[oneguy1]

Hi there. So at the moment, I'm looking into building a PC (bear in mind though, that it will be my first time doing so).

So far I've narrowed it down to these components.

Motherboard: ASUS P8P67

CPU: Core i7 I7-2600K 8 MB

Graphics card: XFX Radeon HD 6870 Black Edition (1 GB)

HDD: WD Caviar Blue WD10EALX 1 TB

Optical drive: Samsung Super-WriteMaster SH-S223C

RAM: 2x Kingston HyperX blu 2 x 2 GB

PSU: Corsair VX550W

Now, I am by no means an expert, and to be honest, I don't know how well these would work together. The thing I am unsure about the most is the power supply (how does it work with all of these different pins on the cables etc.? Also in regards to whether 550 watt will actually be enough).

So I guess the question comes down to whether or not this is a good machine capable of running newer games on high settings in 1080p (obviously some adjustments to the various game settings can and probably will have to be made in some cases), and how well the components "work" together...

Thanks in advance!

 

[hhnq04]

Bump the PSU to 750W+

Prefer Corsair - Mushkin - Gskill for performance RAM, Kingston is middle of the road IMO.

It'll handle modern games without a problem so long as there isn't another bump in the road for the socket 1155.

 

[oneguy1]

Thanks for your answer.

Any reason as to why I should have a 750W+ PSU instead?

I was also looking at the Radeon HD 6950 (2 GB), would it be a large difference seeing as it has twice the amount of RAM?

Also, the case I was planning on getting, is the Cooler Master HAF 912 plus. Would this be a good choice? I'm told that the HAF 922 is better to go with...

 

[xpert71]

i vote for this.

SAPPHIRE SPH-EHD6950HDM2G, ATI Radeon HD6950









psu CORSAIR PROFESSIONAL SERIES GOLD AX1200

 

[xpert71]

and for ram
this are my recomand
kingston 2x4gb

 

[hhnq04]

It's good to have some overhead in your PSU. You don't want to run the PSU at or near it's max output for prolonged periods of time, it will dramatically lessen it's lifespan, and you do NOT want to deal with a dying PSU.

 

[oneguy1]

Ah, I see. Would it be possible for you to make any recommendations? I did see the 1200 watt someone else linked, but I think that's a tad too much, it is also quite expensive...

 

[Ooudestomp]

Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER Silent Pro Gold Series RS800-80GAD3-US 800W ATX 12V v2.3 / EPS 12V v2.92 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply < this is a great PSU, very quiet with great build quality.

 

[Tomha]

If its a gaming pc I suggest you upgrade your HD to either a solid state (but they are very expensive) or at least a wd caviar black. It will cost a tad more, but caviar blacks are among WDs high end HDs and should offer you better performance.

 

[Tyree]

650W minimum for the 6850. SeaSonic-XFX-Corsair are top quality PSU's.
Same advice as Team Mate hhnq04 on the RAM.

 

[hhnq04]

Agree that Caviar Black HDD by Western Digital are of high quality.
Disagree on the advantages of a SSD considering price. You'll benefit in boot and load times, and that's about it. Not worth it for the typical budgeted user until prices come down.

 

[daniella100.5]

I agree with you to some level hhnq04; however, I keep thinking it might be worth it to purchase a SSD just large enough to fit my OS and a game or two on it... especially with how often I reset my PC.

 

[Tyree]

SSD's are a very poor value and offer no real advantage other than faster boot times.

 

[hhnq04]

If those few seconds are worth that amount of money to you, then buy one. It's nice to have the system load that quickly sure. I'm simply suggesting that for most people who look at things from a cost / performance standpoint, they aren't worth it. If it's worth it to you, it's your money not mine, spend as you wish!

 

[zraupp10]

750w is fine and why i7? only diff from i5 and i7 is Hyper Threading and games do not benefit from Hyper Threading, put that $ on a better video card/ or better power supply