My first gaming pc best Price/Performance

[Chuck390]

P/P=Price/Performance
Hi, I plan on getting my first real gaming PC and I would like having your opinion on it.

My Pc is going to be mainly used for gaming.
And my goal is to build the best Price/Performance computer for AROUND of 1000$
I hope to be able to run games like Crysis2 Maxed, but not on maximum AA.

I'll be buying my part from a local computer store in Canada, Qubec. And I got my graphic card from Ncix.com.

For the Processor, from what I saw and read that the best P/P is AMD and for graphic card I'll only get Nvidia.

I plan on using the same monitor, keyboard, mouse, speakers, headset for a while.

For OverClocking I am unsure because I am new to ¨Hardcore¨ gaming and PC building.

I plan to get it this week.

For now I'll be at 1680x1050, but maybe I'll upgrade to 1080p in a little while.


I went to the store where I'll be getting my computer and he suggested me this:

Case: Cooler Master HAF-922M -100$-
Power Supply: Cooler Master 700 Watts Silent Pro -120$-
MotherBoard: Asus M4A89GT-D PRO 4DDR3/Sata/Glan Skt AM3 -165$-
Processor: Phenom II X6 1100T (3.3) 9megs AM3 -230$-
Memory: Kingston Hyper X 2x2048 Megs 1600Mhz DDR3 -70$-
HardDrive: Western Digital 1Tb Sata 64 Megs Black SATA3 (Would two 500Gb be better?) -92$-
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 460 Fermi Hawk OC 780MHZ 1GB GDDR5 (Already bought put can still comment) -195$-

For a total price of 972$ without monitor, OS and keyboard/mouse.

So what do you think about it and if it's not good what should I change and for what?.


Thanks,

Chuck

[JJThomp]

That set-up int all that great...AMD is way behind intel on processors right now and the best p/p is currently the i5 2500k.

That ram is hella over priced get this instead.
NCIX.com - Buy Corsair XMS3 CMX4GX3M2A1600C9 4GB DDR3 2X2GB DDR3-1600 CL 9-9-9-24 Core i5 Dual Channel Memory Kit - Corsair - CMX4GX3M2A1600C9 - in Canada

The PSU is not great, and its over priced, I'd recommned a seasonic 620w.
NCIX.com - Buy Seasonic S12II 620W EPS12V 20/24PIN ATX Power Supply Active PFC 80+ Bronze 6+8PIN PCI-E W/ 120MM Fan - Seasonic Electronics - S12II 620 - in Canada

HDD is fine.

There is really no need to go for that case with your set-up, 912 will be half the price and do the same stuff for you, or alternatively get something like a Zalman Z9+.

The video card isnt bad but you could've afforded way better like a GTX 560ti.

NCIX.com - Buy NCIX Bundle Deal Intel Core i5 2500K Unlocked Quad Core CPU & Gigabyte Z68MA-D2H-B3 Motherboard - Bundle Deals - 2500K&GA-Z68MA-D2H-B3 - in Canada

That mobo/cpu combo is way cheaper than the current one you have and will also outpergorm it by 20% atleast.

Also you said you want best p/p but amd cards currently offer that over nvidia.

With the hundreds of dollars I just saved you, you can pick up a second gtx460, get a gtx 560ti or pick up a decent SSD.

[BrutalGreen]

That store is pretty overpriced and has given you bad advice for a gaming PC (6cores are a waste as no game uses more than 4 threads while most still only use 2). Just buy off ncix and pricematch if you live in Canada or the US.

Assuming you live in canada:

Antec High Current Gamer 750W normally wouldn't recommend due to 4x rails but on special at $69.99
Corsair A70 normally i wouldn't recommend this but currently on special at $29.99 it's worth it
Mushkin Blackline 2X4GB very good ram currently on special at $79.99
MSI GTX 560ti Twin Frozr II amazing GPU with a bunch of free games on special at $219.99
Cooler Master 690 II price match to $59.99
2x WD Caviar Black 500GB (for raid0) price match each to $49.69
ASRock P67 EXTREME4 price match to $164.99
Intel Core i5 2500K price match to $204.99

Total: $879.62 + $4.99 shipping + $43.00 tax = $901.83
Basically cheaper for a computer that is noticeably more powerful ! ! !

