$1400-$1700 gaming build

[MystifyingMonkey]

How is this build?

AMD Phenom X6 1090T Black Edition 3.2Ghz:
Newegg.com - AMD Phenom II X6 1090T Black Edition Thuban 3.2GHz 6 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Six-Core Desktop Processor HDT90ZFBGRBOX

Asus Crosshair IV Formula AM3 890FX Motherboard:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131644

GIGABYTE GV-R585OC-1GD Radeon HD 5850 (Cypress Pro) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card w/ ATI Eyefinity:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814125318

OCZ Agility 2 60GB SATA SSD:
Newegg.com - OCZ Agility 2 OCZSSD2-2AGTE60G 2.5" 60GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

ICY DOCK MB882SP-1S-1B 2.5" to 3.5" SSD & SATA Hard Drive Converter - Black:
Newegg.com - ICY DOCK MB882SP-1S-1B 2.5" to 3.5" SSD & SATA Hard Drive Converter - Black

Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive:
Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

G.SKILL PIS Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2200 (PC3 17600):
Newegg.com - G.SKILL PIS Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2200 (PC3 17600) Desktop Memory Model F3-17600CL7D-4GBPIS

LITE-ON Black DVD Writer LightScribe Support:
Newegg.com - LITE-ON Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 24X DVD Writer LightScribe Support

COOLER MASTER Silent Pro Gold Series RS800-80GAD3-US 800W ATX 12V v2.3 / EPS 12V v2.92 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply:
Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER Silent Pro Gold Series RS800-80GAD3-US 800W ATX 12V v2.3 / EPS 12V v2.92 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply

COOLER MASTER HAF 932 RC-932-KKN1-GP Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case:
Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER HAF 932 RC-932-KKN1-GP Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case


I haven't been building any computers lately, but this build should work right? I'm also debating whether or not if I should try to go with the Intel i7 route. It seems that the performance is better, but I'm not so sure which one would be more upgrade friendly for the future. I am also looking to chip in another 300 for a liquid cooling system and probably going to OC my cpu after a few months of use. Any inputs on this build and whether or not I should stick with this AMD build or go Intel?

EDIT: Is it a bad idea to go with the open box version of the motherboard? I hear so many different thing about them, and I'm no longer sure if it is worth the risk to save the extra money.

[Nikon]

the box is open for a reason... it was RMA'd for some reason, whether or not it was just unwanted or defective wouldnt be known untill you tried it, better off with a new part imho, especially the motherboard.

i would stay away from xfx.... more to come later, i g2go atm

[David M]

Agreed Nikon, its usually not worth the cost savings for something that someone else has already messed with, unless its a high percentage in savings. You never know if a problem caused by the last person is going to pop up after the warranty has expired.

I don't see a need for a 2.5" to 3.3" hard drive converter unless you have a 2.5 inch drive that you want to run as a secondary drive. Do you have files you need to move over to your new build? That would work then. Trying to run the software on the old drive with your new computer will not work though. You have to load the software on to your new SSD drive or larger data drive and then move the folders and files over. My apologies if you already know this.

The 800 watt PSU is overkill for the 5850 graphics card that you have chosen. You only need 650 watts at most. Also consider changing the brand to a known high quality brand like Antec, Corsair or Seasonic. Were it me I would choose the Corsair 650 TX or HX, depending on if you want modular or not. It has a very quiet 140 mm fan and a five year warranty.

An SSD will make your OS run faster but consider that at 60 Gb it will quickly become full. In addition to the SSD, consider getting a WD Black hard drive to store the bulk of your software and data.

XFX is rated as having poor quality and poor customer service. Consider one of the highest rated cards from this list... http://www.pcmech.com/forum/video-au...rd-rating.html
This list was put together by Khalil who is a professional computer builder whose company has built many many computers.

Apparently G Skill is having quality problems lately. Consider a different brand. Also, 2200 RAM means you are going to have to increase the default bus frequency in your BIOS to reach these speeds. I would not bother with RAM over 1600, you will never notice any real life difference. 1333 RAM might even be better depending on your motherboards default RAM frequency. Plus you will have more reliable RAM.
http://www.pcmech.com/forum/processo...nd-rating.html

For a gaming computer, the balance between your graphics card and your CPU is weighted too much towards the CPU. Consider cutting back on the CPU and increasing the graphics card speed. What is your monitors native resolution? You want a card with a high amount of video RAM for monitors with higher resolutions.

[Nikon]

continued from before...

i7 is pointless overkill for a gaming system, tbh so is the 6core amd, but for the price why get less? anyhoot 1333 ram is all you need, the big bucks for faster ram will give you + 2 to 5 fps at most, and with that card, youll be in the hundreds of fps anyways... its unnecessary.

@ above post, there is only one ati (single gpu) card faster than that, and it would push the budget to almost 2k.

a good air cooling system is just as effective, and sometimes more effective than water cooling, plus no worries about a leak and 2k paperweight.

[glc]

David, the converter is for the SSD.

[MystifyingMonkey]

I chose the 800W in case I want to upgrade my graphics card in the future. Is cooler master not a good brand for PSU's because they seemed to get good reviews for their other PSU models. As for the memory, does cas latency really matter for me? I am planning to OC, and I'm not too sure if that will impact anything

EDIT: changed the graphics card to Gigabyte and switched out the open box motherboard.

[Nikon]

good changes. you are going to have yourself one massively overclockable system! id like to see what you get it too when you are done!

yes that is a good brand for a psu, he was just saying that its overkill to have 800 watts on your current setup, but if you are going to get another gpu, then the headroom is good to have, so stick with it.

the SSD you have listed is sata II, if you want to squeeze as much performance as you can, and have an extra 100 bucks, you might want to get this one instead:

Newegg.com - Crucial RealSSD C300 CTFDDAA128MAG-1G1 1.8" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

the write times are a bit lower, but the read times are higher, which will improve startup times and gaming performance.

[David M]

Originally Posted by glc David, the converter is for the SSD.

Thanks...wasn't aware of that.

[David M]

Originally Posted by MystifyingMonkey I chose the 800W in case I want to upgrade my graphics card in the future. Is cooler master not a good brand for PSU's because they seemed to get good reviews for their other PSU models. As for the memory, does cas latency really matter for me? I am planning to OC, and I'm not too sure if that will impact anything EDIT: changed the graphics card to Gigabyte and switched out the open box motherboard.

No single card requires an 800 watt PSU, not even a 5970. You can look up the PSU requirements for specific Radeon cards in Crossfire mode in the AMD website. I would do that just to make sure that 800 watts is suitable for the two cards you may be using in the future.

[MystifyingMonkey]

@Nikon: Thanks for the input. Not going to go for the additional 100 dollars for the build, but I switched out the SSD with the 64gb version. Write speeds are much lower, but I figured I won't be doing too much write over read. Also saves me a few bucks. Going to stick with the liquid cooling system too.

@David M: Looked the PSU requirements, and I have to say 800 watt is a good amount for me. Plus I save a good amount on the combo I get with the case too.