Help with a new gaming rig

[vramch]

Hello everyone, am new here and hoping to get some advice on building a gaming rig. I have mostly been a mac user, but now i want to build a windows pc (primarily to play Guild Wars 2)

I'm looking at a budget of $1500, and while that is a lot i dont want to spend foolishly.

I have a thermaltake armor chassis (not the brand new design its about 4 years old) and a thermaltake 750W power supply

i am thinking of buying the following :

Mainboard
EVGA X58 FTW3 Intel i7 X58 1366 Motherboard 132-GT-E768-TR
http://www.frys.com/product/6367601?...H:MAIN_RSLT_PG

Processor
Intel® Core™ i7 960 Processor BX80601960 - LGA1366 3.20GHz
http://www.frys.com/product/6272550?...H:MAIN_RSLT_PG

RAM
DDR3 12GB 1333MHz Triple Channel, Corsair CMX12GX3M3A1333C9
http://www.frys.com/product/6482282?...H:MAIN_RSLT_PG

Video
EVGA GeForce GTX 460 SSC+ w/ Backplate 1GB x2
http://www.evga.com/products/moreinf...01G-P3-1380-KR

Power Supply
Thermaltake Toughpower 1200W Power Supply W0133RU
http://www.frys.com/product/5237917?...H:MAIN_RSLT_PG

I would really appreciate any suggestions on whether this would be a good rig or what changes i should make or improve upon

Thanks very much

[David M]

You dont want an LGA 1366 based computer. They have too many problems for a relative beginner to have to deal with. Get an 1155 based computer.

Since you already have it, the PSU you have is not the highest quality but has enough power and will probably be fine as long as it is providing clean power and accurate voltages.

Since 1155 sockets and chipsets are dual and not triple channel, you will want dual channel RAM kits. Instead of the Corsair 1333 get 1600 rated at 1.5 volts. For your budget consider two DIMM's at 4 gigs each.

Choose an Asus over an EVGA board because of better reliability and customer support.
Motherboard Brand Rating

Is there any reason you prefer Fry's over Newegg or Amazon? I don't like how Fry's places returned merchandise back onto the shelf and then tries to sell it as new along with other sneaky things that Fry's does. I just don't trust Fry's like I trust Newegg.

[glc]

No no no - please don't build a X58. Very fussy chipset.

Newegg.com - ASUS P8Z68-V PRO LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS

Newegg.com - Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K

Newegg.com - CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Low Profile Desktop Memory Model CML8GX3M2A1600C9

Newegg.com - Crucial M4 CT064M4SSD2 2.5" 64GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) (for caching with Intel SRT)

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

Newegg.com - Sony Optiarc 24X DVD Burner, Bulk Package 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model AD-7280S-0B - CD / DVD Burners

Newegg.com - EVGA 015-P3-1580-AR GeForce GTX 580 (Fermi) 1536MB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card (only ONE)

Newegg.com - CORSAIR Professional Series HX850 (CMPSU-850HX) 850W ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 2.91 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply

Newegg.com - Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - Operating Systems

[vramch]

guys - i do truly appreciate both your replies, comments and excellent suggestions. DavidM - its not a preference of Fry's over newEgg or any other its jsut that i have had good experiences with Fry's - and i can walk into Fry's and get what i wanted as opposed to waiting for the postman :P

glc - those are amazing suggestions - despite the fact that you threw out every choice i made lol.

Since you both recommended it i will stay away from the x58 /lga1366 and go with what glc suggested. Amazing choices and still under my budget thank you so much

just one question - is the performance of the GTX580 superior to even two gtx 460's? i know there are arguments all over the place on this one. To be honest given the choices glc made im amazed to get so much for my budget so i will probably end up getting it any way but i'm jsut curious.

[birddog_61]

Originally Posted by vramch guys - i do truly appreciate both your replies, comments and excellent suggestions. DavidM - its not a preference of Fry's over newEgg or any other its jsut that i have had good experiences with Fry's - and i can walk into Fry's and get what i wanted as opposed to waiting for the postman :P glc - those are amazing suggestions - despite the fact that you threw out every choice i made lol. Since you both recommended it i will stay away from the x58 /lga1366 and go with what glc suggested. Amazing choices and still under my budget thank you so much just one question - is the performance of the GTX580 superior to even two gtx 460's? i know there are arguments all over the place on this one. To be honest given the choices glc made im amazed to get so much for my budget so i will probably end up getting it any way but i'm jsut curious.

It depends on the game on which one will be faster, but there pretty much even.
HARDOCP - Introduction - Performance - GeForce GTX 580 vs. GeForce GTX 460 1GB SLI
However SLI is a lot more tricky to get to work right and is not just install the game and hit start, you have to deal with drivers and sometimes games don't even support sli for months after release which usually makes performance worse than just having one of whatever cards you have installed.

[David M]

You will get more for the money buying from Amazon or Newegg than through Fry's, probably by a factor of a 100 to 200 dollars for a $1500 build.

Once you know what hardware you want, you may want to price out all three sources.

[vramch]

David M - thank you. I did not know the price variance could be that much. I will definitely price from all 3 before i buy

Birddog_61 - that is a fantastic review. I did not find it on my search, but it is by far the best comparison of the two cards that i have come across. I will definitely be getting the 580 - and the rest of the rig as glc suggested. Once i get all the part i'll post a benchmark of it

thank you very much everyone

[SARGE]

I also much prefer Fry's over newegg. It's 5 minutes from the house, I can see and hold the item, be home and if have a problem (never have) can exchange and back home. No waiting UPS or Fedex. Mobos, Ram, power supplies, cases, hard drives, opticals...And a Microcenter just up the road to boot. I'll never ever order from Newegg again, mainly for the convenience and time. I can just imagine an RMA thingy thru the mail. Sheeesh.

[SARGE]

Originally Posted by glc No no no - please don't build a X58. Very fussy chipset.

I thought the X58 was what the 1155 was supposed to have been quality and reliability-wise, or at least what I read here. Maybe am thinking of something else.

[glc]

You are thinking Z68, Sarge.

[SARGE]

Ok. Mind a blur or just getting old and can't remember. I just remember a letter and 2 numbers. I need a new project and may want the latest for myself. Give Dad this rig and he and Mom can have a home network with their new aircard.