final decisions for gaming rig

[moxing2]

i have finally put together some parts i am thinking of ordering, but first i wanted to run it through you guys to check for compatability or if im spending to much. building it mainly for gaming, with a little music and video edititing. was thinking of getting vista and wanted to know some other opinions about it. also want to know your feelings about water cooling.and between the GTX and GTS, is it worth the extra money. i want my card to do everything i want, looking forward to crysis! well here it is.

XFX PVT80GGHD4 GeForce 8800GTS 320MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card $319.99

or

EVGA 768-P2-N835-AR GeForce 8800GTX 768MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 SUPERCLOCKED HDCP Video Card $584.99


Klipsch Promedia GMX A-2.1 78 watts 2.1 Speaker $129.99

Thermaltake W0106RU Complies with ATX 12V 2.2 & EPS 12V version 700W Power Supply $169.99

Acer AL2223Wd Black-Silver 22" 5ms DVI Widescreen LCD Monitor $239.99

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD4000AAKS 400GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive $94.99

GIGABYTE GA-965P-DQ6 LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard $219.99

G.SKILL 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ $209.99

Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 Conroe 2.66GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6700 $317.00

COOLER MASTER Ammo 533 RC-533-SWN1 Black/ Silver Aluminum+Plastic front bezel; SECC chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case $74.99

Microsoft Windows Vista 64-Bit Home Premium for System Builders Single Pack DVD - OEM $114.99 ( what does OEM mean?)

criticisism and suggestions are welcome and appreciated! also money isnt really a problem

[RazR]

in my opinion...you should go with XP (service pack 2) until all the vista bugs are out..

[perkster]

a seagate 320gb hard drive would be cheaper and better.
800mhz ram si overkill unless you plan to overclock, so go for corsair value select
the E6600 is better bang for buck than the E6700 which has a small increase in performance but a much bigger price tag.

[LeftyAce]

You don't need a 700W powersupply.........drop down to a Corsair 520W.

We recommend Lite On for optical drives. Get a Retail SATA version; they come with software.

OEM stands for Original Equipment Manufacturer, which means the software doesn't come in a fancy box. I concur on the advice to get XP, although some in these forums have had success with vista.
The intel quad core CPU is dropping in price in a month......can you wait that long? Otherwise, with the above modifications you're looking good.

[moxing2]

I am definately going to be waiting a month, but are you suggesting getting the quad core or just waiting for the discount on the E6600? ive read that the quad core might be somewhat useless for a guy like me who is mainly interested in gaming. whats your advice?

oh, and if i got xp instead of vista, would the 4 gig ram be really pointless?

ill go with the 520w, thanks for the money saver. just curious, if 720 is overkill, what would you use that kind of power supply for?

thanks again everybody!

[doubledragon5]

Window only recognizes around 3.2 gigs of ram.. You really only need 2gig.. I run dual boot XP, Vista on 2gigs and play games sometimes with no drop in performance...

[aj_86cc]

Yeah, 2gigs of ram is fine...though I supposed you could get 3 if you really wanted. More than that and you would need a 64 bit operating system (which is what you listed in your OP). Though I've heard that it's hard to find the drivers for hardware for the 64 bit OS's.

[moxing2]

ok so i basically changed to everything you guys said me to change to, which when i think

about it, it makes sense and i trust your judgement. Heres how everything looks now. Still

going with three gigs : P, dont know why, just feel like i have to, and i figure it couldnt hurt.

- LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner With 12X DVD-RAM Write Black SATA Model LH-20A1S - Retail $37.99

- CORSAIR ValueSelect 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 533 (PC2 4200) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model VS2GBKIT533D2 - Retail $74.99

- CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 533 (PC2 4200) Desktop Memory Model VS1GB533D2 - Retail $41.99

- Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS (Perpendicular Recording Technology) 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM $79.99

- Microsoft Windows XP Professional With SP2B 1 Pack - OEM $139.99
( THIS WILL RUN Directx 10 games right?)

- EVGA 768-P2-N835-AR GeForce 8800GTX 768MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 SUPERCLOCKED HDCP Video Card $584.99


- GIGABYTE GA-965P-DQ6 LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard $219.99

- Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6600 - Retail $222.90

- CORSAIR CMPSU-520HX ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V 2.91 520W Power Supply - Retail $129.99

im still getting the same moniter speakers and case. the rams good for mobo right? i need ddr2 correct? and for future refrence, if i were to uprage to four gigs of ram, would i need the same model or will any other gig of ram work? And does everyone approve of this mobo, it got good reviews, but just couble checking. Want everything to be PERFECT! but i still gotta wait a month ) :

thanks everyone

[doubledragon5]

I believe XP will run DX10, Yes you will need DDR2, and if upgrading I would get the same model.. Some MB don't like it when you mix ram it can become unstable..

