Building a new gaming rig

[Dungeoness]

So it's about time for me to upgrade my current PC was bought from CyberPower PC, and let's just say I'm thankful I never had to call customer service more than once, cuz I don't speak....whatever language they do. Anyways, the system itself is about 3 years old, though nothing in it was bleeding edge at the time. This time I'm looking to up the ante a little more, but want to stay below $1500, as far below as I can, really. Here is my basic "wishlist" so far.


Intel Core 2 Duo E8600 Wolfdale 3.33GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor

ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler

ASUS P5Q Pro Turbo LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit

Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive

CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready PSU

Sony Optiarc DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model AD-7241S-0B

HT | OMEGA STRIKER 7.1 Channels PCI Interface Sound Card

Notes:
1) You will notice the lack of a graphics card. I have no idea what I want in that category yet, I just know it's probably an Nvidia. Input appreciated.
2) I will probably be reusing my existing case, which is a COOLER MASTER Praetorian 730 RC-730-SSN1 Silver Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case. Discontinued now apparently, but solid, attractive, and roomy enough for my needs.
3) Hard drives are also kind of up in the air. I feel like I should be using a multi HD configuration for security, organization, etc. Not really sure how much space I need. All I know is my current 2x70GB Raptors in RAID 0 is SO not enough. I just want to be able to install any amount of games I want, have 80+ gigs for music, and enough space for some downloaded movies and whatnot.
4) The sound card is give or take, depending on whether I can squeeze more upgrade power from more important components. Honestly I'll prolly just order without it at first and see how the onboard is. My speaker config is nothing fancy, but at the same time I've no tolerance for sub-par sound, especially for music.
5) I may or may not overclock my CPU and VPU, but I am sick of heat issues, so that's what the custom cooler is there for. I will need some thermal compound for it I'm sure.
6) I don't really care what OS I run first on this rig, as I will probably be moving on to Windows 7 when it is released. I despise Vista.

Any input or opinions on my choices and options would be greatly appreciated. Basically I want to game smoothly, with some Firefox and some itunes up at the same time, and not have any issues. And when I say "game" I mean MMORPG's like the upcoming Aion, and other quality titles in the future. I have built a PC for myself once before but I wouldn't call myself an expert or anything. Also, if anyone knows of a reputable builder that can come close to what I want at a decent price, feel free to post a link.

Thanks!

[glc]

1. Video card ratings: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...rice,2323.html
2. Looks good to me.
3. I'd use 2 drives - a WD Black for OS and software, and whatever you want for data storage. The WD Greens are very good for that. Raptors are a waste of money.
4. Try the onboard sound first.
5. The stock cooler is fine for stock speeds and mild overclocking.
6. If you know for sure you want Win 7, download the RC and run it. It will work till March.

[Dungeoness]

Thanks for the reply, glc. I should probably list my current specs, though, to give you all a better idea of what I'm upgrading from. When I asked a couple of friends what they thought of my list, they didn't think I was going far enough with my intended upgrades.

Current PC:
Intel Core 2 Duo E6700, 2666 MHz
Asus P5N32-SLI SE Deluxe
2x1GB Corsair XMS2 CM2X1024-6400
nVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT (came with a different card that Age of Conan fried)
Onboard sound, Realtek ALC850 (had 2 different Creative cards, don't even ask)
2x70GB Raptors RAID 0
LITE-ON DVDRW SHM-165H6S (effectively dead...won't read disks at all anymore)
Thermaltake Toughpower 750W PSU

A friend suggested I go with the Intel i7 920, which I suppose I should do if I'm building a 3 year plus rig, quad cores just seem superfluous to me still. I know that CPU and graphics card is where I should be spending the big bucks, though. Should I suck it up?

[Khalil]

There is nothing wrong with the Core 2 Duo you have now I am near certain you have never been able to use it to its full potential. Core 2 Duo Processors are substantial.
i7 is plagued with problems and over heat issues and the current i7 is cancelled for a new i7 coming out later with the new i5 and i3 so you probably should wait to upgrade your mobo and cpu.
If you must upgrade for gaming all you would need is a new GPU and 4GB of memory.
GTX275 or ATI 4890 will make that machine of yours will rock.

