New gaming build (somewhat futureproof) for around 2000: Advice and ideas please...

[Toby1]

This is what I have come up with so far, keeping in mind I will mainly use the PC for gaming but also to perform daily tasks and encode music and video:

60GB OCZ Vertex 2.5inch SSD, SATA, Read 230MB/sec, Write 135MB/sec
159.50 (Main drive)

2000Gb 2TB Western Digital IntelliPower Green SATA-II hard disk, 64mb cache, WD20EARS
134.20 (Backup and storage)

Sapphire AMD HD6850 1Gb DDR5 PCI-E 2.1 x16 Video Card, w/2x DVI-DL, HDMI 1.4, Displayport, fan
240.90
Or x 2 481.80


Genius SW-5.1 1500 Gaming Speaker System, 45W RMS, 6.5" Woofer, 3" Satellites, Wired Control, Headphone jack
93.50

AMD Phenom II X6 AM3 1100T Black Edition (3.3Ghz) 64-Bit Six-Core CPU, 9mb, 125w SocketAM3 CPU HDE00ZFBGRBOX
335.50

Asus M4A89TD PRO USB3 AM3 ATX M/B, 890FX+SB850, 4x DDR3, 2x PCI-E x16/PCI, PCI-E x4/x1, SATA3, USB3.0
222.20

Antec NINE-HUNDRED V2 Black Tower Case, 9 drive bays, side window, 3x 12cm and top 20cm fans, no PSU
139.70

ASUS PCE-N13 WLAN PCI-Express 11n Wireless Adapter Windows 7 Support, PCI-E x1 - To use the internet off main PC modem / router. Unsure of ethanet port on mobo / case if I ever wanted to plug PC in directly to modem / router.
69.30

Creative Sound Blaster 5.1VX Sound Card - 5.1 Channel, Surround Sound in Movies/ Games/ Music, EAX, CMSS
44.00

650W Antec TruePower ATX Power Supply, 120mm fan, 2x PCI-E Graphics Card Connector, 9x SATA and 9x Molex Connectors
144.10

2 x 2 GB Corsair VS2GB1333D3 Value Select (1333MHz) DDR3 RAM, non-ECC, 240-pin DIMM
60.50 x 2 = 121.00

LG BH10LS30 Black Blu-ray Writer SATA Drive, 10x BD-R read/write, 16x DVD+/-R
144.10

Total is: 2088.90 (Excluding shipping / insurance)

Thanks guys.

Edited to correct for mistakes, lol.

 

[clawbog]

Looks good, but why only 2gb ram?

 

[detox1]

2GB @ 60bucks seems a bit much also. you can get 8GB for a round $80

even the power supply, i just picked up a Cooler Master 600w for $50, on sale i think regular is around $70

 

[VINMAN46]

i would go with a i7 , 6gb of ram , GTX 570

 

[Aastii]

Have to remember it is AUD guys, not USD, Australians pay over the odds for PC parts most of the time. A better build for less:

CPU: Intel Core i7 950 [BX80601950] - $329.00 : PC Case Gear

Mobo: ASRock X58 Extreme3 Motherboard [X58-EXTREME3-A] - $229.00 : PC Case Gear

Memory: G.Skill F3-12800CL9T-6GBNQ (3x2GB) DDR3 [GS-F3-12800CL9T-6GBNQ] - $115.00 : PC Case Gear

SSD: OCZ Vertex 2 60GB E Series SSD [OCZSSD2-2VTXE60G] - $149.00 : PC Case Gear

Storage: Western Digital Green 1TB WD10EARS [WD10EARS] - $65.00 : PC Case Gear

Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 570 1280MB 012-P3-1570-KR [012-P3-1570-KR] - $459.00 : PC Case Gear

PSU: Seasonic M12II 620W Power Supply [PSUSEAM12II620W] - $149.00 : PC Case Gear

DVD drive: Samsung SH-S223C SATA DVDRW Drive [SH-S223C/BEBF] - $29.00 : PC Case Gear

Case: CoolerMaster CM 690 II Advanced [RC-692-KKN2] - $125.00 : PC Case Gear

Sound Card: ASUS Xonar Essence STX [XONAR-ESSENCESTX] - $195.00 : PC Case Gear

Total - $1794 before shipping

That leaves enough for your speakers.

If you have money left over from the speakers, deffinately get yourself:

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=207_23_769&products_id=14858

+

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=207_163&products_id=2173

Will keep your CPU nice and cool and will let you overclock pretty well

I would, however, wait for a month and see what Intel's new Sandy Bridge architecture brings, it is supposedly socket 1366 performance at 1156 prices, which would mean them destroying all of AMD's competition, unless AMD drop their prices massively

 

[Toby1]

Thanks for the input guys.

I might hold off for a while then. Cause' even if I don't get the new chipset the old ones will still be slashed by a fair bit you would imagine.

I'm kind of unsure if I should build it myself or get it customised to how I want it but still pre-built and tested... I've never done it before. Plus if you build it yourself you get no overall warranty on the whole system. If that makes sense.

Maybe it's time I had a go though. Hmmm...

 

[Aastii]

Thanks for the input guys.

I might hold off for a while then. Cause' even if I don't get the new chipset the old ones will still be slashed by a fair bit you would imagine.

I'm kind of unsure if I should build it myself or get it customised to how I want it but still pre-built and tested... I've never done it before. Plus if you build it yourself you get no overall warranty on the whole system. If that makes sense.

Maybe it's time I had a go though. Hmmm...

You get a better warranty building it yourself. Pre-built you might get 1-3 at best. You build it yourself:

mobo, CPU and HDD generally at least 2-3 years
Video card - Anywhere from 2 years to lifetime warranty
PSU - in my build, 5 year warranty
Memory - 99.999% of the time lifetime warranty

That is better if anything, if you get a motherboard with integrated graphics, if your video card goes, you can RMA it, but still use the system, just not game on it. If 1 stick of memory is faulty, you can keep the other(s) whilst that one is getting replaced, you can use any spares you may have whilst 1 is out, rather than not having the system at all.

You also pay less if you build it yourself, and factor in quality control if you do it yourself - it is the better way to do it every time

 

[lyth0s]

I would get the Antec 1200, 6GB of ram and a 700W power supply. It really seems like your paying quite a bit ($2000) not getting a whole lot..... Your also buying a AMD Phenom II X6 for $330, why not switch to the Intel i7?

You can check out http://elitepcbuilding.com for instructions on how to build a custom gaming computer yourself. There is plenty of pictures and it is very, very easy and you save a lot of money when compared to buying a prebuilt one.