Sub $900 "gaming computer" 1st build

[Hazaro]

So... Hello PC Mechanic. I've been looking over the possibilities of a new computer, and have taken it upon myself to disembark upon the journey of assembling one myself. I've installed mobo, processors, RAM, HDD's and drives before so I think I will be ok.

I'm trying to make a new computer that can run a majority of games well, FPS's etc. My first time buying everything separately. Suggestions and comments are greatly appreciated, I don't want this thing going down in flames.

Target, about: ~$800 (If a part or two is worth it, please let me know. I want this to be good after all, but am trying to keep the price from running away from me.)

I have a monitor, mouse, keyboard, speakers, just looking for tower parts. I'm thinking C2D, not sure why I am hesitant with AMD, but I am. Heard C2D best value atm anywho.

MotherBoard: I had some choices, but why don't you tell me...
(I was browsing and heard P5B, but I am looking for a mobo than I can hopefully upgrade later on (Will Quad cores ever become cheap?). (Needs at least 1 ATA, and support for C2D) [also two 16x PCIe? Two of http://tinyurl.com/392gsa are better than one of http://tinyurl.com/yhorj8 . Right?]

Processor: (E6400/E6420, the 2.13 runs a little bit slower than the 2.4, but according to
http://tinyurl.com/2jkloe
only runs a little bit slower, for ALOT less)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115004

(Again, I heard Price drop in mid April? Along with E6420? Doubled L2 cache means what?)

DVD Burner [ I don't have one ]
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106055 (dvd burner, I can't pick a good one because everyone seems to have it's defects)

Power Supply:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817153023 (power)

(I think I might need more power?)

Memory:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820141187 (RAM, it's cheap, 667MHz)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820220144 (Patriot RAM, 800Mhz)

(Looking for 2Gb here)

GFX: I'm kind of lost here...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130073 EVGA 256-P2-N550 -T2 GeForce 7600GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814145131 CHAINTECH VGA256C-SE76GS GeForce 7600GS 256MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail
SLI Multi-GPU Ready

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814143049 BFG Tech BFGR76256GTOCE GeForce 7600GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail



Case: Not sure, anything that has room for a HD and a DVD drive and is under $20-30 is fine.

** I had some references for these parts...
$130 Two 1Gb sticks: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231098

$90 680W PSU http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817148022

Total = $695 w/ shipping(better power supply) $720 with case

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by Hazaro I'm trying to make a new computer that can run a majority of games well, FPS's etc. My first time buying everything separately. Suggestions and comments are greatly appreciated, I don't want this thing going down in flames. Target, about: ~$800 (If a part or two is worth it, please let me know. I want this to be good after all, but am trying to keep the price from running away from me.)

You can build a "decent" gamer for around $800 but don't expect it to play existing games and up and coming games with everything set to "high". For that you'd need to get a serious gaming video card and those cost over $500.

Originally Posted by Hazaro ** I had some references for these parts... $90 680W PSU http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817148022

Don't get that power supply. Apevia power supplies are rubbish. Get a good quality power supply from the list found here.

Cricket

[Hazaro]

Alright, I'll get one of those on the list. Jumping from $700 to $1000, what are you going to upgrade to get you a "serious" gaming computer, I think CPU and RAM is fine, so is it just up to buying a really expensive graphics card, like a 8800?

I don't think this rig can play Crysis, but games before that it should be able to handle, right?
Thanks for you input so far

*Also, any reason why I keep seeing 300W, 400W? (continuous) I thought you would need more.

[glc]

No, 2 video cards are not necessarily better than one. Leave the dual cards to the guys that have more money than common sense. At your budget point, get a single slot board (such as the base P5B) and one "placeholder" card. A 7600 GS or GT is a good choice for now - then look at upgrading to a DX10 card down the road when Vista is debugged and you want to buy a DX10-required game. Just a DX10 card will cost you close to $300 right now.

It's worth waiting for April 22 to get the improved C2D and the price reductions. You should buy your ram in a dual channel kit, not single modules. Get a retail boxed DVD burner (to get software), preferably SATA.

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by Hazaro Alright, I'll get one of those on the list. Jumping from $700 to $1000, what are you going to upgrade to get you a "serious" gaming computer, I think CPU and RAM is fine, so is it just up to buying a really expensive graphics card, like a 8800?

When I'm asked to build a "serious" gaming rig the first thing I tell the buyer is to expect to pay over $2000 for just the computer. I can put a nice one together for around $1500 but most "serious gamers" want the most potent rig they can get and many are willing to go up to $3000 for that. Some will pay up to $4000. The crazy ones will pay more than $5000.

What you're trying to piece together is an entry level gaming rig.

Cricket

[Hazaro]

Ahh, I don't like the sound of that very much. How about well-rounded budget gaming computer? Also, I thought it was around April 9th, not the 22nd... I guess I can wait a little longer. Regardless it will be a jump from my 1.8 P4 with 512 of DDR so I can't wait. Keeping track of what I need, thank you so much so far. Sorry to make another thread with the same problems and questions. I hope you like helping people. It's its own reward you know

*edit looked at the chart, E6600 coming down to $220. I picked a good time to decide to make a computer

New list

$220 E6600 (4/22)
~$40 SATA DVD burner
$72 Scythe Kamariki-2 KMRK-450A-2 ATX12V 450W Power Supply 100V (20+4 pin, problem?)
~140 Two 1Gb Sticks
$120 EVGA GeForce 7600GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16
~$186 motherboard P5B Deluxe (24 pin)
~$30 Case

TOTAL: $808
Quite content right now

What about this instead of the P5B? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813130082

[flanzig1]

Would go with the Xclio 450BL: quailty supply at half the cost.
If you don't need the options of the P5B-Deluxe, the P5B will save you around $60.
Don't see a hard drive on your lists, a Seagate 7200.10 is the sweet spot in terms of speed/size for the buck.

