$2500 budget Gaming Rig!?

[Roca]

I know I've posted a similar thread not long ago, but then i surfed a bit around, and found out that i could actually save almost $500 by buying the parts at newegg.com, and then just build it myself, rather than pick the parts from a shop here in Denmark, and then let them build it for me, the Rig is going to be used for gaming, mostly WoW, but I will also be playing both Titan Quest and The Godfather, so heres the system im planning on building; (any help is VERY appreciated since im very new to all this)

CD/DVD Burner:
Pioneer DVR-111D

ATX Computer Case:
Antec P180b

Floppy Drive:
Sony Black

Internal Hard Drive:
Maxtor DiamondMax 320GB

Motherboard:
MSI K9A-Platinum (AM2)

Video Card:
Sapphire X1900GT 256MB GDDR3

Power Sup:
Corsair HX620w

Memory:
Corsair XMS2 (2 x 1GB) (PC2 6400)

Processor:
AMD Athlon64 x2 4800+ Windsor 2.4GHz AM2 (2x1MB Cache)

Fan:
Zalman CNPS 9500 AM2

 

[floge03]

Is that $2500 USD?

If so you can do much better.

Core 2 Duo E6600 or better
Asus P5W DH Deluxe
Corsair Memory that is fine, but Cas 4 of that version is even better
Raptor or Seagate 7200.10 HD- your preference
ATI (or other sub-company) X1950XTX
Hiper Powersupply
Watercooling if you want
Creative X-Fi Xtrememusic Sound card

That should be roughly 2000 or so.

 

[Roca]

Is that $2500 USD?

If so you can do much better.

Core 2 Duo E6600 or better
Asus P5W DH Deluxe
Corsair Memory that is fine, but Cas 4 of that version is even better
Raptor or Seagate 7200.10 HD- your preference
ATI (or other sub-company) X1950XTX
Hiper Powersupply
Watercooling if you want
Creative X-Fi Xtrememusic Sound card

That should be roughly 2000 or so.

Im well aware that i can get bigger and better for $2500USD, but it has to range both mouse, mousepad, keyboard, monitor and computer, and since the new DX10 cards will be out soon, and the quad core aswell, I guess it would be better for me to save somewhere between $500 and a thousand, and then upgrade to quad core and DX10 in a year or so!?..
or would it be better for me to buy BIG now, and then buy DX10 & quad core later on ?

 

[floge03]

It is better to BIG now..

There is no reason to wait for quad core because it will be insanely expensive ($1000 USD for cheapest chip I believe).

I would not recommend getting a DX10 card when they first come out because there will be few games that utilize them and they will have flaws at the beginning. If you want an amazing card that can run all games on high right now and overclock quite well, I would go for the Nvidia 7900GTO which can overclock to over GTX speeds and only costs $260

Any more questions just ask.

I would recommend a g7 mouse and a g15 keyboard from logitech. Monitor is up to you, what size were you planning on getting?

 

[Roca]

It is better to BIG now..

There is no reason to wait for quad core because it will be insanely expensive ($1000 USD for cheapest chip I believe).

I would not recommend getting a DX10 card when they first come out because there will be few games that utilize them and they will have flaws at the beginning. If you want an amazing card that can run all games on high right now and overclock quite well, I would go for the Nvidia 7900GTO which can overclock to over GTX speeds and only costs $260

Any more questions just ask.

I would recommend a g7 mouse and a g15 keyboard from logitech. Monitor is up to you, what size were you planning on getting?

im not the big overclocker really :roll: .. for the mouse I would choose the copperhead, It just fits my hand better 8) , but I'm definately gonna go with the G15!!..
I was thinking X1900XTX as a graphics card ?..
I believe i read somewhere that it performs better than 7900GTX in WoW?

 

[floge03]

I am more of an ati fan also. Im not sure of the performance increase in WoW.. probably wouldn't be that much though (just google it).

I would NOT however recommend the X1900XTX. Instead I would recommend the X1900XT. You can without fear of killing the card, overclock it to above the X1900XTX for about 100 bucks less. I would recommend getting the HIS IceQ3 version because it is much quieter than the stock ati cooler.

 

[Roca]

I am more of an ati fan also. Im not sure of the performance increase in WoW.. probably wouldn't be that much though (just google it).

