Cheap(ish) Gaming Rig - includes Quad CPU

[Explosion1oh1]

I'm looking to build a gaming rig to replace my first build (now two years old), and I'm wondering if anyone has any suggestions before I buy. I posted the list on Newegg, but it doesn't seem to be showing up so it's here anyway. Have yet to price check on sites like Tiger.

Mobo: http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16813128059

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16819115017

HDD: http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16822136037

Video: http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16814133204

RAM: {2x} http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16820146565

Optical: http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16827135146

Case & PSU: http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16811105113

Basically, I'm now wondering two main things. One, is the 450w power supply powerful / quality enough to support this system, and two, what should I hit up for an OS? I can't make up my mind whether to switch to Vista (I need to buy a new OS no matter what) or to stay with XP for a while longer. And then, even if I do switch to Vista, (I believe that I'd choose Home Premium Vers.) should I go with the basic 32bit or get the 64bit version?

Any comments / suggestions would be great. Thanks!

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by Explosion1oh1 Basically, I'm now wondering two main things. One, is the 450w power supply powerful / quality enough to support this system,

Nope, L&C power supplies are total rubbish. Use at your own risk.

Originally Posted by Explosion1oh1 what should I hit up for an OS? I can't make up my mind whether to switch to Vista (I need to buy a new OS no matter what) or to stay with XP for a while longer. And then, even if I do switch to Vista, (I believe that I'd choose Home Premium Vers.) should I go with the basic 32bit or get the 64bit version?

If you're a gamer you'll be wanting DirectX 10 support and I think you only get that with Vista. Not sure which version of Vista you should get since I'm still on WinXP. You should stick to 32 bit...64 bit isn't where it should be yet (never really caught on for the desktop).

Cricket

[pam123]

Keep XP for a while longer, at least until the Vista SP1 pack comes out and is reviewed.
Check out the new nVidia 8800 GT, it's got a $250 price and the review is here : http://www.extremetech.com/article2/...2209197,00.asp

[Explosion1oh1]

Thanks a lot for advice so far. Updated both case and and psu to:

case: http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16811147065

psu: http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16817182016

And thanks for the info on the 8800GT price pam, definately looking into that.

[Katreat]

I went with vista home prem and it so far has been problem free. The hardest thing is learning the differences and that has not been too bad. I wanted to see 10X to justify the cost of my vid card . From everything I am reading in gamiing mags and forums they are all now recommending switching and say most of the bugs are out. The biggest problem I have had so far is having to download patches and drivers for software, like the Nero that came with my burner would not work in vista without a patch.

Kat

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by Explosion1oh1 Thanks a lot for advice so far. Updated both case and and psu to: psu: http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16817182016

Don't get that Rosewill. Read this thread to get a better idea on the importance of a good quality power supply and a list of good brands to pick from.

Cricket

[freakitchen]

My suggestion for a case+PSU combo would be this - it includes a quality power supply.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...k=sonata%2bIII

If you don't like that case, then choose one for yourself and put something like this in it - VERY powerful for a 450w unit.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139003

[Explosion1oh1]

I'm gonna go with a different case I found, but I'll use the corsair ps. Never realized how important brand of ps was, I got an Ultra x-connect that's still working well from my first build two years ago.

I definately think that I'm gonna go with Vista, as I think you need it for full DiretX10 capability, and most of the bugs seem to be out of it. Besides, I saw an awesome quote on one of the forums: Windows Vista is possibly the safest Operating System yet, because even the virus' have incompatibility issues.

[Explosion1oh1]

New update: Just purchased memory, optical, ps and video due to rebates ending today.

Stuck with original video, didnt feel the extra performance was worth the additional cost (also didnt have the money for it )

Switched PS to a 550w antec - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817371002

Not sure on my mobo right now, was looking at newegg reviews and it seems like the last 10 or so people have all recieved doa boards ... any advice there?

[piasabird]

I would not buy a video card with only 2 reviews. Maybe there is a reason only 2 people purchased it.

[Explosion1oh1]

I'm feeling pretty confident about this card, even though there are only two reviews. One needs to keep in mind though that these are only reviews on Newegg, and other reviews and benchmarks I've read seem pretty good, especcially for the low cost of a DirectX10 card.

[wammy_bar]

its not going to run dx10 at a high setting, if you can afford it, look into the 8800 gt, it seems to be the best valued gaming video card on the market right now.

