Help with new PC for gaming

Spanish Guitar

Hi Guys,

I'm building my first gaming PC and I was wondering if you could offer me some advice (played Crysis on my bro's and fell in love). Below is something I have been looking at. I'm not 100% up on everything so if any of the below components are going to be a problem, I'd appreciate somebody letting me know.

I realise that some of the components may be overkill at the moment but I want to make it's somewhat future proof.

It works out at a little over 2 grand and I'm happy to pay that but I just want to make sure that I'm getting the right kind of specs for the money.

Cheers.:D

Antec Nine Hundred miditower, side panel window,
Tagan TurboJet 1100W, Dual 80mm Fan,
Asus P5N32-E SLI, nForce-680i SLI, ATX,
Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6850 3GHz 1333Mhz
Corsair TWIN2X 6400C4 DDR2, 2048MB CL4,
Gainward GeForce 8800GTX 768MB GDDR3,
Western Digital Raptor 150GB SATA
Plextor DVD±RW burner, PX-810SA, SATA,
Creative SB X-FI Xtreme Gamer

AlmightyCushion

Tagan TurboJet 1100W, Dual 80mm Fan - Why do you need such a powerful psu? You'd be best off getting a good 700w psu.

Asus P5N32-E SLI, nForce-680i SLI, ATX - Don't know much about motherboards myself so I'll let the more knowledgeable folk give you advice on this.

Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6850 3GHz 1333Mhz - You could probably get the q6600 or even a q6750 and overclocking them. This will save you a bit of money.

Corsair TWIN2X 6400C4 DDR2, 2048MB CL4 - You're future-proofing and only going with 2GBs ram? You should probably use the money saved from the other components to get 4GBs of good ram. I'll let the more knowledgeable folk give you advice on which ram to get.

Gainward GeForce 8800GTX 768MB GDDR3 - Save the money and get either an 8800gt or an 8800gts (the new ones). Get a decent cooler and overclock the crap out of it.

Western Digital Raptor 150GB SATA - The 150GB raptor drives are out-performed by some 7200rpm drives so they are a waste. Save the money and get a good 7200rpm. It will out-perform the raptor and give you more storage space.

Get decent coolers for the parts and a good case and you should be able to clock the living shít out of the components and get some serious value for your money.

TerrorFirmer

Ditch the QX. Total waste of money - get a 6550 or something more basic, overclock it as necessary. Though that said, even a 6550 at stock is more then adequate for any game out there. Another avenue is to go quad core - if you're looking at future proofing then that's the way to go now. Either option will save you a very large sum of money and the latter is far more 'future proof'. If you've an overclocker, even the cheapest core 2 duo available can be squeezed to give you close to QX performance. Personally I still use a 2160 in my gaming machine. No plans on changing until I go Quad. Even if you don't know anything about overclocking, Core 2 has so much headroom that you can increase you processor several hundred mhz just by entering a few digits in the bios, which relative to Core 2 stock clocks can be a massive improvement.

The 680i is outdated now, and a lot of problems with it across the board, even just going from other users experiences here. The 780i is out now.

GTX - uneconomical. New 8800GTS revision is an excellent performer and the new cards are out in February. Getting a GTX at this stage just doesn't make sense.

Don't forget extra hard drive(s). You'll need far more then 150gb long term. And you don't need a power supply that powerful, not by a long shot.

Out of interest, why have you picked these parts? It almost looks like you've just gone and found the most expensive parts possible! With the exception of the ram.

Lord Deco

:eek:

€2200?...thats silly money mate to be spending on a pc that (still) cant play crysis on full full details....

Where are you buying? Komplett,dabs,overclockers,scan are expensive at that price range,your better off getting off a german/french site like

Agree with everything Almighty said,downscale everything and maybe think about sli if you really want to play Crysis at full pelt (still not playable with todays hardware imo).....Overclocking is the way to go,you can get €300 performance out of €50 cpu and so on....

I would change a few things....



Mobo: I like,bit expensive but its class

http://www1.hardwareversand.de/6VHntBlj9PslP2/2/articledetail.jsp?aid=9240&agid=659

This is better value though

http://www1.hardwareversand.de/6VHntBlj9PslP2/2/articledetail.jsp?aid=10077&agid=659

Cpu:Normal Quad @2.4ghz is fine,you can clock it past 3.0ghz

http://www1.hardwareversand.de/6VHntBlj9PslP2/2/articledetail.jsp?aid=8790&agid=398

Gpu:Price wise Ati is where its at,but there is still issues with crossfire on Crysis and a single 3870HD is a little weak for Crysis full belt...

