New Build/w Intel, or AMD and which GPU!

[fasterrunner]

First off thanks in advance for reading, this will be my second build after 4-5years ago when I got on these forums.

Primary use of computer is surfing and gaming.
Budget is 1000-1200 USD

Last time I built I belive intel was most bang for buck and if what I have below is good then ok but wondering if it is better to go AMD? Also for gaming the cd drive I have selected will it be good enough or is there a better recomendation.

Next question is Im not sure what graphics card to get for best bang for buck and Im guessing I'll need a new monitor?

Current monitor is Westinghouse L220NW
Not sure if new gpu use vga or hdmi? Im guessing there hdmi? Ive seen HDCP not entirely sure but Im guessing thats hdmi from what I googled.

Heres list so far any recommendations on better deal or better reliablity would be appreciated. Hope I didn't miss nothing.

PSU:CORSAIR Enthusiast Series CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply

RAM:CORSAIR XMS3 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 Desktop Memory Model CMX8GX3M2A1333C9

Case:Antec Three Hundred Illusion Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

CD/DVD:LG DVD Burner - Bulk Black SATA Model GH24NS50 - OEM

MOBO:ASUS P7P55D-E LX LGA 1156 Intel P55 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

CPU:Intel Core i5-760 Lynnfield 2.8GHz LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80605I5760

HDD:Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

OS:Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM

Total: $796.92

Thanks again!

[orbrit]

Looks like you pretty much got it covered there!

8Gb RAM is not really necessary - I'd start with 2 x 2GB. I've not seen my memory utilization go above 2.7 GB (total all resources in game)

I'd probably recommend an HIS Radeon HD 6850 as the best bang for buck card right now at $174.99 ($159.99 after rebate). The newer cards have dual DVI-D, HDMI and DP.

Your monitor should be fine, but if you wanted to go to full 1080p (1920 x 1080) there are many options for 24" LCDs for about $180.

That DVD burner should work just fine.

[glc]

Almost all new video cards have at least one DVI jack. Run the Westinghouse till it dies - which may be pretty soon. My son in law had one and it died 1 month after the warranty expired. We got it cheap at a Black Friday sale at Best Buy. It's not a very good monitor.

[birddog_61]

Originally Posted by orbrit I'd probably recommend an HIS Radeon HD 6850 as the best bang for buck card right now at $174.99 ($159.99 after rebate). The newer cards have dual DVI-D, HDMI and DP.

The superclocked gtx 460 for 144.99 after MIR with a lifetime warranty is pretty hard to beat in that price range as far as performance per dollar.
Newegg.com - EVGA 768-P3-1362-AR GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) Superclocked 768MB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

In my opinion though the best bang for buck out there right now is
Newegg.com - GIGABYTE Super Overclock Series GV-N560SO-1GI GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
the performance of a 570 at 269$ is pretty dang good. I know gigabyte is not highly recommended for its video cards but that is a very good card that is getting great reviews.

The gtx 460 I posted will draw more power than the 6850 but you do get as good or better performance a lifetime warranty and its a few bucks cheaper.

[fasterrunner]

Thanks for input guys! Woah lot video options.

Whats differnce between PCI Express 2.0 x16 and 2.1?

The Motherboard I selected has PCI Express 2.0, so can be updated with drivers or do I need better motherboardd, because Noticed the HIS Radeon HD 6850 has PCI Express 2.1 x16.

Also that Radeon is AMD chipset so does that matter that my mobo/cpu is intel? Im guessin no.

Thanks again an sorry for uncertainty!

[Nuclear Krusader]

ATi cards run completely fine on Intel mobos.

[glc]

PCI-E 2.0 and 2.1 are cross compatible.

I'm not going to get into a Nvidia/ATI war, but the February "best gaming card for the money" charts are out:

Best Graphics Cards For The Money: February 2011 : February Updates

The 6850 and the 460 are essentially equal performers. So are the 6870 and 560.

[pally01]

Originally Posted by birddog_61 The superclocked gtx 460 for 144.99 after MIR with a lifetime warranty is pretty hard to beat in that price range as far as performance per dollar. Newegg.com - EVGA 768-P3-1362-AR GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) Superclocked 768MB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

If choosing the 460GTX, I would get a 1gb flavor and not the 768mb version.

[birddog_61]

Originally Posted by pally01 If choosing the 460GTX, I would get a 1gb flavor and not the 768mb version.

I would also, but I was keeping it in the same price\performance of the ATI card.
Here is the 1gb card if the OP is interested, it will be faster.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130557

[glc]

No, the 768mb is not as good as the 6850. The 1gb is. There's more than just the amount of ram involved, the 768 is somewhat crippled in other respects.

[Nuclear Krusader]

Yup, the 768 MB version has a narrower memory bandwidth, 192-bit, versus the 256-bit sported by the 1 GB and the SE version. Thus, even the SE version is better for gaming than the 768 MB card; the only thing that the SE version lacks in comparison with the 1 GB is 48 CUDA cores (288 vs 336).