I would NOT however recommend the X1900XTX. Instead I would recommend the X1900XT. You can without fear of killing the card, overclock it to above the X1900XTX for about 100 bucks less. I would recommend getting the HIS IceQ3 version because it is much quieter than the stock ati cooler.

well I've never really tried to overclock anything other than a CPU (an old Barton 2500+ 1866Mhz OC @ 2.2Ghz)
but I've never tried to overclock RAM or GPU's..
so I don't think I would feel comfortable glocking a that expensive card, without even knowing what im doing...

 

[3lfk1ng]

LOL, if you want to be able to upgrade....don't go AMD,
the socket for the K8L isnt AM2. The K8L is SOCKET AM2+ (hypertransport 3.0) while AM2 is hypertransport 1.0).

So if you decide to go quad core, you would need a whole new motherboard. Keep it simple, go with Intel which is far better at the moment.

If you go with the Intel e6600 (which kills every single AMD processor including the flagship AMD FX-62) it uses socket 775 which is a great because if you decide to go quad core....the new intel Kentsfeild is socket 775.

Core 2 Duo E6600 or better
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819115003

Asus P5W DH Deluxe
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131025

Corsair Memory that is fine, but Cas 4 of that version is even better
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145034

Seagate 7200.10 HD (perpendicular recording, competes with 10k raptor)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822148144

H.I.S. ATI X1900XT
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814161027

If you want to be futureproof you will need a 600+ watt psu (dx10 cards 130-300 watts each, if you go xfire or sli....900+ watts
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817341002
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817194008

Scythe Ninja REV b
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835185038

Creative X-Fi Xtrememusic Sound card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16829102188

 

[floge03]

GPU overlcocking is simple.. you can read up on how to do it

 

[Roca]

GPU overlcocking is simple.. you can read up on how to do it

okay then the 1900XT will suit me well i guess

 

[Roca]

LOL, if you want to be able to upgrade....don't go AMD,
the socket for the K8L isnt AM2. The K8L is SOCKET AM2+ (hypertransport 3.0) while AM2 is hypertransport 1.0).

So if you decide to go quad core, you would need a whole new motherboard. Keep it simple, go with Intel which is far better at the moment.

If you go with the Intel e6600 (which kills every single AMD processor including the flagship AMD FX-62) it uses socket 775 which is a great because if you decide to go quad core....the new intel Kentsfeild is socket 775.

Core 2 Duo E6600 or better
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819115003

Asus P5W DH Deluxe
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131025

Corsair Memory that is fine, but Cas 4 of that version is even better
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145034

Seagate 7200.10 HD (perpendicular recording, competes with 10k raptor)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822148144

H.I.S. ATI X1900XT
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814161027

If you want to be futureproof you will need a 600+ watt psu (dx10 cards 130-300 watts each, if you go xfire or sli....900+ watts
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817341002
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817194008

Scythe Ninja REV b
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835185038

Creative X-Fi Xtrememusic Sound card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16829102188

thanks, ill take a look at all that

 

[3lfk1ng]

OH YEAH, I forgot to mension, the e6600 can be overclocked from 2.4 to 3.6 with ease. THATS 1200mhz FOR FREE

 

[Roca]

OH YEAH, I forgot to mension, the e6600 can be overclocked from 2.4 to 3.6 with ease. THATS 1200mhz FOR FREE

omg, that's alot 8O ..
I think I'll reconsidder the AMD thing once more :twisted: ..
will return with further changes, but for now goodnight, and thank you for your help so far (goes for you to floge03)

 

[purdueguy]

Note: Lot of comments made since I started writing this. So I editted the recommended CPU.

By recommending the HIS IceQ3, you just made the X1900XT 256MB more expensive than the X1900XT 512MB.

HIS X1900XT 256MB IceQ - $337. MSI X1900XT 512MB - $290.50 after MIR.
MSI X1900XTX 512MB - $329.99 after MIR.

Now, the X1900XT might be OC'd to XTX speeds (haven't confirmed this) but the HIS version has less memory.

With the X1900XT 512MB out-of-stock, I'd just get the X1900XT 256MB for now. Best bang for the buck. Here. Even though the X1900XT 256MB increased to $255, this still puts the price/perf for the card at 3.82 to still lead the pack.