A single 8800gts 512mb is what you should get imo,but availability is an issue....

Psu:Tagan 900watt is good value....

http://www1.hardwareversand.de/6VHntBlj9PslP2/2/articledetail.jsp?aid=17972&agid=240

Hard Drive:Seagate very fast...

http://www1.hardwareversand.de/6VHntBlj9PslP2/2/articledetail.jsp?aid=7474&agid=689

Ram:2gb of 800mhz is fine,4gb isnt need.....

http://www1.hardwareversand.de/6VHntBlj9PslP2/2/articledetail.jsp?aid=8415&agid=599

Sound Card:Dont bother,great sound on the Asus board....

Case:I really like this coolermaster case...

http://www1.hardwareversand.de/6VHntBlj9PslP2/2/articledetail.jsp?aid=7686&agid=632

Coolers:Have never bought one myself,if you get a good quality case air is fine imo....

PogMoThoin

I'd steer away from the 680i motherboards and go with either the newer p35 or x38 as these will handle 4Gb ram & a quad better & will also support penryn better.

As the others have said, don't waste money on an extreme quad, get a q6600 & a good cooler & overclock it, will work out cheaper.

4Gb ddr2 kits are dirt ceap atm, I've got this kit comin from my sis in NY for 83e. Also i'd advise going for a 2x 2Gb kit as opposed to 4x 1Gb, mobo's handle 2 sticks better, but you'll have to go with a 64bit os to use the full 4Gb.

Don't buy a raptor, other bigger hardrives have similar performance. like the 500Gb spinpoint are equally as fast with alot more storage.

As has been said already, go for a 8800Gt or GTS as its better value for money. There are newer next generation nvidia gpu's out next yr, how much do you think the GTX will be worth then.

x keo21

id have to agree with all the guys here. i was like you only a couple of months ago, i got the gaming bug and went straight in head first, picking out expensive items that just weren't needed, you dont need to spend over 2grand for a quality system. the items picked out here are good indicators but research a few more internet sites and threads before you pick, i bet you'll end up spending around half that on good future proof components. then if you want splash out on a good quality hd tv, sound system etc....

RoyalMarine

the 680i had lots of problems.
i bought 1 a few weeks ago second hand and ive to send it back to evga.

lucky i got in on the step up program and upgrading it to the new 780i.

but then i just bought a 680i striker edition :P

but i suggest you dont buy one. there are better ones out there.

dont get an extreme quad. overclock the q6600 and save yourself the money.

the raptor's have great performance, but they are small size and the newer drives have great speeds.

dont waste money on the gtx unless your out to spend it for the sake of it.

get the 8800gt. dont bother with the 8800gts 512mb as it costs 100 euro more but only gives a bare 15% increase.

Spanish Guitar

Cheers lads,

I've taken all advise on board and this is the new spec list that I've come up with.

I haven't removed the GTX because I have aspirations of getting a second one next year for SLI but I've changed everything else and saved a lot of money in the process.

Antec Nine Hundred black miditower,

http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=332085

XFX nForce 780i SLI, nForce-780i SLI, Socket-775,DDR2,2xGbLAN, 3xPCI-Ex(2.0)16,

http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=344292

Thermaltake Toughpower 850W, Modular, 8xSATA, ATX/EPS, 4xPCI-E, 20/24pin

http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=329026

Samsung SpinPoint T166 500GB SATA2,

http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=327715

Corsair TWIN2X 6400 DDR2, 4096MB CL5, Kit w/two matched CM2X2048-6400 Dimm's,

http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=338074

LG DVD±RW burner, GSA-H55LRB, 20x, LightScribe, SecureDisc, Black and White,

http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=341853

Point of View GeForce 8800GTX 768MB, GDDR3, PCI-Express, DVI/Tv-Out, Retail,

http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=327539

AuzenTech HDA X-Plosion 7.1 DTS,

http://www.elara.ie/products/detailsfull.asp?productcode=MMEV790002

RoyalMarine

ditch the gtx.
to buy a second one and go sli would be a complete waste of money.
they cost over 500 euro. thats over 1000 for 2 of them!

and you only get about 20% increase in performance.

if your going to use sli, then buy 2 8800gts 512mb.
they rival the gtx and are 200 euro cheaper than the gtx.

