$1000 i5 Build - Thoughts?

789 Views 2 Replies 3 Participants Last post by simlev, Nov 26, 2009

mraviator

Discussion Starter · Nov 22, 2009

After using my trusty Athlon 2500 XP Barton build for the last 6+ years, I'm finally building a new system in the next few weeks. I plan on building an i5 system for $1000 or less, mainly for flight simming, number crunching (I'm an Engineer) and some first person shooters (nothing too hardcore). Here's what I have in mind:

Mobo: GIGABYTE GA-P55A-UD3 or MSI P55-GD65
CPU: Intel i5-750
Video: ATI 5750 or 5770 (not sure which yet)
Memory: G.SKILL 4GB DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
HD: Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB
PSU: CORSAIR CMPSU-620HX 620W
DVD: Sony Optiarc 24X DVD/CD Rewritable Drive
Case: Antec 300
OS: Windows 7 Family 3-Pack (plan on 64 bit install)

Total on Newegg as of today, $973 (hoping for some deals on Black Friday weekend...)

Notes/Questions:
1. The plan is for some mild/moderate overclocking to 3.2-3.3 Ghz, nothing crazy. Suggestions on a CPU heatsink/fan for the LGA 1156 board?
2. I did not do much research in the memory, but this set is on Gigabyte's list of tested memory....any thoughts on other memory?
3. I don't plan on CF/SLI, so I like the idea of the Gigabyte P55A-UD3 for the USB 3.0 and 6GB/s SATA for future use (SSD upgrade some day?). Too early to jump on this technology implementation (I do plan on using this system for 3-4 years)?

Any thoughts are greatly appreciated...

Thanks,
Michael

Save

1 - 3 of 3 Posts

Mikecdm

· #2 · Nov 22, 2009

It looks like a solid set up. You probably don't need much of a heatsink for such a modest overclock, but the coolermaster hyper 212 should do well and isn't terribly expensive. For memory, since you don't seem like you'll be doing much overclocking, pretty much any reputable brand will be good. Corsair, g-skill, ocz, anything will get the job done.

I don't know much about the sata3 and usb3 stuff, so I can't offer any advice there.

Save

simlev

· #3 · Nov 26, 2009

I am planning to build a very similiar system, but I'll probably go for gtx275. I just don't understand why I should take a ati 5770 which gives me worse frame rates than an ati 4890 or gtx275 just to have directX 11. I'm sceptic about future proofing.

An ati 58xx maybe - but that's a whole other league financially.

I just ordered the Coolermaster Hyper 212 Plus - so cheap, fits the 1156 socket and according to the reviews gets the job done.

I will get the antec 902 - bigger, better airflow, better looks (well thats subjective)

The MSI-P55-GD65 has this OC Genie button for 1-second overclocking, you just press it and if you are lucky you get a very fast approximatly 800 Mhz overclock.

Save

1 - 3 of 3 Posts

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.

Top Contributors this Month