Building a "new" PC. Need opinions.

Let me start off by saying I have a few HDDs, two external HDDs, Monitor, DVD+/-R RW DL drive, keyboard, mouse, and speakers already... so I think all I need to actually buy hardware-wise is below. If you think I need to buy more fans or anything "extra" like that then let me know. All help/advice/opinions are appreciated.

The prices I list are in the range I want to spend... I REALLY don't want to (and can't) go all out on this build, but I do want to be able to sit on it for a few years... if you know what I mean.

If you see something that needs upgrading or is just plain wrong let me know.

Case and PSU combo $150: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.496243
PSU: Rosewill BRONZE series RBR750-M 750W Continuous@40°C, 80Plus Bronze Certified,Modular Cable Design,Active PFC "Compatible ...

Case: Rosewill CRUISER Black Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case with Side Panel Window and Four Fans.

Comments: The case and the PSU is a combo deal, but I need some help figuring out if having that huge PSU fan blowing into the case (PSU mounts on bottom of case) even though there is a HUGE fan on the case's side... is a good thing. Also, with that many fans do I need to buy a PCI fan for the slot next to the GTX 480? Oh, and almost forgot... the case looks REALLY big but it doesn't really say if it can handle the size of the GTX 480... any clue?

RAM $90 or $96 : 4GB RAM, for now.

$90 = http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220435 (Patriot G Series ‘Sector 5’ Edition 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model PGV34G1333ELK)

$96 = http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220436 (Patriot G Series ‘Sector 5’ Edition 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model PGV34G1600ELK)

Video card $480 (before rebate) : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130552 (EVGA 015-P3-1480-AR GeForce GTX 480 (Fermi) 1536MB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card)


Now here is the tricky part... I really don't know about the CPU/Mobo combos so I am going to post several combos and I need your input on what you think and why... Also, take note that these are all AMDs... I tend to find it easier for me to look at AMDs because it is easy to see which CPUs are faster, BUT if you know of an Intel combo that is on par in speed and price... then by all means let me know please.

CPU/Mobo combos:

$295 = http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.500636

Mobo: ASUS M4A89GTD PRO/USB3 AM3 AMD 890GX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard
CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ965FBGMBOX


$225 = http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.500545

Mobo: ASUS M4A785TD-M EVO AM3 AMD 785G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ965FBGMBOX

Comment: On the $225 combo mobo does it matter if it is a "Micro" ATX mobo for the GTX 480? I know the case I picked out can do either ATX or Micro ATX.


$250 = http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.500533

Mobo: ASUS M4A785TD-V EVO AM3 AMD 785G HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard
CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ965FBGMBOX


Comments on all three Mobo/CPU combos: I am kinda scared of the $225 Micro ATX mobo, and I am not sure what the differences are in the $250 and $295 combos are... but both of the more expensive ones seem to be capable of SLi (which I may never use, but who knows)... or at least they both have two PCI-e 2.0 slots... but they are both a pretty color of blue.


Oh... one more thing... do either of you have an opinion on how the above setup might run FFXIV (Final Fantasy 14)...

FFXIV Recommended specs
CPU: Intel® Core™ i7 (2.66 GHz) or faster
RAM: 4GB (or higher)
Video: NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 460 with 768 MB VRAM or equivalent

It plays on my PC right now which scored like 3000 out of 7000/8000 on the FFXIV's benchmark, but I would like for it to play better...

My PC's specs right now are: Intel Core 2 CPU 6600@2.4GHz, 3GB out of 4GB of RAM showing (32-bit Win7), and GeForce 8800 GT (512MB).


In your opinion, and I won't hold you to it , will it be a great leap forward (and worth it) for me to upgrade?


Thanks for all of your help!

 

The PSU should be mounted fan down as there seems to be a vent down there in the case. I have my PSU mounted that way and there's not much heat that goes into the case as it pulls in outside air with that fan and blows it out the back, it's basically just lukewarm to the touch.

RAM: You say 4GB for now, I assume you're getting W7 X64 then?

Video Card: I'd say the 480 is overpriced, get a 470 if you want to stick to nVidia. Do check out the ATI offerings as they are cheaper for the same performance. As to the size, the 480 will fit but probably won't be able to put any drives in that area.

What if I told you that you can get an i7 920 for $200 @ Microcenter(you have to pick it up)? The only problem there with Intel is that you can't upgrade much. Whereas the AM3 board should eventually be upgradeable to an X8 with a BIOS flash.

Keep the option open for eventual SLI/Crossfire as you mentioned you want this future proofed. The specs for games will always increase. Actually, that's the highest recommended spec that I've seen for a game yet!

 

I agree with Augie that the 480 is overpriced compared to the performance difference between that and the 470 (i have used both) the performance does not equate to bang for buck.

regarding the cpu the i7 is a phenomenal CPU but you are limited to certain mobos, I have an Asus rampage 11 extreme but you can get cheaper boards that will do a great job.

