Another newbie trying to build a gaming PC

[uplandpointer]

So first I want to say hello since this is my first posting on this forum. Like many people I am sick of paying high dollars for OK systems with big names. I am fairly tech savvy and mechanically inclines so I decided to try my luck at building my own gaming computer. My Price point is 1500 for everything. This means all components of a computer except printer. I am going for a gaming system since I have a mac powerbook for photo editing and work stuff. So after some research and meeting my price point this is what I have come up with. Some of this is combo pricing from newegg.com (motherboard, Processor). I was hoping for some input if all these components are compatible and if not why? My big one is the power supply since I am not 100 percent sure about all the wires and plugs. I also realize I am missing a DVD/CD burner I will pick up a sony from a friend. Any input is a big help thanks.

-AMD Phenom II X4 940 Deneb 3.0GHz Socket AM2+ 125W Quad-Core Black Edition Processor Model HDZ940XCGIBOX
-ASUS M4A79 Deluxe AM2+/AM2 AMD 790FX ATX AMD Motherboard
-Thermaltake Xaser VI VG4000BWS Black / Red Aluminum / Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case
-Western Digital RE3 WD3202ABYS 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
-2 X HIS H485QS1GP Radeon HD 4850 1GB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported IceQ4 Video Card
-CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX 850W ATX12V 2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply
-G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-8500CL5D-4GBPK
-Acer X223Wbd Black 22" 5ms Widescreen LCD Monitor
-Logitech G11 Gaming Keyboard
-Logitech MX518 8 Buttons 1 x Wheel USB Wired Optical Gaming-Grade Mouse
-Microsoft Windows XP Professional SP2C 64-bit for System Builders
-Symantec Norton AntiVirus 2009 Gaming Edition

The video cards will be crossfired. Thanks for your help

[JRB3]

Welcome to TechIMO :-)

If your going with AMD you have to go with an AM3 CPU (I'm thinking the 955 it is cheaper, in the UK, than the one you have listed and better), regardless of whether you choose an AM3 motherboard with DDR3 RAM. AM3 CPU's are backwards compatible with AM2/AM2+ Boards and DDR2 memory.

As this is a new AMD build you might as well go with an AM3 Motherboard and DDR3 RAM also, for the moderate price difference that exists.

Forget about the crossfire setup (It's an over priced and under performing solution) and get the best singular card solution you can afford price/performance wise.

Can't see why you shouldn't have at least a 500GB HDD.

The rest is fine although their are improvements that can be made throughout the specification. I have no doubt someone will come up with a decent full listing of components for you :-)

[KarmaKiller]

Ok well there are a couple things I'll point out.
1. You'd probably have a better gaming experience with just one single beefy GPU, rather then 2x GPU's. Crossfire/SLI is a great option for upgrades IMO, but if your building from scratch then you should really use that money towards one single powerful card.

2.The PSU is more then enough for the system. More then likely you'll be able to get by with a 700w PSU fine. Even if you stick with the dual 4850's, you won't use more then 700watts.

3. I would really advise you to not buy XP. Instead, download the RC for Windows 7. It's a great OS, it's free, and it will work till next year. When they release win 7, you could then pick that up. (they will be disabling the RC before the launch, so you'll have to buy a new copy.) But, it's as fast as XP with all the eye candy of Vista. I've been using it for a couple months now, and really have 0 complaints.

4. Save your money on the AV, and use Avast or AVG instead. They are both free, both work as good as any Norton product. Norton is notirous for being a system resource hog, so I'd try to stay away from that.

With that said, IMO, you should be looking into an I7 build. They are the current fastest CPU's on the market, and your budget allows for that. You will not be disappointed at all.
I made a build list just yesterday for a I7 setup, might take a gander
http://www.techimo.com/forum/2996982-post10.html
Obviously you can cut the cost on that system, but that is a very top of the line system, that would last you years.

(Also included a nice HSF, for OCing if you ever wanna do that. Also the build list had a Blue Ray burner, not sure if your using blue ray or not, so you could ditch that and suppliment your KB/Mouse combo for the same price.)
Good luck!

[uplandpointer]

I like your build and it seems in my price range if I drop the blue ray, stick with my case and use one hard drive its about $1400. Did you have any issues getting it to all work together?

[KarmaKiller]

Oh, that's not my system. I never actually put together that *exact* system. But I've put together hundreds of similar setups. You should have no problems.

[uplandpointer]

After getting some feedback from a couple forums this is my conclusion. I can thank allot of it to karmakiller since it is off one of his build sheets. let me know what you think. I will probably order in the next day or so.

-Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz
-Foxconn BloodRage GTI LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard
-G.SKILL 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600
-XFX GX275XAHFF GeForce GTX 275 896MB 448-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card
-LG DVD Burner Black SATA Model GH22NS50
-COOLER MASTER HAF 932 RC-932-KKN1-GP Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case
-Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
-OCZ ModXStream Pro OCZ700MXSP 700W ATX12V V2.2 / EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC
-XIGMATEK Dark Knight-S1283V 120mm Long Life Bearing CPU Cooler

It will probably be my first attempt to OC as well.

[KarmaKiller]

Looks solid to me. Decided on the HAF eh? Those are nice cases, I gotta admit. (coolermaster fanboy here)

If your overclocking, try to find a D0 stepping CPU. There are C0 and D0's. I believe the box code is SLBEJ. Look for that on the outside of the box. I know egg hasn't got a hold of any yet. I believe you can find them at micro-center, or order one from tankguys.
Intel Core i7 920 D0 Stepping
They are a little more expensive, but OC very very well. You will still get a nice OC out of a C0, but you'll be able to get farther with less volts with the D0.

No complaints from me on the list though.

[ironforge]

I wouldn't go with a crossfire. Just get a 4890 instead.

[thephilosophizer]

My friend just got the HAF, a bit jealous myself. Just one other thing, IMO I would get two of those hard drives. Not only is it a pain in the ass to run out of room, but it really sucks if a drive goes out and you have no backup.

[uplandpointer]

I am looking to order my system tonight but newegg is always changing promotions. Currently I can get the EVGA 896-P3-1170-AR GeForce GTX 275 896MB overclocked card for About $150 with this configuration and the HFX is about $220 and no promo. But I was wondering if it would work with the OCZ power supply since it needs a minimum 40 amps at +12v but all I can see is 25 amps on the label pic from newegg. I did some other research and I found this power supply that puts out 60 amps and 50 more watts and has the correct connection for the EVGA card. The supply is a CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power. Even with the added 20 for the supply I am at 250 for a overclocked EVGA 275 and 750 watt power supply compared to the HFX card and OCZ 700 watt supply at $300. Is there anything I am missing or should take into consideration?
Thanks