Building Second Gaming Rig Specs included

[Viqu]

Hello all,

This is my second rig im building and im looking for suggestions/pointers and opinions. Price is not a concern for me so if you have a different part that you think should be used post it. Below i have listed i think all the parts i need with prices and links to ht e place to buy them. This system is based on an alienware pc that i then took the parts and shopped for them each exactly or a similiar part. Total building myself i saved about 1k. So please help!

intel Pentium Extreme Edition 840 Smithfield 800MHz FSB 2 x 1MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Dual Core, EM64T Processor
$1,209 | $1,005 newegg | zipzoomfly $1,005

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819116214

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/Produc...e=pricegrabber

Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional with Service Pack 2 $119 | Newegg $229

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16837116195

ENERMAX Noisetaker 600W Power Supply ATX 12V V2.0 compatible Model EG701AXVE SFMA 2.0 SLI
$158.00 |

intel BOXD955XBKLKR Socket T (LGA 775) Intel 955X ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Newegg $245 | zipzoomfly $239.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813121286

ARCTIC COOLING FREEZER7 ACFZ7 77mm Ceramic Cooling Fan/Heatsink - Retail
Newegg $39.99 |

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835185116

BFG Tech BFGR68512UOCX Geforce 6800Ultra 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail
NewEgg $704.00 |

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814143028

ThermalTake VA8000SWA Armor Silver ATX Full Tower
$180.95

2x GeIL DDR 2 Series 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM Unbuffered DDR2 533 (PC2 4300) Dual Channel Kit System Memory - Retail
Newegg $192.22 |

1TB (500GB x 2) Hitachi 500GB Hard Drive
zipzoomfly $680 |

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/Produc...e=pricegrabber

Plextor PX-716A/SW DVD±RW Dual Layer Writer
$115.58

Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy 4 Pro
Zipzoomfly $249.99 |

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/Produc...uctCode=290230

3.5" 1.44 MB Floppy Disk Drive - Black
Zipzoomfly $13.50 |

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/Produc...e=pricegrabber

Opti-UPS ES1500C 1400VA (980W Capacity)$172.89

total=$3981.11

Edit I changed the dvd burner and got rid of the cd burner.

Re-Edit changed the Power Supply to enermax. My cost just went down thanks to RJ's help Kepp suggestions coming.

[rspassey]

Do you already have a copy of Windows Xp pro? If so, you can resuse the instal cd.

[RJ]

Wow. . I see what you're trying to build.

Well, for a gaming rig of that price range you just have to go SLI. Get a good SLI mainboard, and 2 of the graphic cards.

AOpen DUW1608/ARR DVD±RW Writer $52.03 | Lite-On 52x32x52 $36.11 |

Nah, don't get them. AOpen is just average. Get the Plextor PX-716A or PX-716SA (depending whether you want SATA or not), that's the best DVD burner out there. You don't need the LiteOn, as the PX-716(S)A doest burn CDs as well.

Even for such a powerful PC, 850W is way exaggerated. A quality 550W, like an Enermax, will be enough for that.

RJ

[Viqu]

Originally Posted by ryan124712 Do you already have a copy of Windows Xp pro? If so, you can resuse the instal cd.

Lets say i dont have the original Copy of Windows

Originally Posted by RJ Wow. . I see what you're trying to build. Well, for a gaming rig of that price range you just have to go SLI. Get a good SLI mainboard, and 2 of the graphic cards. Quote: AOpen DUW1608/ARR DVD±RW Writer $52.03 | Lite-On 52x32x52 $36.11 | Nah, don't get them. AOpen is just average. Get the Plextor PX-716A or PX-716SA (depending whether you want SATA or not), that's the best DVD burner out there. You don't need the LiteOn, as the PX-716(S)A doest burn CDs as well. Even for such a powerful PC, 850W is way exaggerated. A quality 550W, like an Enermax, will be enough for that. RJ

Well for the mention of SLI if you could post some actual product links for me it would be a great help so i dont pick out the wrong one.

