How's My Rig for Gaming?

[JacobiB]

On a $1500 budget or so, I finally ordered a new PC from CyberPower to replace my 3.5-year-old Dell. In addition to video editing, I love gaming; I play WoW, BF2, CS:S, and a few others. I'm curious as to how you think my system will perform when gaming, and how well I did for a $1500 budget (note: this budget INCLUDES the display).

These are the main questions I have, not factoring in overclocking which I most likely won't do until much later:

1. How will its longevity/upgradeability be?
2. How will its stability be? (Overheating, PSU being sufficient for upgrades, etc)
3. How will its performance in gaming be?


My Rig:
Case: Aspire X-Discovery ATX Mid-Tower Case (Black)
PSU: Aspire 680w Beast ATX
Motherboard: GigaByte GA-M55SLI-S4
CPU: Athlon 64 X2 4600+ (Socket AM2)
Heatsink: AMD Certified CPU Fan/Heatsink w/ 3 extra case fans
Memory: 2x1GB PC6400 DDR2 Dual Channel (Corsair ValueSelect or Major Brand)
GPU: GeForce 7900GT 256MB from EVGA
Sound: SoundBlaster Audigy SE
Display: ViewSonic VX922 19" Gaming LCD

Thanks for the input!

 

[JacobiB]

EDIT: Added in HSF.

 

[shadowduck]

Changes I would make:

1) Drop down the X2-3800+. Spend your money on the CPU when AMD goes 65nm in December. Right now, just get a cheap dual core.

2) Do not buy ValueSelect RAM. Its crap. Use XMS RAM, or look at G.Skill.

3) Ditch that video card, and get a X1900XT 256 for $230 instead which will smoke it.

4) Unless you really like music, you don't even need a sound card now. Onboard is acceptable. But then again.. its only $28.

Link to Video Card:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102051

 

[scorch]

It looks like a very impressive system. If you have 3 case fans, overheating should not be a problem. Just make sure your cabling is not blocking air flow. Even though your system is higher end now, games obslete a computer usually at around the 3 yr mark. Having 2GB of RAM will push off having to upgrade that for a while hopefully. Your video card is also impressive. Have fun with your new computer.

 

[Flopmouth_Fish]

It looks nice, however, I have a couple suggestions:

1) Change the video card to the X1900XT 256MB
2) Change the PSU to this Antec TruePower TPII-550
3) You didn't include a hard drive. You should get the Seagate 7200.10 320GB.

 

[JacobiB]

I'm honestly not terribly picky about sound, but do you really think that onboard would be better? I'm simply looking for a relatively-inexpensive upgrade from the onboard that I'd be receiving with my new Mobo.

 

[enforcerfx]

On a $1500 budget or so, I finally ordered a new PC from CyberPower to replace my 3.5-year-old Dell. In addition to video editing, I love gaming; I play WoW, BF2, CS:S, and a few others. I'm curious as to how you think my system will perform when gaming, and how well I did for a $1500 budget (note: this budget INCLUDES the display).

These are the main questions I have, not factoring in overclocking which I most likely won't do until much later:

1. How will its longevity/upgradeability be?
2. How will its stability be? (Overheating, PSU being sufficient for upgrades, etc)
3. How will its performance in gaming be?


My Rig:
Case: Aspire X-Discovery ATX Mid-Tower Case (Black)
PSU: Aspire 680w Beast ATX
Motherboard: GigaByte GA-M55SLI-S4
CPU: Athlon 64 X2 4600+ (Socket AM2)
Heatsink: AMD Certified CPU Fan/Heatsink w/ 3 extra case fans
Memory: 2x1GB PC6400 DDR2 Dual Channel (Corsair ValueSelect or Major Brand)
GPU: GeForce 7900GT 256MB from EVGA
Sound: SoundBlaster Audigy SE
Display: ViewSonic VX922 19" Gaming LCD

Thanks for the input!

Look into a Core2Duo Setup, and dont buy Valueselect ram since its garbage.