[Explosion1oh1]

I've got another question if you guys don't mind helping me out again. I'm now wondering if the quad-core processor is really worth it, or if its better to get a faster dual core. The two I'm looking at now are:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115028

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819116240

The pentium D is faster but its also cheaper. Simply put, i'm really confused about what to look for in my processor now

As for the video card, I've already ordered it because of the rebate, but I still have the potential to return / upgrade if I can convince a friend to loan me a little $$$. I'm going to look for some other mobo's now as I forgot to check upgradability with mine, and as it doesnt support PCIe 2.0 it would be annoying to upgrade in a year or so.


Also, thanks a ton for the help you guys have given me on this rig so far!!!

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by Explosion1oh1 I've got another question if you guys don't mind helping me out again. I'm now wondering if the quad-core processor is really worth it, or if its better to get a faster dual core.

For gaming? Go with a C2D.

Originally Posted by Explosion1oh1 The two I'm looking at now are: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115028 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819116240 The pentium D is faster but its also cheaper. Simply put, i'm really confused about what to look for in my processor now

You can't only look at processor speed when comparing CPUs anymore...even though the Pentium D is "faster", the C2D will kick the snot out of it in terms of performance. The way each processor works is so different now that you can't really compare one to the other fairly. From what I understand, a 1.8GHz C2D will wipe the floor with a 3.8GHz P4 Prescott.

Cricket

[wammy_bar]

is it the same comparing quad to c2d? wipes the floor with it?

sry to hijack ur thread just curious lol

[Explosion1oh1]

Thanks for helping to straighten me out on the processors, going with the Intel Core 2 Duo 3GHz one. I've got one last (hopefully) question. Narrowing it down to 4 motherboards, I'm not completely sure on which to choose. A comparison of them is available here:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813127031

Long link lol, I hope it works. If it doesnt, I can post the links seperately, this would probably be the most useful one though.

My current build is running on an Asus board, and I think I'm leaning towards that board of the 4. Thanks again for your help!

edit - apparently it wasnt my last question... any clue if the asus board support the front audio ports in the case I've chosen?

[Explosion1oh1]

Originally Posted by wammy_bar is it the same comparing quad to c2d? wipes the floor with it? sry to hijack ur thread just curious lol

I just found a really interesting review:

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu...-q6600_12.html

If you read it, you'll understand where my next question comes from. How easy / safe is it to overclock, and what kind of cooling (more looking for a price estimate) would be needed to support it?

[flanzig1]

Between the 2 Sli boards, would go with the Asus. Between the 2 P35 boards the Gigabyte. If wanting a P35 board, go with Asus.
The case looks to be 2 channel audio and most boards still support the AC'97 2 channel audio.

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by Explosion1oh1 I just found a really interesting review: http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu...-q6600_12.html

Here's another site you can use to gather information from: Tom's Hardware 2007 CPU Chart - C2D E6850 vs C2Q Q6600

Quake 4

Serious Sam

In both cases the C2D does better in those games.

Cricket

[Explosion1oh1]

Those are just stock speeds though. From the one I posted, it compares both stock and overclocked speeds, with a general trend of C2D winning stock, while the Quad wins overclocked. So I'm still at the same question, how hard / risky is it to overclock these processors? Even if I stay with the c2d, what kind of upgrades am I going to need to look for cooling wise, and about how much would they cost? Thanks.

[andper10]

Your parts:
$280 (CPU Q6600/E6850) + $99 (PSU Antec) + $130 (Video Card 8600GT after MIR) = $509

My suggested parts:
$195 (E6750)+ $69 (PSU Corsair 520w after MIR & Google Checkout Offer) + $270 (8800GT) = $534

PSU: http://www.buy.com/prod/corsair-520w...203270716.html

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115029

Video Card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814150252

Now look at the charts:

Video Card comparison (the difference will actually be greater because the 8600gt is worse than the 8600gts and the 8800gt is better than the 8800gts):
http://www23.tomshardware.com/graphi...=778&chart=318

CPU comparison (not much preformance loss for $100 less than the E6850):
http://www23.tomshardware.com/cpu_20...=873&chart=419

You could even drop your CPU down to the E6550 ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115030 ) if you are really tight money wise. That would take an additional $25 off the $534 total making it $509...the same price as your original choices, but a MUCH BETTER gaming preformer.

In my opinion, the 8600GT is not enough power for a new gaming rig. I would definitely get the 8800GT. The video card is the most important factor for gaming, so don't skimp on it!

For the CPU's, don't worry as much about Ghz. That doesn't mean much any more. Rely more on the Tom's Hardware charts if you need comparisons.

For the PSU's, you want one with lots of Amps on the 12V rail(s). That Corsair 520W is a great choice and a great deal at its current price on buy.com. I bought it for $100 and I think it was worth it at that price.

