Building my first pc

[Feriluce]

As it seems I'll be getting my hands on some sweet moneys soon, I have of course decided to spend it all on new desktop to replace my old and tired laptop for my gaming needs.

I will most likely attempt to build it myself, but as I'm a bit out of the loop when it comes to hardware, I'd very much like some suggestions from you fine folks.

My budget is probably gonna be in the area of 1600-1800$ , and I'd like to get myself a new screen as well (using a 19" 1280x1024 screen atm).
As I live in Denmark I will most likely be ordering from komplett.dk (komplett.ie is the irish version and in english. I assume they'll have pretty much the same prices and stock though).

[boilerrat]

Sure bro.

I'll gladly help you.

Good choice on getting a desktop, and there might be issues with hardware from country to country.

[witty_pseudonym]

You have a lot of decisions to make , but here is one universal rule: get the biggest case you can fit in your house/room/budget. Coolermasters are good. It makes it so much easier to assemble and change parts later, or add an HDD, or sli etc etc. plus helps cooling.

[boilerrat]

Anytime my hardware friends do a build for someone or themselves, they always use Antec.

[Stoic Sentinel]

Originally Posted by boilerrat

Anytime my hardware friends do a build for someone or themselves, they always use Antec.

Antec, CoolerMaster, Lian-Li, Thermaltake, Xclio, Xigmatek, all are pretty good, usually it's just a personal preference. I usually focus on the CMs, and would go higher-end Lian-Li if I had enough money to (esp. the Lian-Li Lancool PC-K62, but unfortunately, I needed extra money to buy my 4870 so I just bought a CM 690

[witty_pseudonym]

Originally Posted by boilerrat

Anytime my hardware friends do a build for someone or themselves, they always use Antec.

I have an Antec 300 as well and it is very solidly built and quite roomy, but not as easy to get into and tool-less as I would have liked. My Antec front audio ports and USB had a short in them inside the module itself which is quite annoying to have to replace, I'm lucky it didn't fry something else. I like the way Antecs look however, it is very cool running and was inexpensive.

Before you buy some of the cases with a space-age looking lit-up front, check how it works and ask yourself if you want to open that door and leave it open every time you plug in your headset or put in a disc or flash drive etc etc.

[Feriluce]

Thanks for the input everyone. After much reading of reviews and forum posts, I've come up with a build that seems to fit within my budget and at the same time offers a lot of performance:


Antec Nine Hundred Two Midi Tower Sort Blæsere: 2x 120mm Front, 1x 200mm Top, 1x 120mm Bak, Blå LEDs; Vindue
Komplett.dk - Antec Nine Hundred Two Midi Tower Sort


Corsair TX 750W PSU ATX 12V V2.2, 80 Plus, Standard. 4x 6+2-pin PCIe, 8x SATA, 140mm Blæser
Komplett.dk - Corsair TX 750W PSU


Crucial DDR3 BallistiX 1333MHz 4GB CL7 Kit w/2x 2GB BallistiX modules, CL7-7-7-24, 1.65V
Komplett.dk - Crucial DDR3 BallistiX 1333MHz 4GB CL7

Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD4, P55, Socket-1156 SLI&CrossFireX, DDR3, ATX, GbLAN, USB3.0, SATA 6Gb/s, Firewire, 2xPCI-Ex(2.0)x16
Komplett.dk - Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD4, P55, Socket-1156


Intel Core™ i5 Quad Processor i5-750 Quad Core, 2.66Ghz, Socket 1156, 8MB, 95W, Boxed w/fan
Komplett.dk - Intel Coreâ„¢ i5 Quad Processor i5-750


Lite-On DVD+RW burner IHAS124-19 SuperAllWrite, 24x8x16DVD+RW, SATA, Black
Ny dato: 2010-0
Komplett.dk - Lite-On DVD+RW burner IHAS124-19


Microsoft Windows 7 Pro EN OEM, 64bit
Komplett.dk - Microsoft Windows 7 Pro EN


PowerColor Radeon HD 5870 1GB GDDR5 PCI-Express 2.0, "PCS+", 2xDVI-I, HDMI, DisplayPort
Komplett.dk - PowerColor Radeon HD 5870 1GB GDDR5


Samsung SpinPoint F3 1TB SATA2 32MB 7200RPM
Komplett.dk - Samsung SpinPoint F3 1TB SATA2


Zalman CNPS9900A LED CPU Køler Socket Intel 1156/1366/755, AMD 754/940/939/AM2/AM2+/AM3, 120mm, Blå LED, 4-pin
Komplett.dk - Zalman CNPS9900A LED CPU Køler



I'd very much like some feedback on this build.

[corp_calqluslethal]

both of these will allow you to play arma 2 on all high with good graphics card. For well under your budget. Hope this helps


http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...#ht_6458wt_909

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...#ht_2585wt_748

I recommend this over building your own cpu. You could not build one this good for cheaper.

video card i recommend is:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...TAC-_-14500132

not the best video card but will allow you to play arma 2 on all high

[Feriluce]

I'm not really trying to just play arma 2. I wanna build a desktop that will let me play the new games coming out over the next 2-3 years in 1920x1200 without too much of a problem. Furthermore I see no point in spending money on a graphics card that does not support DX11.

[SocketMan]

Might not be a bad idea to get the 2GB version of the 5870 just to future proof it or
to run eyefinity setup.
ATI Eyefinity Technology


Also when/if you add a second GPU for crossfire the USB3 gets "downgraded" to USB2 speeds on most P55 boards.Don't know if that matters to you or not.

edit*
Why not go with a SATA3 drive since the board supports it ?
Western digital has a 1TB SATA3 model,forget the exact name.