Son wants to build new I7 comp for max gaming

[woodsman]

Hi,
I haven't built any computers since Amd 939 mb. My son wants to build a new computer to do max setting playing WOW and other games!He wants to spend less than a thousand and build it in a month, all parts to be bought in the USA.I would appreciate any input. THANKS

Let me know what you think of this... considering trying to piece this one together.

Wish List:
Qty. Product Description Savings Total Price
1 Rosewill Green Series RG630-S12 630W Continuous @40°C,80 PLUS Certified, Single 12V Rail, Active PFC "Compatible with Core i7,i5" Power Supply
Item #: N82E16817182200
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy -$30.00 Instant
$89.99
$59.99
1 ASRock X58 Extreme LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard
Item #: N82E16813157163
Return Policy: Limited Replacement Only Return Policy -$10.00 Instant
$169.99
$159.99
2 ECS NBGTX460-1GPI-F GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
Item #: N82E16814134117
Return Policy: VGA Standard Return Policy -$15.00 Instant
$539.98
$509.98
1 Intel Core i7-860 Lynnfield 2.8GHz LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor BX80605I7860
Item #: N82E16819115214
Return Policy: CPU Replacement Only Return Policy -$10.00 Instant
$289.99
$279.99
1 D-Link DWA-552 32-bit PCI Xtreme Desktop Adapter
Item #: N82E16833127219
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy -$25.00 Instant
$79.99
$54.99
1 CORSAIR DOMINATOR 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMP6GX3M3A1600C8
Item #: N82E16820145295
Return Policy: Memory Standard Return Policy $189.99
1 Western Digital Caviar Black WD6402AAEX 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Item #: N82E16822136544
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy $69.99
1 Rosewill Wind Knight Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case with pre-installed 2x 120mm Fan, Support up to 1x 140mm top fan, 2x 140mm side fan, 1x 140mm front fan, 1x 120mm rear fan
Item #: N82E16811147135
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy -$20.00 Instant
$79.99
$59.99

 

[lugard]

Not sure if I would call it max gaming, but I want a decent gaming rig. I moved over to concentrating on software year's ago, and this is my first new computer for a while (Minus a dev laptop with an onboard card that I'm using now). Havent kept up with the latest non-server parts/rig's at all.

 

[Rifter]

wow are you even serious? first off that PSU is a total POS. second you picked a 1366 mobo and a 1156 CPU and you picked 3 channel memory, which would work with that mobo but not that cpu. figure out what you are doing and post back, there are some good computer building guids out there, google some.

 

[Rifter]

Hi,
I haven't built any computers since Amd 939 mb. My son wants to build a new computer to do max setting playing WOW and other games!He wants to spend less than a thousand and build it in a month, all parts to be bought in the USA.I would appreciate any input. THANKS

Let me know what you think of this... considering trying to piece this one together.

Wish List:
Qty. Product Description Savings Total Price
1 Rosewill Green Series RG630-S12 630W Continuous @40°C,80 PLUS Certified, Single 12V Rail, Active PFC "Compatible with Core i7,i5" Power Supply
Item #: N82E16817182200
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy -$30.00 Instant
$89.99
$59.99
1 ASRock X58 Extreme LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard
Item #: N82E16813157163
Return Policy: Limited Replacement Only Return Policy -$10.00 Instant
$169.99
$159.99
2 ECS NBGTX460-1GPI-F GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
Item #: N82E16814134117
Return Policy: VGA Standard Return Policy -$15.00 Instant
$539.98
$509.98
1 Intel Core i7-860 Lynnfield 2.8GHz LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor BX80605I7860
Item #: N82E16819115214
Return Policy: CPU Replacement Only Return Policy -$10.00 Instant
$289.99
$279.99
1 D-Link DWA-552 32-bit PCI Xtreme Desktop Adapter
Item #: N82E16833127219
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy -$25.00 Instant
$79.99
$54.99
1 CORSAIR DOMINATOR 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMP6GX3M3A1600C8
Item #: N82E16820145295
Return Policy: Memory Standard Return Policy $189.99
1 Western Digital Caviar Black WD6402AAEX 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Item #: N82E16822136544
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy $69.99
1 Rosewill Wind Knight Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case with pre-installed 2x 120mm Fan, Support up to 1x 140mm top fan, 2x 140mm side fan, 1x 140mm front fan, 1x 120mm rear fan
Item #: N82E16811147135
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy -$20.00 Instant
$79.99
$59.99

quoted to avoid ninja edits

 

[dmoney1980]

Hi,
I haven't built any computers since Amd 939 mb. My son wants to build a new computer to do max setting playing WOW and other games!He wants to spend less than a thousand and build it in a month, all parts to be bought in the USA.I would appreciate any input. THANKS

Let me know what you think of this... considering trying to piece this one together.

