Building a gaming computer

So these are the parts I'm getting.
I'm completely new to this, so I'm extremely worried about compatibility issues.
I was wondering if someone could look over this, and maybe give me some advice for better choices or whatever.

Also I'm not sure if the case I decided on will fit all the parts.
I'm also not sure how much power my power supply should have, nor if I need anything else.
How do I decide on ram or hard drive? I'm assuming the other parts won't matter as much as these 4, but I could be completely wrong.

I'm working on this computer for my girlfriend, so I really don't want to screw it up lol.

Anyways:
Motherboard:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...#scrollFullInfo

Processor:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...rssku-_-NA-_-NA

Graphics Card:
ATI RADEON HD 5850

Case:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16811146038

for $1500 u can get a ton of stuff

first off lets start with the case....a mid-tower may be able to fit everything but if u have the space i would suggest a full-tower case such as these: (i will use the cosmos for pricing)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...9-043-_-Product antec 1200
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...9-138-_-Product cooler master cosmos (189.99)

next u will need a motherboard: the one u chose will work, however it didnt have usb 3.0 or things to sort of future-proof ure pc like the msi board listed below:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...0-274-_-Product msi atx motherboard (199.99)

next the procesor...the one u chose should be more than enough for anything ure girlfriend wants to do (265.99)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...-_-NA-_-NA-_-NA

and now for the ram: looking for compatibility with ram: u will see the ram listed as 1333, 1600, etc. these just need to match ure motherboards specifications (which is listed) these are a type of timing raiting, so the bigger the number the better for example: a ddr3 1333 stick is slightly slower than a ddr3 1600 stick.....u will also see cas latencies listed and timings that look like 9-9-24 the faster the ram the lower the timings. u also need to make sure of what ure mobo needs such as dual or triple channel ram (which is also listed) so pretty much u just have to match the ram details to the mobo details and make sure everything works together

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...1-311-_-Product (149.99) 8gb of ram (2x4gb sticks) if u buy 4gb sticks now it is easier and cheaper to upgrade in the future

the psu and motherboard u should never skimp on...on newegg if u search power supplies there listed on the left should be a wattage calculator...just fill it out and it gives u an estimate of what whattage u need, so get a psu a little over what the calculator says to be safe

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...9-009-_-Product (129.99) (850w psu should be more than enough for now and future upgrades u may make)

now u need a Hard Drive...dont know what u are using this pc for so i dont know how much to list so ill just list a 1tb drive which last u a long while:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...6-284-_-Product (87.99)

and u also need an operating system: windows 7 home premium....just make sure u get the 64bit version otherwise u cant go over 4gb of ram! (99.99)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16832116754

and now the video card: hd radeon 5850 (309.99)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814102881

u will also need a dvd/cd drive: i use this one and its really fast and lightscribe is great if u choose to use it

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...p;Tpk=hp%201270

accept for monitor, keyboard, mouse set up this is all u need

the price for the things listed above (remember i chose the more expensive case to price) is: w/o shipping: $1463.91 w/ shipping(just chose it to my house to get a estimate) is: $1492.61 shipping= $28.70


ps. if u choose to get a cheaper case or cheaper other components i would suggest using the saved money to buy an after-market cpu cooler such as one like this...especially if u plan on overclocking anything

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...3-055-_-Product (59.99 w/ free shipping)


hope this answers some questions and helps u choose some parts...remember have fun with it!!!

good luck!

Wow thank you so much!!
I've been looking around and researching stuff for so long, my brain hurts.
This has really helped a lot. I've read so much, and felt like I've understood so little from my own research, haha.


A question though:
How much is it worth it to get USB 3.0? What benefits do I get from it?

Edited by Deee, 05 October 2010 - 09:41 PM.

I agree with the majority of Blaze's build and the Cosmos is a really good case. I would, however, go for a different graphics card due to price only as at the $300 price mark, you are nearing 5870 territory. I just purchased the HIS H585FN1GD Radeon HD 5850 (Cypress Pro) 1GB and it is a great card for about $50 less than the suggested card. An alternate 5850 would be the XFX HD-585X-ZAFC Radeon HD 5850 1GB. As for a power supply, you only really need about 700W for CrossfireX with two high-end AMD graphics cards, so I would suggest the CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W, SILVERSTONE ELEMENT ST75EF 750W, or the PC Power and Cooling Silencer Mk II PPCMK2S750 750W. As for the USB 3.0 thing, USB what is used to transfer information to attached devices, like an MP3 player or an external hard drive. USB 3.0 is faster than 2.0, however, only with USB 3.0 compatible devices. USB 3.0 is fully backwards compatible with USB 2.0 and 1.0.

Wow thanks so much.
Another quick question about crossfire:

if I were to get one of those Radeon HD 5850s, and wanted to upgrade later and get another one, will it have to be exactly the same?
Could i put a 5850 from one maker in crossfire with another from another maker?
And even if I could, would there be any benefits to having them both from the same maker?

Also, how difficult is it to set up crossfire?

Thanks a lot guys!
This forum is awesome

for crossfire the maker doesnt matter, just the card itself like a xfx 5850 with a saphire 5850 will work together as long as they r both 5850's and as for difficulty lol there is a connector that goes across the top of the cards and hooks them together...super dooper easy stuff there and i dont think having 2 different makers will hurt performance at all or at least shouldnt as far as i know

Okay very cool.
Thank you so much Blaze.

Is there anything else to Power Supply compatibility other than wattage? A lot of these Power supplies say something like "Compatible with Intel I7" or something like that, which makes me wonder if it's Compatible with everything or just that.

no it is compatible...all that means is that it is powerful enough to run that cpu most advertise the i7 just because it is one of the higher end and power sucking chips