Building a New Rig, Have Budget, Need Advice!

[(TLL)martinroshak]

Okay, so as I'm sure a lot of you frequenters of here have noticed, I've decided to investigate building a new gaming rig, and I've been working on it this afternoon, trawling www.newegg.com for cost effective parts (at least I think that's what I've found).  I've given myself a budget of 1200 Australian Dollars, which translates to 1070 US.  The budget only includes the hardware as well, not the OS, which is going to be Windows 7 64-bit.  Of course, if someone gives me a viable and cheaper alternative to one of the parts I've found, it'd be great if that was in budget too!

So, what I have so far (the list also serves as a list of links to the relevant parts):

OS: Windows 7 64-bit (pricing not included in budget)
Case: Thermaltake V9 Black Edition ATX Computer Gaming Chassis (approx 112 AU)
PSU: Thermaltake TR2 TRX-650M 650W ATX 12V (approx 95 AU)
Motherboard: Intel P55 ATX (approx 202)
Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 500GB 7200RPM 16MB Cache (approx 62 AU)
DVD Drive: LG Black DVD Burner (approx 28 AU)
CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9650 3.0Ghz *OR* Intel Core i7-920 2.66Ghz (approx 369 AU OR 324 AU)
RAM: 240-pin DDR3 Ripjaws Series (approx 151 AU)
GPU: GTS 250 1GB with DVI x2 (approx 174 AU)


Basically, I'm looking for approval on these parts, that they're compatible and cost effective, what performance they will give me, or if I should be going with something else just as effective and cheaper or more effective at the same price.  I'm open to instruction, as this is the first time I will have attempted building a computer from the ground up, and i'm only just delving into the realm of computer parts knowledge.  Also, the two CPU options is me asking you which would be better to go with...?

Any and all advice will be welcome!

[Rally]

I'm just going to comment on the CPU and GPU.

Get the i7, it is obviously the better CPU choice. It's what high performance gaming computers are built from now.

But the GTS250 is just a twice re-branded 8800, which is a great card by the way, but it's old now and faster cards are available. Replacing it will be a nice upgrade option later on, or you can just spend more and buy a faster GPU right now!

[(TLL)martinroshak]

Sweet, thanks for the advice   yeah, Snowball said it would probably be worth going with a GTX 260, which in the end only costs me about another 60 AU so might invest in that now rather than later.  As for the i7, awesome, is there a reason why it's the gamer CPU?  To my uneducated mind the other processor looks faster (3ghz instead of 2.66)

[Snowball]

heya martin.

CPU: The i7 is a fantastic cpu, but to be frank, it's way too damn powerful for just gaming.  If you can get an i5 instead, it would save you a decent amount of cash without cutting out much performance.

PSU: If you're just running one gpu card, you don't need 650w of power.  The extra headroom is nice, especially if you plan to SLI stuff later, but for a one gpu build, it's overkill.  could probably go 500w, maybe even as low as 450w, but that's a little risky, and having more is always better then having less when it comes to psu's.

GPU: I'd say a gtx 260 or 275 for nvidia, or a 5770/5850/5870 ati card would do you well.  Both brands make excellent cards, but it's your call (5770's are dirt cheap and comparable to gtx 260's).

Here's a nice complete build I threw together really fast.  Edit as you see fit:

Case: Antec 300 ATX Mid-Tower
Mobo:  MSI P55 LGA 1156 ATX Mobo
CPU:  Intel Core i5 750 2.66GHz
PSU:  Corsair 650w PSU
RAM:  G.Skill 2x2GB DDR3 1600
GPU:  2 x HD Radeon 5770 1gb
HDD:  WD 750GB Caviar Black
CD/DVD:  Lite-On CD/DVD Burner
Case Fans:  3 x Apevia UV 120mm Fans

Total price comes out to: $1,075.64 without shipping, keep that in mind and adjust accordingly

This should be able to handle things quite a bit better then your current build.  Crossfire 5770's are comparable to a 5850 or 5870 in terms of performance (or a GTX 275 or 285), 650w PSU is more then enough for this build.  Case is nice, extra fans'll keep everything cool.  CPU is more then enough for gaming, you don't need more then 4GB RAM for gaming.  CD/DVD burner you can get rid of if you have one, 750GB HDD is a bit more then you had, and WD Caviar Black's are pretty reliable.  Also, this build is extremely upgradable if you do plan to upgrade in the future, but it should tide you over for a while.  Keep in mind that mediocre performance in MWLL (30fps, High, no AA, 1680x1050) = can destroy pretty much every other game out there.