Wish List:
Qty. Product Description Savings Total Price
1 Rosewill Green Series RG630-S12 630W Continuous @40°C,80 PLUS Certified, Single 12V Rail, Active PFC "Compatible with Core i7,i5" Power Supply
Item #: N82E16817182200
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy -$30.00 Instant
$89.99
$59.99
1 ASRock X58 Extreme LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard
Item #: N82E16813157163
Return Policy: Limited Replacement Only Return Policy -$10.00 Instant
$169.99
$159.99
2 ECS NBGTX460-1GPI-F GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
Item #: N82E16814134117
Return Policy: VGA Standard Return Policy -$15.00 Instant
$539.98
$509.98
1 Intel Core i7-860 Lynnfield 2.8GHz LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor BX80605I7860
Item #: N82E16819115214
Return Policy: CPU Replacement Only Return Policy -$10.00 Instant
$289.99
$279.99
1 D-Link DWA-552 32-bit PCI Xtreme Desktop Adapter
Item #: N82E16833127219
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy -$25.00 Instant
$79.99
$54.99
1 CORSAIR DOMINATOR 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMP6GX3M3A1600C8
Item #: N82E16820145295
Return Policy: Memory Standard Return Policy $189.99
1 Western Digital Caviar Black WD6402AAEX 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Item #: N82E16822136544
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy $69.99
1 Rosewill Wind Knight Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case with pre-installed 2x 120mm Fan, Support up to 1x 140mm top fan, 2x 140mm side fan, 1x 140mm front fan, 1x 120mm rear fan
Item #: N82E16811147135
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy -$20.00 Instant
$79.99
$59.99

You can replace the motherboard you picked with the ASROCK socket 1156 board to match the CPU you picked - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157206

Very good memory - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231321

Rosewill power supplies are not know for their quality.
Corsair makes great power supplies, I would recommend some thing like this - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139004

For video, he doesnt need 2 video cards to max game on WOW. He can get by with any decent single card solution out there. The Sapphire Vapor X Radeons are good http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102872

 

[lugard]

You can replace the motherboard you picked with the ASROCK socket 1156 board to match the CPU you picked - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157206

Very good memory - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231321

Rosewill power supplies are not know for their quality.
Corsair makes great power supplies, I would recommend some thing like this - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139004

For video, he doesnt need 2 video cards to max game on WOW. He can get by with any decent single card solution out there. The Sapphire Vapor X Radeons are good http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102872

Thanks. Like I said, have not put together a new personal computer in years now... The board I picked based on spec's and that newegg had it linked from the CPU. Wasnt sure about graphic's card's, thanks for the advice.

 

[dpodblood]

I have to agree about the roswell power supply. They are about as generic as they come, and I would recommend a Corsair, or Seasonic unit.

Also I wouldn't bother with the 460 SLI setup. You're better off going with a single card solution like the GTX 470, or the upcoming 6xxx series from ATI.

Do you know what games your son plans on playing. I can tell you right now you wont need a system this expensive just for WOW.

 

[lugard]

I have to agree about the roswell power supply. They are about as generic as they come, and I would recommend a Corsair, or Seasonic unit.

Also I wouldn't bother with the 460 SLI setup. You're better off going with a single card solution like the GTX 470, or the upcoming 6xxx series from ATI.

Do you know what games your son plans on playing. I can tell you right now you wont need a system this expensive just for WOW.

(BTW This is the son).

Pretty much any game... Dragon's Age, Starcraft 2, Mass Effect 2, WoW, and most likely DC universe online when it come's out.

Though the spec's are well in the range for it, this will also be used as a Dev machine, most likely also dual booting ubuntu.

