First Computer

[Fenix]

Hey guys. I decided to want to build a new computer for gaming and I did some looking around and managed to gather all this. Was wondering what you guys think and any suggestions you may have and if everything will work together.
I haven't decided on a Power Supply yet so I was also wandering if u guys could give me a suggestion of one that'd work with this build assuming everything else goes together.
Also was wandering if I should use a 64bit OS or 32bit OS?



Computer Case -$34.99 -SUPER TALENT CA-ST338B2 ALUMINUM MID TOWER ATX CASE
http://www.dealsonic.com/4338slqwn.html
Power Supply -Undecided

Motherboard -$169.99 -ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe Wireless Edition AM2 NVIDIA nForce 590 SLI MCP ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131011
CPU (Processor) chip -$159.99 -AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ Windsor 3.0GHz 2 x 1MB L2 Cache Socket AM2 Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103773
Fan(s) -$45.99 -ZALMAN CNPS 9500 AM2 2 Ball CPU Cooling Fan/Heatsink - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835118004
RAM 4GB -$123.99x2-2GB kit (1GBx2), Ballistix 240-pin DIMM, DDR2 PC2-6400 memory module
http://www.crucial.com/store/mpartsp...73F2A7A5CA7304
Hard Drive -$79.99 -Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD3200AAKS 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136074
Video Card -$214.99 -EVGA 512-P2-N775-AR GeForce 8600GTS Superclocked 512MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130291
CD-ROM Drive -$26.99 -LITE-ON Black 20X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 20X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM IDE DVD Burner - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106049


All this adds up to like $980, excluding rebates, tax, shipping, whatever. Trying ot keep a budget under about $1300 on it. I know the OS and PSU can be pricey.
I've already got a 19' LCD Monitor, Keyboard, and Mouse that I'll use and may upgrade them later.

[mwhaha]

I would suggest a Antec 900 gaming case as it comes with 3 fans already.

No idea how reliable that mobo is, and there is no point in having a Sli enabled mobo anyway since it is a waste of money.

Intel Processors are ALOT better than AMD, I recommend the Q6660 quad core or the dual core E6700.

Ballistix ram is high quality, but it is also terribly expensive, look around for corsair etc to see if its cheaper.

I think you will need a 600W PSU to support that graphics card, not too sure though. The new corsair range could be a possibility?

[perkster]

you will not need a big PSU, the 8600 isnt as power hungry as its 8800 brother. You can use the corsair 520W HX unit for that no problem.

Agree with above at moment intel is definately the leader in processors, but if you really want to go the AMD route we wont discourage you further, but at the moment youll struggle to get better performance per $ than a P5k from ASUS, antec 900 case, corsair 800mhz RAM, either Q6600 or E7850 depending on your usage needs.

SEAGATE hard drives give you longer warranty and are better gb/$ at moment.

for your DVD burner go for a SATA drive, IDE is old technology

64bit OS is you want to use 4gb ram, but not really necessary at moment you would be fine with 2gb but since you seem to want 4gb you will need 64 bit, your grpahics card the 8600 is DX10 so probably best getting vista to utilize the cards features.

unless you are looking to overclock you should be fine with the standard HSF that comes with the retail processor, if you replace it it voids your warranty so only do so if you NEED to for overclocking or noise reduction.

[shadowpr]

Agree about not getting the heatsink unless OCing. And about getting a sata dvd burner. Get a retail copy and it'll include the software.

Get Vista 64 if using 4gb of ram. I suggest that you get a 2x2bg pack instead of 2 2x1gb packs.

If you could squeeze out a few more bucks, look at the 8800gt.

Like perkster said, the Corsair 520hx would be a good quality PSU.

[andper10]

Are you planning to overclock this computer? If yes, grab the Turniq Tower CPU Cooler: $45 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835154001 - Like perkster said, you will void the 3 year CPU warranty if you get an aftermarket Heatsink.

I wouldn't go with a 64 bit OS. Drivers are still having problems.
Like perkster said, you need Vista to let the DX10 cards run in DX10 mode, but beware that Vista still doesn't have all of its kinks worked out, and it is a resource hog.

