[Ultar]

First and foremost, thank you for taking the time to view my thread!

I am recently getting back into PC gaming after having finished schooling and getting a job, I am going to gift myself a new gaming machine.

For this build I would like to stick to an entirely AMD/ATI machine as it is something I have never done before.

Anyway Here is what I am thinking about:

Processor:

AMD Phenom II X6 1090T Black Edition

CPU Cooling:

CORSAIR Hydro H70

Motherboard:

ASUS Crosshair IV Formula AM3 AMD

Memory:

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB

Storage:

Crucial RealSSD C300 (System Drive)


Western Digital Caviar Black (Storage Drive)


Optical Drives:

LG WH10LS30K 10X Blu-ray Burner

Power Supply:

CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W

Grahpics:

Waiting for new ATI cards.

Case:

COOLER MASTER HAF X

OS:

Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-bit

Extra:

8-Pin (EPS12V) Extension Cable

Thank you for your time, and for any input you may have!

[Marshmallow64]

For the motherboard just get the formula, its 100 bucks cheaper and will probably perform about the same. Get the Caviar blue for storage, or better yet the black which is about the same price.

Any reason why you need 1000 watts? It is really high for your system, you probably only need 750 watts with crossfire, without get 650 watts.

For video card the 6870 is a good choice, I usually stick with XFX.

Case: Try looking into the Antec 1200 or HAF X 942.

Also any reason why you need Ultimate Windows? Your onboard sound will be good enough for 2.1 and headphones.

[Theocnoob]

Get that velociraptor. They're a nice drive and surprisingly, after two years of 24 hour use (there is a fan directly on it mind you) the thing works beautifully and I must have written through the whole capacity 200+ times over.

[Knufire]

The high price of the Velociraptor doesn't justify it, when the Caviar Black is almost the same speed for a much lower price.

[Ultar]

Thanks for the input guys, I am going to start looking at ATI cards now, what do you think of the three 750W power supplies? They all seem good but I was wondering if anyone has had experience with them?

And that HAF X case is a thing of beauty! Thanks for suggesting it.

Thanks!

[Marshmallow64]

I'd pick the corsair one out of the 3. Good switch to the western digital black.

[Knufire]

Just saying, there is no reason you need 16GB of DDR3-2000 RAM, your going to kill the IMC on that chip. This RAM will probably perform better, slightly lower clock but MUCH better timings, and 8GB is WAY more then enough for gaming: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231401

If your getting the HAF 932 or HAFX, it's too large to route the 8pin CPU power behind the motherboard. Buying an extension will solve it: http://www.performance-pcs.com/catal...oducts_id=2514

Most people are extremely dissapointed with a bluray burner, it simply isn't mainstream enough to warrent the cost. Once the price of blank Bluray disks come down, it might be a solution. I would just get a normal DVD burner, or a Bluray combo (read's Blurays and burns DVDs).

I would prefer the OCZ Vertex 2 over the C300 for the SSD. While the C300 has the best read speeds (355 MB/s), it lacks in write speed (75 MB/s). The Vertex 2 is much more balanced, with a 285 MB/s read speed and a 275 MB/s write speed.

Also, since your going to be saving a TON of money on the RAM if you go with my suggestion, wait two weeks until the AMD Radeon 6970 comes out, it should tie/beat the GTX580, making it one of the most powerful single GPU cards on the planet.

[Ultar]

Thanks for the link to that memory Knufire, and you are completely right about 16 gigs being too much. (I am so used to ordering Dell R510s) I must have got it in my head that I was going to use this machine for ESXi haha.

I will look into the Bluray combo drive, i do not play to burn them just play them. And thank you for pointing out the lenght issue with the 8 pin connector, I would not have been happy to have made that discovery on my own.

All I have to do now is wait for the new ATI cards.

And when all is said and done I will be sure to post pictures of the new machine.

[Knufire]

Just found this Blu-ray Combo Drive on Newegg's BF sale, it's insanely cheap: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106292