First Build

[TurtleFan]

This is my first build. i am looking for a mid to upper range gaming PC. Attached is an idea of the parts I am considering to use. Please go over it and tell me what you think.

[Katreat]

First, what is your total budget and what do you mean by moderate gaming, everyone has a different definition. what games are you planning to play?

Have never heard of the PSU you list so would suggest you try for something with a quality rating from this post.

http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.php?t=131195

Since you also ask for a case suggestion you should look at the Antec Sonota III case/psu combo. Very nice case and quality PSU in a package.

Have not built AMD for a long time so will leave that to others.

For HD if you are going 500 GB try to find the ones with 32 mb cache if you can. They are usually about the same price and a bit faster. I like Seagates 7200.11 HDs but WD make good units also.

Generally this site recommends Lite-on Burners just because they have a great quality record. I have used sony and never had a problem so will just put that out there for consideration. If you buy Lite-on retail you get a copy of Nero for about $3 more than OEM.

The second optical you chose, you don’t really need two, but it appears to be for a Laptop. You probably don’t want a slimline Laptop optical.

I use headphones so cant really help with speakers, mine are very dated.

You have picked a pretty low end video card. For gaming that is not going to cut it. If you plan on gaming you will need to throw at least $200 or so at the video card. Look at the 2600 Xt or 8600 GT at the very minimum. It would be better to go up the the 3850 for about $50 more, it is kind of the start of the true gamers. That is assuming you are talking about newer games. If you just play older games then your choice might be fine. if you really want to play the newest games at decent settings then you will probably be in the $300 range for a video card and should look at the 3870 or 8800 GT. Check out this review and compairson:

http://www.tomshardware.com/2008/01/...ming_graphics/

Kat

[amdalex]

Everything looks good except that PSU, pick a good quality one from the list

[pam123]

We need your budget to help you get the best parts for a current gamer build.

[TurtleFan]

Thanks to all who replied. The budget is not really set in concrete. Probably something around $1300-1400 max, including monitor. The PSU and video card were the two areas where I was not to sure about so thanks for the suggestions. As far as the games I will play it is WOW, COD4, Half life 2, most of the new sports game each year, etc. I didn't even realize the second drive was a laptop drive . I just do a lot of copying of CDs and needed a cheap CD-ROM drive, and it was the cheapest.

Please recheck my parts list. I changed the video card, PSU, and second drive.

[Katreat]

Well, for that kind of budget I would recomend something like this:

CPU - C2D E8400
MB - ASUS P5K
PSU - 550 watt Corsair
RAM - Corsair 2GB Kit DDR2 800MHz
Video Card – GeForce 8800 GT
HD - Seagate 7200.10 or 7200.11 SATA II (Size is your choice)
Optical Drive - Lite-On DVD Burner SATA Retail (free software with retail)
Sound Card - Try the on-board sound first.
OS – Vista 32 Home Premium or XP
Case - Your choice. Try to get one without a power supply.

That is my current recomendation for a gamer in the $1200 price range. Since you need a monitor in your budget you might have to cut a few corners. I have listed some options below.

If you are set on AMD then you will need to wait for other posters. Intel has the lead right now so I have not been following AMD closely, I am waiting for them to hit another clear winner and they have been a bit slow getting something into the market so far.

Alternatives to reduce price

CPU – E6550 or E6750 Both very nice mid-high level CPUs
PSU – 500+ watt units from Antec, Corsair, Fortron Source, OCZ, PC Power & Cooling, and Seasonic. Just check to see what is on sell or has rebates. If you need a case also check out the antec sonota III (case/psu combo).

Video Card – A lot of choices here to cut costs, but performance will suffer. WOW and probably most of your sports games can probably get by with a lower level vid card. I play wow with an older 8800 GTS and have 60 fps all the time with everything cranked up to high so you could step down a notch and never notice a difference. As long as you dont think you will be getting into something like Crysis.

