Gaming build

[GandalftheGrey]

Hi all, I would like to build a new computer for gaming. I play WoW and I would also like to multi-task (web browsing while playing WoW). Can you please make sure all these components are compatible with each other? I am also open to suggestions for improvement. Thanks!


Case:
COOLER MASTER COSMOS 1000 RC-1000-KSN1-GP Black/ Silver Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119138

Power Supply:
CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power ... - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139006

Motherboard:
ASUS M4A79 Deluxe AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 790FX ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131361

CPU:
AMD Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition Callisto 3.1GHz Socket AM3 80W Dual-Core Processor Model HDZ550WFGIBOX - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103680

RAM:
CORSAIR XMS3 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TR3X6G1333C9 - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145220

Hard Drive:
Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136073

Video Card:
ASUS EAH4870 DK/HTDI/1GD5 Radeon HD 4870 Dark Knight 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported ... - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814121291

O/S:
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit for System Builders w/ Tech Guarantee - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116677

Subtotal:
$1,017.93

[glc]

I'd recommend you replace that Blue drive with a Black. Faster and longer warranty.

[Masaki 7-11]

Looks good, the one thing I would change would be your ram; AMD currently doesn't support triple channel, and the motherboard you picked out does not have support for DDR3 ram, you'll need a AM3 board for DDR3 support, a AM2+/AM3 board only has support for DDR2.

[Khalil]

Seems like a lot of money for a Dual Core rig. That motherboard is too expensive for what it is and it is a DDR2 motherboard and you are looking for DDR3, I would get this one http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131398 very stable and has awesome features under $100
For memory I would go for this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145260

That power supply is over kill for this rig, I would go for this one http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817371016
Its your money, I am just trying to save you some!!

[AMGrbaowska]

Yes, I would go with all the recommendations made so far. Also, unless you really want that case you could definitely get a cheaper case, heck there are even cheaper Cool Masters if thats the brand you want.

[systempat]

With the money you save on the Motherboard suggestion from Khalil, you can either put the money back in your pocket. Or you can move up to a tri-core like the X3 720 or even to a quad-core.

[GandalftheGrey]

Originally Posted by systempat With the money you save on the Motherboard suggestion from Khalil, you can either put the money back in your pocket. Or you can move up to a tri-core like the X3 720 or even to a quad-core.

Do you envision my current cpu selection to be a limiting factor in playing today's games and games for the next 2 years? CPU's aren't as important for gaming builds right?

i like the way he silver case looks. I have a weakness for cool-looking cases.

also, do I need to get a CPU cooling unit?

[David M]

Originally Posted by GandalftheGrey Do you envision my current cpu selection to be a limiting factor in playing today's games and games for the next 2 years? CPU's aren't as important for gaming builds right? i like the way he silver case looks. I have a weakness for cool-looking cases. also, do I need to get a CPU cooling unit?

Correct, for a fast gaming computer, spend your hard earned money on the graphics card. The GPU and graphics memory matters most.

The stock CPU coolers are usually okay if you do not intend to overclock. Often with their tiny high speed fans, they are on the noisy side. If you want a really quiet HSF then get one with at least a 120mm fan and slow it down a little with a fan speed controller. Zalman makes good CPU coolers. Expect to spend $40-$65.

[GandalftheGrey]

Oh I forgot about a DVD drive. I have a question relating to this.... does my motherboard have IDE slots? Should I get an IDE or a SATA DVD drive?

Also, will the motherboard accomodate two pci devices in addition to the 2xslot video card listed above?

[glc]

SATA is preferable.

You can get full specs and pictures of the board at Newegg.

[GandalftheGrey]

Originally Posted by glc You can get full specs and pictures of the board at Newegg.

Okay... the only reason I ask is because the specs are a little confusing and they seem to indicate 6 slots in total but in the picture I only count 5. There are also different types of PCI slots which I'm not sure are compatible with my two devices (an M-Audio Delta 44 soundcard, and a Seagate external HD).

Thanks again to everyone for their input.

[glc]

I'm STILL waiting for better details on that card for the external hard drive...........

The specs will list PCI slots, and will also list PCI-E slots with the respective speeds (x1, x4, x8, x16). PCI is PCI. PCI-E is PCI-Express, a whole different technology.

What I see in the pictures corresponds with the specs. It has 2 PCI slots. Those are the white slots. The PCI-E slots are the black and blue slots. I see 2 of each color.

Please don't get me wrong - I am not trying to give you a hard time. It's just that I HIGHLY suspect that this is not a proprietary PCI card, and it is MOST LIKELY something like a standard USB 2.0 card or something similar, and it will NOT be needed in your new build. If you can't figure it out, please disconnect the cable from the card and take pictures of both the port on the card, and the cable tip that plugs into it.

