[NeonFx]

I want to spend about 1500 dollars on this thing and I've come up with this setup:

Mobo: MSI 890FXA-GD70
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16813130274

Case: Antec 1200 w/ 750W PSU
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16811129063

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16819103727

CPU Fan: Zalman LED 110mm
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16835118019

HDD: WD VelociRaptor 450GB Sata6gb/s
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16822136557

RAM: GeIL Value PLUS 4GB (2 x 2GB)
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820144435

Optical: LITE-ON Black DVD burner, multiple format, SATA
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16827106335

VideoCard: SAPPHIRE 100283-3L Radeon HD 5770 1GB
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814102873



My idea was to make this thing upgradable in the future. I figured a newer motherboard would be the best way to accomplish that. With what I selected, I could upgrade the ram (double it up and there's also room for OCing/faster RAM), video card (purchase another and use Crossfirex), CPU (can be upgraded to a 6 core, etc AM3 CPU) and HDD (get at large drive for data storage) easily. It has USB3.0 ports and Sata6 connectors so it should last a good while before I'll have to buy a new mobo. (plus, this mobo has pretty blue LEDs and it goes well with the case)


Will all this equipment work together? Will that CPU fan fit considering how large that northbridge heatsink is? Does the fan only go in one way? (crossways where the bend of the fan would hit the heatsink, or sideways so that the air is blowing to the back of the case?)



Thank you for any advice you can give. Let me know if you think any of the parts can be replaced with a better option.

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Hi.


Looks pretty good.

If this is mainly a gaming rig you might be interested in this article I came across yesterday, and browse the site, >
http://www.yougamers...aming_pc_specs/ Note the bit about ram and SSD drive.

I use Antec cases. The Twelve Hundred is huge, I would want to know a little more about the PSU that it comes with. The fans are manual switching, no control by the Mobo.

OS? Windows 7?

[iammykyl]

Hi.


Looks pretty good.

If this is mainly a gaming rig you might be interested in this article I came across yesterday, and browse the site, >
http://www.yougamers...aming_pc_specs/ Note the bit about ram and SSD drive.

I use Antec cases. The Twelve Hundred is huge, I would want to know a little more about the PSU that it comes with. The fans are manual switching, no control by the Mobo.

OS? Windows 7?

[NeonFx]

That was a long article but it was quite informative, thank you.

It would be easy to upgrade to a SSD later on. I might wait until there are cheaper 6gb/s SSD's that I can get.

I already have a copy of Windows 7 64bit I can use for this rig.

I heard that the 1200 was a beast of a case, and that was when I went all over it.

There don't seem to be any complaints about the PSU that comes with it in the comments at the site. Antec is afterall a good PSU manufacturer themselves so I'm not surprised. The only other thing I'm concerned about with this is that some of the power connectors might not reach all the way behind the board and back around the top, this being a bottom mounted power supply. I'd like to be able to make use of the cool cable management the case allows for and run all cables behind the motherboard; so I might have to purchase extenders for whatever power cord doesn't reach.

[iammykyl]

I would still check that PSU. Antec themselves do not supply a case and PSU as a complete unit so Newegg would choose one. It may have a limited warranty, Not modular, poor components or not enough amps on the 12v rail to support top end video cards. I don't think extensions for cables are a good solution.

This Antec 850w PSU is specifically designed for there gaming cases, like the Twelve Hundred > http://www.newegg.co...ntec%20CP%20850
The 2 items would take almost any future upgrade.

Your cooler. The mounting bracket will lift the cooler a little so should clear the northbridge. I have a Noctua cooler and mounted it so it faces up and the top fan then exhausts the heat.

Edited by iammykyl, 04 November 2010 - 12:31 AM.

[NeonFx]

You're right, a modular PSU that I know is good is certainly the better option over a PSU chosen by newegg. I could replace everything else and continue to use the same PSU and case for a long time.


I thank you for your input in this iammykyl. I'm excited and can't wait till I order all the parts and they start coming in and all fitting together nicely

[iammykyl]

You are more than welcome.

Now don't forget, while in cloud nine, to let us know how things go.