 

[Axon]

Relax guys. He came here to get some help.

I agree with Dmoney's assessment. Now, your original build would actually be good (save for the Power supply), if a bit expensive, if you went with the i7 930 rather than the i7 860. The 930 is the "1366" socket, while the 860 is an 1156 socket CPU. Thus, putting a 1156 CPU into a 1366 board simply would not work.

Choosing between these two sockets requires some additional information. Do you think your son would want to overclock? If so, I would go with the i7 930. If not, take the i7 860, which features an aggressive "turbo mode" (essentially, the chip overclocks itself in certain situations).

Finally, for WoW, I highly suggest getting an SSD. It has improved my experience in that game dramatically. The load times are incredibly fast...so much so that I cannot even play on a standard HDD any longer.

 

[woodsman]

Thanks guys, I appreciate the help and the suggestions! You'uns guy rule!!

 

[jacktesterson]

I'd go with a single 470 or 5870

Could save a little by going and phenom ii 965 or 1050t

 

[mfenn]

I'd go with a single 470 or 5870

This :thumbsup:

Here's a build that focuses on gaming (and will of course be fine for most anything else).

i5 760 + GA-P55-USB3 + Cooler Master case combo $370
G.Skill DDR3 1333 4GB $78
GTX 470 $280 AR (free Resident Evil 5)
Samsung F3 1TB + 650TX $135 AR
Samsung DVD Burner $17
Total: $880

I noticed that you have a WiFi adapter included in your previous build. I would NOT recommend wireless for gaming. It's really not terribly difficult to run some Ethernet cable, especially with two people (could be a good father-son project).

If you have any questions, let me know.

 

[fffblackmage]

i5 760 + GA-P55-USB3 + Cooler Master case combo $370
G.Skill DDR3 1333 4GB $78
GTX 470 $280 AR (free Resident Evil 5)
Samsung F3 1TB + 650TX $135 AR
Samsung DVD Burner $17
Total: $880

:thumbsup:

Definitely go with LGA1156. Use the money you saved from going LGA1366 and get an SSD.

 

[dpodblood]

I guess it all depends on his budget. For certain the i5 is a better bargain for gaming, but if it's in the budget why not go for the i7?

I would agree though - i5+SSD is a better idea than i7+HDD.

 

[betasub]

I think you answered your own question. The extra $ can go towards something that makes a difference: SSD, or "next step up" on the graphics card ladder.

 

[woolfe9999]

You might consider this deal for the video card:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814127500

- wolf

 

[mfenn]

You might consider this deal for the video card:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814127500

- wolf

That's a pretty killer MIR!

 

[woolfe9999]

That's a pretty killer MIR!

Yeah I ordered one yesterday. Man I do love a good bargain.

- wolf

 

[Davidh373]

That is a great deal on the 5850 if you can snag the MIR.

This

Here's a build that focuses on gaming (and will of course be fine for most anything else).

i5 760 + GA-P55-USB3 + Cooler Master case combo $370
G.Skill DDR3 1333 4GB $78
GTX 470 $280 AR (free Resident Evil 5)
Samsung F3 1TB + 650TX $135 AR
Samsung DVD Burner $17
Total: $880

I noticed that you have a WiFi adapter included in your previous build. I would NOT recommend wireless for gaming. It's really not terribly difficult to run some Ethernet cable, especially with two people (could be a good father-son project).

If you have any questions, let me know.

For other parts go with this.

 

[Zap]

That Rosewill is an ATNG unit. It isn't the pure crap that some of you believe it is, but it isn't quite up there with the best of them either. Yes, there exists computer parts somewhere between "the best" and "crap."

woodsman, how soon are you buying? Do you do rebates? Here's the thing... some items (especially the PSUs we were just talking about) can go on sale for really good prices. Also, Black Friday is two months away. If you are buying now, then no need to wait. Otherwise, something to keep in mind.

My suggestion is to get a socket 1156 setup. Maybe settle on other parts first, then get whatever processor you can with remaining budget. I will parrot what others have said about running WoW from an SSD. It really is that much better. Other games, not so much.