For casual gaming you can go with an 8600 GT or 2600 XT. These cards can be found for around $100 and will play older games fine and most newer games on low settings but your frame rates will be nothing to brag about.

For basic gaming you can go with an 3850 (512) or the new smaller 8800 GT (256). These cards can be found for around $200 and will play newer games competently but you will still have to turn down settings to get good frame rates. (These would probably work wonderfully with WOW)

For true gamers you should go for a 3870 (512)(~$250) or 8800 GT (512)(~$300). These are true gamers and will run any new game at decent settings, often high, and really nice frame rates.


Kat

[pam123]

All prices rounded off ( .99 becomes $1.00, etc. ).

Case/psu : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129024 $120
Motherboard : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131234 $100.00 ($10.00 rebate).

CPU : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103228 $170.00

You've indicated a preference for AMD, I can't recommend a phenom at this time.

Memory : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145043 $120.00 ( $80.00 after rebate ).

video card : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102719 $230.00

Sound card : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16829102002
This does an amazingly good job at $30.00

Monitor : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824160013 $215.00
I don't know anything about this monitor but make sure you double check with the manufacturer's site for the proper DVI cable for the video card.

OS : /vista Home Premium OEM : $110.00 ( I prefer XP but it's your call.).

speakers : no preference but you might want to consider headphones.

Just over the $1000 mark, so you can upscale anything else you want.

[TurtleFan]

Alright I think I may have got it down here. Check out this setup and tell me what you think. As far as sound goes I'm going with onboard as I really don't listen to game sound anyway. Also my wife will be using this computer to edit photographs in her college photography classes. Will this run good quality editing programs? I want to go with XP but afraid to dump money into it just to have them drop support for it.
LOl also do I need to get a CPU fan/ Heatsink. I was looking at some on Newegg and thought about this one http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835186019. I thought I knew everything I needed and was ready to attempt this build myself but I just keep coming up with more questions.

[Katreat]

Still cant help with AMD, you are on your own

Change ram to 800. 1066 is not needed, you will see no performance increase from the faster ram unless you are Over Clocking. The 1066 will step down to the speed of your processors.

You don’t say, but make sure the primary optical is SATA on your order form.

Finally, Cooler Master is on the good side of the PSU list but it is only OK. I would personally try to find something by the brands I listed above.

Check this one out, $80 after rebate and it is a fantastic PSU.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139004

Kat

[TurtleFan]

As I was looking for video cards I noticed many different makers who make the same card. EX. Diamond, VisionTek, Sapphire, ASUS, etc. All make a card called a Radeon 3870. What is the difference, Who is better?

[Masaki 7-11]

Originally Posted by TurtleFan Alright I think I may have got it down here. Check out this setup and tell me what you think. As far as sound goes I'm going with onboard as I really don't listen to game sound anyway. Also my wife will be using this computer to edit photographs in her college photography classes. Will this run good quality editing programs? I want to go with XP but afraid to dump money into it just to have them drop support for it. LOl also do I need to get a CPU fan/ Heatsink. I was looking at some on Newegg and thought about this one http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835186019. I thought I knew everything I needed and was ready to attempt this build myself but I just keep coming up with more questions.

There are two changes I would make to you parts list; firstly you'll be better off with a motherboard with 770, 790X or 790FX (770 is probably the best choice) chipset since they support AM2+ processors, have good performance and pci-express 2.0 support for only a little bit more than the motherboard you have in your list. If you're not overclocking, a retail AMD processor will come with fan/heatsink, but if you're overclocking, or want a quieter fan, take a look at this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835185125

[TurtleFan]

Changed Ram and PSU and MOBO. This is probably about the max I can spend so any adjustments need to be equal or lesser price.

[Katreat]

For Radion cards I have personally always had Sapphire or ATI, and have had good luck with both. They are all just companies that pay ATI for the right to build and sell Radion cards. I really dont know enough about the brands you listed to recommend one over the other, I would go with who offers the best warranty but maybe someone will post with a good reason for a brand preferance.

Kat