If you want a CPU Heatsink, here's a link for one at $34.99 U.S.:
CPU HS: Cooler Master Hyper 212+

Also, keep in mind you can look for combo's to save even more by swapping out similar parts.  I'd like to do that for you, but combo's change alot, and I'm tired right now (2A.M. in the morning).  Hope this helped!

[7.[WD]Poldi]

I also favor a i7 CPU and you can never have enough RAM imo (I have 12gb running)

If you wanna use nvidia SLI I suggest buying a gtx295 - it is already 2 cards in 1. This way it's easier to setup and it runs more stable I believe.

If you have money and time left wait for the new nvidia generation coming in march I guess.

[(TLL)martinroshak]

Thanks for the suggestions so far everyone!  Snowball, that was amazing help, so you think ATI cards are better to go for in regards to bang for buck?  My only experiences have been with Nvidias so I wouldn't know what they're like.  Looked through all your recommendations and they're real solid, and I'd even be able to fit OS in there too with that one!  I'll consider it a while, got to sort through finances a bit more, as I will have to sell my current one probably.

[Aidan]

DO NOT .... repeat ... DO NOT skimp on your PSU. It is the very foundation of your system! Also, I have a Coolermaster HAP 932 case. It also has the big 230mm fans BUT you must consider, over time, the amount of dust that can enter your system. Dust can shorten the life of your internal components! Try to find a way to filter the air stream for your intake fans. I would ask ThermalTake if they have dust filters to fit the fans in the case you are considering.

BTW Snowball's recommendation, those 2 ATI 5770s will give you great performance. Just make sure you pick the right MOBO supporting CrossFireX and make sire the ATI cards, if you go with them, will fit in your case.

[7.[WD]Poldi]

true - there are some state of the art cases from Lian Li that ship with integrated dust filter

(just love my Lian-Li enclosure)

[Aidan]

Lian-Li ... expensive but TOP quality !

[Snowball]

Lian-Li is an amazing case company, but they charge for quality.  And while dust can be a problem, just pop the case open every couple of months and clean with compressed air and a vacuum (don't actually vacuum the parts, position it nearby to catch the dust you blow out).

The only reason I suggested less wattage on the PSU originally is because the build he suggested didn't need that much power.

GTX 295's, while awesome cards, are $$$$$, as is the 5970.  He's on a budget here 

In terms of card manufacturers, both companies are excellent, its just that for people on a budget, ati is a slightly better buy right now on the mid level cards.  At the high level, they balance out, but high level cards are $400-$600 U.S.  Also, in case people are wondering why I suggested 2 x 5770's instead of a 5850 or 5870 is because 2 x 5770's cost like $20 more then a 5850, and give performance closer to the 5870.  Martin, if you want to save the extra PCIEx 2.0 for another, better graphics card later to Crossfire or SLI, consider getting a 5850 or GTX 285, or (at expense) a 5870.  Any higher then that is a bit out of your current budget.

Also, as I said, an i7 920 and 12gb's of ram is nice, but totally uneccesary for gaming unless you plan to run 2 parallel instances of MWLL at 1920x1080, VeryHigh, 8xAA, at 60fps, all while archiving multiple 500gb files and watching 3 movies and...... (bit of an exaggeration, but you get the point  )

[(TLL)martinroshak]

Thanks for all the advice guys, I think I'll probably go with the Crossfired 5770's for now, but quick question, as this may put a spanner in the works and mean I'll have to hunt around Australia to find my parts: does Newegg post overseas?  I couldn't find an option for it...

[Aidan]

The only reason I suggested less wattage on the PSU originally is because the build he suggested didn't need that much power.

There is NO gaming rig suited for Crysis that should have a PSU less than 650 ... period!

[(TLL)martinroshak]

Now that you put it in that light Aidan, my current rig SUCKS! Lol, it's running on a 430W PSU...  I'm actually surprised it's running Crysis at all now that I know a bit more about hardware...

[Aidan]

Now that you put it in that light Aidan, my current rig SUCKS! Lol, it's running on a 430W PSU...  I'm actually surprised it's running Crysis at all now that I know a bit more about hardware...

Do you mean, does NewEgg ship to Australia? You would be best to ask them that question. Call them up.

[(TLL)martinroshak]

Yeah, that's what I was interested in.  I'll try and contact them

Edit: Just emailed them