[Hazaro]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131030 $130 beats 186, but seems like there are 20 version of it.

$220 E6600 (4/22)
$40 SATA DVD burner SONY 18X DVD±R DVD Burner, OEM Version Black SATA
$47 XClio 450BL ATX 450W Power Supply
~140 Two 1Gb Sticks http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231098
$120 EVGA GeForce 7600GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16
~$130 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131030
~$30 Case

TOTAL: $727

Nice

I have my 250Gb ATA, but I'm going to get a new SATA once I fill my last 80 Gb up.

[flanzig1]

If not doing OCing, this memory will do for your system: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145098

[Alaron]

That Sony drive is OEM, meaning it doesn't come with any burning software. I'd swap it for a Retail LiteOn, they come with Nero.

[Hazaro]

I have Nero, so shouldn't be a problem

But 800 is better than 667 right? I'm fine with shelling out an extra 20 for some performance.

[flanzig1]

If your Nero is a retail version, it should work but if it came with a CD/DVD drive it may or may not work.
There is a thread someplace explaining why 667 speed ram with the Core 2 Duo CPUs. I believe it has to do with the bus speed and multipilers in the CPU which come out to close to 667mz. 800 speed ram will show any gain with OC.

[Hazaro]

I looked it up, 800 for OC, 667 for mild OC. I feel so set

Failing at modding my PS2 atm, so I don't feel to great.

[xabre23]

Hmm.. Well.. I've built mine using about.. $750.. 512 DDR3 Graphics, 17" TFT LCD... 2Gb ram... Its not too bad... It can play doom 3, Css and battlefield 2 at the same time without lag.. lols

[Hazaro]

Two more questions, one of them stupid. First:

Under features for the P5B "Notice: Only DDR2-800 memory supporting JEDEC approved 1.8V operation with timings of 5-5-5 or 6-6-6 is supported on Intel Desktop Boards based on Intel 965 Express Chipsets." How does this limit the RAM I can use, and how can I check for compatibility?

The other one is... When I buy the two 1Gb's do they go next to each other, or in separate slots? Light blue lines is separate.

[LeftyAce]

There's an upper limit on the ram speed; anything under 800MHz is fine. The Corsair Valueselect DDR2 ram will be fine in that board. If you like, you can look up a QVL (Qualified Vendors List) on Asus' website to see which RAM is guaranteed to work.

I believe they go in "separate" slots for dual channel , but the motherboard manual will specify.

[Hazaro]

Ahh, thanks.

For my GFX, I was thinking if I could get a little more money before 4/22 I might upgrade to this:


EVGA 512-P2-N635-AR GeForce 7950GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 KO Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130061

*Asus server is too busy...
** On asus.com "please refer to www.asus.com or manual for the QVL." Ugh
*** website maintenance, manual download not going as well

[glc]

I would stick with a 7600GS or GT for now - then upgrade later to a DX10 card. It is not cost effective to put a higher priced DX9 card into any gaming build.

[Hazaro]

Can this even run any DX10 games?

[glc]

No, if you must run a DX10 game, you need a DX10 card and Vista.

[LeftyAce]

I don't think any DX10 games are available for purchase right now, and since the price of DX10 cards will only go down there's nothing to lose by waiting....

[Hazaro]

I meant hardware/spec wise. I would imagine slow, or very low settings?

[LeftyAce]

No, it won't process DX10 programming, so any games which require DX10 will not work. DX9 you'll be fine on medium settings.

[ChoboSeki]

The system could very well run DX10 games if you have a DX10 video card and Windows Vista. DirectX 10 is not available for any other operating system.

[Hazaro]

I have Vista, just not using it because it sucks. I think that about sums everything up, have to wait 3 long weeks.

[Katreat]

It is very unlikely that any game will REQUIRE 10X for many years. 10X will start showing up in games probably early next year. It will be an option which if you have vista and a 10X video card your computer will be able to take advantage of.

Not sure if you would call that “backward compatibility” but the result is the same. The game will play fine on older cards you just will miss out on some of the goodies that 10X will provide.

[Hazaro]

Quick question, why should I get a SATA DVD burner? I only have 2 SATA slots with this setup and I want to keep those reserved for HDD's.

[Disgrace]

Originally Posted by Hazaro Quick question, why should I get a SATA DVD burner? I only have 2 SATA slots with this setup and I want to keep those reserved for HDD's.

I think it's just due to the fact SATA cables are much thinner than IDE ones and therefore don't muck around with the airflow in the case so much. There's no real performance difference between the 2 technologies but I think IDEs have some complications such as jumpers but don't ask me about that because I have no clue about it and use SATAs myself.

If, as you say, have few SATA ports on the mobo, it seems you have no choice but to go with an IDE burner. It shouldn't present a huge issue.

[LeftyAce]

Are you still getting the Asus P5B? It has 5 SATA ports internally, and there have been some issues with the IDE controller not working properly; that's why SATA is recommended. Check the detailed specs: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131030

[Hazaro]

Whoops, let me clarify, the power supply has 2 SATA power cords.

1 x Main connector (20+4 pin)
1 x 12V (P4)
6 x peripheral
2 x SATA
2 x Floppy
1 x PCI-E