The Dvd drives do they burn cd's also? If so i have no problem switching over to those. Now the power supply. I was just playing it safe

[RJ]

The Dvd drives do they burn cd's also?

Yes. All DVD burners also burn CDs. And Plextor is the best when it comes to optical drives.

RJ

[Viqu]

Originally Posted by slappydooda I don't understand where some of you guys get the money to get this stuff... And what the hell are you going to do with a terabyte of storage!?!?!?

Well i am a college student living at home with only a cell phone bill. So i can play wiht my money.

Terebyte of storage i know it seems like over kill which it porobably is but it sure can hold alot of games and anime on it ___o

[Arcotik]

I reccomend not using SLI, nVidias cards are more expensive and perform less, look at the stats. Just my advice.

[Viqu]

Well from what i have Listed. What do you guys think. Would this system work. Is everything compatable from the tower to the memory? I need to know these things especially. My current pc has memory management problems i built it myself.

[haggard21]

i would just go with one or two of these video cards and your system would pretty much be unstoppable

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814150104

[rspassey]

Originally Posted by Arcotik I reccomend not using SLI, nVidias cards are more expensive and perform less, look at the stats. Just my advice.

SLI almost doubles preformance by spresding one image over 2 cards, besides, he said he price is no concern.

[Amazin Caucasian]

Sli does not double performance

[Superbeast]

Yes I would recomend 2x 7800s also, Or you migh twant to wait for ultras to come out, thats what im doing but I have no idea when they will :/

and SLI Can doubble performance, it might not always doubble it becasue you will max out or something else.

[Nav]

i second that, get one or two 7800gtx's. i believe, in theory you can double preformance with sli but until better drivers come out dont expect double the preformance. if you really want 7800gtx in sli go for it, but id get one now and another later. btw im drooling all over my keyboard in envy so if you'll excuse me, i need to do some cleaning.

[Viqu]

Herrrm could someone help me pick out a mobo that has sli and would stiill be compatable with my current pc specs.

[glc]

ASUS P5ND2-SLI Deluxe Socket T (LGA 775) Nvidia nForce 4 SLI Intel Edition ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131536

[David M]

If price is no concern and you want the fastest gaming rig possible then an AMD FX-57 will beat any dual core. Forget the Intel CPU's. AMD is better at gaming and Intel is better at data processing.

Get the ASUS A8N-SLI mobo

Dual 7800 GTX cards. On my rig the 7800 almost doubles the framerate..maybe 80% average faster than the single graphics card..depends on which game.

Overclockable RAM...Geil, OCZ, Cruicial or Corsair

Watercooling for the CPU. With watercooling, that CPU can be clocked from a stock speed of 2.8ghz to a little over 3.0 ghz. Consider watercooling the graphics cards as well

Then you will have a gaming machine with some serious bragging rights...but don't brag (not cool)

[Amazin Caucasian]

David M, i think he wants Intel, the P5ND2 SLi is the way to go..

[David M]

I bet the CPU will be the bottleneck then.

[Viqu]

well honestly im still deciding on the final specs for the pc. So i am opened to looking at it through all angels. For that asuys p5 there are alot of reports about bad bios for 805 ; ; is it really wise to get a mobo with bios that arent working properly?

for the ASUS A8N-SLI which one should i be looking ast the premium or deluxe?

[Amazin Caucasian]

either one, with your budget grab the deluxe you get some extra ports. If you were to get Asus A8N-SLi look in to getting either the Athlon FX-55 or FX-57. 2 x 7800gtx's would be sick. stick with the PSU you have cuz that is SLi certified. Do not get a terabyte hard drive Maybe look at David M's setup 4 x 74GB Raptors in Raid 0+1 setup. Basically, take a look at David M's setup and base it off of that.

[Viqu]

Here is what i have for my second pc options under the amd brand. Its not a compelte list though.

