$1000 gaming PC first time

[flint]

Hello everyone,

I am going to be building a computer for the first time so I thought it best to check in with the experts before spending any money. I am not a hardcore gamer but I want this computer to be able to play almost any game that comes out in the next 4 years (I don't mind putting the settings low). I also use the computer for pretty low intensity stuff like doing homework, surfing the web, and listening to music. I would like to keep it around $1000 and I am going to be stealing only a couple of parts from my last computer such as the DVD-R drive and floppy. I also won't need a new monitor/mouse/keyboard/speakers.

Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo Quad Q6600
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115017

My dilemma here is deciding whether or not a Quad Core is overkill for me. Right now I only play games like Counterstrike Source and Heroes of Might and Magic V, but Starcraft 2 is on the horizon. I guess what I am trying to figure out is what is the difference in performance between a 2.4ghz quad core and a 3.2ghz dual core when playing Counterstrike, and what will that difference be when I am playing Starcraft 2?

Motherboard: Big question mark, but I am looking at 3 of them

Asus P5K-E with Wifi
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131196

MSI P7N
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813130159

Gigabyte GA-EP35C-Ds3R
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128082

This is the area where I am most confused about what to do. I guess any of these three will work, but I really do not understand what makes one mobo better than another as long as they support the processor you want. The WIFI on the ASUS sounds nice because I will live across the street from Va. Tech campus, but then again there are a lot of bad reviews for ASUS out there. A friend of mine recommended MSI to me, but I don't see why it costs more than the other mobos I have here. The Gigabyte advertises "Dynamic Energy Saver Ultra Durable II" which sounds awesome but is it just a gimmick? I've been told that the mobo is the one place to splurge because it helps for future upgrading, what do you guys think?

Memory: Corsair XMs2 4GB (2 x 2) 240pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145176

I think I've got this right.

Graphics Card: eVGA GeForce 8800GT 512MB 256bit GDDR3 pci
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130318

I did a little searching and couldn't find a better bang for your buck card than this one.

Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3 GB/s
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136075

I don't use a lot of hard drive space. I currently have an 80GB hard drive and I only am using 30GB, but I've been up to 40. Is Western Digital a good brand? Snooping around on Newegg I found this one to be a pretty good deal for 160gb.

Power Supply: Corsair ATX12V V2.2 550W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139004

I've been told that I need at least 500W. This one gets good reviews but is a power supply worth spending $100 on? The case that I am looking at comes with a 500W power supply, would that be enough for my comp?

Case: RAIDMAX Smilodon Extreme ATX-612WEBP Black SECC Steel ATX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811156098

Looks like a pretty good case to me. Gets good reviews from everyone. The only question is whether the power supply it comes with will suffice or not. It would be great to keep that $100.

Major thanks to everyone who helps out,

Flint

[Katreat]

Your build looks good. If a hard core gamer you can actually get more speed with a duel core processor like the E6750 or the E8400. But the Q6600 is a very good gamer and more future proof. Since you said you want this comuter to last up to 5 years I would say a quad is a good investment since a lot of new software that takes advantage of the quad will be comming out in the next few years.

For MB I would recomend the Asus P5K. The P5K-E has a better sound chip so it is the most recomended on these boards. Newegg reviews should be taken with a grain of salt, usually only those how have a problem post. Asus is the premire MB maker and they have great support. I have heard lots of bad things about MSI support so I would steer clear of the MSI. I have had good luck with Gigabyte, they are owned by Asus, but unless there was a huge savings I would stick with Asus. As to which P5K you need, it is all about the features. Unless you need something specific for your build I would stick with the base P5K or the P5K-E. If you need wifi then the board you listed would be great.

Ram and GPU look great.

