Confused about what gaming computer parts to buy .

[THE_MASK]

Confused about what gaming computer parts to buy . What cpu should i get ? i5 or i7 . Whats the diffrence . I plan on getting an ati 5870 video card . How much memory do i need , is 8 gig ok , do i need that much ? I plan on getting the windows 7 64 bit . Is the coolmaster HAF 932 a good case . I just want to but 1 harddrive , am i better off with a 64 gig ssd ? What motherboard ? thanks .

[Skybird]

Depends on the games you plan to install on that thing. In general, iIf you have many games without multi-processor optimization, you probably can save a lot of money by getting a dual core instead of quad, but these dual cores with higher running frequency. Possible that such games run faster that way, than on a quad with lower CPU speed. Why paying for cores your software cannot make use of? To run the antivir software on them while you play...?

8 Gigs you do not need. I never heared of any software so far suppoorting that much of memory. Maybe if you do video editing, but even then I am not sure.

[Castout]

I'm confused too but so far I've been lucky all the parts work well together.

You need a friend who could advise you on the technical bits and macth them to your need.

All I know is to get a good motherboard and if you could an all solid capacitor one for enhance longevity.

Get a harddisk that's has a high rpm and the capacity to suit your need. For gamer it's better to get larger than 500Gb of hard disk.

As for memory since you're planning to use a 64 bit system having more than 4Gb of memory would not hurt though it may not be that useful to have ridiculous amount of memory since there's no app that's going to even need 8Gb of RAM anyway. DDR3 is the newest typer of RAm out there. If you're planning to use DDR3 make sure you buy a motherboard which supports them. There's timing in RAM too the faster the more expensive they become.

For processor I just think i7 a waste of money but if you have the extra cash well why not. A quad core is the minimum and try to avoid dual core nowadays.

Most important of all never ever buy a cheap PSU(power unit). Buy a good one and buy one which is rated higher than what you need.(if your CPU is going to need say 650Watt supply use say an 800Watt PSU or higher so you wouldn't tax the PSU unit too high of its rating and get a more stable power fed to your system).

Good luck and congratulation on your new system when they come together. Buying branded CPU is a ripp off imo :DL. I like it more when you can choose what you want inside the tower yourself and they come much cheaper too.

[THE_MASK]

Ok , well an i5 661 3.33ghz LGA1156 is considerably cheaper than an i7 930 2.8ghz LGA1366 . Whats the diffrence ?

[THE_MASK]

Yes i agree the power supply is the most important . I am figuring on getting a antec signiature 850 watt psu .

[stabiz]

i5 processors run with dual channel ram and i7 run with tripple channel. (I believe)

The HD5870 is amazing, I have it myself and it eats anything. 8GB ram is not needed for gaming, but I know I get good use of my sticks when rendering HD video. With 4GB I had crashes and sloooow responses.

[Feuer Frei!]

Yes i agree the power supply is the most important.
Not really true, the Mobo is....
The Mobo should be the first port of call when either upgrading or building from scratch...
If you have a good Mobo, ie upgradeability/future-proof then you have a good foundation which you can then build upon, ie GPU (Crossfire, Triplefire, Quadfire), RAM (Dual channel), CPU (support for I3/I5 and I7)...
Next step is to really ask yourself, what sort of games do you want to play?
Current and future games?
99% of current games don't address or support Quad core architecture/technology, of course this will change over the next year or two, which then gets back to the Mobo upgradeability factor (support for GPU's, more RAM etc etc).
The big 3 in any PC are Mobo, GPU and PSU.
4gb of RAM are sufficient if only playing games, browsing, watching movies, emailing etc.
Win 7 (64-bit a min. of 4GB is recommended to allow for optimal running).
Dual monitor set-ups, video-editing, multi-tasking, etc, then more than 4 GB will be needed.
With your GPU, always ensure you check the maker's website on what THEY recommend for PSU requirements...
never hurts to have more Watts then recommended.
Beware of "bottlenecking", which can occur if the "big 3" don't or aren't setup for optimization, and working in synch with each other, all too often people have the latest and fastest CPU, GPU or PSU but "scimp" on the other two...
which often leads to "lag", over-heating" or worse system failure...
There are plenty of websites out there which offer4 advice on setting up or customizing systems, do your research before committing and ensure it's a future-proof system, which gives you "room to move" in the coming years...

Edit:
a good link to explain in laymen's terms the difference between an I5 and a I7....

http://www.brighthub.com/computing/hardware/articles/48391.aspx

[CaptainHaplo]

Under general topics is a PC/support forum - ask in there and we can give feeback on specific questions.

However- one I will answer here - if your going to build a GAME machine (not doing video editing, etc) - you get more bang for your buck by using a Phenom II x4 vs an I7. Game wise the performance is very close while the price is not.