[quote name='MSI Magus']No clue on running 2 different cards, like I said he was the expert so I just took his opinion on it. If its not im not too worried because from what he and others have said this card should last me at least the next year and realistically the only PC game I know if that will be a day 1 purchase for me in the next 2 years is Diablo 3(which probaly wont be a system destroyer anyways).
On the CPU end if you dont realize its too late, that PC was bought late last night so hopefully this whole dead socket issue you guys are talking about isnt a huge deal. Really as long as this new PC lasts me 2 years before major updates and after an update to RAM/GC another 2 years after that then I dont care if I end up having to make a new machine [/QUOTE]
Again like I said it's still a great machine.
I wouldn't worry about running the cards in SLI ..they need to both have the same amount of graphics memory so if they do running both cards MIGHT be possible but, if you don't have the extra PCI Express slot then it won't matter.
If you did have the extra slot but the cards had two different memory amounts I think you could still use the 9800GT as a physx card which would still give a nice boost.
IMO I would sell the 9800GT and use the money for games and you can still buy your wife that cheap $40 graphics card.
The GTS 250 will be great for any game on the market right now and if you don't have that second slot obviously you won't have much use for that 9800GT.
[quote name='MSI Magus']9505 was not an option at the site where I was buying(9550 was closest numerical option)so he recommended that. And he recommended upgrading the CPU over the graphics card for 2 reasons that seemed to make sense to me.
1. I am less likely to feel the need to upgrade my processor later because of games and more likely because of graphics. He recommended buying a top end CPU now that will last me the next 3-4 years and in a year whenever the GTS250 cant hack it the price on other graphics cards will have dropped so I am not paying a premium.
2. My current PC has a GeForce 9800GT which while not the best card is still a damn good card apparently. He said if I first off skipped the ATI card which both of us were leaning towards and got the GTS I could then take my old graphics card out of my current PC, put in a junky $40ish one for my wife and then run 2 graphics cards in my new PC. So the new PC will be running a GTS 250 and a 9800 GT. If thats a dumb move its a dumb move, but my friend knows way more about PCs then I do and it sounded like a very smart move.[/QUOTE]
Honestly processor upgrades suck, especially from intel since they love to release new spec requirements and ultimately new chipsets seemingly with each new processor family. Game wise most situations will have you bogged down by the GPU as time goes by, not the processor. If you ever upgrade your proc you'll be doing a generational leap, in which case you'd be getting a new mobo and maybe even new ram anyway so its really a non-issue.
Basically i think the best place to put most of your money is into a moderatly good $200-$300 graphics card. As long as the processor is of Core2 generation or later and around 2.6-3ghz you'll be in the sweet spot. By the way, outside of benchmarks the new intel processors arent that great. Certainly not the leap that Pentium M, and later Core 2, were to the P4s. The biggest performance losses are only picked up by totally useless benchmarks and a number of professional programs, but as far as games are concerned its not that big of a deal so dont worry about this "dead socket" business. If my mobo and memory didnt crap the bed i'd be using my E8400 still which was plenty fast.
[quote name='iskateguitars']Again like I said it's still a great machine.
I wouldn't worry about running the cards in SLI ..they need to both have the same amount of graphics memory so if they do running both cards MIGHT be possible but, if you don't have the extra PCI Express slot then it won't matter.
If you did have the extra slot but the cards had two different memory amounts I think you could still use the 9800GT as a physx card which would still give a nice boost.
IMO I would sell the 9800GT and use the money for games and you can still buy your wife that cheap $40 graphics card.
The GTS 250 will be great for any game on the market right now and if you don't have that second slot obviously you won't have much use for that 9800GT.
PS. I still don't have your steam ID![/QUOTE]
Steam name is the same as it is here, MSIMagus or MSI Magus
I still don't get why you've got a micro ATX board. Are you using a micro ATX case? If so, I don't know that you'll be able fit in some of the heftier graphics cards down the road.
