New PC build advice-split

[bunnyla]

(edit: Somehow this reply got completely split off of the original topic; I don't understand these forums)

I'm looking at a similar setup as my first PC build. My current CyberpowerPC is 4.5 years old and has worked very well for gaming with only a 1->2gb RAM upgrade and a new video card half way through, but is now on its way out. Looking for a similar setup this time around.


Budget: $800-$1000
Longevity: Same as current system - 4 years running med-top quality games with minimal upgrades.

CPU: Intel i5 750. ($200) This is the only piece I'm sold on so far and I guess that gives a good starting point by narrowing down the mobo to LGA1156 and the types of RAM available.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115215&cm_re=i5-_-19-115-215-_-Product

Motherboard: Unsure about how to go here. Want something in the $150 price range but don't want it to bottleneck future system performance down the road if I do some upgrades. Don't need SLI because the i5 performs poorly with multiple GPU's and I wasn't really planning on SLI anyways! Also would like something with decent sound quality as I enjoy gaming and movie viewing with 5.1. I suppose I could go for a sound card if I must but I'd rather add that later if necessary so I don't cut into my current budget.

Case: Not 100% on this one yet, waiting for motherboard decision to decide size. Looking for something that is as small and light as possible as well as able to keep a generously overclocked system cool even in 100+ degree summers.

PSU: Not sure of necessary wattage needed here, would depend on other components I suppose

GPU: Thinking nVidia 200 series GTS or GTX but unsure what the big selling points are between the two since they are monumentally different in price.

RAM: 4gb minimum but definitely willing to go up to 8 if it's the wise thing to do now or to wait a year or so. I assume 2gb sticks are the way to go if you want 4, 6or 8 gb total?

HDD: Thinking WD Caviar Black 640gb ($75) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319

Cooling: Definitely a fan of the Arctic Freezer and Arctic Silver paste above.

Thanks ahead of time for any replies!

[bunnyla]

Something interesting I've found in continuing my research on video cards:

I've always used eVGA nVidia cards but the most recent benchmarks are making me want to change my mind: http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/high_end_gpus.html
PassMark Score: 1,851 $255 nVidia GTX275 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130475
PassMark Score: 1,726 $170 Radeon4870 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814129113
PassMark Score: 1,717 $205 nVidia GTX260 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130434

Would there be anything to take into account using an ATI card or are they pretty much compatible with the same system parts as nVidia cards?

[artp209]

(edit: Somehow this reply got completely split off of the original topic; I don't understand these forums)


I don't know from what this was split off as I can't find another thread with your name.

I too am building a new system around the i5 750. I purchased the MSI P55-CD53, which is a full ATX motherboard for a single video card. Therefore, the case is a mid-tower. I see this case as minimum size to accommodate the towering heatsink for the CPU when overclocking. You will need a replacement for the Intel heatsink, as I see you plan.

I shopped for any quality PSU of 500W or more, and ended up with OCZ ModXStream Pro 700W. Since there is a lot of interest in reducing power demands for components now, I don't see higher wattage PSUs being required in the future.

It looks like the Radeon 4870 may be the better value for a video card. Video drivers for different GPUs seem to favor different games, so I go with what seems to be working best for those playing particular games in which I'm interested. I'm reusing my XFX Geforce 9800 GTX+ card that has proven itself for my usage, which is really a more CPU dependent application.

I'm going with 1.65V RAM as recommended for the i5/P55 chipset with as low latency as I could find. Ended up with OCZ Platinum 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666).

While this may not be the best way to go, I'm at least sharing it with you with hope that in some way it helps. Good luck.

[bunnyla]

I posted my original message as a reply to Bulbax's thread about building a new build and somehow it ended up as a separate message. Thanks for the input! I was also thinking about a 700W PSU as the i5 is significantly more efficient than the other CPU's on the market and I won't be going for SLI.

[sifLord]

unless you are interested in sticking with nvidia for physx, don't mess around with the old display cards... get an ati 5770 as a minimum preferably an 5870 if you can find one

being directx 11 capable they have shader model 5, which means the gpu compute functions can be executed directly in the graphics pipeline (which means you free up the cpu and the data path between the cpu/display card for gpu compute functions) and are only slightly slower in direct x 10 games than running in directx 11

also because they are built on the 40nm process, they consume much less power (especially at idle) and have much better performance per watt characteristics than previous 4000 series models