Need help selecting parts for my first build

[mariotheotaku]

Hello everyone, I been out of the PC world for a few years and I have decided to come back and start building my first rig, a gaming/entertainment system. I haven't really been in check with the newest parts but I know what I'm looking for in this build:

Able to support dual monitors (play games in one, watch movies on the other)
motherboard and monitors that have hdmi port to connect for blu-ray support.
latest intel CPU, (something around 2.8ghz)
Video card(s) something from ATI if possible

I don't plan to OC this PC, and I only have the case I would like to choose (Cooler Master Cosmos). As far as monitors go, 24" ones will do.

Sorry I don't have much info on the other parts, but friends told me this forum was very helpful in finding parts.

Thank you.

[jdbnsn]

I just put together a system with an Intel i7 quad core and an ATI 5870 video card and it is smokin' fast! It multi-tasks like you wouldn't believe, but the 5870 is not very available right now. You have to watch the sites and get lucky to find one in stock.

[mariotheotaku]

Thank you, quick question, can u connect a monitor with only an hdmi cable or do u also need to connect a VGA clable to the mobo?

[SgtM]

That depends. Do the video card and monitor have HDMI connections? If so, go for it. If not, there's nothing wrong with DVI.

[mariotheotaku]

ok, ty I was just wondering since I was planning to buy this Blu-ray drive http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/frontpage/?q=node/435

[Locum51]

I'm kinda going along with jdbnsn and here are some suggestions.

Mobo: LGA 1366http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131365
or
LGA 1156http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131404

Video Card: New Radeon HD 5770 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102858
or
Nvidia GTX 285http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130480

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115214

Memory: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145267

Those are just some suggestions but what ever you plan to do, this will definitely help! :D
http://educations.newegg.com/tool/psucalc/index.html?Tpk=Power%20Supply%20Calculator

[mariotheotaku]

Thank you for the suggestions, actually some of those parts where the ones I was planning to buy, here is what I got so far

Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119138&cm_re=cosmos-_-11-119-138-_-Product


Mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813186176


Video Card: New Radeon HD 5770 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102858
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150447


CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115214

Memory: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145265 (2 sets for a total of 8GB)

Drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136175

Monitor: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236066 (2 of these, I will purchase another one in the future, since I want to watch movies in one/play games and surf web on another)

Hard Drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136283 (possibly 2 of these, I want to use one exclusively for movies and music and the other one for the OS and games)

PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006 (not too sure about it though)


I still would like suggestions on things I'm missing like cpu cooling and ram cooling ( not sure if the ram I chose would be ok without cooling, im still somewhat new at this), and I wanted to make sure that there wouldn't be any compatibility problems. Also something I forgot to mention is that I plan to use programs like Photoshop, Flash and such since I'm studying Graphic Design and wanted to know if this system could also multitask with programs like these.

Thank you all for your help so far :)

[Locum51]

I know this is bias towards MSI but i found that their PSU Calculator is a little more specific and gives a better estimation on how many watts needed.
http://www.msi.com/index.php?func=power

These should give you more than enough power for your system and Water Cooling if you were to go that route.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817121037
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139007

As for cooling i'll leave it to the other to suggest ( i'm not that experienced in the cooling field) haha.

[mariotheotaku]

thanks for the reply, from the looks of it I will probably need a 700W-800W PSU (Watts usage was around 500W or so) and I'm not to sure about water cooling yet, I know I want to have a good cooling system but this being my first build I'm a little concerned with water cooling, is it safe? how much does a good system goes for? How often do I need to clean the parts and replace the water?

[slaveofconvention]

If you aren't overclocking, you don't need to watercool - it's expensive and there are more than adequate air-cooling solutions available which are effective and quiet...

[mariotheotaku]

Thanks, yeah I don't plan to overclock anytime soon, Ill just stick with fan cooling then.

[x88x]

The parts you listed will make a good solid build, but given where your budget seems to be, you could get better performance for a comparable price.

Other than the Photoshop and Flash, do you have any idea what you'll be using it for?

In the OP, you mentioned that you wanted HDMI "for blu-ray support". Did you just mean that you want to be able to play BD-ROMs on the PC, or that you want to be able to hook up a TV? Playing BD-ROMs in Windows just requires the right software (often comes with the drive) and some sort of digital connection (either DVI or HDMI) with a panel that supports HDCP (any new monitors do).