Lord Deco

Agree ditch the gtx and get the much cheaper but with same performance 8800gts 512mb

http://www.dabs.ie/ProductView.aspx?Quicklinx=4TZ4&CategorySelectedId=11137&PageMode=1&NavigationKey=11137,14&InMerch=1

Why are you getting the soundcard?

The onboard sound on the xfx board should be awesome...

dazftw

Some games wont work without a soundcard? I cant think of the game though... I think it was graw..

Plus no SLI unless you have a big monitor! 24"+

Some people really don't get it, a friend of mine is building a pc and he plays no games! Hes getting a 8600GTS and an SLI board because he wants to SLI??? He says it will make editing videos easier???

mrDuke

there is a german website worth a look if your builing a site, i cant remember the address but its something like ankerrman.de or something, ask on the forum and someone will know it, i bought a decent setup from them and saved over €300 in comparison with komplett.

Spanish Guitar

Yeah you're all right of course. |'m gonna ditch the GTX and go for two GTS instead. I'm going for SLI because I need the higher resolution as I'll be playing on a 46" Samsung and anything under 1024 x 768 just looks pretty bad on it.

As for the sound card, I need the digital output for the surround sound set up that I have.

I'll also have a root around and see if I can find that German site.

Thanks again, you've all been great help and have given me a much better idea of what I'm looking for.

white_falcon

mrDuke wrote: »

there is a german website worth a look if your builing a site, i cant remember the address but its something like ankerrman.de or something, ask on the forum and someone will know it, i bought a decent setup from them and saved over €300 in comparison with komplett.

www.ankermann-pc.com is what you're talking about i believe

mrDuke

white falcon, is your real name emmett?

white_falcon

mrDuke wrote: »

white falcon, is your real name emmett?

who's asking?

toco123

Its an ambitious computer but you're wasting money

Antec 900 ~ Your preference! looks nice but i've heard it can be difficult to use
Tagan TurboJet 1100W ~ You'll will only need half this power probably!!~ get a Corsair650 watt
Asus P5N32-E SLI ~ Gigabyte GA-P31-DS3L
Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6850 ~ Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 G0 stepping
Corsair TWIN2X 6400C4 DDR2 ~ I'd advise 3GBs of Aeneon Ram
Gainward GeForce 8800GTX ~ Asus En8800GT no need for SLI, little or no benefit.
Western Digital Raptor 150GB SATA ~ Samsung Spinpoint 500GB beats it easily
Plextor DVD±RW burner, PX-810SA, SATA,
Creative SB X-FI Xtreme Gamer ~ Pure luxury, really is only personal choice.

toco123

SLI only benefits high resoloutions over 1900 x 1200

Lord Deco

toco123 wrote: »

Its an ambitious computer but you're wasting money

Antec 900 ~ Your preference! looks nice but i've heard it can be difficult to use
Tagan TurboJet 1100W ~ You'll will only need half this power probably!!~ get a Corsair650 watt
Asus P5N32-E SLI ~ Gigabyte GA-P31-DS3L
Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6850 ~ Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 G0 stepping
Corsair TWIN2X 6400C4 DDR2 ~ I'd advise 3GBs of Aeneon Ram
Gainward GeForce 8800GTX ~ Asus En8800GT no need for SLI, little or no benefit.
Western Digital Raptor 150GB SATA ~ Samsung Spinpoint 500GB beats it easily
Plextor DVD±RW burner, PX-810SA, SATA,
Creative SB X-FI Xtreme Gamer ~ Pure luxury, really is only personal choice.

Much better build that.....I have the P31 DS3 mobo,paired with a E2140 clocked to just over 2.6hz......Wonderful board...

toco123

dazftw wrote: »

Some games wont work without a soundcard? I cant think of the game though... I think it was graw..

Ha... I don't think so. I think GRAW benefits from one as well as with a Phsyx card but it will work without them!

cregser

Just to confuse you further, I'll throw in what I'm looking at now . Like yourself I'd be happy to throw €2,200 at a PC that'll last but I've downgraded my spec after seeing what is currently out there. By that, I mean PC hardware is currently kinda migrating from a successfull generation to a new unproven generation. Intel is trying to push DDR3 but I've read that it's not worth it (with good cheap DDR2 out now) until they eventually bring out DDR3 triple-channel mobo's - so this effects what mobo+RAM you buy. All current graphics cards don't efficiently handle DX10 so no point going over the top. Also Intel is in no rush to get their new CPUs out the door because of AMDs poor showing. The smart thing to do is always to wait but if you wait for the GFX cards in February you may as well wait for the Intel CPUs in March and whatever next...

