First Ever Build, Need help!Post Date: 2010-06-28 |
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KAZ 
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Joined: 28 Jun 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 4 |
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 Topic: First Ever Build, Need help!Posted: 28 Jun 2010 at 1:30am |
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Hey Everyone!
I've been wanting to get a new comp for a while now and am trying to decide between a DS rig and just building my own comp(never built one before). So the current situation is I'm using a really old single core(1.4 ghz) laptop with only 512mb of ram and integrated graphics. Basically any system I get will be way faster than that! I'm trying to save money and keep it as a budget build, which is why I'm considering going the AMD route(no brand loyalty or preference) 1.) Don't currently game on the pc(obvious with my current hardware), but I'd like to be able to play some 1st person shooters like mw2, BFBC2, etc.(Don't care about winning benchmark competitions) 2.) thinking of using either a 24" or 27" monitor in 1920x1080... 3.) Hoping to keep the Budget to around $1300-1500 Here's what I had in mind: http://www.digitalstormonline.com/doneconfig.asp?id=418247 Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - HAF 922 Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish Processor: AMD Phenom II X4 955 (3.2GHz) (Quad Core) (Black Edition) (8 MB Cache) AM3 Socket Motherboard: ASUS M4A785T-M/CSM (AMD 785G Chipsets) (SATA6 and USB 2.0) (Socket AM3) System Memory: 4GB DDR3 1600MHz Digital Storm Certified Performance Series (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested) Power Supply: 750W Corsair TX (Dual SLI Compatible) Expansion Bay: - No Thanks Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (500GB Western Digital (16MB Cache) (7200 RPM) (SATA) Set 1 Raid Options: - No Thanks Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: - No Thanks Hard Drive Set 3: Backup\Misc.: - No Thanks Optical Drive 1: DVD-R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 24x / CD-Writer 48x) Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections) Video Card: 1x ATI Radeon HD 5850 1GB Add-on Card: - No Thanks Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio Extreme Cooling: AIR: Stage 1: High Performance Cooler (Compatible With ONLY i5/AMD Processors) H20 Tube Color:- Not Applicable, I do not have a FrostChill or Sub-Zero LCS Cooling System Selected Chassis Airflow: Upgrade Chassis With LED Performance Fans (Blue) (Up to 6 Fans) Internal Lighting: - No Thanks Enhancements: - No Thanks Chassis Mods: - No Thanks Noise Reduction: - No Thanks Boost Processor: FREE: Stage 1: Overclock the processor between 3.3GHz to 3.9GHz (Cooling Upgrade Recommended) Boost Video Card: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s) Boost Memory: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my memory Boost OS: - No Thanks, Please do not tweak the services on the operating system Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (64-Bit Edition) Restore Kit: Digital Storm Specialized Recovery System (DVD Image Based) Virus Protection: - No Thanks Office: - No Thanks Benchmarking: - No Thanks Install/Test Game: - No Thanks Display: - No Thanks Surge Shield: - No Thanks Speakers: - No Thanks Keyboard: - No Thanks Mouse: - No Thanks External Storage: - No Thanks Exclusive T-Shirt: - No Thanks Priority Build: - No Thanks, Ship Within 5-15 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed Warranty: 3 Year Limited Warranty with Life-Time Customer Support (3 Year Labor & 1 Year Parts) I'd appreciate any feedback/Advice you can give me! Thanks a bunch PS- does anyone know how good the wireless network cards are for desktop gaming? My room(where the comp would be) is far from the current wireless router and don't think I can get an ethernet cable to run the long distance... |
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AustinHiggs
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Joined: 08 Jun 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 207 |
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Posted: 28 Jun 2010 at 9:51am |
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You can get a VERY cheap network cable (up to 100 ft) at this site.
monoprice.com Very legit site, and i will try to make a config for you within your budget. EDIT: The LED fans aren't worth it, after-market fans would be better. Edited by AustinHiggs - 28 Jun 2010 at 10:05am |
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AustinHiggs
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Joined: 08 Jun 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 207 |
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Posted: 28 Jun 2010 at 10:00am |
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If you are willing to go a tiny bit over $1500, you can get this rig.
