3k Gaming Tower

bbsin26

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I plan to build my first computer (hopefully with the help of some friends) around early april and my budget is 3k.
The computer i'm using right now is not living up to the requirements of most games now a days
(intel P4 2.4 ghz, 512 ram, ati x700, 17 inch CTX Crt monitor)
so i plan to use 3k or $3150 at most to build with, this includes a 24inch moniter, 5.1 speakers, a large harddrive for hi-def movie/music downloads, a fast harddrive for gaming (30-40gb should be good) , nice air cooling and windows vista.
i am hoping that this new computer will last me a long while b4 i need to get a new one, and i also plan to overclock. but since this is my first time shoping and building a computer i really need a sense of direction. This is what i think i should get for now......

TO BE UPDATED...

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz LGA 775 Processor
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16819115003
GPU: EVGA 768-P2-N831-AR GeForce 8800GTX 768MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16814130072
MOBO: EVGA 122-CK-NF68-AR LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI ATX Intel
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16813188009
RAM: G.SKILL 2GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL6S-2GBMQ
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16820231111
PSU: OCZ GameXStream OCZ850GXSSLI ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V 850Watts
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16817341003
CASE: COOLER MASTER CM Stacker STC-T01-UW Black/ Silver Aluminum Bezel, SECC Chassis
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16811119042
MONITOR: Dell 2407, dont want ghosting but i want a big screen (23inches+)
HARDDRIVE1: 15000/10000 RPM 16cache (for gaming)
HARDDRIVE2: 450+gb 16cache
SPEAKER: 5.1 speakers
SOUND CARD: ????
COOLING: Zalmans??
OS: Windows Vista (the middle version, not ultimate)

TO BE UPDATED...

Computer Noise is not much of an issue for me. I already have a mouse and keyboard. I plan to game at 1920 x 1200 resolution. Like i said i dont know too much about this stuff and any help would be great, i need a sense of direction before i start picking out brands and stuff.
 

Dahak

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Mar 26, 2006
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Kool dude,doesn't look bad at all.I would however forget the sound card and just use the on-board sound as it is adequit for what most people want and it will save you money.Go with the 700watt thermaltake toughpower psu or even the 850watt version.Both are well worth the money spent.Read the specs on the thermaltake toughpower series and you'll see why I like them so much.Otherwise,goodluck with the build. www.thermaltake.com

Dahak

AMD X2-4400+@2.6 S-939
EVGA NF4 SLI MB
2X EVGA 7950GT KO IN SLI
2X 512MB CRUCIAL BALLISTIX DDR500
WD300GIG HD
ACER 22IN WIDESCREEN LCD 1600X1200
THERMALTAKE TOUGHPOWER 850WATT PSU
COOLERMASTER MINI R120
3DMARK05 13,442
 

kman13

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Mar 4, 2007
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Antec powersupplies are also good and reliable
Zalman cooling solutions for air cooling are GREAT.
i love that monitor, and plan on getting one when my budget permits.
Also, with 2 gb of ram, hd speed may not even matter, as everything will be cached in ram for easy access. just a thought. Sometimes you'll have longer hard drive life if you dont get one of the high speed ones.
 

sanjiwatsuki

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Feb 10, 2007
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3K? You could do a lot with that kind of money. This is one gaming machine that would dwarf 99% of the competition.

CPU: E6600 ($330)
GPU: Geforce 8800GTX SLI ($1140)
MOBO: EVGA 122-CK-NF68-AR LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI ATX ($250)
RAM: 2x1GB Patriot DDR2-800[/i] ($150)
PSU: OCZ 700W GameXStream ($150)
CASE: Antec Performance One P180 Silver cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case ($130)
MONITOR: Acer Office Line AL2423Wdr Silver/Black 24" 6ms GTG DVI Widescreen LCD Monitor with Height Adjustments ($599)
HARDDRIVE1: 36GB Raptor ($105)
HARDDRIVE2: Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 ST3500641AS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive ($150)
SPEAKER: Creative Inspire 5800 72 Watts 5.1 Speaker ($70)
SOUND CARD: Onboard
COOLING: Scythe Ninja Rev. B ($40)
OS: Windows Vista (Home Premium) ($120)

Total: $3235

A little over budget, but you can tweak as you will.
 

enforcerfx

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Jun 4, 2006
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3K? You could do a lot with that kind of money. This is one gaming machine that would dwarf 99% of the competition.