Here's a possible build:

CPU $210 (Core i5 655k/660/661)
WoW supports dual cores, and unless lugard likes running a ton of crap in the background (playing MP3 and web browsing doesn't count) then a fast dual core will outperform a lower MHz quad core in WoW and most other games (but not all). IIRC WoW doesn't benefit much from SLI/Crossfire. Also, unless going crazy on resolution, a single higher end card like this should run most games fine. These chips also have a decent turbo mode, which is great for a boost without overclocking.

memory $70 (any cheap 1.5v DDR3 1333 dual channel kit)
It's usually better to spend more money on a faster CPU or GPU than on faster RAM (unless doing overclocking/benchmarking). 1.5v RAM is the "proper" voltage to get.

motherboard $90 P55 chipset (or choose any H55/P55 chipset mATX)
Alternately, normal ATX sized. P55 or H55 are the chipsets you want.

graphics card $220 (any GTX 460 1GB or the cheap MSI Radeon 5850)
The Radeon will likely be a bit faster at stock speeds, but the GeForce may (or may not) be better supported in Linux and has better support for GPGPU stuff depending on the kind of dev work lugard does.

SSD $130 (any 60/64GB SSD using a good controller like Indilinx or Sandforce)
60GB is enough for Windows 7, WoW and a few other applications while retaining plenty of free space (essential for the upkeep of SSD performance). Put all other games plus data files on the HDD.

HDD $75 SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 1TB
Alternately I think the WD Black 1TB is only $5-10 more. These are no-brainer choices with the Samsung being a bit cheaper and the WD having a longer 5 year warranty specifically on the Black models, versus 3 year.

optical drive $20 (any SATA drive will do)
I usually choose Samsung or LG, but desktop optical drives are commodities these days so choose whatever.

wireless adapter $30 Rosewill RNX-N180UBE
This one is unique in that it gets almost all good reviews. That's probably because of how it is set up. It is basically a USB WiFi adapter, but it comes with a cable to set it up on your desk somewhere, plus an external higher gain (5dB?) antenna. Those are probably the reasons why this works when other WiFi adapters (even PCI/PCIe ones) get bad reviews. Basically you don't want to hide the antenna on the ground behind your computer, and higher gain antennas are always good. As others have said, hardwired is always the best so if wireless was added just for convenience or because [consumer] no wires = high tech [/consumer] then forget it and go wired. If there's absolutely no way to go wired (wife would kill both husband and son) then this is as good a choice as any.

case $40 COOLER MASTER Elite 341
This is a good, basic mATX gaming case. Of course if motherboard choice is ATX, then case must be changed to match.

power supply $70 SeaSonic S12II 620 Bronze 620W
This is a fairly solid unit that should be good enough for any single graphics card. Plenty of quality alternatives too, from Antec, Corsair, etc.

Do you need operating system, keyboard, mouse, speakers? Aftermarket CPU heatsink?

total around $950

 

[Davidh373]

CPU $210 (Core i5 655k/660/661)
WoW supports dual cores, and unless lugard likes running a ton of crap in the background (playing MP3 and web browsing doesn't count) then a fast dual core will outperform a lower MHz quad core in WoW and most other games (but not all). IIRC WoW doesn't benefit much from SLI/Crossfire. Also, unless going crazy on resolution, a single higher end card like this should run most games fine. These chips also have a decent turbo mode, which is great for a boost without overclocking.

This is the only thing I have a problem with with your build Zap. Nowhere did lugard say he only played WoW, that is one of the many games he appears to play. Lugard, take his advice with exception to the dual core processor, they really are getting old fast. Given the games you play now you probably already have a dual core, and that's probably why you're upgrading now...


EDIT: If you are getting a budget processor, don't get the dual core i5, consider the i3 or an Athlon II X4 (even the Phenom II X4 is getting down there in price).

 

[ScorcherDarkly]

Graphics wise, you can also wait about 2 weeks and see what AMD has up its sleeve with the 6000 series. Rumored release date is 12 October, and rumored performance gains are large. Even if the 6000 series isn't for you, you can expect prices to drop on everything else to compensate for the new 900 lb gorilla, end up saving some cash.

 

[woodsman]

Thanks again guys!!

 

[Rifter]

If you go i5 or Phenom II you can save some cash on the mobo/ram/cpu and put it into a better GPU, or a pair of GPU's. This would net better gaming performance than a i7 with a weaker GPU.