It has a 40GB SSD for the OS/Apps, and it has a 500GB drive for data/movies/etc. It has an HD 5870, which will be very handy for your resolution and screen size. The 5850 wont be the best video card for the monitor. The link doesnt seem to be working, but heres the config: $1,539 Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Cooler Master CM Storm Scout Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish Processor: AMD Phenom II X4 965 (3.4GHz) (Quad Core) (Black Edition) (8 MB Cache) AM3 Socket Motherboard: ASUS M4A785T-M/CSM (AMD 785G Chipsets) (SATA6 and USB 2.0) (Socket AM3) System Memory: 4GB DDR3 1600MHz Digital Storm Certified Performance Series (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested) Power Supply: 750W Corsair TX (Dual SLI Compatible) Expansion Bay: - No Thanks Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (40GB Solid State (By: Intel) (Extreme Performance) (Model: X25-M MLC Edition) Set 1 Raid Options: - No Thanks Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: 1x (500GB Western Digital (16MB Cache) (7200 RPM) (SATA) Hard Drive Set 3: Backup\Misc.: - No Thanks Optical Drive 1: DVD-R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 24x / CD-Writer 48x) Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections) Video Card: 1x ATI Radeon HD 5870 1GB Add-on Card: - No Thanks Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio Extreme Cooling: AIR: Stage 1: High Performance Cooler (Compatible With ONLY i5/AMD Processors) H20 Tube Color:- Not Applicable, I do not have a FrostChill or Sub-Zero LCS Cooling System Selected Chassis Airflow: Standard Factory Chassis Fans Internal Lighting: - No Thanks Enhancements: - No Thanks Chassis Mods: - No Thanks Noise Reduction: - No Thanks Boost Processor: FREE: Stage 1: Overclock the processor between 3.3GHz to 3.9GHz (Cooling Upgrade Recommended) Boost Video Card: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s) Boost Memory: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my memory Boost OS: - No Thanks, Please do not tweak the services on the operating system Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (64-Bit Edition) Restore Kit: Digital Storm Specialized Recovery System (DVD Image Based) Virus Protection: - No Thanks Office: - No Thanks Benchmarking: - No Thanks Install/Test Game: - No Thanks Display: - No Thanks Surge Shield: - No Thanks Speakers: - No Thanks Keyboard: - No Thanks Mouse: - No Thanks External Storage: - No Thanks Exclusive T-Shirt: - No Thanks Priority Build: - No Thanks, Ship Within 5-15 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed Warranty: 3 Year Limited Warranty with Life-Time Customer Support (3 Year Labor & 1 Year Parts) Edited by AustinHiggs - 28 Jun 2010 at 10:02am |
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ablahblah
DS Veteran 
Joined: 12 Jun 2009 Online Status: Offline Posts: 2312 |
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Posted: 28 Jun 2010 at 2:35pm |
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Just suggesting another path, $133 more will net you a baseline i7 build. Sacrifices the SSD and 5870 for a single drive and a 5850, but the point of this is upgrading down the line, isn't it? o.o
EDIT : Forgot, yeah, the 5850 might not be perfect. If you want, a GTX 470 is $33 away. Then again, that's going too much over budget, is it? Edited by ablahblah - 28 Jun 2010 at 2:36pm |
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R4D4RPR00F
Core i7 920 @ 3.9Ghz Asus Sabertooth X58 EVGA GTX 570 Mushkin 6GB 1414Mhz |
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KAZ
Newbie
Joined: 28 Jun 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 4 |
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Posted: 28 Jun 2010 at 2:51pm |
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Interesting Feedback...is the 5870 really that much more powerful than a 5850? Also is an ssd for os/boot up necessary(I've never had 2 hds, just lumped everything on one).
Also my comment on the networking issue, wasn't that I didn't think a cord could reach, but rather that I don't think my parents would appreciate a cord running almost the entire length of the house(through several rooms). *also does anyone have any thoughts on the case fan upgrades? Does the blue led upgrade mean that they replace the front red led fan(in the case of the haf 922) with a blue one? |
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coolmasta
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Joined: 28 Jan 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 241 |
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Posted: 28 Jun 2010 at 2:55pm |
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I game at 1920 by 1080 with a 5850 and it rocks MW2, WoW, and bioshock 2. BFBC2 it plays well but cannot max out the AA or a few other settings.
