New Gaming Rig (Purchase order a good assembly order?)

[Ray_Rogers]

So I'll be buying this from NewEgg.com at a part at a time. I'm dead-set on these components and the price for them. Only difficulty would be putting it together since I usually just bought pre-assembled towers.

Tower/Case
Motherboard
CPU
Power Supply
RAM
HDD
GPU
Disc Drive
Operating System

Currently have a HP/Compaq dual core with okay graphics card, RAM and such. Finally going to be getting a brand new gaming tower.

[glc]

That is not a triple channel motherboard - buy dual channel ram. You can get either 4gb or 8gb, and we do not recommend G.skill. We recommend Corsair, Crucial, Kingston, or A-Data.

We do not recommend Seagate drives - we recommend Western Digital Black.

We prefer Asus, EVGA, Diamond, and HIS video cards - Gigabytes are okay but not that great from a support issue.

Follow this procedure before installing components in the case:

PROBLEMS with a NEW BUILD? Try This!!

Mount the CPU and heatsink on the board, install the ram. Set it on the box and install the video card, connect the power supply, and fire it up. Then you can start mounting components in the case, starting with the motherboard.

WAIT TILL YOU CAN AFFORD IT and buy ALL the parts at the same time.

[Ray_Rogers]

Originally Posted by glc That is not a triple channel motherboard - buy dual channel ram. You can get either 4gb or 8gb, and we do not recommend G.skill. We recommend Corsair, Crucial, Kingston, or A-Data. We do not recommend Seagate drives - we recommend Western Digital Black. We prefer Asus, EVGA, Diamond, and HIS video cards - Gigabytes are okay but not that great from a support issue. Follow this procedure before installing components in the case: PROBLEMS with a NEW BUILD? Try This!! Mount the CPU and heatsink on the board, install the ram. Set it on the box and install the video card, connect the power supply, and fire it up. Then you can start mounting components in the case, starting with the motherboard. WAIT TILL YOU CAN AFFORD IT and buy ALL the parts at the same time.

So could you recommend me replacements for the items you listed for around the same price for the items which should be changed? So wait I should keep the motherboard then but different RAM?

EDIT: Is this better?
Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Newegg.com - Antec BP550 Plus 550W Continuous Power ATX12V V2.2 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply
Newegg.com - CORSAIR XMS 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 Desktop Memory Model CMX6GX3M3A1333C9
Newegg.com - EVGA 01G-P3-1450-TR GeForce GTS 450 (Fermi) 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

[pam123]

Please note what glc told you about the motherboard :

That is not a triple channel motherboard - buy dual channel ram. You can get either 4gb or 8gb...

Since you're keeping the same motherboard that means a 4 GB or 8 GB set of Corsair ram you can't use a 6 GB set.

[glc]

Keep the Corsair power supply you originally picked.

Good hard drive.

Ram: Newegg.com - CORSAIR XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TW3X4G1333C9

-OR-

Newegg.com - CORSAIR XMS3 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 Desktop Memory Model CMX8GX3M2A1333C9

Video card: Newegg.com - ASUS EAH6850 DC/2DIS/1GD5/V2 Radeon HD 6850 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity

[Ray_Rogers]

The graphics card MUST have HDMI 1.4/1.4a and also support 2560x1600. No idea if I could afford the Radeon HD 6850.
The games I'm keeping in mind to play on ridiculously high settings without much slowdown for framerate are:
ALIENS versus PREDATOR; Just Cause 2; WOLFENSTEIN; PORTAL 2; Shogun 2 - Total War; BioShock 2; The Saboteur; Quantum of Solace; BLOOD STONE; Assault on Dark Athena; Fallout 3/New Vegas - GotYE; GTA IV including Episodes from Liberty City with ENB mod; Left 4 Dead 1 & 2; Shadow of Chernobyl with Complete 2009 mod; RClear Sky and Call of Pripyat; MORROWIND/OBLIVION/SKYRIM all heavily modded with higher resolution textures; TRON: Evolution; well just all games I already own which would be able to have no framerate issues if ran on high.
Personal set budget for computer is that the sub-total can't exceed $1,100.

