First Build please help

Hello, this is my first time building a system from scratch (finally got fed up with premade ones). I've got $700 (if i really push i could maybe have $900)
I've already got the windows 7 ult. 64 bit to use so we don't have to factor that in, and I am pretty sure i can use the optical drive, and network card out of my old premade so unless theres something there i should watch out for we don't need to worry about them either.

I do a fair bit of gaming both online and off (mainly RPGs/MMOs so i'd like to be able to handle them smoothly).
After spending the last day or two looking stuff up I've come up with 3 partial builds that look promising for my budget.
In all three builds I'm stumped at the graphics card and case (might of missed something else tho I am new at this). So I'd like advice on what graphics cards would take best advantage of the builds without breaking the bank. And if you think I could make a better build for the price I'm all ears. In terms of case it dosn't need to be fancy just funtional.

These are common to all three

CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233144
$52

CORSAIR Gaming Series GS700 700W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC High Performance Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139024

$100

Western Digital Caviar Black WD5002AALX 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136795
$90


AMD build

ASUS M5A99X EVO AM3+ AMD 990X SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard with UEFI BIOS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131754
$150

AMD FX-6100 Zambezi 3.3GHz 6MB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache Socket AM3+ 95W Six-Core Desktop Processor FD6100WMGUSBX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103962
$190

$582 total at this point


Intel
GIGABYTE GA-Z68A-D3H-B3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128502
$120

Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072
$215

$577 total to this point


AMD budget build

GIGABYTE GA-A75-UD4H FM1 AMD A75 (Hudson D3) HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128515
$115

AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ955FBGMBOX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103808&Tpk=AMD Phenom II X4 955
$120

$477


I'm leaning toward AMD mainly because from what I understand it upgrades better, but more then anything I value a reliable product so try to judge from that point of view.

Thankyou for your time, as of posting this I'm pretty much done for the night but I'll be back first thing when I wake up and be around for a good while after that.

The i5 will outperform that AMD proc. in pretty much any cpu intensive program...I would go for the i5, but that's just me.


As for a GPU, I would grab a GTX 460, as it should do just fine in MMOs / RPGs. You will also need a decent cpu cooler and a case (assuming your pre-made doesn't have that many fan ports). If I were you, I would wait until I had $1000 to put towards a decent rig. That way you could get a GTX 560 + a good CPU cooler (think Noctua and do some sick overclocking). That would leave room for a future upgrade of a second GTX 460 / 560.

Also, trade the PSU your planning to get for this one. It gives a little more headroom for that second GPU in the future.

I'd go with the AS Rock Extreme 3 Gen 3 for $124.99. the extra $5 gives you PCIE 3.0 for the next generation of video cards (the gtx 6xx and HD 7xxx series will use it early next year).

I'll suggest an HD6850 over GTX 460. the two trade blows, but the 460 runs about $160 while the 6850 runs as low as $145

ScrewySqrl said:

I'd go with the AS Rock Extreme 3 Gen 3 for $124.99. the extra $5 gives you PCIE 3.0 for the next generation of video cards (the gtx 6xx and HD 7xxx series will use it early next year).

I'll suggest an HD6850 over GTX 460. the two trade blows, but the 460 runs about $160 while the 6850 runs as low as $145

Click to expand...

Can I get a link to that I can't find it or i might just not be noticing if i'm looking right at it....

Also i'm not noticing to much difference (price) between the 460 and 560 which suggests i'm missing something. could anyone educate me about the difference between the two that i should be noticing?

This, while $100 more, offers a substantial amount more GPU power. Also includes a case, which unless you already have, you didn't include in your price.

I looked over the suggestions and at the moment I'm looking at this

Intel
GIGABYTE GA-Z68A-D3H-B3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128502
$120

Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072
$215



CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233144
$52

PC Power and Cooling Silencer Mk II 750W High Performance 80PLUS Silver SLI CrossFire ready Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...m1132X509988X95339cd5c3369f3c9a7d9dcc5febdc66
$110

Western Digital Caviar Black WD5002AALX 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136795
$90


Antec Three Hundred Illusion Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...m1132X509988Xd8b2c5236d78d73bc9027d863912ff0c
$60

MSI N560GTX-M2D1GD5 GeForce GTX 560 (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127592
$190

Noctua NH-D14 120mm & 140mm SSO CPU Cooler
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...m1132X509988X70ad682b05b351e6553c1253b0302516
$86

$923



Its abit over budget but if i shop around for deals and such i should be able to push it under the 900 mark

So will this all work together well? and does the exact brand of the video card really matter, cuz it pretty much just looks like rebranding to me.