A lot of people in these posts are saying that CPU power and cores don't matter, I don't really think that's true. You can't buy a $600 video card and pair it up with an Athlon X2 and expect good results. The whole machine has to be balanced.
There have been some published articles on Tom's Hardware that talk about this..
Here's some of the numerous charts they have in those articles.
And finally not all quad cores or dual cores are the same. Architecture matters even more so than clock speed.
Basically my advice would be to buy or build a balanced rig. Don't pour all your money on one part and cheap out on the other. That said there are still some things you can skimp on if necessary:
1) Case - Just make sure it is big enough so that future video cards that are 12 inches long can fit, but no need for the light show led crap.
2) Hard drive - buy a good brand but no need for super fast editions like the Caviar black of WD. Hard drives don't affect fps, only load times and boot up times.
3) DVD drive - some people don't even get one.
What not to skimp on:
1) PSU - not all PSUs are the same and the thought of a generic PSU made in some shady no-name underground factory in the depths of China where the foreman has never heard of the words "quality control", burning out your motherboard and cards should terrify you.
2) Video card - you are gaming after all, put most of your money here but not all of it.
[quote name='torifile']I still don't get why you've got a micro ATX board. Are you using a micro ATX case? If so, I don't know that you'll be able fit in some of the heftier graphics cards down the road.[/QUOTE]
Why not? As long as the case is big enough any PCI-E card should fit the PCI-E slot of a motherboard, micro or standard.
the only thing i would change is instead of getting that motherboard you have listed get one of the new ones that have usb 3.0 like the Gigabyte GA-770TA-UD3 which is the one i am going to get and it has a am3 socket for your cpu so it would work with the processor you have listed
[quote name='Actionhank']Why not? As long as the case is big enough any PCI-E card should fit the PCI-E slot of a motherboard, micro or standard.[/QUOTE]
Heh heh. That's funny. Have you seen how long some of these new cards are? I've got a mid-ATX case it was hard for me to connect the PCI-e power connectors and not sacrifice a drive bay in the process. It would be really freakin' hard to fit a 5850 or something in a micro ATX case. They're just big. Not to mention the heat they put out.
[quote name='torifile']Heh heh. That's funny. Have you seen how long some of these new cards are? I've got a mid-ATX case it was hard for me to connect the PCI-e power connectors and not sacrifice a drive bay in the process. It would be really freakin' hard to fit a 5850 or something in a micro ATX case. They're just big. Not to mention the heat they put out.[/QUOTE]
Yeah, after re-reading your original post I realized that what you meant was cards not fitting the case, which is a valid point.
I originally thought that you were saying a 5970 or 5850 can't fit a micro-atx board.
But speaking about cases, I personally always get atx full tower. Not only so the video cards can fit, I want space for my giant cpu heatsinks.
Well nice to see that you guys are saying the case and not the mother board is the problem. I thought you guys were saying id not be able to upgrade because the mother board which would suck Cases are fairly cheap too so wont I be able to just buy a new case for like $50 and transfer all the parts into it?
[quote name='MSI Magus']Well nice to see that you guys are saying the case and not the mother board is the problem. I thought you guys were saying id not be able to upgrade because the mother board which would suck Cases are fairly cheap too so wont I be able to just buy a new case for like $50 and transfer all the parts into it?[/QUOTE]
But if you didn't build the PC yourself, do you think you can do an organ transplant?
[quote name='Actionhank']But if you didn't build the PC yourself, do you think you can do an organ transplant?[/QUOTE]
Plus, having a micro ATX board in a full ATX case is kind of silly. You're going to have some spaces for slots in the case that opens to nothing on the inside. I speak from experience. I built my in-laws a computer and inadvertently got them a micro ATX board and an Antec 300 case. It was the easiest build ever because there was so much room in the case! But it was missing at least 3 slots on the board.