[glc]

I was simply taking you back to the 6850 that you originally chose, but a different brand. A GTS450 is a large step backwards.

[Ray_Rogers]

Okay I'm going with the 6850. More caring about the HDMI 1.4a port compared to the Display thing one.

EDIT: Oh and the 2560 x 1600 resolution is a plus. Are there any LCD monitors which're 16:9 which support this? Perhaps something that's 18"-24". Gonna get the new monitor after I build the tower.

[Nuclear Krusader]

That's a 16:10 resolution. Monitors in that inch range you mention have a max resolution of 1920x1080.

File:Vector Video Standards2.svg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Ray_Rogers]

Originally Posted by Nuclear Krusader That's a 16:10 resolution. Monitors in that inch range you mention have a max resolution of 1920x1080. File:Vector Video Standards2.svg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

So would that be good still for the video games I'd also be playing?
How's this now? It also fits my planned budget.

http://i.imgur.com/77VDf.png

[Nuclear Krusader]

I don't see why not.

[glc]

1920x1080 is 1080p TV resolution, which is 16:9. The only monitor that Newegg carries that does 2560x1600 is a 30 inch HP that costs over $1200. 24" monitors top out at 1920x1080 or 1920x1200.

[David M]

Originally Posted by Ray_Rogers So would that be good still for the video games I'd also be playing? http://i.imgur.com/77VDf.png

Yes, 1920 x 1080 is a very common resolution for games. I would say all the newer games offer that resolution.

[glc]

My son in law and grandson both game with a 22" 1080p TV at 1920x1080.

[Ray_Rogers]

Originally Posted by Nuclear Krusader I don't see why not.

Originally Posted by glc 1920x1080 is 1080p TV resolution, which is 16:9. The only monitor that Newegg carries that does 2560x1600 is a 30 inch HP that costs over $1200. 24" monitors top out at 1920x1080 or 1920x1200.

Originally Posted by David M Yes, 1920 x 1080 is a very common resolution for games. I would say all the newer games offer that resolution.

Originally Posted by glc My son in law and grandson both game with a 22" 1080p TV at 1920x1080.

Thanks everyone! So just go for this? Newegg.com - ASUS VH236H Black 23" 2ms(GTG) HDMI Widescreen Full HD 1080P LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 20000 :1 (ASCR) Built-in Speakers
How about more fans and heatsinks for the case/innards?

[Ray_Rogers]

Originally Posted by Ray_Rogers Thanks everyone! So just go for this? Newegg.com - ASUS VH236H Black 23" 2ms(GTG) HDMI Widescreen Full HD 1080P LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 20000 :1 (ASCR) Built-in Speakers How about more fans and heatsinks for the case/innards?

Self quoting.

Buy Discount Cheap Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade OEM 64-bit (Branded)

Would the above be suitable for buying Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit? Or would CostCo be better? I have a Fry's Electronics around 20-25 miles north of me.

AND would this PCI card be able to be used with the above motherboard? Since I have a HammerFX controller and will also be buying a 360 wired Games for Windows controller also for use with XPadder.

EDIT: Forgot the link to the PCI card with the 15-pin port.

DOUBLE EDIT: I'd want a monitor which supports 1920x1200 though.

[Nuclear Krusader]

You don't need extra fans for the case. The days of the AMD furnaces are over.

[orbrit]

Just curious. Why the need for 1920x1200?
You really limit your choices and increase your cost for very little performance difference.

I used to have a Dell E248WFP and it had that resolution but is absolutely no different to me in gaming performance from a 24" 1080p (1920x1080) monitor that cost half as much.

[David M]

Your 550 watt PSU is the limit on the most heat you would ever need to remove. One fan in and one fan out is sufficient.

