New to building. Gaming Rig.

[crobemeister]

This will be my first time building a PC. I'm looking for a solid gaming PC in the price range of $1000-$1500. I kinda want the PC to have a quad core processor and SLI'd vid cards, but if the perfomance gain vs. price from this isn't worth it i can do without. Also sound isn't a big issue, integrated sound is fine for now. I already have a mouse, keyboard, and monitor. I really have no idea where to start and whats compatible with what.

I see alot of people recommending and using this mother board. Is this SLI capable?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131225

Thanks in advance!

[shadowpr]

Good mother board, but not SLI capable. Many here will tell you that SLI isn't really worth it.

For the rest of the parts, here is something to start with:

CPU: E8400
Ram: 2x2gb Corsair xms2 ddr2-800
HD: Seagate 7200.11 500gb sata
DVD: Lite-on dvd burner sata retail
Power Supply: Corsair 650
Video Card: EVGA 8800gts 512

OS: personal preference
Case: Personal taste.

[Dave21]

Don't go SLI, not worth the price vs. performance wise.

You might want to get the evga 8800 gt instead to save some money and wait for the new 9800 series to come out.

Other then that, the parts shadowpr listed are good quality parts.

[crobemeister]

Ok, good to know, i can save some money on vid cards then. Thanks for the quick replies, i'll look in to all these parts !

EDIT: what size case would i need? mid tower seems most abundant.

[Dave21]

Yes. Midtower case is efficient for your parts.

[crobemeister]

well i was looking at ram and came up with these two choices:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145194
and
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145176

I'm not sure of the difference, which would you recommend.

[Ferrus]

This one is slightly faster due to the timing of the memory: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145194 as you can see in the specs it says
'4-4-4-12' on the more expensive RAM, and '5-5-5-18' on the slightly cheaper RAM.

It's up to you, but personally I'd get the more expensive RAM as it doesn't cost much more.

Also you might consider the Antec 900 for your case, it seems to be pretty popular: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...nine%2bhundred

[Katreat]

Shadows list look very good. I would agree with Dave on the video card, the 8800 GT is a great card at a great price, the new GTS is a little better but you pay quite a bit for that last little bit of performance. If you got the GTS route, just be sure you get the new 512 card, they have a couple of older GTS cards (320 & 640) which are slower than the GT.

Most recomend you go with the 5-5-5-18 timing for the ram. The other ram is faster but not enough to notice and there have been reports of it being less compatable with the MB. Just letting you know what I have seen posted, I am no expert on it.

The Antec is a nice case if you want a little flash, I used it myself. Another good option is the Antec Sonata III which comes with a QUALITY 500 watt PSU for around $100-120. Not quite as showey but it gets the job done.

This system as speced out would also run fine on the Coursair 550 PSU and last I look there was a wonderful sell on that unit at Newegg. Just a few other choices.

For OS, if you want to play newer games with 10X you will have to go Vista. I would recomend Vista 32 Home Preimum. It has most of the features you would need in a gaming machine. If you dont care about 10X then XP is still a good choice.

Kat

[crobemeister]

On newegg some of the reviews of Vista 32-bit ultimate said it only supports up to 3gb of ram. Does the 64-bit version support the full 4gb?

[shadowpr]

Any 32 bit operating system will only use at most 3.2 to 3.5gb of ram. If you want to be able to use more, then you need a 64 bit operating system.

[crobemeister]

If i'm gonna have 4GB of ram do you think I should just get the 64-bit version of windows or stick with the 32-bit version?

[Dave21]

If you go 64 bit, make sure your hardware have drivers for them.

[crobemeister]

Ok so it looks like this is what i'll be getting then.

Case: Antec 900

MoBo:ASUS P5K-E LGA 775

CPU: Intel E8400

RAM:Corsair xms2 2x 2gb DDR2 800

HDD:Seagate 7200.11 500gb 32mb cache

Optical: LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner SATA

Vid Card & PSU combo: EVGA 8800GTS 512mb & Corsair 750W PSU (It was about 10 dollars more for this combo than buying them separate and only getting a 650W PSU.)

OS: Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit

I looked up the ram and it says it's designed for a 64-bit operating system so i decided to get the 64-bit windows. How does this look, any compatibility issues you see?

[Dave21]

Do you really need 4 gb of ram? 2 gb is sufficient..

Your list looks really nice.

I still would suggest going with 32 bit vista. The corsair ram runs fine with 32 bit OS.

You do not need vista ultimate. Big waste of money. Get the home edition.

How much are you paying for the video card and psu combo?

[crobemeister]

Well i'm planning on not upgrading for awhile after buying this, so i figure i might as well get the 4gb and be ready for the future.

With the card and PSU together its: $434.98 with a $30 & a $35 mail in rebate.

EDIT: oh and i decided to take your advice and not get the ultimate edition of windows.

[Dave21]

Well if you think about it, if you do upgrade in the future by adding another 2 gb, in the future it would be a lot cheaper. Since DDR3 is coming in the picture.

But yea I see where you're going. Go for it. You have a sweet list.

That's a good deal for the card and psu too!