Large PSU and overkill CPU cooler, but only a midrange GPU?

Knufire said:

This, while $100 more, offers a substantial amount more GPU power. Also includes a case, which unless you already have, you didn't include in your price.
View attachment 100852
View attachment 100851

Click to expand...

(I'm not sure what actual items that is refering to, could i get a link direct to the deal? and ya i need both the gpu and case) edit ignore this

for some reason the image only just showed up so the radeon card is a better option then the gtx ones?
and your suggesting the asrock extreme as well?

Knufire said:

Large PSU and overkill CPU cooler, but only a midrange GPU?

Click to expand...

ya like i said I'm new to this, i understand most parts well enough to make some sense of it but i can't figure out gpu ratings for squat. what would you suggest gpu wise?
Also i just called around i can swing a full 1000 if it would make a strong difference.

edit. i can see the suggested build image now prior post has question

The ASRock is a great budget board, also has PCIe 3.0, and it'll support the new Ivy Bridge CPUs when they come out next year.

For AMD vs NVIDIA, NVIDIA usually costs a bit more, AMD is typically better price/performance. AMD does triple screen gaming better (and can do it on a single card), while NVIDIA has 3D support and better drivers. All in all, the 6950 is considered to be one of the best price/performance cards, even better with the $19 off combo. The 560Ti and 570 are a close second though.

PSU, 750W is a good choice if you want to go dual 6950s/570s in the future. 600W can pretty much run any single card on the market.

Knufire said:

The ASRock is a great budget board, also has PCIe 3.0, and it'll support the new Ivy Bridge CPUs when they come out next year.

For AMD vs NVIDIA, NVIDIA usually costs a bit more, AMD is typically better price/performance. AMD does triple screen gaming better (and can do it on a single card), while NVIDIA has 3D support and better drivers. All in all, the 6950 is considered to be one of the best price/performance cards, even better with the $19 off combo. The 560Ti and 570 are a close second though.

PSU, 750W is a good choice if you want to go dual 6950s/570s in the future. 600W can pretty much run any single card on the market.

Click to expand...

thanks for the breakdown, and ya i was thinking that if i was going to upgrade my graphics in the future it'd be using dual cards so i was shooting abit high on the psu.
Should i bother with the stronger cooling before that or should i just grab a cheaper cooling for now?

Rpgamer said:

Can I get a link to that I can't find it or i might just not be noticing if i'm looking right at it....

Click to expand...

HD 6850 for $140:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102908

ASRock Extreme 3 Gen 3:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271

Ok i'm gonna be gone for a couple hours after posting this however heres the build i'm looking at now that I've had some input

Intel
ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271&Tpk=asrock z68 extreme3 gen3
$125

Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072
$215



CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX650 V2 650W ATX12V v2.31/ EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC High Performance Power Supply
bundled with:
1x CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM ...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.740019
$132


Western Digital Caviar Black WD5002AALX 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136795
$90


Antec Three Hundred Illusion Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...m1132X509988Xd8b2c5236d78d73bc9027d863912ff0c
$60

HIS IceQ X Turbo H695QNT2G2M Radeon HD 6950 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...k=his iceq x turbo h695qnt2g2m radeon hd 6950
$270

COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 EVO RR-212E-20PK-R1 Continuous Direct Contact 120mm Sleeve CPU Cooler Compatible with latest Intel 1366/1155 and AMD FM1/AM3+
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...m1132X509988X0ace6af00915c8ace79f66a7960bfb4a

$35

I'm considering getting the sandy bridge 2500 (no K) for the savings now since i'll probably upgrade to Ivy bridge later.
Input?

I suggest getting the K since its like $10 more plus you can overclock. Otherwise everythign looks fine.

Western Digital drives are overpriced, moreso with the recent price hike. Seagate is cheap, but in terms of quality Samsung and Hitachi are just as good as WD.

2500K and HIS 6950 IceQ are in a $19 off combo deal. No point getting the 650TX, since it's overkill for a single card and not enough for dual. Either drop down to the 600CX or go up to the 750TX.

Knufire said:

Western Digital drives are overpriced, moreso with the recent price hike. Seagate is cheap, but in terms of quality Samsung and Hitachi are just as good as WD.

2500K and HIS 6950 IceQ are in a $19 off combo deal. No point getting the 650TX, since it's overkill for a single card and not enough for dual. Either drop down to the 600CX or go up to the 750TX.

Click to expand...

I keep looking for that combo deal but for the life of me I am not seeing it, could i get a link?

for a single 6950, consider the Antec HCG 620W or the Corsair CX600W, both a bit cheaper than the 650W you are looking at.