So my system:
Core2 Q6600 2.4GHz -- Good overclocker. Quad core for any video conversion.
Thermaltake BigTyp 120 VX -- to help with OCing. Might change to ASUS Silent Knight due to case airflow.
Antec P182 Black Case -- Supposed to be really quiet. Looks purdy without shiny lights.
Corsair HX520W SLi PSU -- Already good reputation.
EVGA GeForce 8800GT SSC 512MB -- Hard to get right now, must be good!
Abit IP35 PRO Motherboard -- Editor's Choice awards galore. Also hard to get. Not convinced by x38,x48,780i chipsets.
2x 2GB DDR2 (4GB) -- Don't know whether to get cheap 6400 or expensive 8000+
2x Hitachi 7K500 500GB S300 16MB -- 1TB of supposedly good HDDs. Good to have one for OS/Games and another for music/files etc. IMO.
DVD-RW 20x non-OEM -- non-OEM means I get the software with it.
Saitek Eclipse II -- Illuminated keyboard.

That comes to ~€1400(incl. €200 guess for RAM) mainly from dabs.ie and some from komplett.ie. I already have Vista, LCD 19", and decent speakers. They would add probably ~€400 to the cost.

I'd probably be looking at a GFX upgrade in 6-10months depending on how good the next gen cards are. If triple-channel DDR3 is really good then that may be worth the mobo/RAM upgrade. If not, the mobo can handle a 45n CPU upgrade - which I doubt is needed.

TerrorFirmer

It's not so much that you actually need a dedicated card as a requirement as it is that certain games have problems with onboard. Think Call of Duty 4 is one of those giving problems to certain users.

toco123

To help you again:


Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Tray ~ €201.98
http://www2.hardwareversand.de/7Vpq0s0svAT0Z2/1/articledetail.jsp?aid=17971&agid=398


Arctic Freezer 7 Pro Sockel 775 ~ €13.69
http://www2.hardwareversand.de/7Vpq0s0svAT0Z2/1/articledetail.jsp?aid=4547&agid=297


Gigabyte GA-P31-DS3L ~ €62.41
http://www2.hardwareversand.de/7Vpq0s0svAT0Z2/1/articledetail.jsp?aid=18279&agid=659


MSI NVIDIA NX8800GT 512MB ~ €215.28
http://www2.hardwareversand.de/7Vpq0s0svAT0Z2/1/articledetail.jsp?aid=18726&agid=554


3072MB Aeneon Memory 6400/800 ~ €44.01
http://www2.hardwareversand.de/7Vpq0s0svAT0Z2/1/articledetail.jsp?aid=9371&agid=599


Samsung Spinpoint HD501LJ 500GB 7200 ~ €84.20
http://www2.hardwareversand.de/7Vpq0s0svAT0Z2/1/articledetail.jsp?aid=8138&agid=689



Samsung SH-D163B SATA Bulk ~ €12.04
http://www2.hardwareversand.de/7Vpq0s0svAT0Z2/1/articledetail.jsp?aid=8236&agid=834


Corsair TX750W ~ €121.60
http://www2.hardwareversand.de/7Vpq0s0svAT0Z2/1/articledetail.jsp?aid=18776&agid=240

toco123

Oh btw, I believe that 2x3780 in Crossfire beats a 2x8800gt SLI system... according to Alienware.

PogMoThoin

I'd steer clear of the nVidia mobo's, go for p35 or x38. The 780i is not a new chipset, its just a revised version of the 680i, which had loads of problems with 4Gb of ram & also the chipset runs very hot, they don't overclock quads very well. You'll not get Sli, but can get crossfire.

Lord Deco

PogMoThoin wrote: »

I'd steer clear of the nVidia mobo's, go for p35 or x38. The 780i is not a new chipset, its just a revised version of the 680i, which had loads of problems with 4Gb of ram & also the chipset runs very hot, they don't overclock quads very well. You'll not get Sli, but can get crossfire.

P35 all the way.

Best all rounder for overclocking,price/performance....

awhir

The Nb cooler shows how hot they get

toco123

PogMoThoin wrote: »

I'd steer clear of the nVidia mobo's, go for p35 or x38. The 780i is not a new chipset, its just a revised version of the 680i, which had loads of problems with 4Gb of ram & also the chipset runs very hot, they don't overclock quads very well. You'll not get Sli, but can get crossfire.

Remember though it is still possible to have on nvidia card such as the reccomended single 8800gt in it.