CPU: E6600 ($330)
GPU: Geforce 8800GTX SLI ($1140)
MOBO: EVGA 122-CK-NF68-AR LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI ATX ($250)
RAM: 2x1GB Patriot DDR2-800[/i] ($150)
PSU: OCZ 700W GameXStream ($150)
CASE: Antec Performance One P180 Silver cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case ($130)
MONITOR: Acer Office Line AL2423Wdr Silver/Black 24" 6ms GTG DVI Widescreen LCD Monitor with Height Adjustments ($599)
HARDDRIVE1: 36GB Raptor ($105)
HARDDRIVE2: Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 ST3500641AS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive ($150)
SPEAKER: Creative Inspire 5800 72 Watts 5.1 Speaker ($70)
SOUND CARD: Onboard
COOLING: Scythe Ninja Rev. B ($40)
OS: Windows Vista (Home Premium) ($120)

Total: $3235

A little over budget, but you can tweak as you will.

If he is only dedicating this system to gaming, then toss Vista out first of all. It makes games worse apparently. I think i could make a better list:

COOLER MASTER Stacker RC-832-KKN1-GP Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 260.00

Intel E6600 313.00

EVGA 122-CK-NF68-TR LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard 219.00 - 204.99 after MIB

CORSAIR XMS2 DOMINATOR 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - 269.00 - 229.00 after MIB

EVGA 768-P2-N835-AR GeForce 8800GTX 768MB 384-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 SUPERCLOCKED HDCP Video Card 609.00 - 589.00 after MIB

Acer Office Line AL2423Wdr Silver/Black 24" 6ms GTG DVI Widescreen LCD Monitor with Height Adjustments 599.99

Raptor 150GB 199.99
Seagate Barracuda 500GB 149.99

LITE-ON Black 20X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 20X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 24X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache E-IDE/ATAPI DVD Burner with LightScribe Technology - OEM 34.99

Antec True Power Trio TP3-650 ATX12V 650W Power Supply with Three 12V Rails 100 - 240 V UL, CUL, FCC, TUV, CE, C-tick, CCC, CB - Retail 109.82

Windows XP home 95.00
Comes to 2,784.68 after rebates and before shipping. Will make a nice computer.

Have fun :D
 

sanjiwatsuki

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Feb 10, 2007
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3K? You could do a lot with that kind of money. This is one gaming machine that would dwarf 99% of the competition.

CPU: E6600 ($330)
GPU: Geforce 8800GTX SLI ($1140)
MOBO: EVGA 122-CK-NF68-AR LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI ATX ($250)
RAM: 2x1GB Patriot DDR2-800[/i] ($150)
PSU: OCZ 700W GameXStream ($150)
CASE: Antec Performance One P180 Silver cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case ($130)
MONITOR: Acer Office Line AL2423Wdr Silver/Black 24" 6ms GTG DVI Widescreen LCD Monitor with Height Adjustments ($599)
HARDDRIVE1: 36GB Raptor ($105)
HARDDRIVE2: Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 ST3500641AS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive ($150)
SPEAKER: Creative Inspire 5800 72 Watts 5.1 Speaker ($70)
SOUND CARD: Onboard
COOLING: Scythe Ninja Rev. B ($40)
OS: Windows Vista (Home Premium) ($120)

Total: $3235

A little over budget, but you can tweak as you will.