[quote name='Actionhank']A lot of people in these posts are saying that CPU power and cores don't matter, I don't really think that's true. You can't buy a $600 video card and pair it up with an Athlon X2 and expect good results. The whole machine has to be balanced. [/QUOTE]
I'm not saying the processor doesnt matter so get a 4 year old X2, i'm saying its not really important, especially with a non-flagship graphics card, so you can get a processor on the inexpensive side like an E8400 which runs about $170 and you'll be perfectly fine.
[quote name='torifile']Plus, having a micro ATX board in a full ATX case is kind of silly. You're going to have some spaces for slots in the case that opens to nothing on the inside. I speak from experience. I built my in-laws a computer and inadvertently got them a micro ATX board and an Antec 300 case. It was the easiest build ever because there was so much room in the case! But it was missing at least 3 slots on the board.[/QUOTE]
1. No I wont be able to do a "organ transplant" but thats what my friend who has done it a million times is for
2. On the case/mother board end again I went with what was recommended and the case was only bought because it was cheap, I didnt know it would be a small case or anything like that. Again though, if the case is a problem down the road wont it be easy enough to just get a new one and switch the guts from one case to the other?
[quote name='MSI Magus']1. No I wont be able to do a "organ transplant" but thats what my friend who has done it a million times is for
2. On the case/mother board end again I went with what was recommended and the case was only bought because it was cheap, I didnt know it would be a small case or anything like that. Again though, if the case is a problem down the road wont it be easy enough to just get a new one and switch the guts from one case to the other?[/QUOTE]
As easy as building a new computer from scratch (or maybe a little harder since you'll have lost the instructions for the motherboard) but totally doable by anyone who's done it before. Keep in mind, I don't know for sure that you'll have problems with the case. I'm just assuming that since they didn't recommend a full-sized mobo, they wouldn't recommend a full-sized case.
[quote name='torifile']Plus, having a micro ATX board in a full ATX case is kind of silly. You're going to have some spaces for slots in the case that opens to nothing on the inside. I speak from experience. I built my in-laws a computer and inadvertently got them a micro ATX board and an Antec 300 case. It was the easiest build ever because there was so much room in the case! But it was missing at least 3 slots on the board.[/QUOTE]
Sometimes though the m-atx board is the cheapest way to get onto that platform. For X58 for example, m-atx boards are the cheapest. Besides motherboards you replace every 2 years while cases can last up to 10 years. I am just rationalizing for people who do it.
You will be fine with that computer... I can run Crysis @ 1440x900 Medium settings and get 30 - 40 FPS on my two year old Macbook Pro (8600 GT 512Meg)
You will be able to run just about anything on the market really well. And if the trend of the past few years continues I doubt PC games will become much more demanding as they all tend to be Xbox 360 ports anyway.. For example, I know I can buy Mass Effect 2 on day one because Mass Effect runs fine on my system and it's not like they "upgraded" the xbox 360 so I know it will still require the same specs and maybe still look a bit nicer.
I wish they would Upgrade the Macbook Pros with something better than a 9600M GT/9400m dual combo they have now though.
People can say whatever they want about Macs but I paid $1350 for my computer a year and a half ago and they still sell on Ebay for $1000 - $1100. Macs have crazy high resale values.
You'll have room in that case. You should be fine with the exception of a couple empty PCI slots and a few less USB ports. The computer itself should run really well. Enjoy it!
[quote name='Kenrik']You will be fine with that computer... I can run Crysis @ 1440x900 Medium settings and get 30 - 40 FPS on my two year old Macbook Pro (8600 GT 512Meg)
You will be able to run just about anything on the market really well. And if the trend of the past few years continues I doubt PC games will become much more demanding as they all tend to be Xbox 360 ports anyway.. For example, I know I can buy Mass Effect 2 on day one because Mass Effect runs fine on my system and it's not like they "upgraded" the xbox 360 so I know it will still require the same specs and maybe still look a bit nicer.
I wish they would Upgrade the Macbook Pros with something better than a 9600M GT/9400m dual combo they have now though.
