Build Advice Noob to PC building with a few questions

First of all I will explain what I want in my pc.

1. I want to be able to play WoW on high settings. Not insane or anything just better than my xpsM1210 laptop.

2. I want to be able to tab in out of a game to use internet explorer without it taking an hour to do so.

3. I want it to be able to play and handle future games on mid settings or so. I wanted to spend aournd 1200-1400.


I was using the custom build in the PC Gamer magazine fall 2010 special. But the motherboard included had some bad reviews on tigerdirect.com. It was the MSI 890FXA. Btw is it any good? With those reviews i decided to change my build and chose these components.

OP: Windows 7Home prem 64 bit

HD : TSD-1000AS4 ::Seagate ST31000520AS Barracuda LP Hard Drive - 1TB, 5900rpm, 32MB, SATA-3G(1.5 lbs)

Processor Fan: T925-3046 ::Thermaltake CLP0564 Frio Dual 120mm Universal CPU Cooler - LGA1366, LGA1156, LGA775, AM3, AM2+, AM2. "Received The Overclockers Tech Gold Award"(4.15 lbs

Processor : I69-0860 ::Intel Core i7 860 Processor BX80605I7860 - 2.80GHz, LGA 1156, 8MB L3 Cache, Quad-Core, Lynnfield, Retail(0.95 lbs)

DDR3 Ram : C13-8052 ::Corsair Dual Channel 4096MB PC10600 DDR3 1333MHz Memory (2x2048MB)(0.4 lbs)

Video Card : P450-5772 TD ::XFX HD-577X-ZNFC Radeon HD 5770 Video Card - 1GB DDR5, PCI-Express 2.0, DVI, Display Port, HDMI, CrossFireX, w/ FREE Tango Down Game Download(3.2 lbs)

Mobo : G452-0104 ::Gigabyte P55A-UD4P Motherboard - Intel P55, Socket LGA1156, ATX, Dual-Channel DDR3, PCIe, SLI, CrossFireX, USB 3.0, SATA 6Gb/s(4 lbs)

PSU : C13-2503 ::Corsair TX750W 750-Watt Power Supply - ATX, 140mm Fan, SLI-Ready, SATA-Ready, 80Plus(7.05 lbs)


CDROM : L12-1347 ::Lite-On iHAS524-98 Internal DVD Writer - DVD+R 24X, DVD-R 24X, DVD+RW 8X, DVD+RW 8X, DVD-RW 6X, CD-R 48X, CD-RW 32X, SATA, LabelTag, Black(2.15 lbs)


Case : Thermaltake VH6000BWS Armor+ Full-Tower ATX Case - Clear Side, Black

Sorry about the long descriptions, i just copied and pasted info from site.


1. First Basic question i suppose is will they all fit?. I think I matched all the slots correctly.

2. Will it overheat with just having 3 case fans psu fan and Proc fan?


3. Are all the parts a good buy brand and price wise or can I replace any with something better for its price?

4. Will it be able to handle what I want from it as mentioned above?

 

have a quick look at the Hardware buyers Guide
You will probably end up changing many items after.
Also wait a little while for the new AMD Radeon graphics cards, they supposed to be dogs danglys at great prices.

 

Take a look at the Gaming Workhorse setup in the the October Buyer's guide from Bit-Tech

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/buyers-guide/2010/10/07/pc-hardware-buyer-s-guide-october-2010/4

Here is the whole build with prices from newegg:

CPU: i7 860
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115214 $279.99

MoBo: Gigabyte GA-P55M-UD2
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128405 $104.99

RAM: Mushkin Enhanced Blackline 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 Cas Latency 7
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226122 $95.99

Video Card: XFX HD-587X-ZNFC Radeon HD 5870 1GB 256-bit
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150476 $389.99 - $369.99 after rebate.

CPU Cooler: Thermaltake Frio
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835106150 $58.66

Case: Silverstone Raven RV02
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811163154 $159.99

DVD/CD Burner: LITE-ON 24X DVD Writer Black SATA Model iHAS-324-98
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106334 $19.99

Hard Drive: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185 $74.99

Sound Card: ASUS Xonar DS 7.1 Channels 24-bit 192KHz PCI
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829132013 $49.99 - $29.99 After rebate.

This build comes up to a total of: $1,234.78 before Mail In Rebates; or $1,194.78 after $40 in rebates. Right at your $1200 budget.

Basically:

- Same CPU as your choice.
- Faster RAM --> You picked 1333MHz vs 1600MHz
- Better Video Card
- The MoBo in the linked guide is $80 cheaper than the one you list. You save some money here so that you can get the better Video Card.
- The DVD Burner is Ok.
- The CPU Cooler is the same.
- You get a very good sound card vs having to go with Motherboard audio on your setup.
- You picked the Thermaltake Armour. The linked setup goes with the SS Raven RV02. It's a matter of choice, but SS seems to be seen as a better brand and it comes with 4 fans (3x180mm + 1x120mm) vs the 3 fans from TT.

As for your questions:

1. Your selections fit no problem.
2. Depending on what you plan on doing with it, but more airflow is always better.
3. Brands are OK. You may get better prices at newegg. Check them out and compare.
4. The only issue would be the Video Card, but if you go with the 5870 as listed in the link, you should be OK to play all your games at decent settings for a good while.

I hope this helps...
Sebastian

 

1. A $800 PC could do this

2. A $800 PC could do this

3. A $1000 PC would have about 4 years worth of future potential along with the ability to upgrade if you do it right.

This is a good build except for the things I disagree with ^^.