Originally Posted by orbrit Just curious. Why the need for 1920x1200? You really limit your choices and increase your cost for very little performance difference. I used to have a Dell E248WFP and it had that resolution but is absolutely no different to me in gaming performance from a 24" 1080p (1920x1080) monitor that cost half as much.

A 1920 x 1200 is not twice the cost of a 1920 x 1080. The cost is pretty proportionate to the 10% increase in pixels.

Amazon.com: Used and New: ASUS VW246H 24-Inch Widescreen LCD Monitor - Black

[Ray_Rogers]

Okay thanks everyone!

Just figured that bit of extra resolution would help for better textures and AA/filtering/HDR/Bloom for the games I'm wanting to play all at peak settings which are optimal for the build I'm going for.
To DavidM. You bet I'll be playing FALLOUT 3/New Vegas with very high textural mods! But I must have a rebuttal for New Vegas. Won't be rebuying it until the Game of the Year Edition is released.

Posting list of games for this including WOLFENSTEIN, for which I'm glad finally made me active about this project instead of procrastinating about it for such a long time. I figure I buy the 360 counterparts for now to play, the PC ones new for good prices and kept sealed. Then when rest of the programs, codecs and older games are installed, using the X-Acto knife for all those sealed PC games and installing them like a mad man. CAN'T WAIT TO PUT THEM ON MUCH BETTER SETTINGS COMPARED TO MY CURRENT TOWER!
Okay here're the titles I'll be installing on the new tower. Yep they're all I have already installed on this one. Glad I'm a discphile.
(Numerical then Alphabetical. No asterisk denotes I already own it for PC and could also be installed. Asterisk denotes I already own it on 360 and will be buying for PC. Double asterisk denotes game borrowed/rented/played before/haven't played and will be buying for both 360/PC. Triple denotes I'll just be buying it for PC only. All new PC titles will remained shrinkwrapped until I put the tower together. Any suggestions why some of the older games don't run very well on Vista and I've also read for 7? Was considering Virtual Operating System or whatever it's called, especially for ALIENS versus PREDATOR - Gold Edition. Yep also use STEAM and ScummVM. Pity I've forgotten alot of DOS or I'd also use MS-DOS.) Suggestions are helpful too! Also great idea of the sort of games I play.

[spoiler]