 

I totally missed this after reading Core 2 CPU and stopped there thinking it was a Core 2 Duo. You have a Q6600 quad right?!! This changes everything that I said except for the video card. I don't think you need to upgrade much, just the video card to a 460 or 470, your choice. If you don't see much of an improvement, you can always overclock your CPU to a max of 3GHz with the stock cooler.( I have a Q6600 rig along with an i7 rig and a 470). Just make sure that your current PSU can handle the new card.

Upgrade if you wish though I think there's still a lot of life left in that Q6600!:major

 

I'm with augie on this one.....HOLY CRAP!!!! with specs like that, this game should cook me dinner and rub my back!!

As far as the PSU/Case combo, I have purchased a few good ones for much less on EBay (I know, start yelling) and have been VERY happy with them as far as room and expansion capabilities.

From what you are getting as far as your benchmark report, I think you could use your current rig for a while longer. But as someone else has already mentioned, when V15 comes out, it may not be a good. So the question is this....Upgrade now or upgrade latter. No time like the present if you have the money set aside to do so.

 

Meh I wish I thought faster!:-o Going to an AMD X4 is not an upgrade IMO whereas an i7 is an upgrade from a Q6600, quite a good one too for me and my folding, some three times better for what I use it for, folding. Ask in gaming section if your game will play better with just a GPU upgrade or go whole hog with an i7 and a GPU upgrade. Good luck.

 

No, the PC I am using now is not a quad core. What I have now is a Dell XPS 410 (I think, I am at a friend's house, atm).

If I drop the GTX 480 down to a 470, I might be able to pick up an Intel CPU/Mobo, but I would want to still stay in the range of $250-$400 for both (combined).

I was also told that the case and PSU aren't very good because "Rosewill makes junk"

I am planning on only getting 4GBs of RAM right now because I am limited on money and RAM is easy to get and cheap usually. I am not "planning" on doing Win7 x64 right now (mainly for various programs), but even me seeing 3GB of RAM, it is an extra 1GB than 2GB... but who knows...

Anyone have any links to a good build with a great/good i7 CPU, a good PSU, and good case, and a good/great mobo.

...I am still leaning towards the 480... even though I really only have the money for a 470... unless I use my credit I have at Gamestop.com and get this: http://www.gamestop.com/Catalog/ProductDetails.aspx?product_id=84135 Galaxy GeForce GTX470 GC...

Doing that would save me some money since I would be using in-store/site credit... since I am not really THAT rich.

Opinions?

 

I would avoid buying that brand of the PSU. You can get a much higher quality unit for not much more.

Rosewill doesn't make the stuff they rebrand cheap Chinese junk.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130550 for a 470

Personally I would take a step back and get a 295 if the price is right. It will beat a 470 but you loose DX11. I don't think DX11 is a big deal as most games still use 9.0c and 10

 

The 295 is indeed an excellent card but they do need a really good airflow as otherwise they get incredibly hot (i burnt one out:-o)

 

I agree completely with this statement.

I have kindly been given permission from Digerati to reproduce the following text regarding power supplies. It is very important so please read all of it as the PSU in a computer is one of the most critical components and you should purchase a good quality unit, as if a cheap PSU fails it is much more likely to kill anything attached to the computer than a new PSU :

 

Oh, come on now... First I said I wanted the GTX 480 and some of you told me to get a 470 because there isn't much difference...

Then when I said I was probably going to get a 470 two of you said to get a 295...

If I say I was going with a 295 someone would probably say I need a 7600GT... and we would keep it up til I ended up getting a 4200i (or whatever it was called 6-7 years ago...)

I am going with either the 470 or the 480 because of a lot people's opinions about each card and http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/high_end_gpus.html ... I also notice that the 295 is alomst the 20th in that list.. while the two cards I am looking at are #1 and #2...

Picking out a case should be easy enough for me... just need space and airflow (and the right socket).

The PSU will be a little trickier because I'll have to watch out for the minimum power for the video card and how many rails (and the "real" wattage") the PSU has... oh... and make sure it has the right wiring.

The RAM is pretty much of a no-brainer.

My major hiccups are the CPUs and Mobos... I would like an i7 (between 2.8GHz and 3.0GHz), but I am unsure which model/series # those are... and then the mobo... I just need to try and get one that is good and has SLi ability (for the future, but not for right now), good number of slots, and whatever other stuff I should be looking at... [regarding AMD CPUs... I decided to "look" at i7s to see how much they are since I have seen A LOT of praise for them after doing some research.]

I am going to have about $600-$650 (maybe $700) to buy the items (from Newegg)... NOT including the video card into that price.

 

Well, 2.8GHz is a 930 which can easily be overclocked to over 3GHz without overvolting.

I like ASUS boards, most of mine are and they are rock steady. This one is $190 after rebate:
ASUS P6T LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard


As to the power supply, you may as well get a powerful enough PSU for eventual SLI. I like Corsair as it has a single rail, this one is 70A at $120 after rebate.

CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX 850W

 

I certainly did not say get a 295, what i actually said was it is an excellent card but it needs a lot of cooling because it get very hot due to having two cards in one case.(i burnt one out)

I advocate the 470 as best value for money with a good CPU and a quality PSU and then you have a top line PC that will handle all you throw at it.