People can say whatever they want about Macs but I paid $1350 for my computer a year and a half ago and they still sell on Ebay for $1000 - $1100. Macs have crazy high resale values.[/QUOTE]
Um I forgot to read the word "book" after Mac, nevermind about the 285[/QUOTE]
Yeah, the Mac Pros actually suck.
They get left behind really fast. For example when they switched from G5 to intel you could have a computer that's from 2008 and now it's completely unsupported as Adobe CS5 does not run on G5s.. We have this problem at my work, I manage designers for an advertising agency and our $3000 macs from 2007 now have to get replaced so we can run Snow Leopard/CS5.
The laptops, iMacs and Mac Mini's are all exceptional products.
The new iMac with the 27inch screen and Intel 2.8Ghz i7 and ATI 4850 really is a thing of beauty.
Ok so as you guys know I had ordered a PC and was waiting on my new rig to show up. After 11 days and the order status still being listed as simply "credit card approved" I called the company to get an update.They told me that my order wouldnt even freaking ship till the 25th. I decided screw it, I am not paying over a grand for a PC thats not as powerfull and then being forced to wait almost a month to get it as well.
I am finally going to bite the bullet and build my own PC.....problem is I really am a complete newbie with this type of stuff. Iv never even replaced my own freaking ram or graphics card....well I did try once when I was like 13 and somehow managed to jack my PC up which is part of why im terrified of now building my own.
I am reading the How to build your own PC article at Toms Hardware, but ill desperately need more help then that. I mean shit after all the Toms hardware thing while helpfull is frequently going right over my damned head! Any other articles or book recommendations are appreciated, but advice and first hand experience is needed much much more!
Try this video for starters. For now just watch it. If there are terms you don't understand or know - Jot them down - Look them up online - Understand them.
Try this video for starters. For now just watch it. If there are terms you don't understand or know - Jot them down - Look them up online - Understand them.
I feel like if nothing else I can identify what the parts in a computer are now. And ya as you said I plan on taking my time and really trying to learn this stuff. Id rather it take me a month to do this but I get a really awesome PC and knowledge of computers out of this then rush it in a week and learn nothing and get a meh rig.
Ok so watching these vids im feeling pretty comfortable doing this! Guess the next step that im still in the dark on though is picking out the actual parts to order from new egg. Any suggestions. I have a $1,000 budget and I want to build something that will play anything released in the next year or so at high settings. If it comes in at under $1,000 though naturally thats better
[quote name='MSI Magus']Ok so watching these vids im feeling pretty comfortable doing this! Guess the next step that im still in the dark on though is picking out the actual parts to order from new egg. Any suggestions. I have a $1,000 budget and I want to build something that will play anything released in the next year or so at high settings. If it comes in at under $1,000 though naturally thats better [/QUOTE]
When I am home I can sit down and piece together something nice with that budget - You should be solid for 4 to 6 years with budget that large.
Building a PC is much easier then it sounds. The hardest part of the whole ordeal is making sure that everything you buy is compatible. It is much easier then in the past since technology has slowed down somewhat. The actual building part is as easy as screwing a few screws, snapping a few things in slots and hooking up some cords.
Now that you have the tools in your cart you need to decide if you want to go AMD or Intel. I'm going to assume that you are going with Intel. Now if I'm right you will need to decide if you are going to go with the cheaper processor socket 775 or the newer socket 1156 (or the very expensive 1366.) What I gather from your previous posts is that you want a CPU that will last the next few years (and this shouldn't be a problem with either socket.) This is where your major decision is. Go budget with a nice 775 setup or spend the money and go 1156 and be better off for the future? Going with 775 is also a good decision since you can spend less and get more now but it isn't future proof. To be honest you can't go wrong with 775 or 1156.
I'm not a fan of the headaches that come along with sli and crossfire so I will suggest not spending any extra money on a compatible motherboard unless it doesn't cost anything extra. Some will argue with me on this issue but I say lets keep it simple for you the newbie and go with a single PCI Express 2.0 x16 board. I have used many brands of motherboard and anymore I just buy Gigabyte since I've never had a problem with them (personal preference.) Also stay away from micro ATX and just go with a normal ATX motherboard (it is larger with more room for one thing.)