CPU: Now, I don't know why you would get the 4800+ when an E6400 costs less and is a better CPU. Look here. It's one hell of an overclocker. If you have the money, then get an E6600 just like 3lfk1ng recommended.
Memory: I'm assuming you plan on OC'ing since you are buying a separate heatsink, otherwise the DDR2 800 is a waste of money. If my assumption is wrong, you can pick up 2x1GB of PQI Turbo DDR2 667 for 50 bucks less.
Mobo: Asus P5B or the Deluxe version depending on if Xfire is important to you. The ASUS P5NSLI is the only mobo I know of that works with Conroe and can do SLI properly.
PSU: Save 40 bucks and get this Enermax Liberty.
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB Perpendicular Drives
Heatsink/Fan: Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro. The OEM costs only $18 but it's unfortunately out-of-stock. You can pick it up for around $23 retail at Monarchcomputer. Check out pricewatch or pricegrabber.

The case, DVD burner are fine. The Floppy Drive isn't needed anymore since you can update a BIOS through Windows now-a-days. But if you want it, what's 12 bucks.

 

[axilon]

Western Digital Raptor WD1500ADFD 150GB Serial ATA 10,000RPM Hard Drive w/16MB Buffer
2x $219.00 = 438.00

Liteon SHW160P6S05 16X Dual Layer DVD±RW Bare Drive (Black)
1x $33.99

240996 Intel BOXD975XBXLKR 975X P4/P4EE/Pentium D/Pentium XE 1066FSB LGA775 DDR2 ATX Motherboard w/Audio, Gigabit LAN, RAID/Serial ATA
1x $227.00

290236 Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic Sound Card Retail
1x $119.99

ATI Radeon X1950 XTX PCI Express 512MB GDDR Video Card w/HDTV, Dual DVI & VIVO
1x $449.99

Raidmax Performance RX-630A Volcano 630W Power Supply Retail
1x $80.99

Thermaltake Armor Series VA8000BWS Full Tower Case w/Side Panel Window (Black)
1x $149.99

Intel® Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe Processor 2.4GHz, 1066FSB, LGA775, 4MB Cache Retail
1x $316.90

Corsair TWIN2X2048-5400C4 2GB DDR2-675 XMS2-5400 Xtreme Performance Memory w/Black Heat Spreader
1x $275.00


Estimated Subtotal - I rounded to the nearest dollar...
$2094.00

That is just the rig.

Monitor - 200 bucks (give or take)

Would still give you 200 bucks for other stuff, which isnt that bad.

DONT BASH THE RIG I JUST ORDERED IT.

 

[purdueguy]

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Nice rig. Though for 50 bucks more, I'd of taken the 7950GX2. And you could of saved 40 bucks by getting the X1950XTX here.

 

[purdueguy]

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Nice rig. Though for 50 bucks more, I'd of taken the 7950GX2. And you could of saved 40 bucks by getting the X1950XTX here.

 

[axilon]

I was looking at the Specs/components that come with them and only ATI guaranteeded everything..

I was looking at the Specs/components that come with them and only ATI guaranteeded everything.. Plus I dont know much about diamond, i really only trust sapphire. Also, i have a 19inch widescreen thats 1440x900 and ati cards put more power down into those lower resolutions if the Hard ware guide was right

 

[reaper]

I know I've posted a similar thread not long ago, but then i surfed a bit around, and found out that i could actually save almost $500 by buying the parts at newegg.com, and then just build it myself, rather than pick the parts from a shop here in Denmark, and then let them build it for me, the Rig is going to be used for gaming, mostly WoW, but I will also be playing both Titan Quest and The Godfather, so heres the system im planning on building; (any help is VERY appreciated since im very new to all this)

CD/DVD Burner:
Pioneer DVR-111D

ATX Computer Case:
Antec P180b

Floppy Drive:
Sony Black

Internal Hard Drive:
Maxtor DiamondMax 320GB

Motherboard:
MSI K9A-Platinum (AM2)

Video Card:
Sapphire X1900GT 256MB GDDR3

Power Sup:
Corsair HX620w

Memory:
Corsair XMS2 (2 x 1GB) (PC2 6400)

Processor:
AMD Athlon64 x2 4800+ Windsor 2.4GHz AM2 (2x1MB Cache)

Fan:
Zalman CNPS 9500 AM2

If you don't overclock the CPU, don't buy anything above DDR2 667mhz. It's better for you to keep the latency low than buying a ram with higher speed but high latency. People who buy DDR2 800 want to overclock their CPU so they need a good pair of memory to acquire a certain frequency.

 

[Roca]

thanks for all the replys ! ..

