gaming build

[kaspyn]

Please take a look at what I have brought together for my first gaming PC build. I'm building this thing to play games like Age Of Conan, Crysis, Diablo 3, etc. on their highest setting. I also want to be able to upgrade over the next couple years w/o buying a new mobo or psu. My budget was $1000 but I have broken that already and I don't want to go any higher or I'll start getting "the eye" from my wife. I want high quality fast components as long as the price is within reason. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

case
Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail $80 after rebate ($120)

psu
CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply 100 - 240 V UL, CE, CB, TUV, FCC, CCC - Retail $110 after rebate ($130)

cpu
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail $190 no rebate

mobo
ASUS P5Q-E LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail $260 combo deal with Vista saves $10

gpu
SAPPHIRE 100243L Radeon HD 4870 512MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail $310 no rebate

mem
CORSAIR XMS2 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail $83 after rebate ($103)

hd
Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3500320AS 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM $85 no rebate offer

drive
LITE-ON Black 20X DVD+R $36 no rebate offer

os
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 32-bit English 1pk for System Builders DSP OEI DVD - OEM price in MoBo combo

I haven't decided on my input devices yet and I'll be using an LG monitor I have already.

Total price before rebate: $1233
rebates $ 80
----------------------------------------------
total $1153

not bad considering alienware prices.

BTW, many thanks for all the posts I have read to come up with this build.

[cantputt04]

Did you copy my build? I think you may have.

That aside, this list looks perfect. (I just bought the same exact components >.>)

[jon_e_33]

If you don't care about the looks of your RAM and the heat spreaders, you can save 20$ and get the normal XMS2 series ram: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145184

You're not gonna notice a difference.

[Chris Linder]

You can save some $ on the ram and get 2* 1G and 2* 512. With you running a 32BIT OS you will never use 4Gs. Most will be like 2. something

[vtfanmv5]

Originally Posted by 1life2live4 You can save some $ on the ram and get 2* 1G and 2* 512. With you running a 32BIT OS you will never use 4Gs. Most will be like 2. something

Buying that will probably cost about as much as getting the 4GB. I would stick with the 4GB, most see about 3.25GB anyways.

If you wanted to drop closer to your budget you could always go with the 4850. The build looks great though.

[kaspyn]

cantputt04 I did use your build as reference, you have some good parts in there. Thanks for the help!! Do you have your system up and running yet?

jon_e_33 Thanks for the suggestion. I don't know how important it is to get ram that matches the mobo's Qualified Vendo List but I was reading through the mobo manual and it looks like the thing is picky when it comes to ram. I want to go with Corsair but the QVL only lists one type of 2 gig DDR2 @ 1066mhz TWIN2X4096-8500C5DF however that ram is sold out. I am thinking of going with G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) it is on the QVL and has good reviews but I don't know the brand at all.

1life2live4 I am on the fence with the OS. I'm thinking of going with the 64bit vers. so I can get the most out of my system, however I do fear its stability/compatibility issues.

Thanks for the comments!! There are so many choices when you don't go prebuilt.

[Katreat]

Build looks good. You dont need 1066 ram unless you are into serious OC'ing and even then it is probably overkill with your processor. 800 ram is fine. I have personally never had a problem with corsair ram on any asus MB.

I would stick with 4 GB ram, its cheap and you wont have to throw any away if you ever need to upgrade. I think they have most of the compatability issues worked out on 64 bit OS but getting the most out of your system still depends on the software you are running. software, like most games, is developed for 32 bit OS so moving to a 64 bit OS can even slow it down because it has to translate comands. I ususally recomend 32 bit for the average user and 64 bit if you know you have some software that will actually take advantage of it. But either will probably work just fine.

If you need to cut costs I would agree that a step down in video card is probably a good choice. It is the one place you are most likely to have to upgrade anyway during the life of your computer so you just upgrade a month earler.

Kat

[kaspyn]

Thanks for the comments. I put my order in for all the components. I ended up going with 64 bit Vista and the G.Skill ram. On a side note, I didn't know newegg distribution was in Edison, NJ. I was over there earlier today watching Hellboy. Anyway, shipping should be quick, it's only 15min away

[cantputt04]

I live in Ocean County, ordered my parts Wednesday. Funny story, some parts showed up yesterday, but it was only the case, monitor, and speakers

It made me very sad panda to learn I have to wait until at the earliest Monday afternoon.


On a side note, I also considered G.skill RAM, but then I figured that Corsair makes great RAM too, so I decided I would be just as fine either way. But yes, it is a good batch of parts.