Your next decision will be quad or duo CPU. You can get a top of the line fast duo or slower quad bottom of the line for the same price.
Next up is picking compatible RAM with your motherboard. It would be smart to got with 2 x 2GB RAM or even 4 x 2GB (but that is a bit of overkill at the moment.)
Here is the fun part, picking out a video card. I'm sure that you already have an idea in this category. Make sure you get a PCI Express 2.0 x16 card
HDD time. Unless you want to get fancy just go with a 7200 RPM SATA 3.5" with 32MB cache of the size(s) of your choice.
Time to pick out a case. ATX Mid Tower is the size you are going to want. You can go semi cheap with this if you want or you can go all out. Just remember that cheap cases can be flimsy and come with minor paint imperfections but they are light weight. Windowed cases can be a pain in the ass
to make sure you keep things wired neat and one can start going crazy by trying to match the colors and going by the looks of your parts.
The main thing IMHO when picking out a case is to make sure that it has plenty of room for 120mm fans NOT 80mm fans, be sure it is ATX compatible.
After picking out your case it is time to get a PSU. If your case came with a PSU be sure that it has enough power and the right connections. I have good and ok luck with cheapo case PSU units and others have had good to awful experiences with cheapo PSU. The way I see it is it depends on how much you are spending on your rig. If you are going all out with top of the line components you don't want to use a crappy PSU, you also don't want to use a cheap/stock PSU if you plan on doing much overclocking. If you are going budget or semi budget you can get by with a cheapo PSU as long as it is compatible with your other components. It is hard to suggest anything in this category until I know what your other components are going to be.
Next is cooling. I like fans and I fill my case up with them. Fill every space that your case has with a 120mm fan. LED if you want to make your room glow or not. Be sure to buy one or two extra to have around for when they stop working (and fans seem to always go bad on me.) Next is to buy a heat sink. You don't have to get anything fancy but something that will work with your case and processor socket that uses screws instead of clips. Intel's stock fans are a bitch to use so be sure to not skip this suggestion. I won't suggest anything here until I can see what case and CPU socket you are going with and your overclocking plans. Be sure to get this thermal compound: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835100007
Get a SATA DVD burner and a blu-ray drive if you want one.
A card reader and a 3.5" floppy drive if want.
Another thing you might want to consider is getting a TV Tuner if you watch some TV and would like a TIVO like device on your PC.
Mouse and Keyboard, monitor and speakers if you need them. Don't go cheap on speakers if you plan on not using headphones.
My last bit of advise is when getting help on the net about custom building PC you will get tons of different advice. Some are gung-ho about certain cases, some will call you every name in the book if you don't buy a $120 PSU and some will tell you that buying a quad is worthless then the next guy will tell you the complete opposite. I know the internet is full of this sort of advise but for some reason people are very passionate about their custom builds and it brings out the worst in them. Don't let someone talk you out of how much or how little you want to spend and just get the best/what you want with the budget you have planned. Be sure to post your order on a post before you pull the trigger to make sure you have everything you need and that everything is compatible.
Best of luck and if you have any other questions I will be happy to answer them.
Gonna read over your post in a minute spoo, it looks very helpfull and informative. From the little iv read of it(had a friend over so didnt get to read most) iv learned a bit already. Not sure on AMD vs Athlon, iv seen people say go i5 for gaming but iv seen a lot of others say AMD might not quite be as good as intel but saves a TON of money.
I just wanted to before reading your post put this build up to get opinions on. Im leaning towards the i5 but someone suggested this build which doesnt look bad.
Edit- What exactly does a TV tuner do? We dont have cable TV and just tend to download what we want to watch on the internet...so doubting its usefull to us....but at the same time..