As a side note, DVI and the video portion of HDMI are electrically identical; HDMI is just shrunk down to a smaller plug and has digital audio bundled in as well.

I would also not recommend water cooling for your first build. It's fun and can give you better cooling, but is much more complicated and expensive than air-cooling. Plus, that's a great case; plenty of airflow :D

EDIT:
Forgot to mention; for PSU calculations, personally I like this one:
http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp

It gives you a lot more flexibility in the components you add.

[mariotheotaku]

Thanks for the reply. Hmm, I think that's about it as far as usage, I just plan to:

Play games
Play Blu-ray and DVDs
Listen to music
Use PS and adobe related programs (I might try 3d animation programs as well, like Maya)

Also if you have any suggestions for different parts, I more than welcome it.

[x88x]

Ok, what's your budget like?

[mariotheotaku]

$1,000- $1,500

[Locum51]

Lucky, i wish i had a budget like that. lol.

[x88x]

Sorry I kinda dropped off the map for a bit there; I've been busy and didn't have time to sit down and throw something together till now.

If I had $1500 right now for a new rig, with that $1500 covering two monitors, this is what I would get:
http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=16452728

I think the 920 with triple-channel RAM support would out-weigh the additional 2GB of RAM with the 860. Plus, you have space to upgrade to 12GB later if you so desire.

To be honest though, I would save a little more and go with the Radeon 5850 (usually ~$300). I think it's a better long-term investment.

I replaced the monitors with 21.5" 1920x1080 panels because cutting off those 2.1" save you $140 ($70 each).

[MrNintend0]

ATI released the 5970 a few weeks ago, not sure if you'd want to fork out the cash for it, but if it's too much trouble I'd go with the 5770 like everyone else says. The 5970 is now the fastest graphics card on the market (yes it's faster than the GTX 295), but again I don't think you would like the $600 price tag...

[Locum51]

x88x hit it right on the nose with that one! That's an amazing setup!

[mariotheotaku]

Wow, thanks a lot guys, I just have a few questions before purchase:

I went and got myself an ATI Radeon 5850 gpu, is the micro atx mobo going to be able to support it or is there a similar mobo for a full tower chassis since i already have the cooler master cosmos case and wanted to take advange of a ATX mobo?
Also what's the difference between the CPU i7 920 and the i7 860? just wondering since both seems to cost about the same but one has a 2.8ghz and the other a 2.66ghz?

Lastly I can't decide between this speaker, which one would u guys recommend?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16836121122

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16836121006

Thanks

[x88x]

If you're referring to the mATX MBB in the list I put together, then yes. Pretty much any modern MBB should work just fine with a 5850; you just want to make sure it has PCIe 2.0 support (double the bus bandwidth). If you want to go with a full ATX MBB, this is a good one (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131359). I went with the mATX because it's cheaper, and imo, unless you're planning on going with multiple GPUs in the future, there's really no reason that you would need full ATX.

The main difference between the socket 1366 i7's (like the 920) and the socket 1156 i7's (like the 860) is that the socket 1366 CPUs support triple-channel RAM communication. This offers a significant boost in memory bandwidth, so should provide a noticable performance increase in RAM intensive applications (for example, pretty much any of Adobe's stuff).

As for the speakers, it really depends on what you want. The Z-2300 set has much more powerful speakers, but the X-540 set is cheaper and gives you 5.1 surround. I can't speak to the sound quality for either, having never heard them. Again, it really comes down to what you want out of them. One thing I would recommend is to try and find a local store than has them on display that lets you test them. ..either that or a local store with a good return policy ;)

[Locum51]

These might be a little out of reach...although you could try finding some on ebay or amazon for cheaper. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16836121120
Although....i was playing Need for Speed: Pro Street with this sound system in person at a friends house and holy santa claus s**t....the woofer shook the room i was in. Very very good surround sound system i might add. :D

[mariotheotaku]

Thanks for all the help guys, I might as well go with those speakers since I got an $8,000 credit from Newegg :P.

I will be doing mostly PS so I might go with the mATX and movies (80% of my gaming is WoW so I don't need an over the edge gaming system, just maybe an IPS monitor or so.