AMD BASED GAMING PC WITH SLI

Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe Motherboard
$162.99 |

AMD Athlon 64 FX-57 Processor
$1,015.00 |

ThermalTake VA8000SWA Armor Silver ATX Full Tower
$180.95 |

ENERMAX Noisetaker 600W Power Supply ATX 12V V2.0 compatible Model EG701AXVE SFMA 2.0 SLI
$158.00 |

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817703002

4x Kingston 1GB PC3200 DDR DIMM Memory
$129.78 x4=$519.12 |

2x BFG Tech BFGR78256GTXOC Geforce 7800GTX 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 VIVO PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail
2X $535.00=$1070.00 |

Opti-UPS ES1500C 1400VA (980W Capacity)$172.89

Plextor PX-716A/SW DVD±RW Dual Layer Writer
$115.58

3.5" 1.44 MB Floppy Disk Drive - Black
Zipzoomfly $13.50 |

ZALMAN RESERATOR 1 Fanless Water Cooling System (Reservoir+Radiator+Water Pump) - Retail
199.00

[Amazin Caucasian]

only things I would change:

2 x BFG 7800 gtx $1070
2 x OCZ EL Platinum Revision

I highly suggest that you do not waste your money on 4GB of memory. the highest demanding game (BF2) wouldnt take full advantage of more than 2GB anyway. spend the money else where.

Now you need to figure out your hard drive situation....Again I highly suggest against a terabyte of storage. If you want your system to really be top notch...check this out:

Seagate Cheetah 36.7GB 15,000 rpm

4 x Western Digital 74GB Raptor Raid 0+1 for performance and backup

i would try and enter the world of watercooling....except one little leak and there goes your several thousand dollar computer.

[Viqu]

Originally Posted by Amazin Caucasian only things I would change: 2 x BFG 7800 gtx $1070 2 x OCZ EL Platinum Revision I highly suggest that you do not waste your money on 4GB of memory. the highest demanding game (BF2) wouldnt take full advantage of more than 2GB anyway. spend the money else where. Now you need to figure out your hard drive situation....Again I highly suggest against a terabyte of storage. If you want your system to really be top notch...check this out: Seagate Cheetah 36.7GB 15,000 rpm 4 x Western Digital 74GB Raptor Raid 0+1 for performance and backup i would try and enter the world of watercooling....except one little leak and there goes your several thousand dollar computer.

Not to be a smart arse or anything . I just wanna know why your against the terabyte storage. Not trying to be mean or nothing Also is tehre anything bigger then that. Because i download anime and music and games alot. Thats why i through up the big hdd. I just dont feel like haveing 140 in small hdd's. I mean bigger HDD's probably have a slower load time compared to others but there has to be an inbetween where You can have good storage and good speed.

Also the memory is there ebcause i usually like to run torrents and other heavy memory programs in the background of my games.

Anyone have recommendations on a sound card.

[Amazin Caucasian]

Originally Posted by Viqu Not to be a smart arse or anything . I just wanna know why your against the terabyte storage. Not trying to be mean or nothing Also is tehre anything bigger then that. Because i download anime and music and games alot. Thats why i through up the big hdd. I just dont feel like haveing 140 in small hdd's. I mean bigger HDD's probably have a slower load time compared to others but there has to be an inbetween where You can have good storage and good speed. Also the memory is there ebcause i usually like to run torrents and other heavy memory programs in the background of my games. Anyone have recommendations on a sound card.

You will never use a terabyte of storage.....hell I would be impressed if someone used 250 or 300 gb of HD space, the only way you will need a lot of storage is if you dont delete anything, Personally, I have 240 gb of storage besides the 37gb designated for my OS and applications. I delete stuff all the time, like when trials run out, or demos run out or i dont like, not because I need to but because its worthless information. If you reallly want that much space with slow loading times that will make you think why did i spend this much money to wait this long to watch anime or for my game to load go ahead, but I highly suggest against more than 500 gb, go with the Hitachi Deskstar 7K500's. I also suggest spending your money more wisely on a different product than 4 gigs of RAM.

