New build, comments and advice please

Ive always loved computer games. But I wanted to build a good enough computer that will be good enough to get me off the ps3 for good. And hopefully, when the ps4 comes out, i'll feel like i owe myself 600 quid to spend on my computer (since that money would be spent on the console).

So yeah, tis gonna be for gaming. But, ive got my ps3 connected to my 40 inch 1080p lcd. And I wouldnt want to plug my pc into that and get a low fps but i also dont want to switch to a 22 inch. And i cant afford a 32 inch...

Heres the build so far;


Mobo: ASUS M4A78T-E 790GX AM3 Socket


PCU: AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition 3.2 GHz 8MB Cache
AM3


GPU: XFX HD 4890 1GB Version


RAM: Corsair Dominator XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1600C9D Twin3X


Case: Coolermaster Silver Stacker 831


PSU: Arctic Power 700W PSU


HDD: Samsung EcoGreen F2 1TB 32MB Cache - OEM


LiteOn 20x DVD±RW Dual Layer & Ram IDE Black Bare Drive -OEM(Cheap n cheerfull)

OS: Vista 64bit, win7 64bit when its released.


Can anyone recomend a good, cheapish cpu cooler? I want to get my 955 to at least 3.8ghz. 4ghz if all goes well.

Didnt I say i couldnt afford to buy a 32 inch tv? My budget isnt high...

I dont want to spend much more than £700/$1140 on the build.

As for the monitor, if i need one. I'll just buy a cheap 720p 22-24".

By slower ram, you mean ddr2? I thought ddr3 might be good for the future. Didnt ddr2 look pointless when most people were still using ddr?

If you mean slower ddr3 memory... The ram in my original post is only about £10 more than the cheapest i can buy over here in the uk.

Switching to ddr2 would only save me about £40. (Getting a mobo with 2 gpu slots... Buying things in the uk = being ripped off.

This message was merged with other messages by The Slayer (moderator)

Mate, I'm getting 4GB of DDR3 RAM from crucial for around £50 (for the same CPU). So you could save about £20 there. (Based on your choice being £70)
You can either wait for Win 7 to come out or buy Vista with an upgrade path. Personally I'm waiting for Win 7.
If you're not spending money on a monitor and you want to use your current 40" then surely you'd have money left over to get a video card able to handle the massive res? Maybe you could sell your 40" and use the money to get a 32"?
I also would have thought you could save money on a case, are 9 120mm fans necessary to cool a CPU overclock that you are planning? I don't know someone else here should be able to answer.

trust me, a 4890 on a 40 inch will work fine. worst case scenario, your FPS suffers a little, but is still easily playable, and you get another 4890 in the future.

the only games you'll have a problem maxing out at that resolution are crysis warhead, stalker clear sky, and maybe a few others that are recent titles, my 4870 handles most games 50+ fps at 1920+1200 which is slightly higher resolution than your tv. You could probly drop the res down to 1680x1050 have it look 95% as good and run smoothly if you have any problems at 1080p.

I was pretty disappointed at clear sky at first, mainly because i couldnt play with maxed out settings but the gameplay wasnt as good as the first.

shadow of chernobyl?
It was great, just the loading times (for me) were quite long. Game looked and played great.