 

What's your currency?

 

Most likely US dollars because a 1200 euro build is almost a high-end build and he just wants to play future games on "mid settings"

Could be other currency though, but we're assuming most people that come here use euros or USD.

 

WoW is a little more graphically intensive than you guys give it credit for I'm running 3X 260GTX SC and only pulling 120fps on maxed settings. Blizz has made a lot of changes in the way of graphics compared to the original game.

 

@Dae314

Although I agree with all your comments. The Gaming Workhorse from the Buyer's guide comes in at just under the OP's $1200 budget and IMO it's better to have those options and not need them than need them and not have them.
Besides... who's to say the OP wouldn't want to venture into OCing once he had the rig all built up?

He did mention TigerDirect; so I assume he's in the US.

 

I found this card still on sale

Also this was still on sale ^^

 

I appreciate the quick responses. As for some your questions its 1200-1400 US dollars. I guess I should have mentioned that. I would go over my limit if I have to just to get a better PC.

I want my setup to have room for a awsome video card down the line as long as PSU permits. If not I might just get an awsome one right now.

@ xXSebasXx YOu said :
4. The only issue would be the Video Card, but if you go with the 5870 as listed in the link, you should be OK to play all your games at decent settings for a good while.

This paticular video card is $410!! That is a lot of money to be just decent. YOu kind of scared me with that one. I play on a XPSM1210 laptop right now and I think the graphics ALL TURNED DOWN are good besides the viewing distance of creatures and the enviroment. I know anything would be a big improvment from the notebook. You might be a "bad ass" modder and think that the VGA card is decent for yourself but in my view the graphics would be a huge change of pace. I never played on a awsome computer with high settings so I wouldnt know. With all settings turned down on my laptop, I get 60 fps in 5 - man dungeons, 30 fps everywhere else and 1 fps in Dalaran.

 

You should get used to the idea of your graphics card being the most expensive part of your system, because it makes the biggest impact on your performance in games. I don't think it's unreasonable if your spending $1200 total to allocate $250 minimum for the graphics card. Blizzard will continue to update the graphical capabilities of WoW so having plenty of power won't hurt.

 

I don't mind the $410. If I do get a VGA of this cost I would hope that its just more than decent. Anyhow you guys would know better. If I go with the 5870 Radeon as mentioned above I would hope I can play WoW on max settings or close to it.

 

Here is one that will have a bit more longevity IMO than the 1156 socket your wanting to use, This is just my opinion and ill probably be thrashed extensively later on. Its $235 over your $1200 mark, there are a few rebates with some items and I think its a much better system.

Keep the same case, DVD drive, CPU Cooler, OS, and PS. Here is what i would change

Intel Core i7-930 Bloomfield 2.8GHz LGA 1366 The 980xx CPU is the same socket "could be a drop in upgrade later"

EVGA 131-GT-E767-TR LGA 1366 Intel X58 3 way-SLI This board supports 3 Way SLI or 2 way SLI and a Physicx card for games that need it "add in another card or 2 when you get the money"

CORSAIR XMS3 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 < same ram i have in my system never had a moments problem.

EVGA 01G-P3-1370-TR GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 I see no reason this card would not run WOW On high settings "although I have never used it"

"let the Nvidia bashing begin"

Avid WOW Player

 

I just did something I never tried before. I turned all my settings to Ultra on my XPSM1210 and it runs fluent at 16 fps. I have never tried that and the graphics are beautiful. I want that at 60 fps. Any suggestions on a graphics card for just for that?

As far as future games I would play. I want to get starcraft 2 and Diablo 3. I would like to run those on there highest settings.

 

Lots of good suggestions and feedback etc. however i would say that you ALWAYS need an aftermarket cooler. Stock coolers are noisy, ineffective, ugly and downright crap. When you can get something as effective as a Freezer 7 for under £15 in some places I honestly think there is no justifiable reason to only have a stock cooler. Even the peace of mind that your chip has extra special care is worthwhile, Just my opinion of course.

 

I appreciate the reply and research. Question with your build. Will the Corsair 750 watt be enough with a second or even third VGA card?

 

I appreciate your reply and I have a question about your suggestion. What do you mean aftermarket cooler or stock cooler? Are you talking about the fans that come with the case? If so is the Thermaltake Frio enough for the proc and should I change out the fans?

 

I think he missed the aftermarket cooler in your original post "Thermaltake Frio". A stock cooler is the cheap one they send to you when you buy the CPU.

 

Ah Darlan, The place time stands still .. no wait.. yeah , still.

sorry but this is in £'s

Gigabyte Ga-X58A-UD3R (rev 2), Intel i7 930 CPU. (i7 950 is about the same at the mo) £150/£218

2GB ATI Radeon HD 5970. £470

Xfx Black 750 £70

Corsair 2Gigx3 1600mhz DDR3 £100

1TB spinpoint \ Crucial RealSSD C300 128GB £45/£200

Haf X ( nice and cool ) Thermaltake Frio should be able to find a refurb haf x for £100 / £45



That will swip the swippyest. will run anygame £1398

 

Sorry, forgot you weren't an experinced PC person, my bad. Mechh69 answered it already

A stock cooler is the utterly useless piece of rubbish that the manufacturer sends you in the box with your CPU.

While they can obviously do the job, since Intel and AMD could not sell them with CPU's if they didn't, they do that job extremely badly.