All I have to say is this:

If you want to spend your money on a terabyte of storage and 4 gigs of RAM, and 180 bucks on a surge protector go for it and all power to you. I only suggest against this because I am thinking more realistically and suggesting only what I feel is necessary and will benefit you most.....never forget I voice my opinion for help and guidance, never to go against you nor insult you. I try to be as helpful as possible by giving you my opinion on which will suit your needs, budget, and what I feel will benefit you most.

P.S. how do you feel about watercooling??

[glc]

That Cheetah is a SCSI drive.

If you want speed *and* a ton of storage, get a 74gb Raptor for your OS and apps, and build a RAID 5 array with Western Digital RE SATA drives for storage. Adaptec has very nice SATA RAID controllers with 4, 8, and 16 ports, I'll take one of those over any onboard RAID controller in existence. You will need a case with a bunch of 3.5" drive bays to do that, minimum for RAID 5 is 3 drives but don't even use less than 4.

[Viqu]

Originally Posted by Amazin Caucasian You will never use a terabyte of storage.....hell I would be impressed if someone used 250 or 300 gb of HD space, the only way you will need a lot of storage is if you dont delete anything, Personally, I have 240 gb of storage besides the 37gb designated for my OS and applications. I delete stuff all the time, like when trials run out, or demos run out or i dont like, not because I need to but because its worthless information. If you reallly want that much space with slow loading times that will make you think why did i spend this much money to wait this long to watch anime or for my game to load go ahead, but I highly suggest against more than 500 gb, go with the Hitachi Deskstar 7K500's. I also suggest spending your money more wisely on a different product than 4 gigs of RAM. All I have to say is this: If you want to spend your money on a terabyte of storage and 4 gigs of RAM, and 180 bucks on a surge protector go for it and all power to you. I only suggest against this because I am thinking more realistically and suggesting only what I feel is necessary and will benefit you most.....never forget I voice my opinion for help and guidance, never to go against you nor insult you. I try to be as helpful as possible by giving you my opinion on which will suit your needs, budget, and what I feel will benefit you most. P.S. how do you feel about watercooling??

Here is the tower that i will be getting.

ThermalTake VA8000SWA Armor Silver ATX Full Tower
http://pcmech.pricegrabber.com/searc...sterid=6603229

It has room for 18 drives 3.5' So if i were to get 5 raptors would that work?

Also water cooling i have picked out this system for an AMD version pc with 939 socket also for VGA too.

ZALMAN RESERATOR 1 Fanless Water Cooling System (Reservoir+Radiator+Water Pump) - Retail
199.00

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835118111

I would need someone to explain this raid stuff to me also. I really dont get the concept.

Let me know what you all think. Also still looking for a soundcard.

edited out cheetah

[Amazin Caucasian]

I looked up teh case on newegg cuz pcmech is acting really slow for me right now..and you have 10 EXTERNAL 5.25 drive bays for opticals and what not, 2 EXTERNAL 3.5 drives for floppy drives and what not.....and 6 internal 3.5 bays for hard drives...yes you could fit 5 Raptors but you do not have 18 3.5 drives....I will let some one explain Raid 5 even though I understand it but feel they will offer more thorough explanation because they have had expereince with it.