[quote name='MSI Magus']Ok so watching these vids im feeling pretty comfortable doing this! Guess the next step that im still in the dark on though is picking out the actual parts to order from new egg. Any suggestions. I have a $1,000 budget and I want to build something that will play anything released in the next year or so at high settings. If it comes in at under $1,000 though naturally thats better [/QUOTE]
Lots of options in that price range here is an i5 pentium build.
Here are two quick builds I did for you as a starting point. One is a socket 775 with a fast dual core and the other one is a socket 1156 with the i5 quad core.
Here's a thread on Slickdeals I used a few months ago to help me decide on parts for a new PC build. There's a ton of info too, though not necessarily a background info if you are not 100% sure what you are doing. The people there can be pretty helpful though. I would recommend picking he parts you want, posting them in the requested format, and see what they give for feedback.
Because the thread was started back in 2007, I recommend working back a few pages from the most recent page to see what people are posting there. There's a lot of info in there, and there might be some you do not understand, but it is a good place to get more info.
Building a PC is really not that hard, just take your time and have a decent understanding of what you need to do before you start.
Also, if you have not seen these links at Tom's Hardware, they might be of some help:
[quote name='spoo']Here are two quick builds I did for you as a starting point. One is a socket 775 with a fast dual core and the other one is a socket 1156 with the i5 quad core.
Question though. Will I be able to update it to 2 graphics cards later if I want? Iv been trying to do a lot of research and most sites seem to be saying cough up the extra cash for a 5850 unless your going to do 2 5770s now. So its got me first off wanting to make sure down the road id have the option to do 2 5770s if I want, but also just debating spending a bit extra and putting a 5850 in now.
I have a phenom x4 and a 4890 with 2 HDD. They draw 605W for power. I recommend a 650W At least!
Also spend more and get corei7 and a corei7 mobo. Nothing says longevity like 8 threads.
[quote name='tekzor']I have a phenom x4 and a 4890 with 2 HDD. They draw 605W for power. I recommend a 650W At least!
Also spend more and get corei7 and a corei7 mobo. Nothing says longevity like 8 threads.[/QUOTE]
Two questions on this. First would the power supply above work with the rig iv got specked out. Second why do you say go with the i7? Most people have said that while the i7 is more powerful that the i5 is better for playing games.
[quote name='tekzor']Core i5 is the "relaxed" version of the i7. It cant be better unless its clocked higher.The one in your wish list? yes.[/QUOTE]
No not the one in my wish list, look at the one like two or so posts up I linked to. Its a 700w fan I believe. Im totally up for spending a little more for an i7 if it gives a noticeable performance increase, just so far iv seen more posts saying go i5 for gaming. If people here say i7 though again ill pay the $70ish for it.
Also any thoughts on the graphics card? Again thinking of going for what spoo recommended with the 5770(believe thats it)and doubling them later if needed, but a lot of people on various forums seem to be saying spend the bit extra now and grab a 5850.
Edit - Might take an hour or so to respond, the wife wants me to play a game of small world(its a board game)with her.
[quote name='MSI Magus']No not the one in my wish list, look at the one like two or so posts up I linked to. Its a 700w fan I believe. Im totally up for spending a little more for an i7 if it gives a noticeable performance increase, just so far iv seen more posts saying go i5 for gaming. If people here say i7 though again ill pay the $70ish for it.
Also any thoughts on the graphics card? Again thinking of going for what spoo recommended with the 5770(believe thats it)and doubling them later if needed, but a lot of people on various forums seem to be saying spend the bit extra now and grab a 5850.
Edit - Might take an hour or so to respond, the wife wants me to play a game of small world(its a board game)with her.[/QUOTE]
I'm against cross fire or SLI bc they dont offer a worthwhile boost. Get a card with 256-bit memory bus. Especially if you like playing on resolution above 1680x1050.
I'm a multi tasker. I like playing in window mode and running video encoding or youtube. Even all 3 sometimes!
4 cores cpu like mine is just enough. Having 8 threads is the best for me. IF you wont be doing that then the core i5 is enough. Core i7 is still marginally better clock for clock.