[dma0991]

As much as I would like to see an AMD build, I wouldn't recommend getting the Phenom II X6 1100T since SB came out and Bulldozer is just around the corner.

If you can't wait swap out your CPU and motherboard for a Core i5 2500K + P67 board. If you can wait till next month then you can opt for an AMD Bulldozer. The 4 core BD FX-4110 is estimated to be priced around $190 and 6 core BD FX-6110 will be priced at $240.

If this is strictly a gaming PC then you could just do with a 4 core CPU from Intel or AMD. 6 cores at the current moment for gaming is not necessary.

[MonsterSound]

I've gotta agree with JJThomp and BrutalGreen.
They've laid it out for you pretty clearly. RAID0 w 2 x500gb blacks is an xlnt value for a fast 1Tb RAID.
I'd go for a good single rail p/s like the Seasonic S12II 620W mentioned or the new Corsair TX650 V2 650W PM'd to $86.44. 2c

[BrutalGreen]

The system I suggested you won't need more than 550w but sine pretty good quality 750w PSUs are currently on sale you might as well go with that in case you ever want to go SLI and in general put less stress on your PSU. I personally prefer single rail but the quad rail design of the Antec Gamer isn't that bad but I you rly want a quality single rail for not too expensive u can take a look at the XFX Core 750W at 70$ after MIR or the Corsair TX750 which is the exact same unit at 90$ without MIR.

Also for the ram this G.Skill 2x4GB kit might be a better deal as it's also 80$ but without MIR and runs at lower 1.5v stock!

[YukonTrooper]

You can pay slightly less for a Sandy Bridge setup and get better performance. You'd also be pumping less heat into the room during gaming sessions on hot summer days.

You could go for a HAF 912 for ~$50. I have one and I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything.

You could save some money on the PSU. A 600W would power that rig fine.

I managed to get 8GB of DDR3 for $70 after rebate (Mushkin Silverline). Go for the cheapest 4GB/8GB kit with heat-spreaders you can find, there is absolutely zero performance gain from one kit to the next in gaming. If you plan on benchmarking, that's a different story.

If you paid that price for the GTX 460 recently, you paid way too much. GTX 560 Ti's can be had for as low as ~$200 after rebate and they cream the GTX 460.

[Chuck390]

So I have a question the i5 2500k is pretty much the same price or even more expensive as the Phenom II x6 1100T. Would I really see the diferrence between them in gaming? I like having the six core for doing other thing like video editing photoshop and etc.
Plus, Brutal Green I like your idea of selling my GC to my friend and to get the 560 :D

[Your_friendly_gamer]

Hey Chuck, stick with Intel.

Check out the comparison at anandtech. From my personal experience, I have beaten AMD phoenam black edition 965 clocked at 4.0 ghz with i5 750 and clocked it only at 3.0. It was my friend and I, we both used gtx 460 and used 3d mark vantage and 3dmark 11 and each time amd lost. I5 2500k is the is the new chipset from Intel and from what I can tell, everyone loves it. Do your own comparison below at anand tech:

AnandTech - Bench - CPU

[fishingfanatic]

The above members covered pretty much everything I'd recommend other than brand.

Look at getting the modular psu. It may b a bit more, but worth it just the same.

I prefer Mushkin memory, and if u do a lot of photo editing more memory couldn't hurt. Otherwise, looks good.

As per the others, Intel's 2500K is a good choice and performance wise, there's no doubt the numbers will stomp on the current AMD offerings.

As some of our best members have stated, spend as much as u can on your gpu 2 get the best results. U won't b disappointed.

I stick 2 manufacturers who offer lifetime warranty, like EVGA, XFX,.... If you prefer your unit 2 b quiet, then a good reference card will do just fine. Those Msi cards r really nice but 2 loud 4 me.

For the price of the 2 cpus, they're pretty close price wise, and even if the Intel is 20-30 $ more, well worth it. Be sure to pricematch everything.

Good luck with your build and resulting system and welcome 2 HWC!