007: nightfire
007: GoldenEye Source 4.1
007 2008: Quantum of Solace** (Repurchase on 360 though.)
007 2010: BLOOD STONE**
ALIEN SWARM
ALIENS versus PREDATOR - Gold Edition (Rebuy via Steam?)
ALIENS versus PREDATOR 2 + Primal Hunt
ALIENS versus PREDATOR 2010***
AREA 51 (Haven't played.)
Back to the Future: The Game - Part I (Only fiddled with the grpahical/audio settings.)
Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn (Haven't played.)
BATTLEFIELD 1942/Road to Rome/Secret Weapons of WWII
BATTLEFIELD 2
BRADE RUNNAH (ALWAYS installed.)
CALL OF DUTY (More interested in the World War II entries.)
Call of Juarez (Only played the demo on 360. Guess I'll also buy it for 360 since I have it for PC.)
The Chronicles of Riddickulous: Escape from Butcher Bay
The Chronicles of Riddickulous: Assault on Dark Athena*
CIVILIZATION IV
CIVILIZATION V***
Counter-Strike (See entry for HλLF-LIFE. Haven't played.)
Deathmatch Classic (Haven't played.)
Deathmatch Source (Haven't played.)
DEUS EX (Only played back in maybe 2002?)
DIABLO II
DOOM³
The Elder Scrolls III: MORROWIND - Game of the Year Edition (All TES games are used heavily with graphical mods. In-lore specific of course!)
The Elder Scrolls IV: OBRIVION - Game of the Year Edition
The Elder Scrolls V: SKYRIM***
FALLOUT (FALLOUT Trilogy DVD)
FALLOUT 2 (FALLOUT Trilogy DVD)
FALLOUT: Tactics (FALLOUT Trilogy DVD)
FALLOUT 3 - Game of the Year Edition*
FALLOUT: New Vegas** (Rebuying the GotYE for both 360 and lastly for PC.)
GRIM FANDANGO
GTA2
Grand Theft Auto IV* + Episodes from Liberty City*** with ENB mod
HλLF-LIFE (Actual retail disc, input CD Key and rest of GoldSrc games free!)
HλLF-LIFE: Opposing Force
HλLF-LIFE: Blue Shift
HλLF-LIFE² (The Orange Box retail)
HλLF-LIFE² - Lost Coast (Steam Download)
HλLF-LIFE² - Episode One (The Orange Box retail)
HλLF-LIFE² - Episode Two (The Orange Box retail)
HITMAN: Codename 47
HITMAN 2: Silent Assassin
HITMAN: Blood Money
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis
Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine
Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb
Indigo Prophecy (Would much rather have the uncut FARENHEIT. Never played yet.)
LEFT 4 DEAD***
LEFT 4 DEAD 2***
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-Earth
The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-Earth II (Already own it for both 360 and PC.)
The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-Earth II - The Rise of the Witch-King
The Lord of the Rings: Conquest (Installed but have yet to play it.)
The Lord of the Rings Online: Mines of Moria - Collector's Edition (supports DX11, high textures, etc. and am so stoked.)
THE MATRIX: Path of Neo
MAX PAYNE
METAL GEAR SOLID & VR Missions
The Secret of Monkey Island (Both CD-ROM retail for ScummVM and Special Edition from Steam.)
Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge (Both CD-ROM retail for ScummVM and Special Edition from Steam.)
The Curse of Monkey Island
Neverwinter Nights Platinum
Neverwinter Nights 2 (Haven't played yet.)
PORTAL (The Orange Box retail)
PORTAL 2***
RESIDENT EVIL 4 (Crappy key mapping for PC.)
Rise of Nations + Thrones of Patriots
The Saboteur**
Sherlock Holmes versus Jack the Ripper**
SILENT HILL 3 (Barely played, first title played in series I have.)
Tom Clancy's SPLINTER CELL
Tom Clancy's SPLINTER CELL: Pandora Tomorrow
Tom Clancy's SPLINTER CELL: Chaos Theory
STAR TREK: Bridge Commander
SYSTEM SHOCK 2 (YES! http://www.ttlg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=69958 )
TEAM FORTRESS Classic (Haven't played yet.)
TEAM FORTRESS 2 (The Orange Box retail)
THE THING
ROME: Total War (Will be buying rest of Total War series succeeding ROME. In successive order for playing of course.)
TRON 2.0**
TRON: Evolution
Return to Castle Wolfenstein + Enemy Territory
WOLFENSTEIN**

[/spoiler]

It's just a good enough list and don't want to be having too many entries. AWESOME!

[David M]

Originally Posted by Ray_Rogers To DavidM. You bet I'll be playing FALLOUT 3/New Vegas with very high textural mods! But I must have a rebuttal for New Vegas. Won't be rebuying it until the Game of the Year Edition is released.

Yeah...too late for me. I'm almost 100 hours into it. It's one of the best games I have ever played. It has an amazing amount of detail, characters and things to do. There are a number of factions to side with and to go against. There are many many interesting quests as well. There are add-ons which I still need to download and explore. There is a huge inaccessible empty desert valley on the East side of the map which they still have to develop. With time, this game is going to get even better.

I agree, this is a game you want to play on as big of a monitor as you can get and with as fast of a card as you want to pay for.