 

[JacobiB]

I know that the Audigy SE is still bound to be better than this 4-year-old SoundBlaster Live sound card on my Dell, and even with this card, I am perfectly content with the sound.

Similarly, I'm not picky enough of a gamer, I think, to take a whole lot of notice of the difference between XMS and VS. I know XMS is statistically better, but for my own purposes, I don't think it will be practically better.

 

[JacobiB]

Thanks for the input. Luckily, the sound card is one of the easier things to replace in the event I need to.

 

[burntham77]

Looks like a very nice setup, especially for a 19 inch monitor. Nice part is down the road, if you need more power, you can pop in a second video card.

 

[JacobiB]

Nice part is down the road, if you need more power, you can pop in a second video card.

Yeah, that was my thought upon purchasing the system.

 

[JacobiB]

Bump.

 

[impreza]

The soundblaser audigy 2 value is a good cheap sond card with eax 4 support and 7.1 sound.

 

[TSIMonster]

I WOULD NOT SPEND $250 on a 4600+ when you can get an e6300 for $190! That'd be crazy. If I were building an AMD system now (which I did/am) Get a cheap CPU to hold you over until AMD starts rolling out the good stuff.

 

[ElMoIsEviL]

On a $1500 budget or so, I finally ordered a new PC from CyberPower to replace my 3.5-year-old Dell. In addition to video editing, I love gaming; I play WoW, BF2, CS:S, and a few others. I'm curious as to how you think my system will perform when gaming, and how well I did for a $1500 budget (note: this budget INCLUDES the display).

These are the main questions I have, not factoring in overclocking which I most likely won't do until much later:

1. How will its longevity/upgradeability be?
2. How will its stability be? (Overheating, PSU being sufficient for upgrades, etc)
3. How will its performance in gaming be?


My Rig:
Case: Aspire X-Discovery ATX Mid-Tower Case (Black)
PSU: Aspire 680w Beast ATX
Motherboard: GigaByte GA-M55SLI-S4
CPU: Athlon 64 X2 4600+ (Socket AM2)
Heatsink: AMD Certified CPU Fan/Heatsink w/ 3 extra case fans
Memory: 2x1GB PC6400 DDR2 Dual Channel (Corsair ValueSelect or Major Brand)
GPU: GeForce 7900GT 256MB from EVGA
Sound: SoundBlaster Audigy SE
Display: ViewSonic VX922 19" Gaming LCD

Thanks for the input!

Woah!!!

Why this? :?: :?: :?:

My friend you could get MUCH better parts for less or equal money. Parts I would swap out are the Motherboard, the CPU, the Video Card and the power supply.

I can't believe no one has pointed out anything so far. Don't waste your money. Get the BEST performance for your money. Here are Some changes you should make.

Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 $225USD
GIGABYTE GA-965P-S3 Socket T (LGA 775) Intel P965 Motherboard $119USD
SAPPHIRE Radeon X1900XT 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 $234USD
OCZ GameXStream OCZ600GXSSLI ATX12V 600W Power Supply $104USD

Now those should be your parts. 682USD vs 714USD is the price difference for my part vs your parts respectively. That's a savings of $32USD and FAR FAR FAR better performance (like I'm not kidding). First of all the x1900XT 256MB is faster and supports more features then the 7900GT, now add to that the performance advantage of the Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 over the 4600+ (E6400 performs faster then a 5000+ under games). It becomes a no brainer.

 

[AesikNaos]

The only thing I can say for you that hasnt been said yet...or so I think.
Is that don't worry about an SLI mobo unless you will be getting both cards within 2-3 months of eachother.
You play above 1024x1280resolution.
And you play very intensive games.
The videocard you have listed will play WoW CS:S and BF2 rather well at 1024x1280 or lower...so if thats the case...dont worry about getting another card.
Hope it helps.

 

[wun911]

How long is a pice of string?
How long is your man hood?
Will your pice of string pull pull a car?
How long will your man hood last? (measured in sec)

Your PC will be obsolete soon....

New generation of hardware comes out faster than your bank account can keep up wiff it.

Enjoy your pc and its preformance NOW....