my new gaming pc

[ben72227]

Hey everyone, I'm in need of some advice on which components I should buy for my next gaming pc. This rig is going to be my primary system for the next 3 to 4 years (so I'm wanting to get top of the line stuff right now; don't want to have to end up upgrading stuff later). My budget is anywhere from USD $2,500-3,000. I'm pretty open to whatever, but I will say that I'd definitely like to have a Nvidia 8800 (probably a GTX, but GTS is okay too i suppose).

I'm thinking I'll only want one optical drive (a DVD burner) for now; that way I'll have space to put in a HD-DVD/Blu-Ray drive later. I'll probably have two or three hard drives; I'm thinking of getting a 150GB raptor for windows and apps/games and maybe a seagate/WD hd for music, data, etc.

I'll also need a monitor (preferably widescreen LCD), sound card, psu, keyboard, mouse, an internal card reader (CF, SD, MMC, etc.) in the 3.5 external slot, probably 2 GB ram (but maybe 4GB since i'm building for future tech?), and I'm LEANING towards an Intel core duo - either a 6700 or an X6800? but I'll go for an AMD if you suggest it, windows xp (with vista upgrade); don't know if i need media center or pro?, and of course a mobo.

And I'm sure I'll need some cooling fans and heatsinks, but I'm really unsure about that stuff; I know the major components, but I'm lost on the little stuff (fans, cables, etc.). I don't want to buy all this stuff only to have my system overheat and die :? .

Oh, and BTW, for the case, I really like the looks of the Apevia/Aspire X-Plorer, so I'll probably be getting one of those...

Thanks in advance!
-Ben

 

[waylander]

Oh, and BTW, for the case, I really like the looks of the Apevia/Aspire X-Plorer, so I'll probably be getting one of those...

Thanks in advance!
-Ben

Please oh please don't put a X6800 and 8800GTX into a POS like that.... It may look nice but damn it's crap for air flow. Only two 80mm fans, both exhaust. Get something nice from Silverstone, Thermaltake, Lian Li, Antec. Something with 120mm fans for Intake and Exhaust. Plus that PSU will NOT power your system, you'll need to consider a GOOD psu which Aspire most definitely is NOT.

I'm sure that you, and everyone else, can come up with some nice specs for the components but I had to reply to that case/psu choice.

 

[WR2]

The 8800GTX will not fit in the X-Plorer case. You'll need a case with a removable hard drive cage, or extra room where the GTX will hang off the back end of the motherboard. LIAN LI PC-65 has some extra space in the area of the 3.5 floppy drive cage (see the extra images).

The price difference between E6700 & E6600 about $200 is..... about the same difference in price between 8800GTS vs 8800GTX. How about that? Very handy. And the E6600 will easily overclock to beyond X6800 stock speed.

 

[rabidbunny]

Please oh please don't put a X6800 and 8800GTX into a POS like that.... It may look nice but damn it's crap for air flow. Only two 80mm fans, both exhaust. Get something nice from Silverstone, Thermaltake, Lian Li, Antec. Something with 120mm fans for Intake and Exhaust. Plus that PSU will NOT power your system, you'll need to consider a GOOD psu which Aspire most definitely is NOT.

I have an Apevia x-plorer case and it does have decent airflow. I currently have a 120mm fan in back, an 80mm fan on top, and one 80mm fan in the front. The case can fit 5 fans total. 2, 80mm in front, one, 120mm in back, and one 80mm on the top and side of the case. I did not get the case with a psu however. Overall, my temps have only reached 44degrees celsius at max during far cry and that's with the sensor by the northbridge. The temp sensor and fan controller are fine for me. My friends think it's awsome!?!

I do have to agree with trying another case. This one seems a tiny bit cheap and the harddrive racks are horrible to get at. You have to remove both sides in order to install drives. So, I would suggest getting something with a removable hd cage. Possibly a Thermaltake or Antec? That would probably be a possibility when I build another computer.

 

[WR2]

Your monitor choice will also affect the 8800GTX/GTS decision. IMO a 20" or 22" 1650x1080 widescreen will be fine with the GTS and if you go for the 24" 1920x1200 widesceen you'll want the GTX. Thats not to say the GTX won't work fine with the 20" WS but its an area you can save some without really giving up significant peformance. I really recommend visiting your local PC superstore (something like CompUSA or BestBuy) and look over the monitors for ideas on the size differences between 20", 22", and 24" and go on from there. Widescreen comparison

 

[outlw6669]

$2500-3000 8)

Sounds like fun!

Lets get started shal we?

ASUS Striker Extreme $410
C2D 6600 $310
Zalmin 9700 $70
2Gb Corsair DDR2 800 $265
2X 8800GTX $1260
4X 200Gb Hd raid 0+1 $300
Enermax Galaxy Psu 1Kw $350
Creative X-fi $95
Samsung 225bw 22'' Wide $380 <==Love It

Lets see......
For the basic system you are looking at.......
$3340 plus the little things 8O

I list the C2D 6600 because you can easily overclock it to match the X6800 for mutch less.