[Ray_Rogers]

Originally Posted by David M Yeah...too late for me. I'm almost 100 hours into it. It's one of the best games I have ever played. It has an amazing amount of detail, characters and things to do. There are a number of factions to side with and to go against. There are many many interesting quests as well. There are add-ons which I still need to download and explore. There is a huge inaccessible empty desert valley on the East side of the map which they still have to develop. With time, this game is going to get even better. I agree, this is a game you want to play on as big of a monitor as you can get and with as fast of a card as you want to pay for.

Sweet. Yeah I owned it for 360 and many hours in it too. Was extremely satisfied New Vegas is more in line with 1 and 2 compared with 3. When first DLC streeted I sold the game and not the Collector's Edition box including contents. Also own FALLOUT 3 - Game of the Year Edition for 360 for a great price but really holding off for the PC one more due to a good price.
Since the Bethesda games, TES III-V/FO 3 and New Vegas, use fairly much the same install structure, the file layouts, modding is really easy for them. Well only modded Morrowind and Oblivion so far.
Damn, with all these PC games I'll also be buying, retail obviously, might as well put up more shelving on the wall!
So the PCI card with the MIDI and 15-pin jack is fine for the new motherboard? Far cheaper compared to an adapter.

Thanks WOLFENSTEIN!

[glc]

That cheap card may not work in Windows 7, and even if it does, the sound may be crappy.

[Ray_Rogers]

Originally Posted by glc That cheap card may not work in Windows 7, and even if it does, the sound may be crappy.

It's not for the sound it's for the HammerheadFX 15-pin controller I have. Works perfect for emulators. Yep I'll also be buying the Wired 360 controller for Games for Windows titles along with XPadder for the rest of my PC games.
So I'll also be using AnyDVD HD for converting HD DVD to Blu-ray with structure/extras/sans-dubbing/keeping subtitles intact, watching my Blu-ray disc collection which includes imports and also burning out as BD of films I'm heavily interested in and own which aren't even out on Blu-ray yet.
Steady as she goes.

EDIT: I'd like to case mod this, possibly, to be TRON themed. Well 1982 TRON and 2.0 based circuitry look.

[glc]

What I'm saying is it may not even WORK in Windows 7.

[orbrit]

Originally Posted by David M A 1920 x 1200 is not twice the cost of a 1920 x 1080. The cost is pretty proportionate to the 10% increase in pixels. Amazon.com: Used and New: ASUS VW246H 24-Inch Widescreen LCD Monitor - Black

Of the 4 that newegg sells and has in stock, only 1 is below $300.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...CE&PageSize=20

The Asus you linked is still a 1080p monitor. Not sure if you were just recommending a monitor, or suggesting that it was a 1920x1200 monitor, but if it is just a recommendation, I'd get it from Newegg for $179.99 ($169.99 after MIR)

[Ray_Rogers]

Originally Posted by glc What I'm saying is it may not even WORK in Windows 7.

Even if I Google-fu drivers for it? I mean it's only around $6.

Should I wait for monitor prices to go down a bit more? Just waiting so they're more affordable for my budget.
Or should I go for combos?

[glc]

There may not BE any drivers for it. Vista and 7 changed the Windows sound model drastically and a lot of those old cards plain old don't work.

[Ray_Rogers]

Originally Posted by glc There may not BE any drivers for it. Vista and 7 changed the Windows sound model drastically and a lot of those old cards plain old don't work.

Even if I just used it for emulating? Otherwise I'll just be buying the XBOX 360 wired for Windows controller along with XPadder. I'm gonna miss my HammerheadFX controller.
So what're the recommended programs and more for Blu-ray disc encoding? I already have Nero 8 updated and the HD DVD add-on drive will be used for those titles completely unavailable on Blu-ray for conversion.

EDIT: Would this be better since it has more slots compared to the ASUS?
Newegg.com - BIOSTAR TA870U3+ AM3 AMD 870 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard

[glc]

Same number of slots - just different types. I'd prefer the Asus. The Asus actually has 1 more legacy PCI slot, it has one less PCI-Ex1.