Intrested in building a rig

[striker833]

Hey, would anyone give me some help, Im interested in building a good gaming rig, I could do it, I would just like a bit of guidance with parts and stuff and I thought this was the place 2 come because it gets such good praise.

[Cricket]

AMD or INTEL?

What's your budget? And does that only cover the box (computer) or does it have to cover everything else (monitor, speakers, keyboard, mouse, etc...).

What kind of games do you play?

Cricket

[striker833]

Originally Posted by Cricket AMD or INTEL? What's your budget? And does that only cover the box (computer) or does it have to cover everything else (monitor, speakers, keyboard, mouse, etc...). What kind of games do you play? Cricket

I was thinking intel, the budget is say £700? thats only the box monitor and stuff is already owned.

I play fps, crysis etc

[Rev_pizzaguy]

I'd say the following:

Case: Antec Sonata III (comes with Antec Earthwatts 500W PSU)
Motherboard: Asus P5Q-Pro
CPU: Intel E8500
Hard Drive: Seagate ST3640323AS 640GB 32MB cache
Memory: Corsair Dominator 2x2GB PC28500 (TWIN2X4096-8500C5DF)
Graphics Card: either ATI HD4850 (can always crossfire later) or GeForce GTX 260

[striker833]

Originally Posted by Rev_pizzaguy I'd say the following: Case: Antec Sonata III (comes with Antec Earthwatts 500W PSU) Motherboard: Asus P5Q-Pro CPU: Intel E8500 Hard Drive: Seagate ST3640323AS 640GB 32MB cache Memory: Corsair Dominator 2x2GB PC28500 (TWIN2X4096-8500C5DF) Graphics Card: either ATI HD4850 (can always crossfire later) or GeForce GTX 260

That sll sounds good but can I just ask what does it mean to "crossfire" and I was thinking quad core proccesor?

[Rev_pizzaguy]

The Asus P5Q-Pro is capable of Crossfire technology, basically two video cards working together to increase your framerates as opposed to a single graphics card processor. It's not really double performance, though, more like 20% - 30% better framerates as opposed to a single card solution. ATI cards do Crossfire, Nvidia cards do SLI. That motherboard can only do Crossfire, so if you want dual graphics cards, you would need an ATI card. If you don't care about two cards, a good single Nvidia card would be fine. Here's a little more information:

http://game.amd.com/us-en/crossfirex_about.aspx

As far as the processor goes, if you are really want a computer to game, most games don't make use of a quad-core processor. You are better off getting a nice, fast dual-core processor if you want to game with the computer. Go check benches and comparisons, pretty much all games tested give same frame rates with a dual-core Intel at 3.00GHz and a quad-core Intel at 3.00GHz. If you get into multi-threaded applications like audio/video producing, development code writing, database handling and such, you might want a quad-core.

[striker833]

Although gaming is the main thing, I want the pc to go like lightning because my dad who also uses my computer got soo used to using the computers at his work he doesnt like mine at all and gives me a row because its slow lol but its not slow just not as fast as the ones he got used 2.


So It needs to be able to game well and go like lightning

[bd1886]

"Crossfire" is the ATI term for running two cards in tandem. This seems to make sense only if your striving for the fastest possible performance (using the best cards out there) and cash is not an issue. Or...you happen on a ridiculously low price on a couple of matching performance cards. Otherwise, couphing up the extra bucks for a better single card, is more effective.
Unless you are doing heavy multitasking, Core2Duo is better. For quad, the Q6600 is still one of the best for the money. Throw in 30 to 50 percent more money, and you can go with the newer (45nm) quads, that run a bit more efficient.

[striker833]

Could I speak to somebody on msn/aim I have some questions that are easier 2 ask on there and it would be easier

[striker833]

sorry to bump but can anyone help me via aim/msn?

[Alaron]

Please do not bump so fast. This is a forum not a chatroom. _Moderator_

Post your questions here for the benefit of everyone to help.

[striker833]

Originally Posted by Rev_pizzaguy I'd say the following: Case: Antec Sonata III (comes with Antec Earthwatts 500W PSU) Motherboard: Asus P5Q-Pro CPU: Intel E8500 Hard Drive: Seagate ST3640323AS 640GB 32MB cache Memory: Corsair Dominator 2x2GB PC28500 (TWIN2X4096-8500C5DF) Graphics Card: either ATI HD4850 (can always crossfire later) or GeForce GTX 260

Well after a few days looking on the web and I have thought of a few diffrent things

CPU: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/130475 (Intel Core 2 Quad Q6700 2.66GHz 1066MHz FSB Socket 775 8MB L2 Cache)
case: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/118268 (Antec Nine Hundred 900 - Gaming Case with 200mm Top Fan - No PSU)
motherboard: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/148458 (Asus Maximus II Formula P45 Socket 775 8 Channel Audio ATX Motherboard)
Graphics card: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/148017 (XFX GTX260 XXX Edition 896MB GDDR3 Dual DVI HDTV Out PCI-E Graphics Card)
proccesor cooling: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/105994 (Arctic Cooling AC-FRZ-7P Freezer 7 Pro Socket 775 Processor Cooler
RAM: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/146049 (OCZ 4GB (2x2GB) DDR2 800Mhz/PC2-6400 Memory GOLD DUAL CHANNEL Unbuffered CL5)


Im not too sure bout psu an stuff if anyone could make a suggestion or see a fault in there please let me know

[Alaron]

Great list.

You can save a bit with a less expensive motherboard. The Asus P5Q Pro is a similar board.

We recommend Corsair power supplies. Check out this one: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/135514

The Intel CPU you chose does come with a heatsink/fan. Keep in mind that using another will void your warranty should anything go awry. However, if you want to overclock the Arctic Freezer is a nice unit.

[striker833]

How much diffrence can a motherboard make, If the one I posted up would perform better than the other one Il go for that but if theres not much diffrence Il go for the other 1.

I wont bother wit that fan, Will the cases built in fans be enough to keep that stuff cool or will I need another fan/water cooling?

I do quite like the sound of overclocking, But I dont really know how 2 go about it


For OS, Would I want vista 32 bit or 64?

[Alaron]

The fans included in the Antec900 case will be plenty.

The Maximus board might win a benchmark contest by a few percentage points but you'd never notice it for the big price jump.

I recommend that new builders keep their first system stock, at least for awhile. Don't think it won't be fast enough already.

For Vista, most people are going with 64bit. Most issues have been ironed out by now and it will let you use all 4GB of RAM.

[striker833]

What about wireless internet cause my pc isnt close enough 2 router/ phoneline 2 be wired.

[Alaron]

You can pick up a PCI card to add Wifi. I'd get a card that is the same brand as your router.