I will go with the E6600 instead of the x2 4800+ then..
since you're all recommending different things, I am going to make a list of things I could buy, and then you can make suggestive changes to that list, I believe that is easier for me that way, since I don't know much more than the basics of computers...
I am probably going to overclock my CPU sooner or later, and as goes for the rest of the system I'll probably want to play a bit with overclocking the graphics card.
here's the list:

Mobo

CPU

Heatsink/Fan

Memory

GPU

HDD

Soundcard

PSU

Case

DVD-RW

Floppy

Monitor

Mouse

Keyboard

 

[floge03]

looks pretty good.. except....

I would go with the P5W DH Deluxe over the P5B.

I would NEVER purchase an open box graphics card and I would still go with the HIS IceQ3 cooler instead of the stock ati one.

I would go up to the 320gig version of that hard drive, its more cost effective for only 20 dollars more.

Why do you need a 1,000 watt power supply. 600 should be quite sufficient.

I don't think you need to purchase an aftermarket fan, the stock one is cool and quiet.

Other than that it looks good!

*Don't forget the creative x-fi soundcard

 

[Roca]

looks pretty good.. except....

I would go with the P5W DH Deluxe over the P5B.

I would NEVER purchase an open box graphics card and I would still go with the HIS IceQ3 cooler instead of the stock ati one.

I would go up to the 320gig version of that hard drive, its more cost effective for only 20 dollars more.

Why do you need a 1,000 watt power supply. 600 should be quite sufficient.

I don't think you need to purchase an aftermarket fan, the stock one is cool and quiet.

Other than that it looks good!

*Don't forget the creative x-fi soundcard

I just changed it all ..

the reason that i picked this GPU, is because it's the one you all talk about, just with 512mb instead of 256..
and what exactly does open box means ?.. I guess that it means the box has been opened, but has the card been used or anything ?..

 

[purdueguy]

From Newegg, here.

If you purchase an Open-Box product you will receive an OEM BAREBONE item, meaning you will only receive the item itself. Accessories are NOT INCLUDED with Open-Box products, even if the missing accessory is required for the item to function properly.

Buyer beware!

 

[Roca]

From Newegg, here.

If you purchase an Open-Box product you will receive an OEM BAREBONE item, meaning you will only receive the item itself. Accessories are NOT INCLUDED with Open-Box products, even if the missing accessory is required for the item to function properly.

Buyer beware!

oh..
well is there anything in the box that i would need to make it work properly?.. cause if there is a problem with it I can still send it back for full refund within 15 days..

It's the only x1900xt with 512mb they have in stock...
do you think it's worth it to buy it, or should i just go with a 256mb?


oh yeah, btw..
would you prefer the artic cooling 7 that you spoke about earlier, over the Zalman CNPS9500?

 

[purdueguy]

You won't get a disc that has the drivers for the card. You'll have to go to the website to download them. And you won't get a manual. You'll have to download it also. These 2 things aren't a big deal.

The thing is, if that card works for 3 weeks and goes dead, you are out $272. Get that card here. Grant it, you'll have to shell out a lot initially and it'll still cost 50 bucks more after the MIR, but you'll have a full 2 year warranty.

If Newegg gave a 60 day return on OEM then I would say get it. I believe if the part will last 60 days, it'll last for the life of the computer. 15 days? That's too short. I've read too many comments about stuff not working after a month.

Oh, as far as the heatsink is concerned. I haven't seen any hard data, but for the price, I would get the Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro. Monarchcomputer has it for the cheapest I've seen at 23 bucks, here. I like the fact that the fan is on the side and not on top to blow the hot air back on the CPU and mobo.

I'm guessing that the Zalman should be able to transfer heat better as it has 4 heatpipes, but from what I've read on the Arctic Cooling 7 Pro, it seems that the 3 heat pipes it has can handle the heat being put out by the CPU quite well. If you're into overclocking, you might be able to get a little more out of the CPU with a Zalman but for the price, I'd get the Arctic Cooling 7 Pro.

Just make sure that whatever you decide that it will fit the mobo and case.

If you do get the Arctic Cooling 7 Pro, get rid of that aweful thermal paste on the bottom of the heatsink. It looks like they just gooped it on and too much thermal paste isn't good as instead of filling in the gaps and aiding in the heat transfer, the thermal paste ends up being another layer of material and will end up decreasing the heat transfer efficiency as you will lose contact of the copper base from the heat sink to the heat spreader on the CPU.