I would hold off on overclocking for now. You will probably find a Core 2 Duo to be plenty fast for now. If you are bent on overclocking you can do some with the stock cooler, but you will eventually need an aftermarket cooler. This one is a good choice:
$20 - ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler - Retail - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835186134

EDIT: I've heard lots of good things about the Seagate 7200.10 hard drive series. I just got one recently and it is noticably faster than my other Seagate 7200.9 series drive. I would go with seagate personally ($10 less): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148262 . The 7200.10 series has Perpendicular Recording Technology, which is supposedly what makes them faster than your average hard drive.

Enjoy your build!

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by Explosion1oh1 Those are just stock speeds though. From the one I posted, it compares both stock and overclocked speeds, with a general trend of C2D winning stock, while the Quad wins overclocked. So I'm still at the same question, how hard / risky is it to overclock these processors?

I'm not an overclocker so I tend to overlook that option.

FYI: If you do overclock your CPU you void the 3 year warranty.

Can you damage a processor through overclocking? Yes, but that's only if you really don't know what you're doing or are an extreme overclocking pushing the envelope.

If you are going to overclock your computer do yourself a favor and learn as much as you can before you even try. You'll save yourself a lot of headaches that way.

Cricket

[glc]

None of those 4 motherboards - use an Asus P5K series.

[Explosion1oh1]

What's the advantage of using the p5k series board?

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by Explosion1oh1 What's the advantage of using the p5k series board?

The ASUS P5K motherboards are known to build into fine performing computers on this forum and their reputation is solid.

Of the 4 you listed I personally wouldn't use the EVGA or Gigabyte because of their reputation. EVGA hasn't been in the motherboard market very long and Gigabyte motherboards tend to be a little quirky. I would consider the ABIT but only because I've had good experiences with that brand. It tends to be harder to set up and take more patience to get just right. As far as the other ASUS motherboard I just feel better using a Intel chipset with a Intel processor...that combination is hard to beat for performance, stability and reliability.

Cricket

[Explosion1oh1]

Originally Posted by andper10 $69 (PSU Corsair 520w after MIR & Google Checkout Offer) PSU: http://www.buy.com/prod/corsair-520w...203270716.html For the PSU's, you want one with lots of Amps on the 12V rail(s). That Corsair 520W is a great choice and a great deal at its current price on buy.com. I bought it for $100 and I think it was worth it at that price.

I gotta disagree with you on the PSU, The Antec and the Corsair (as far as I can tell) are the exact same apart form the Antec having more wattage. Same price too after rebates.

As far as the CPU, I agree that the extra performance of the e6850 isn't worth the $100. (appears to be about an average 10% increase in performance, but 10% of $200 is only a $20 increase). As such, I'm going for the e6750 now. (btw, thanks for reminding me about the warranty violation Cricket, I had forgotten about that, it's the only thing that's kept me from overclocking.)

Moving on to mobo, would this work? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131180 I can't really tell, but is it SLI capable?

As for the graphics card, I may be really cheap , but if this many people are telling me to get the 8800gt, I probably should. As I've already ordered the 8600gt (due to expiring rebates), any idea if Newegg would let me return + upgrade? In regards to my above question, would the 8800gt work well in an SLI system if I were to buy another card a few months down the road?

As so many changes have been made to this original setup (hats off to you guys ) I'm gonna post the current setup again.

Case: http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16811147065
*PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817371002
Mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131180
CPU: http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16819115029
*Memory: 2x (4gb total) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820146565
***Video Card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814133204
HDD: http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16822148262
*Optical: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827135146
OS: http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16832116202

* denotes already bought due to rebates
*** hopefully can return and upgrade to 8800gt.

Thanks again for your help so far!

[flanzig1]

The Asus P5K is NOT a Sli motherboard.
If doing Sli, 8600GTs in Sli will get beat in performance by a single 8800GTX.

[Explosion1oh1]

Originally Posted by flanzig1 The Asus P5K is NOT a Sli motherboard. If doing Sli, 8600GTs in Sli will get beat in performance by a single 8800GTX.

thanks for advice. Two questions now: could this mobo support a 8800gtx if i got around to upgrading it to that? and two, (probably a noob question) what's the point of the two PCIe slots if it doesn't support SLI?

[flanzig1]

The P5K will work with any PCI-E type video card.
Having a second PCI-E slot in a non-Sli board is so you can add a second video card for a 3 or 4 monitor setup.

[shadowpr]

Be aware that if you get 4x1gb ram, it may not run at 800, and you might have to lower it to 667 to make it stable.

I believe that 2x2gb will work at the correct speed.