[glc]

For right now, why don't you just upgrade the ram to 4gb and find another 8800GT and SLI it? You should be able to find one somewhere for less than $100.

[Dungeoness]

Ugh, I hate it when my upgrade cycle falls between the release cycles of the higher end components . I was hoping to have this all done on or before my birthday in October, by mid September ideally, so I could start fresh when Aion releases. I'm curious, though to find out what just a fresh HD, windows 7 and a new graphics card would net me, performance wise. I wouldn't buy new RAM just to stick in this old mobo, but I do have another 2 GB lying around that I could put in once I get a 64 bit OS installed, assuming the sticks and/or extra slots aren't bad.

[Khalil]

Originally Posted by glc For right now, why don't you just upgrade the ram to 4gb and find another 8800GT and SLI it? You should be able to find one somewhere for less than $100.

Problem with that is if he does not get an exact match to that 8800GT it will have a high chance of crashing and blue screen of death will be his new friend. It has to be an exact match for SLI to be reliable, it can't have a different set of RAM on the card or from a different batch.
I hate to disagree with you glc but he is better going with a new card and selling the old 8800GT.

[Dungeoness]

Originally Posted by Khalil There is nothing wrong with the Core 2 Duo you have now I am near certain you have never been able to use it to its full potential. Core 2 Duo Processors are substantial. i7 is plagued with problems and over heat issues and the current i7 is cancelled for a new i7 coming out later with the new i5 and i3 so you probably should wait to upgrade your mobo and cpu. If you must upgrade for gaming all you would need is a new GPU and 4GB of memory. GTX275 or ATI 4890 will make that machine of yours will rock.

BTW, what exactly are all these problems you mentioned with the i7? I mean running hot is a pretty simple fix. And where can I read the news about the current i7 being discontinued?

[Khalil]

http://itvoir.com/portal/news/Corpor...sors-4-613.asp
The problem have not been so much the CPU but more of the motherboards and X58 chipset. Too many problems to list here. Let me put it this way. I have built 68 i7 systems to date, I had to send back 17 motherboards for replacements and 2 processors. That is a very high level of failure. The Motherboards were all Asus, Intel and Gigabyte.

[nicolaus corelius]

its been almost a year and they couldnt get their act together?

[Dungeoness]

So Khalil, if you were to build a gaming rig right now, with tried and true components and tech that isn't going to be phased out in 3 months or a year, what would you make?

[Khalil]

Intel Core 2 Quad 9550, Core 2 Duo E8500 or AMD Phenom II 955

[andper10]

If you are getting an E8600 you should really overclock it. It has so much potential. ( http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...d.php?t=200770 & http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...d.php?t=206809 ) If you are not overclocking just get an E8400 or E8500 and save yourself the huge price premium for the E8600. I would recommend spending a bit more on a CPU cooler if you get one. If you don't overclock, you should be fine using the included stock intel heatsink. I had the Freezer 7 Pro and it was annoyingly loud when it was at 100% fan speed. I have read good things about the Tuniq tower:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835154001

The TRUE is a little better than the Tuniq, but you also have to buy one or two 120mm fan(s) for it:
http://www.directron.com/u120e.html

Arctic Silver 5 is a good thermal paste:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...20%2f%20Grease

Also, do you have a Microcenter in your state? If so, you can get some really good deals on CPUs from them. For example, they have a Q9550 on sale for $170. On newegg the same CPU is $220.

[Khalil]

To over clock an expensive CPU is a very bad idea. Spending that kind of money on a CPU and then putting it at a huge risk while jeopardizing the warranty is not smart at all. The E8600 is already over kill from stock, I would not waste any money on after market heat sinks as they would also void your warranty.

[silent]

Originally Posted by Khalil To over clock an expensive CPU is a very bad idea. Spending that kind of money on a CPU and then putting it at a huge risk while jeopardizing the warranty is not smart at all. The E8600 is already over kill from stock, I would not waste any money on after market heat sinks as they would also void your warranty.

What risk are you putting with oc? Unless you have no idea what you're doing you will not kill it. Also unless you raise your voltage and burn it, there is no way to tell it been OC. Hell i burned by amd chip and it still got replaced.