New gaming computer - First build

[FireFtw]

Ive been looking for a good gaming build and came across this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.1018144
Which as far as I can see is a great build, questions though
One, is it excessive for gaming? the processor and ram are pretty high, and it would help if I could spend a bit less.
Second, the video card gots 2gb of memory, but also has another slot for a second card, if I stayed with one monitor would it be useless to upgrade?

Or if not, could you point me to a good gaming build? Preferably around $750

[zburns]

Hello FireFtw, welcome to the forums:

Your build is fine. The package has a SSD with 120 Gbyte capacity. Most new builds we see have mechanical drives of one TB (about 8 times the capacity of the 120 Gbyte SSD). You could add a second mechanical Western Digital Black hard drive, 500 GB for less than $100, and, this would get your total HD capacity to a safe level.

That is a pretty good price for a system; most systems cost more! I am sure you realize there is no keyboard, mouse and speakers with the package.


Second, the video card gots 2gb of memory, but also has another slot for a second card, if I stayed with one monitor would it be useless to upgrade?

I am not exactly sure what your question is, but I can make this comment or comments: The second slot is a duplicate of the first PCIex16 slot and will allow you to add a identical second video card for SLI operation. You can do this now or later. Most new builds on this forum do not use a second video card in SLI configuration, at least not initially. Using two identical cards in SLI will however result in the both cards running at PCIeX8 speed.

Use of the second slot does not have any effect on whether you use a second monitor or not.

[FireFtw]

Hello FireFtw, welcome to the forums:

Your build is fine. The package has a SSD with 120 Gbyte capacity. Most new builds we see have mechanical drives of one TB (about 8 times the capacity of the 120 Gbyte SSD). You could add a second mechanical Western Digital Black hard drive, 500 GB for less than $100, and, this would get your total HD capacity to a safe level.

That is a pretty good price for a system; most systems cost more! I am sure you realize there is no keyboard, mouse and speakers with the package.



I am not exactly sure what your question is, but I can make this comment or comments: The second slot is a duplicate of the first PCIex16 slot and will allow you to add a identical second video card for SLI operation. You can do this now or later. Most new builds on this forum do not use a second video card in SLI configuration, at least not initially. Using two identical cards in SLI will however result in the both cards running at PCIeX8 speed.

Use of the second slot does not have any effect on whether you use a second monitor or not.

Thanks for the reply, what I was attempting to say in that second part was if I would need to get a second video card to get games to run at a decent speed on higher settings?

[zburns]

The video card looks like a good bargain given its specs and the price. It has 1400 'plus some' stream processors. Here is a url for an evga card with 1500 processors, take a look at it for their price: http://www.evga.com/products/moreInfo.asp?pn=02G-P4-2682-KR&family=GeForce%20600%20Series%20Family&sw

You need to google the following: 'reviews SAPPHIRE 11188-22-20G Radeon HD 6950 2GB'. I did this 'quickly' looking for a major reviewer article and did not find one, but I did see some 'forum reviews', including Tom's Hardware forum reviews.

The speed of the card is proportional to the stream processors as well as other specs. To specifically answer your question regards a second card, you can definitely get improved results with a second identical card. But this card seems to be a good card at a very low price so you should try it first and see if it suits your needs for the present. But again, I emphasize the reviews. The one thing about a major reviewer doing a lengthy review on a card is that 'anything' that can be considered a negative will pop up in the review -- but I saw no major reviewer on the 'google search', just some 'known forum reviews'.

Sorry to be so vague or non committal. Definitely look at whatever reviews on this card you can find. 'Forum reviews' (example Tom's Hardware) may the best you can do.
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Another factor to consider is this. When you use a faster video card (instead of your present choice), you must also use a larger power supply. If you want to add a second card in SLI config, you will have to change your power supply to a larger one.

[RickyTick]

Looks like a good build. Have you considered the 7870 gpu? Recent price cuts put it right around the $250 mark, plus it's faster than the 6950, iirc.