:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16833166020

[Khalil]

For a gaming rig, it won't matter if you go with AMD or Intel, you are going to get the same performance either way as long as you choose the right video card, the 5870 GLC recommended is the best single GPU card on the market. You can even save some money and go with a 5830 and still have superb gaming performance.

[glc]

And - the 5850 is in between them!

[Scarf]

Hey guys,

I ordered the parts that glc originally suggested. My next objective is a display setup. I was wondering, with the card he suggested, if I could run these two monitors:

ASUS VW246H Glossy Black 24":
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824236049

ASUS VB171D Black 17":
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824236031

I'm fairly sure it's possible with the correct adapters, but I just wanted to make sure and get your opinions.

Thanks.

[glc]

Yes, the card comes with one DVI to VGA adapter.

[Scarf]

Hey again,

I ordered the parts that glc first suggested and they arrived yesterday. I assembled everything, followed the instructions carefully, and connected the monitor and keyboard.

Keep in mind this is my first ever build and I was attempting to do it on my own. I have a few things that I found "curious":
- Graphics card has two 6 prong slots to connect power to, however, my psu only has one 6 prong "pci-e" connector. I simply used the "pci-e" one and an additional generically labeled 6 prong connector.
- What is the "1394" connector for? I don't believe there's a spot for it on the mobo.
- Should there only be a 24-slot power connection between the mobo and the PSU? I read somewhere that there should also be a 4 slot one in addition to the 24 slot, however I couldn't find it.

I fired it up for the first time, everything appears to be good, there is a green light on the motherboard, the case LED's are working, and the CPU, PSU and case fans are all spinning. Nothing sounds strange.

However, there is NO display on the monitor. the monitor light remains orange as if nothing is connected to it. I haven't ordered new displays yet, so I'm using the adapter included with the graphics card to use a 17" Dell monitor. Any ideas on what might be causing this?

Sorry if that was a bit of a ramble, trying to provide as much info as I could. Let me know if any other info would assist you.

Thanks so much for your time.

[glc]

That PSU has a 6 pin PCI-E and a 6+2 pin PCI-E. Detach the +2 and use both on the video card.

There is an 8 pin power socket on the edge of the board near the CPU socket. 4 pins are covered with a plastic insert, remove it and plug the 8 pin EPS 12v connector into it. That's why you have no video, that must be connected.

The 1394 is Firewire. Your motherboard does not have that.

[Scarf]

Thanks again glc!

That did the trick. I installed the OS and drivers for everything that I could think of at this point. I have come across another issue though. It seems to be freezing/locking up fairly frequently. When it does, it won't even allow me to ctrl alt delete out of anything, I have to reboot. It seems to commonly happen when I add a device(such as a USB headset) while the machine is on, and when I attempt to search for a game server on Counter-strike: Source(so I can't even play the game at this point).

[glc]

Check your temperatures and run some diagnostics on the ram.

www.memtest.org

[Scarf]

Originally Posted by glc Check your temperatures and run some diagnostics on the ram. www.memtest.org

I ran the memtest and it came back with no errors.

The temp readings within the BIOS look fine; however, when I run this program "AUX" looks hot(not sure what that is though). My case fans are on the low setting, I didn't think they would need to go higher.

http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/716/tempsb.png

[David M]

Check your 12 volt rail voltage in your BIOS....11.40 volts (3.3% drop) is a little on the low side. Still okay, sorta, but needs to be looked into. Better yet, get a digital multimeter and check your 12 volt (yellow and black wires) voltages.

[Scarf]

It's reading 12.040V in the BIOS. I don't know too terribly much about this stuff, but I was thinking it may be more of a software issue. In Counterstrike:Source, as soon as the server list populates "too much" everything just locks up. I've been able to click fast and log into a server and it runs amazingly.

[David M]

Its probably okay then...just keep an eye on it and check it with a multimeter when your computer is under a load so you can to confirm the actual voltage.

The problem with low voltage is that more current needs to be drawn to get the same power. When more current is drawn, more heat is generated in the circuitry.

[glc]

Aux might be your video card temp.

[Scarf]

Originally Posted by glc Aux might be your video card temp.

I did some searching and it appears that Speedfan has some kind of glitch were it shows "AUX" as extremely hot or extremely cold for a lot of people. I downloaded Everest and it shows my GPU much cooler.

I feel like I'm pretty much clear of the hardware issues, I'm still having a hellish time with the software side though. Nothing seems to want to work. It's incredibly frustrating as I don't have much experience with this stuff. I realize I should have expected it and I'm just going to continue to work through it. My current project is trying to make the Steam client and games work (it keeps "suspending" my game downloads and my laptop can download everything fine).

Thanks again for the help though guys.