[blue60007]

I thought DirectX 10 was Vista only.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DirectX_10#DirectX_10

But, the first DX10 games will be backwards compatible with DX9 (otherwise most people couldn't play the game...)...but of course, no eye candy goodies from DX10.

[moxing2]

ya, thats the impression i got about directx 10 too. anyone else know anything about this? well,

it turns out i got a friend who can hook me up with Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6800

Kentsfield 2.93GHz 2 x 4MB L2 Cache LGA 775

Processor,

that will make me happy ( : will everything still be compatible? and if i could get the highest

quality intel mobo, what would you choose, price is not a problem... i was looking at ASUS Striker

Extreme LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI ATX The Ultimate Gaming Motherboard

but the reviews said its an really expert board, so im not sure if i would want to deal with it,

but i know a friend who could probably help. the only other board i might be interested in is

open box ) :. will i maybe need better psu?

what do you think?

[perkster]

if you arent running SLI and such why pay more for a board?

the P5b is great for the E6600

if you want the quad processor from your friend i think the P5K from asus is best for that.

[thaigecko]

OEM OSs also mean you're responsible for your own tech support for Windows. Then again, have you ever called Microsoft for technical support?

T

[blue60007]

I haven't heard great things about Intel processors on an nVidia chipset. If you can get that quad core that'd be really good. Even if that was a dual core it'd be really fast (at 2.93GHz).

[moxing2]

Okay, i am only posting this because its how i plan to get the money for making this build...
- how much do you think i could sell this computer for?

APEVIA ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

SAPPHIRE X1800XT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card

Antec TruePower 550W Power Supply

Western Digital Caviar 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ Manchester 2.2GHz processor

ASUS A8N-E Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard

pqi TURBO 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400

D-Link DWL-G520 32bit PCI2.2 High Speed Wireless Adapter

Microsoft XP Home Edition

ViewSonic X Series VX922 Black-Silver 19" 2ms DVI LCD Monitor 270

i maybe spent $1500 initially... thanks for any given advice ( :

[Anth83]

To be perfectly honest, that Pc you already have should handle the new games for a while. If i was you i would wait a while for a new build.

Also apparently Quad core CPU's are useless for gaming so go with a core 2 duo

[LeftyAce]

Anth83 has a point about your current pc....but if you're in a position to build, the new rig will certainly outperform the one you have.

Because of the low cost, get the quad core even though no games are 4 threaded yet. A year ago everyone told me not to get dual core b/c games weren't dual threaded yet; now all the new ones have a dual-core patch. The extra cores won't get in your way, and from a future-proofing standpoint it makes good sense to drop $266 on a quad when the prices drop on July 22.

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by moxing2 Okay, i am only posting this because its how i plan to get the money for making this build... - how much do you think i could sell this computer for? APEVIA ATX Mid Tower Computer Case SAPPHIRE X1800XT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card Antec TruePower 550W Power Supply Western Digital Caviar 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ Manchester 2.2GHz processor ASUS A8N-E Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard pqi TURBO 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 D-Link DWL-G520 32bit PCI2.2 High Speed Wireless Adapter Microsoft XP Home Edition ViewSonic X Series VX922 Black-Silver 19" 2ms DVI LCD Monitor 270 i maybe spent $1500 initially... thanks for any given advice ( :

You're selling it with the monitor? Honestly, computers don't hold their values very well and even though yours is still a potent one, you probably won't be able to get even half of what your spent on it...maybe $550 to $650 at best.

Cricket

[moxing2]

well honestly, the only reason I am getting the quad core Q6800 is because im getting it for $500! and probably even less after July 22nd! so i think i will stick with that. So I wont be building until then or later, and your right, my rig now does the job, but ill see how things go. And really only $650, with moniter. That moniter now is still around $200, although it is a year old and used... Im just wondering if i could convince someone to pay more than $650 maybe on craigslist or somthing (hope that doesnt make me a bad person), but thank you for the rough estimate. If i have any more questions, i will definately come back!

Thank you everyone!

by the way, for future refrence, when im listing the components im choosing, would you like me to list the full name of the item, or lable it like "motherboard" with a link, or "graphics" with a link. What would be more easier for you to work with?