[crobemeister]

Thanks everyone for all your help, your all great! Probably would of had a lot of trouble figuring this all out on my own lol.

[crobemeister]

Ok i changed some things i took your advice Dave21, plus the price was getting alittle steep.

Case: Antec 900

MoBo:ASUS P5K-E LGA 775

CPU: Intel E8400

RAM: Corsair xms2 2x 1gb DDR2 800

HDD & PSU COMBO:Seagate 7200.11 500gb 32mb cache & Corsair 650W

Optical: LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner SATA

Vid Card: EVGA 8800GT 512mb

OS: Windows Vista Ultimate 32-bit

[Masaki 7-11]

I wouldn't bother with Vista Ultimate, if you want all the extras of Vista, get Vista Premium, if you just want the basic operating system, get Vista Home, either way ultimate isn't worth the additional money you have to pay for it.

[Ferrus]

I agree, it's just a marketing ploy.

[crobemeister]

oops yeah i meant to put home premium, i just copy and pasted from above.

[Cyrus Moborg]

Hi, sorry to bother you folks, but it looks as though this setup might also be applicable to my requirements, so I figured that I'd ask here instead of starting a waste thread.

I am also trying to make a computer with a maximum possible expenditure of around $1,500, and it will be primarily for gaming (including online games), but I also intend to surf the internet, download and manipulate lots of files, watch videos, and do anything else that I wind up wanting to do with a computer (probably not a lot). I live on a fixed income and only have the money for this due to an unlikely windfall, so I probably won't be able to buy any significant upgrades anytime soon (and I would prefer to spend less than that $1,500, if I can do so without a significant drop in performance). I am currently using an old Dell Dimension 8250, if that is important.

I currently have a Toshiba 19" Digital widescreen LCD HDTV with Integrated ATSCi QAM Tuner to use as a monitor and also for console gaming (I have not used it as a monitor yet, but the documentation indicates that this is one of its functions), a 300 gig Seagate hard drive of the kind which uses ribbon cables which I mistakenly partitioned when I installed it, and a... I'm not sure what the model is, but it's a DVD read/write drive that works properly and which is set up in an external enclosure with a USB connection and separate power cable. I also have a license for Windows XP which came with the Dell, and I have heard bad things about Vista, so I am not terribly anxious to switch.

Since I will need a mouse and keyboard in addition to the items recommended for Mr. crobemeister, I took a look around Newegg and thought that these looked decent:
Microsoft Comfort Curve Black 105 Normal Keys 9 Function Keys USB Wired Ergonomics Keyboard 2000 - Retail
Logitech MX518 2-Tone 8 Buttons 1 x Wheel USB + PS/2 Wired Optical 1600 dpi Gaming-Grade Mouse - Retail
but I have no particular attachment to any of the components if there is something better suited to my needs.

Thanks for taking the time to read this.

[Dave21]

Originally Posted by Cyrus Moborg Hi, sorry to bother you folks, but it looks as though this setup might also be applicable to my requirements, so I figured that I'd ask here instead of starting a waste thread. I am also trying to make a computer with a maximum possible expenditure of around $1,500, and it will be primarily for gaming (including online games), but I also intend to surf the internet, download and manipulate lots of files, watch videos, and do anything else that I wind up wanting to do with a computer (probably not a lot). I live on a fixed income and only have the money for this due to an unlikely windfall, so I probably won't be able to buy any significant upgrades anytime soon (and I would prefer to spend less than that $1,500, if I can do so without a significant drop in performance). I am currently using an old Dell Dimension 8250, if that is important. I currently have a Toshiba 19" Digital widescreen LCD HDTV with Integrated ATSCi QAM Tuner to use as a monitor and also for console gaming (I have not used it as a monitor yet, but the documentation indicates that this is one of its functions), a 300 gig Seagate hard drive of the kind which uses ribbon cables which I mistakenly partitioned when I installed it, and a... I'm not sure what the model is, but it's a DVD read/write drive that works properly and which is set up in an external enclosure with a USB connection and separate power cable. I also have a license for Windows XP which came with the Dell, and I have heard bad things about Vista, so I am not terribly anxious to switch. Since I will need a mouse and keyboard in addition to the items recommended for Mr. crobemeister, I took a look around Newegg and thought that these looked decent: Microsoft Comfort Curve Black 105 Normal Keys 9 Function Keys USB Wired Ergonomics Keyboard 2000 - Retail Logitech MX518 2-Tone 8 Buttons 1 x Wheel USB + PS/2 Wired Optical 1600 dpi Gaming-Grade Mouse - Retail but I have no particular attachment to any of the components if there is something better suited to my needs. Thanks for taking the time to read this.

You should make a seperate post. There are a lot of similar posts in regards to gaming builds. Just make your home. Makes things more simple.

[Cyrus Moborg]

Oh, okay. I must have misinterpreted the sticky about new build advice threads. Thank you for the correction.

[Ctrav]

SLI? whats that?

[Dave21]

Originally Posted by Ctrav SLI? whats that?

If you do a search, you would find your answer.

SLI is just a fancy trademark name for running two nvidia video cards on a SLI compatible motherboard for a slight increase in overall graphics performance.