I love spending other peoples money :lol:

 

[Nova46]

I'm not listing the prices cause I don't know all off the top of my head, but it all should be under $3000 and if not take off one of the 8800's as just one is more than enough.

Thermaltake Armor series
Asus Striker Extreme
Core 2 Duo E6600
Zalman CNPS9700 LED
2 GB Corsair XMS DDR2-800
Two eVGA 8800 GTX's
150 GB Western Digital Raptor X
750 GB Seagate (not sure which model cause I've always stuck to WD but it's the one with perpindicular recording tech)
Thermaltake ToughPower 850W
Creative X-fi
As for the monitor, I'm not too familiar with widescreens but I know that the Samsung 204B is one of the best LCDs out there, 20.1" 1600x1200
And if you have some extra money go for a set of Logitech Z-5500's if you want some better speakers

Basically what the guy above me said but with a few changes lol

 

[waylander]

LIAN LI V PC-V2100A PLUS Silver Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer
$299.99 -$10.00 Instant $289.99

Update ASUS P5N32-SLI Premium/WiFi-AP Socket T (LGA 775) NVIDIA nForce 590 SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
$219.99 $219.99

Update BFG Tech BFGR88768GTXE GeForce 8800GTX 768MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card - Retail
$629.99 $629.99

Update SILVERSTONE SST-ST75ZF ATX 12V 2.2 & EPS 12V 750W Power
$209.99 $209.99

Update Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz LGA 775 Processor Model $309.99 $309.99

Update CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X2048-6400C4 - Retail
$289.00 $289.00

Update Western Digital Raptor WD1500ADFD 150GB 10,000 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM
Mail-in Rebate
$229.99 -$5.00 Instant $224.99

Update Seagate Barracuda ES ST3500630NS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
$249.99 $249.99

Update SAMSUNG 225BW Black 22" 5 ms (GTG) Widescreen LCD Monitor with Height Adjustments - Retail

$379.99 $379.99

Update Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic 7.1 Channels PCI Interface Sound Card - Retail
Mail-in Rebate
$92.99 $92.99

Update Scythe SCNJ-1100P CPU Cooling Fan - Retail
$59.99 -$20.00 Instant $39.99

Subtotal: $2,936.90

You may want to choose another motherboard, ram, case and psu but that's what $3000 might look like.

 

[ben72227]

Please oh please don't put a X6800 and 8800GTX into a POS like that.... It may look nice but damn it's crap for air flow. Only two 80mm fans, both exhaust. Get something nice from Silverstone, Thermaltake, Lian Li, Antec. Something with 120mm fans for Intake and Exhaust. Plus that PSU will NOT power your system, you'll need to consider a GOOD psu which Aspire most definitely is NOT.

I have an Apevia x-plorer case and it does have decent airflow. I currently have a 120mm fan in back, an 80mm fan on top, and one 80mm fan in the front. The case can fit 5 fans total. 2, 80mm in front, one, 120mm in back, and one 80mm on the top and side of the case. I did not get the case with a psu however. Overall, my temps have only reached 44degrees celsius at max during far cry and that's with the sensor by the northbridge. The temp sensor and fan controller are fine for me. My friends think it's awsome!?!

I do have to agree with trying another case. This one seems a tiny bit cheap and the harddrive racks are horrible to get at. You have to remove both sides in order to install drives. So, I would suggest getting something with a removable hd cage. Possibly a Thermaltake or Antec? That would probably be a possibility when I build another computer.

Ok. I haven't decided to get one of those, I just prefer that kind of styling for a case. I like how it looks, but I know that it's cheap...So I'll probably end up getting a Thermaltake or an Antec...

 

[WR2]

After playing around with about $3000 of your money:
LIAN LI PC-65B Black Aluminum Mid Tower Case
EVGA NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI Motherboard
Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz CPU
Thermalright Ultra-120 CPU Cooling Heatsink
Antec 120mm Blue Fan
G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2 1000 (PC2 8000) HZ
eVGA GeForce 8800GTX 768MB PCI E x16 GPU
SILVERSTONE SST-ST75ZF ATX 2.2 12V 750W PSU
Western Digital Raptor WD1500ADFD 150GB 10K SATA150
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB SATA 3.0Gb/s
SAMSUNG 18X DVD±R LightScribe
SAMSUNG 225BW Black 22" 5 ms WS LCD Monitor
Logitech G15 Keyboard
Logitech G5 Laser Mouse
APC 750 VA 450 Watts UPS Back Up Power Supply
NewEgg component shopping list

Other recommended components:
Scythe"Kama-Panel" Multi Function Reader/Controller 5.25"
TrackIR 4RO optical headtracking view control
Not listed - Audio components of your choice.

 

[rabidbunny]

Sounds good to me. go with what wr2 posted. That would be sweeeeet! God, I wish I had that much money to buy a pc with...

 

[ben72227]

Do you guys think I should wait for the R600 from ATI???

I'm in no real rush to build this computer, I'm just trying to build a new computer for DX10, Vista, etc. since 2007 seems to be a "milestone" year, and just as good a time as any to upgrade...