Seagate Hard Drives have recently been marked up by newegg, so they don't have the best bang for your buck, Western Digital drives do. However the Seagate 7200.10 Series has perpendicular recording technology, which makes those drives faster than the WD drives. The Seagate 320GB version is out of stock, which is unfortunate because it was the best bang for your buck.

The LiteOn with Lightscribe is also out of stock, so you will have to get the non lightscribe version or just buy from a different company.

I don't think many games use over 2GB's of ram at the moment. If you want 4 GB's just install it and Windows 32 bit will take about 800MB's of it because thats how 32bit works, but you will still have more stable drivers than going with 64 bit and getting to "use" all of your ram.

So here is my recommended list:
$195 - C2D E6750 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115029

$105 - P5K SE - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131189 - Could go with the regular P5K but I doubt you would need the extra PCI-E slot for running 4 monitors.

$290 - EVGA 8800GT Superclocked - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130303 - I would say get the non overclocked version, but they are all out of stock with no estimated time for a new shipment.

$36 - LiteOn SATA DVD Burner - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106057

$70 - Seagate 7200.10 250GB SATA 16MB buffer with PRT - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148262 - OR $80 - WD 320GB SATA 16MB buffer w/ no PRT - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136074

$90 - OCZ StealthXStream 600W PSU w/ Quad 18A 12V Rails - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817341010 - You could get the Corsair, but it is more expensive, and this technically has better specs.

$71 - Corsair 2GB DDR2 800 Cas Latency 5 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145590 - I don't think you need 4GB's, but that is up to you.

$50 - Cooler Master Centurion 5 with Side Window - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119077 - The Antec 900 is nice like perkster said, but this is cheaper. The link to your original case is out of stock and backordered. Pick a case that you like.

$112 - Vista Home Premium OEM - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116202 - Or you could get XP Home OEM $90 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116056

Total: $1029 before shipping/tax/MIR's (if there are any)
Enjoy your build!

[Fenix]

Ok. Thanks for the recommendations. Did a bit more research on it and this is what I've got now. Went Intel

I'm now trying to figure out which processor I'd use. the ($195)Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 2.66GHz or ($280)Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 3.0GHz. There's a pretty big price difference. I dunno if it's worth the difference.

I'm really looking to be playing stuff like Lost Planet-Extreme Condition and Oblivion on high video settings. A 60fps average would be nice.

Computer Case -COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-WW Black/Silver Aluminum Bezel, SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
$49.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119077

Power Supply -OCZ StealthXStream OCZ600SXS ATX12V / EPS12V 600W Power Supply 100 - 240 V CB, CE, CSA, UL, FCC - Retail
$89.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817341010

Motherboard -ASUS P5K SE LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
$104.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131189

CPU (Processor) chip -Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 Conroe 2.66GHz 4M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor - Retail
$194.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115029
--OR-- -Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 Conroe 3.0GHz 4M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor - Retail
$279.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115028

RAM x4 -CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
$71.00x2 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145590

Hard Drive -Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD3200AAKS 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
$79.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136074

Video Card -EVGA 320-P2-N815-AR GeForce 8800GTS Superclocked 320MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
$294.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130038

CD-ROM Drive -LITE-ON Black 20X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 20X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA DVD Burner - Retail
$35.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106057

Operating System -Microsoft Windows Vista 32-Bit Home Premium for System Builders Single Pack DVD - OEM
$111.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116202

[glc]

2 comments - if you are going to use 4gb ram, a 2x2 kit is recommended over 4x1, and you should use a 64 bit operating system. The E6850 is not worth the extra cost at this time.

[andper10]

If you can wait 2 more days the 8800GT is a much better deal. It's cheaper, and faster in games than the 8800gts:
$290 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130303
http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?t=242174

EDIT: You can probably get that PSU for a little bit cheaper from here after you calculate shipping and MIR's: http://www.directron.com/ocz600sxs.html

EDIT 2: The 8800gt is in stock now, get it instead of the 8800GTS: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130303