[GandalftheGrey]

bah! I was actually talking about the motherboard that Khalil recommended.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131398
Sorry for the confusion.

When I get home tonight I will try to get more details on my external hard drive.

Thanks.

[systempat]

Originally Posted by GandalftheGrey Do you envision my current cpu selection to be a limiting factor in playing today's games and games for the next 2 years? CPU's aren't as important for gaming builds right? i like the way he silver case looks. I have a weakness for cool-looking cases. also, do I need to get a CPU cooling unit?

There is a lot more bang for the buck in getting more power in processing from the CPU than in wasting it on a motherboard that cost about $70 more than necessary. Also are you building it strictly to meet today's needs or as a machine that will meet your needs for the next 2 or 3 years? The higher CPU - and the X3 720 is only 20 more than the 550 BE - would on balance give you that. Or else you should be aiming for more like a 700 build with the dual-core CPU.
Cooling. If you are not overclocking the stock AMD cooling part is fine. I have the exact Phenom 2 you are considering the 550 BE with the stock fan. It runs fine and is NOT loud. Not silent either but not loud. There are many enthusiasts that will buy the current crop of HUGE heatsink-fans that are way overkill.

[Masaki 7-11]

Most likely the card for the external drive, is a SATA to eSATA adapter, I've installed a few of them, and they fit into an expansion slot (not necessarily a PCI slot as it doesn't have any connectors other than a SATA cable).

[systempat]

That external drive could be a firewire (1394) connection. Like the Lacie drive my daughter uses for backup. In which case if the motherboard has a 1394 port the interface card would no longer be needed.

[glc]

Let's stop guessing till we can get positive identification.........

The board Khalil recommended has 3 PCI slots (light blue), 2 PCI-Ex16 slots (dark blue, gray) and 1 PCI-Ex1 slot (short dark blue). It also has 6 rear USB 2.0 ports, a rear IEEE 1394a (Firewire) port, and a rear panel eSATA port.

[GandalftheGrey]

I looked on the back of it and it says "ST30000XS" underneath "Seagate". I just did a search and came up with a couple forum threads about it, but that's it.

well, i think im gonna go with it plus all of the recommended changes including an X3 720 processor. comes out to $930 including shippiing.

[glc]

That's eSATA and does not require the card if the motherboard has a eSATA port, which that one does. It may run a bit faster if you don't use the card.

[GandalftheGrey]

I've gone ahead and put in the order. Parts should be arriving tomorrow.

I have a question relating to CPU heatsink installation. The PCMech build your own PC guide talks about a heat sink compound to apply between the cpu and the heatsink. Is this something that is necessary with my build in particular? If so, do I need to purchase this separately?

Thanks.

[glc]

No, the retail processor/heatsink combos come with what you need.

[GandalftheGrey]

i put together my pc. but it just beeps and i get a black screen. it beeps continuously coming from the motherboard itself or something! i cant be sure.

anyways, any ideas?

[glc]

PROBLEMS with a NEW BUILD? Try This!!

[GandalftheGrey]

it turns out my video card was not connected to my psu. also, i don't get video if i plug my monitor into the motherboard but it works if i plug it into the video card.

now though i have more problems. when i plug in my ethernet connection from my dsl modem (and through a wireless router) i get no connection (it works fine on my old pc). i go to device manager and it says realtek lan is not working. also my vga something or other is not working, plus some unknown device. i'm at work right now so i can't get any more specific atm. but any ideas that pop into your head in the meantime are welcome.

Thanks.

[vtfanmv5]

Did you install drivers from the motherboard disc, including your ethernet drivers?

[systempat]

Yep, sounds like you need the chipset drivers that should have come with the motherboard. On a CD.

Also for the video card. If switching between using a video card in the PCI-e slot and using the onboard video, you may have to go into the BIOS on startup. And check the options for which video is active. The board sometimes detects automatically, but sometimes not.

[David M]

No offense intended, but you have to read the manual that came with the motherboard word for word...especially for your first few builds.

[GandalftheGrey]

Thanks everyone. I fixed the issues.

It's a pity, some of my old games won't run on my new rig. like Thief 3 and Quake 3. i guess this is a compatibility issue with vista or something. I read somewhere that Thief 3 won't run on a gfx card without pixel shading. oh well, maybe an update or something will fix the problem.

THanks again.

[David M]

Sometimes the fans of older games that are no longer supported will write a patch for that game that makes it compatible with the newer OS's and graphics cards. You may want to do a little research on that.

Windows also has a mode that causes it to emulate older Windows versions. I have never used it though so I couldn't tell you how it is done.