Better to go with the i7.. it will have a longer shelf life for upgrades.
If you can plug in a computer you can build one...
It's pretty much just plug things in where they fit. You can't really put a graphics card where ram is supposed to go because they have different sockets.
Put it all together, put in the CD for windows and bam a few minutes later you have a working computer.
Question though. Will I be able to update it to 2 graphics cards later if I want? Iv been trying to do a lot of research and most sites seem to be saying cough up the extra cash for a 5850 unless your going to do 2 5770s now. So its got me first off wanting to make sure down the road id have the option to do 2 5770s if I want, but also just debating spending a bit extra and putting a 5850 in now.[/QUOTE]
That motherboard has very limited SLI/Crossfire support and if that is what you want (I don't want to change your mind one way or another but to put it in a nut shell using two video cards just isn't worth it.) If you do want to go that route you will need to cough up around $100 more for a different motherboard and $50 for a meaty SLI/Crossfire supported PSU. Again I don't want to tell you what you should or shouldn't do but doing a SLI/Crossfire setup gets pricey for very little improvement.
[quote name='MSI Magus']Also on the power supply end someone said to make sure to get at least a 600w power supply and the one you recommended is only $550. For just a few extra bucks I can upgrade to this 700. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341019
Is there a reason to stay with the 550 and is the 700 a good brand/compatible?[/QUOTE]
PSU is where building gaming PCs can get tricky. If you want to go with the 5850 card you will need a bigger PSU then the 550w and the 700w you gave a link for. The +12v is what you are looking at when you want to support a power hungry card. The 700w PSU that you link has 18A shared with four +12v rails. The 550w PSU has 22A on two rails and 25A on one rail (enough for 5850.) You want higher amps to support high end video cards. With that said the 550 in the wishlist will be sufficient for one 5770 but not the power eating 5850.
Here is a generic calculator to help figure out what size of PSU you need but it is very general. As a general rule the higher end of CPU and Video Cards will need the higher end of PSU (on the +12v rails.) http://educations.newegg.com/tool/psucalc/index.html
As far as going with an i7 over an i5 you get to the point where you are paying a large premium for small amount of difference. If you take the $300 (about the price difference it will cost to go with an i7 with 5850 with larger PSU) to upgrade in 2 years it will be money better spent IMHO. There is no doubt that the i7 and 5850 are better but at that point you need to weigh out the price to performance ratio and if it is worth it to you. Like Kenrik said if you are a multitasker it would be worth the money but for the 99% of us that just have a few things running at once the i5 is more then enough. (That just means we don't need to be converting a DVD to an .avi file when playing left for dead while running a virus scan, instead we can wait until we are done playing.)
The problem is if he goes with i7 he will have have to sacrifice in some other areas. i5 is plenty of power at this time i7 is over kill (spend the extra money on a better video card).
[quote name='spoo']That motherboard has very limited SLI/Crossfire support and if that is what you want (I don't want to change your mind one way or another but to put it in a nut shell using two video cards just isn't worth it.) If you do want to go that route you will need to cough up around $100 more for a different motherboard and $50 for a meaty SLI/Crossfire supported PSU. Again I don't want to tell you what you should or shouldn't do but doing a SLI/Crossfire setup gets pricey for very little improvement.
PSU is where building gaming PCs can get tricky. If you want to go with the 5850 card you will need a bigger PSU then the 550w and the 700w you gave a link for. The +12v is what you are looking at when you want to support a power hungry card. The 700w PSU that you link has 18A shared with four +12v rails. The 550w PSU has 22A on two rails and 25A on one rail (enough for 5850.) You want higher amps to support high end video cards. With that said the 550 in the wishlist will be sufficient for one 5770 but not the power eating 5850.