I like Seagate HD for their 5 year warranty, although I have never had to use it . WD make very good HD also, so either brand would be fine. The best bang for the buck (GB/$) is probably around 500 GB now but if you are absolutely sure you dont need that much then smaller is fine. I like to look for 16mb to 32 mb cache on my HDs but they ususlly only come with larger units. The larger cache will speed up seek times. The Seagate 7200.11 500 GB is my current recomendation but might be a bit large for your needs.

Excellent PSU, one of the best on the market and you are right on with your size needs.

Case is a personal choice but I would throw the PSU away. Raidmax PSUs are trash. Stick witht he corsair you chose. About the only case/PSU combo I would recommend would be the Antec Sonota III which comes with a quality PSU. You can usually find it for around $100, it goes on sale often. If you dont like the looks of that one then try to find a case without a PSU to save a bit of cash.

Check out this link for good/bad psus.

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

Kat

[Drunner611]

Originally Posted by flint Hello everyone, I am going to be building a computer for the first time so I thought it best to check in with the experts before spending any money. I am not a hardcore gamer but I want this computer to be able to play almost any game that comes out in the next 4 years (I don't mind putting the settings low). I also use the computer for pretty low intensity stuff like doing homework, surfing the web, and listening to music. I would like to keep it around $1000 and I am going to be stealing only a couple of parts from my last computer such as the DVD-R drive and floppy. I also won't need a new monitor/mouse/keyboard/speakers. Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo Quad Q6600 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115017 My dilemma here is deciding whether or not a Quad Core is overkill for me. Right now I only play games like Counterstrike Source and Heroes of Might and Magic V, but Starcraft 2 is on the horizon. I guess what I am trying to figure out is what is the difference in performance between a 2.4ghz quad core and a 3.2ghz dual core when playing Counterstrike, and what will that difference be when I am playing Starcraft 2?

Ideally, a quad core will do absolutely nothing for you in CS. However, if you are interested in Starcraft 2, there is a chance the quad could be utilized. Otherwise, you won't need it unless you are heavy into media or multi applications. Look at it this way however. It's only $180 on Newegg right now, and most good intel dual cores aren't much cheaper. If you have the money, go for it.

Originally Posted by flint Motherboard: Big question mark, but I am looking at 3 of them Asus P5K-E with Wifi http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131196 MSI P7N http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813130159 Gigabyte GA-EP35C-Ds3R http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128082 This is the area where I am most confused about what to do. I guess any of these three will work, but I really do not understand what makes one mobo better than another as long as they support the processor you want. The WIFI on the ASUS sounds nice because I will live across the street from Va. Tech campus, but then again there are a lot of bad reviews for ASUS out there. A friend of mine recommended MSI to me, but I don't see why it costs more than the other mobos I have here. The Gigabyte advertises "Dynamic Energy Saver Ultra Durable II" which sounds awesome but is it just a gimmick? I've been told that the mobo is the one place to splurge because it helps for future upgrading, what do you guys think?

Yes, Gimmick. I can't help as much here as I don't follow mobos alot.
Asus - you can always buy a wifi card, don't let that be your decision.
MSI - I've actually heard worse things about MSI than Asus. Also, this board costs more because it supports SLI, which it sounds like you aren't interested in?
Gigabyte - Gimmick, however it looks like the same board as the Asus. This board does support DDR3 however. But like I said, I'm no expert in this one! Wait for more suggestions here.

Originally Posted by flint Memory: Corsair XMs2 4GB (2 x 2) 240pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145176 I think I've got this right.

Looks like a killer set of ram for the price. Nice choice.
However! Corsair XMS2 DHX is only $10 and it's CAS 4. Wait for some more suggestions here as well.

Originally Posted by flint Graphics Card: eVGA GeForce 8800GT 512MB 256bit GDDR3 pci http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130318 I did a little searching and couldn't find a better bang for your buck card than this one.

Great Choice. It's a steal with that rebate!

Originally Posted by flint Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3 GB/s http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136075 I don't use a lot of hard drive space. I currently have an 80GB hard drive and I only am using 30GB, but I've been up to 40. Is Western Digital a good brand? Snooping around on Newegg I found this one to be a pretty good deal for 160gb.