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KAZ
Newbie
Joined: 28 Jun 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 4 |
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Posted: 29 Jun 2010 at 10:29am |
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Here's what I'm currently thinking:
http://www.digitalstormonline.com/doneconfig.asp?id=418545 Price: $1408 Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - HAF 922 Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish Processor: AMD Phenom II X4 955 (3.2GHz) (Quad Core) (Black Edition) (8 MB Cache) AM3 Socket Motherboard: ASUS M4A785T-M/CSM (AMD 785G Chipsets) (SATA6 and USB 2.0) (Socket AM3) System Memory: 4GB DDR3 1600MHz Digital Storm Certified Performance Series (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested) Power Supply: 750W Corsair TX (Dual SLI Compatible) Expansion Bay: - No Thanks Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (40GB Solid State (By: Intel) (Extreme Performance) (Model: X25-M MLC Edition) Set 1 Raid Options: - No Thanks Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: 1x (500GB Western Digital (16MB Cache) (7200 RPM) (SATA) Hard Drive Set 3: Backup\Misc.: - No Thanks Optical Drive 1: DVD-R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 24x / CD-Writer 48x) Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections) Video Card: 1x ATI Radeon HD 5850 1GB Add-on Card: - No Thanks Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio Extreme Cooling: AIR: Stage 1: High Performance Cooler (Compatible With ONLY i5/AMD Processors) H20 Tube Color:- Not Applicable, I do not have a FrostChill or Sub-Zero LCS Cooling System Selected Chassis Airflow: Standard Factory Chassis Fans Internal Lighting: - No Thanks Enhancements: - No Thanks Chassis Mods: - No Thanks Noise Reduction: - No Thanks Boost Processor: FREE: Stage 1: Overclock the processor between 3.3GHz to 3.9GHz (Cooling Upgrade Recommended) Boost Video Card: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s) Boost Memory: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my memory Boost OS: - No Thanks, Please do not tweak the services on the operating system Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (64-Bit Edition) Restore Kit: Digital Storm Specialized Recovery System (DVD Image Based) Virus Protection: - No Thanks Office: - No Thanks Benchmarking: - No Thanks Install/Test Game: - No Thanks Display: - No Thanks Surge Shield: - No Thanks Speakers: - No Thanks Keyboard: - No Thanks Mouse: - No Thanks External Storage: - No Thanks Exclusive T-Shirt: - No Thanks Priority Build: - No Thanks, Ship Within 5-15 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed Warranty: 3 Year Limited Warranty with Life-Time Customer Support (3 Year Labor & 1 Year Parts) Also any thoughts on the gtx 470 vs. the ati 5850? I hear the gtx 470 runs kind of hot... |
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KAZ
Newbie
Joined: 28 Jun 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 4 |
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Posted: 21 Jul 2010 at 12:12am |
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Anyone have any thoughts on the HAF 922? My room has a huge problem with dust, so would the HAF 922 still be appropriate, or would the Sniper case be better?
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!ender_
DS Veteran
Joined: 24 Oct 2007 Online Status: Offline Posts: 4219 |
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Posted: 21 Jul 2010 at 12:45am |
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haf cases are great for cooling, terrible for dust. consider the 690 II
i really think you should consider a different direction with your price range of 1500 max, you can get a lot more gaming power in your rig by leaving out the SSD. the solid states are nice to be sure, but they will not help your games.
when you are building on a budget, you have to go with need over want. ssds are great but they are still new and very overpriced, the market on them wont settle for a while but they are catching on so you can add one a little down the road if you want to.
consider this:
if you are uncomfortable with the budget, you could drop the processor to the the 750, though i feel this is really about the lowest you would want to go. you dont want to nickle and dime yourself out of huge jumps in power to save amounts like $10 and $16 dollars
id even suggest spending the extra 16 to get to the noctua u12p cooler
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