Here is a generic calculator to help figure out what size of PSU you need but it is very general. As a general rule the higher end of CPU and Video Cards will need the higher end of PSU (on the +12v rails.) http://educations.newegg.com/tool/psucalc/index.html
As far as going with an i7 over an i5 you get to the point where you are paying a large premium for small amount of difference. If you take the $300 (about the price difference it will cost to go with an i7 with 5850 with larger PSU) to upgrade in 2 years it will be money better spent IMHO. There is no doubt that the i7 and 5850 are better but at that point you need to weigh out the price to performance ratio and if it is worth it to you. Like Kenrik said if you are a multitasker it would be worth the money but for the 99% of us that just have a few things running at once the i5 is more then enough. (That just means we don't need to be converting a DVD to an .avi file when playing left for dead while running a virus scan, instead we can wait until we are done playing.)[/QUOTE]
I really am not that interested in running 2 cards. It does seem kind of stupid and more often then not I see people say its just a penis substitue. It really seems smarter to just spend the extra cash to upgrade to a better GC now then try and duel boot later.
On the graphics card end if I stick with the 5770 do you think it will last the next year or two running at decent settings? I can see waiting to purchase a graphics card if it will indeed last a bit since the 5850 is almost double the price.
The CPU debate im a little more torn on because the i5 is only $70-$80 cheaper so it seems like upgrading later would be more expensive. How big is the gain from the i5 to i7, if it really isnt that noticeable and the i5 should last for 3/4 years again id still be content to stick with it.
The only multi tasking I do is running torrents and music while playing a game.
[quote name='tekzor']7200rpm HDD only. Not 5400[/QUOTE]
*reminds tekzor he is an idiot when it comes to PC stuff*
Iv got no clue what you said there and if your saying that HDD is good or bad.
Wait I think I get it, your saying that you want to make sure its a 7,200 and never a 5,400. Ill take a second look then. Pretty sure most of the HDDs that were left on newegg were really expensive for meh results.
[quote name='MSI Magus']I really am not that interested in running 2 cards. It does seem kind of stupid and more often then not I see people say its just a penis substitue. It really seems smarter to just spend the extra cash to upgrade to a better GC now then try and duel boot later.
On the graphics card end if I stick with the 5770 do you think it will last the next year or two running at decent settings? I can see waiting to purchase a graphics card if it will indeed last a bit since the 5850 is almost double the price.
The CPU debate im a little more torn on because the i5 is only $70-$80 cheaper so it seems like upgrading later would be more expensive. How big is the gain from the i5 to i7, if it really isnt that noticeable and the i5 should last for 3/4 years again id still be content to stick with it.
The only multi tasking I do is running torrents and music while playing a game.
For a HDD you are looking for 7200 RPM, 32MB cache and SATA 3.0.
As far as brands go I have had great luck with Samsung, WD and Seagate. Anymore as long as it is one of those three brands I go with price and reviews.
[quote name='MSI Magus']I really am not that interested in running 2 cards. It does seem kind of stupid and more often then not I see people say its just a penis substitue. It really seems smarter to just spend the extra cash to upgrade to a better GC now then try and duel boot later.
On the graphics card end if I stick with the 5770 do you think it will last the next year or two running at decent settings? I can see waiting to purchase a graphics card if it will indeed last a bit since the 5850 is almost double the price.
The CPU debate im a little more torn on because the i5 is only $70-$80 cheaper so it seems like upgrading later would be more expensive. How big is the gain from the i5 to i7, if it really isnt that noticeable and the i5 should last for 3/4 years again id still be content to stick with it.
The only multi tasking I do is running torrents and music while playing a game.
IIRC There were big differences between the i5 and i7 for things like video encoding and photoshopping. For gaming right now you don't need the i7, but if you go with it now in a few years you will only need to upgrade your graphics card and maybe bump up to the fastest i7 compatible CPU rather than redo the whole setup from scratch.
so hopefully this whole dead socket issue you guys are talking about isnt a huge deal. Really as long as this new PC lasts me 2 years before major updates and after an update to RAM/GC another 2 years after that then I dont care if I end up having to make a new machine 