Good deal for the money, however. There are much faster drives out there, but they will cost more.

Originally Posted by flint Power Supply: Corsair ATX12V V2.2 550W http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139004 I've been told that I need at least 500W. This one gets good reviews but is a power supply worth spending $100 on? The case that I am looking at comes with a 500W power supply, would that be enough for my comp?

$100 YES! Power supplies are very important. What's the point of spending $1000 on components and $10 on a P/S if it's just going to blow up and destroy everything? If you plan on leaving everything stock, then get this PSU. However, if you plan on oc'ing everthing in this system and having lots of fans, look for a 600w PSU. Some people may argue differently.

Originally Posted by flint Case: RAIDMAX Smilodon Extreme ATX-612WEBP Black SECC Steel ATX http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811156098 Looks like a pretty good case to me. Gets good reviews from everyone. The only question is whether the power supply it comes with will suffice or not. It would be great to keep that $100.

Usually a good rule of them is NEVER use a power supply that comes with a case. This being said, look for a case you like without a prebundled power supply since it will probably be cheaper.

Overall, you got a good start. Remember, my comments are just suggestions and many people will have other suggestions for you as well. Do some research and feel comfortable with your purchase.

BTW, welcome to PCMech!

[flint]

Great replies, I really appreciate it Kat and Drunner.

Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo Quad Q6600
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115017

Motherboard: ASUS P5K-E
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131225

Kat you sold me on this one.

Memory: Corsair XMS2 DHS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145194

For $10 more I would surely upgrade to better memory, but I don't know the difference.

Graphics Card: eVGA GeForce 8800GT 512MB 256bit GDDR3 pci
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130318

Hard Drive: Seagate 32MB Cache hard drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148309

For $30 more I get 90gb more memory and a 32mb cache rather than 8mb. Everyone says it is worth it. However, this is the only OEM product I am looking at and I want to make sure I won't be surprised by missing cords when its time to put everything together. How do you guys feel about OEM stuff?

Power Supply: Corsair ATX12V V2.2 550W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139004

I will definitely spend the money on a good power supply, the question now is whether 550W is good or if I should spring for a 600W PSU with my eye on the future? I would say there is a decent chance that I will overclock the processor to 3.0ghz at some point down the road.

Case: RAIDMAX Smilodon Extreme ATX-612WEBP Black SECC Steel ATX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811156098

I think it looks cool and it sounds like a good case. I will just toss the power supply.

Thanks again,

Flint

[Katreat]

OEM for HD is standard. MB will come with at least two SATA cables and that is about all you get extra with a retail HD. The OEM HD still has warranty, lots of other items dont so for most other components I usually go retail.

Unless you go for a major video card upgrade then 550w will be fine. I think the new 9800GX2 requires like 600w but that is the only single card I know of that requires that much. More headroom is always nice but you will have to decide how much you want to spend for it.

One final thought. If your old Burner is IDE you might consider spending another $30 on a new Lite-on SATA burenr (go retail and you get Nero for about $3 more). Newer MB do not have native IDE support. It is provided by a third party controller but some have posted it can be problomatic. Your old burenr should work but it is a small cost to insure everything goes smoothly with the build.

Kat

[Drunner611]

Excellent choices on all of the above. You'll be fine with Kat's power supply.

The only reason I suggested the ram that's $10 more is that it operates at CAS4, and not CAS5.
While obviously the CAS4 is faster (whether noticeable or not is up in the air), it's your money.
It won't hurt, but you'll be fine either way. Go with what you're comfortable with.

[flint]

Are you familiar with Mwave? A friend of mine showed me a setup very similar to the one I am looking at but its got the Intel Q9300 and it actually costs a little less than what I have here. He found it on Mwave though and I don't know their customer service reputation in case any of the items are DOA.

http://www.mwave.com/mwave/index.hmx?