[Viqu]

You can tell im still new to this build your own pc. well you have one point im running on a 150gig hdd and i have 112 left. with the os and apps on it. LOL also im purchasing this week a 500gig external hdd. So p[erhaps the terabyte is a lil much. What if i kick my ram down from 4 to lets say hrrrrm 2.5

here is my current specs for both pc's

INTEL BASED GAMING PC Without SLI

1. intel Pentium Extreme Edition 840 Smithfield 800MHz FSB 2 x 1MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Dual Core, EM64T Processor
$1,209 | $1,005 newegg | zipzoomfly $1,005

2. Microsoft Windows XP HOME Edition With Service Pack 2 - OEM $91.95

3. ENERMAX Noisetaker 600W Power Supply ATX 12V V2.0 compatible Model EG701AXVE SFMA 2.0 SLI
$158.00 |

4. intel BOXD955XBKLKR Socket T (LGA 775) Intel 955X ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Newegg $245 | zipzoomfly $239.99

5. ARCTIC COOLING FREEZER7 ACFZ7 77mm Ceramic Cooling Fan/Heatsink - Retail
Newegg $39.99 |

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835185116

6. BFG Tech BFGR68512UOCX Geforce 6800Ultra 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail
NewEgg $704.00 |

7. ThermalTake VA8000SWA Armor Silver ATX Full Tower
$180.95

8. 2x GeIL DDR 2 Series 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM Unbuffered DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) Dual Channel Kit System Memory - Retail
Newegg $262.41 |

9. 1TB (500GB x 2) Hitachi 500GB Hard Drive
zipzoomfly $680 |

10. Plextor PX-716A/SW DVD±RW Dual Layer Writer
$115.58

11. CREATIVE Sound Blaster Audigy 4 Pro 8 (7.1) Channels 24-bit 192KHz PCI Interface Sound Card - Retail
$277.00 |

12. 3.5" 1.44 MB Floppy Disk Drive - Black
Zipzoomfly $13.50 |

total=$3913.25

-----------------------------------------------------

AMD BASED GAMING PC WITH SLI

1. Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe Motherboard
$162.99 |

2. AMD Athlon 64 FX-57 Processor
$1,015.00 |

3. ThermalTake VA8000SWA Armor Silver ATX Full Tower
$180.95 |

4. ENERMAX Noisetaker 600W Power Supply ATX 12V V2.0 compatible Model EG701AXVE SFMA 2.0 SLI
$158.00 |

5. 5. 2x OCZ EL Platinum Revision 2 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Unbuffered DDR 400 (PC 3200) Dual Channel Kit System Memory - Retail
$169.95 x2=$339.90

6. 2x BFG Tech BFGR78256GTXOC Geforce 7800GTX 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 VIVO PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail
2X $535.00=$1070.00 |

7. Plextor PX-716A/SW DVD±RW Dual Layer Writer
$115.58 |

8. 3.5" 1.44 MB Floppy Disk Drive - Black
Zipzoomfly $13.50 |

9. Microsoft Windows XP HOME Edition With Service Pack 2 - OEM $91.95 |

10. CREATIVE Sound Blaster Audigy 4 Pro 8 (7.1) Channels 24-bit 192KHz PCI Interface Sound Card - Retail
$277.00 |

11. ZALMAN RESERATOR 1 Fanless Water Cooling System (Reservoir+Radiator+Water Pump) - Retail
200.00 |

12. 5x Western Digital Raptor WD740GD 74GB 10,000 RPM 8MB Cache Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM
$181.00 x5=905

total= $4584.87

As you can see i took out the surge protector because cheaper ones can be bought.

edited: i added the ocz memory slightly higher price for 2gigs. Also added the raptors.

[Amazin Caucasian]

haa, then whats the need for the 500gb external harddrive if you dont even have that much on your computer to move around?? If you truly plan on running BF2 and demanding programs in the background grab 3 gigs....although i still believe 2 gigs is plenty.

[Viqu]

Originally Posted by Amazin Caucasian haa, then whats the need for the 500gb external harddrive if you dont even have that much on your computer to move around?? If you truly plan on running BF2 and demanding programs in the background grab 3 gigs....although i still believe 2 gigs is plenty.

External hdd is for college they have t-1 i plan on using it to download alot of anime onto it and then bring it home and burn to cd. Movies music everything will be on it. Also to put games and what not on it for when i have my 4 hour breaks at school.