If he is only dedicating this system to gaming, then toss Vista out first of all. It makes games worse apparently. I think i could make a better list:

COOLER MASTER Stacker RC-832-KKN1-GP Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 260.00

Intel E6600 313.00

EVGA 122-CK-NF68-TR LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard 219.00 - 204.99 after MIB

CORSAIR XMS2 DOMINATOR 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - 269.00 - 229.00 after MIB

EVGA 768-P2-N835-AR GeForce 8800GTX 768MB 384-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 SUPERCLOCKED HDCP Video Card 609.00 - 589.00 after MIB

Acer Office Line AL2423Wdr Silver/Black 24" 6ms GTG DVI Widescreen LCD Monitor with Height Adjustments 599.99

Raptor 150GB 199.99
Seagate Barracuda 500GB 149.99

LITE-ON Black 20X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 20X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 24X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache E-IDE/ATAPI DVD Burner with LightScribe Technology - OEM 34.99

Antec True Power Trio TP3-650 ATX12V 650W Power Supply with Three 12V Rails 100 - 240 V UL, CUL, FCC, TUV, CE, C-tick, CCC, CB - Retail 109.82

Windows XP home 95.00
Comes to 2,784.68 after rebates and before shipping. Will make a nice computer.

Have fun :D

Thinking about it, yeah, XP would be better.

For sheer performance get 2 Raptor's in RAID0 and use the GTX SLI. I don't care what resolution you'll be gaming at, that is pretty much the best you'll be able to manage right now.

RAM-wise, once again, are you going to be overclocking? If you're not intending to hit 3.6ghz+ then the DDR2-800 RAM is going to require a memory divider or something of the sort.

Onboard sound really has improved but it still can't best the dedicated. Take full advantage of a good 5.1 sound system and get yourself a sweet gamer card.
 

bbsin26

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thanks for some of the imput people. i've updated my list now that i have a better grasp of what i want. I not only want my system to be a good gaming rig, but i want tobe set for the future and not have to worry for quite some time.

but i have some questions.

Monitor: what is the difference between http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16824009089
vs
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16824009061
?? it says that one as HDCP support, is that feature worth the extra 70 bux?

Ram: i was thinking about getting a single 2gb ram stick, since i keep hearing that i might want 4gb in the future for vista. how is this one?? ( http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16820231111) will it work with the mobo??,is the timing alright???

PSU: http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16817341003
how is this???

and is there going to be any major pricedrops early april??
 

sanjiwatsuki

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Feb 10, 2007
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thanks for some of the imput people. i've updated my list now that i have a better grasp of what i want. I not only want my system to be a good gaming rig, but i want tobe set for the future and not have to worry for quite some time.

but i have some questions.

Monitor: what is the difference between http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16824009089
vs
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16824009061
?? it says that one as HDCP support, is that feature worth the extra 70 bux?

'HDCP is licensed by Digital Content Protection, a subsidiary of Intel. In addition to paying fees, licensees agree to limit the capabilities of their products. For example, high-definition digital video content must be restricted to DVD quality on non-HDCP compliant video outputs when requested by the source. DVD-Audio content is restricted to DAT quality on non-HDCP digital audio outputs (analog audio outputs have no quality limits). Licensees cannot allow their devices to make copies of content, and must design their products to "effectively frustrate attempts to defeat the content protection requirements."' So says Wikipedia.

Ram: i was thinking about getting a single 2gb ram stick, since i keep hearing that i might want 4gb in the future for vista. how is this one?? ( http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16820231111) will it work with the mobo??,is the timing alright???

Cas latency 6. Go for the http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820231109. Tighter timings.

PSU: http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16817341003
how is this???

It's an okay PSU. The brand is the worst of the best.

and is there going to be any major pricedrops early april??

April 22nd: Intel slashes prices across the board.[/i]
 

enforcerfx

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I dont see much between the monitors, besides HDCP support. Unless you want High Def, then spend the extra 70. Otherwise, the other one is fine. If you decide on the HDCP one, you might as well look into the 24' widescreen monitor from dell. For ram purposes, 2GB is fine for now if your going to use XP, which you should until at least DX10 games are released, or a Service pack is released with Vista. Then if you decide you need more ram after you have Vista, 1GB is probably all that you need. The Dominator is fine for what you need it for. The G.Skill is just high clocked ram. And for Powersupply standards, if you want to spend that much, might as well consider this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817702005

And as for Dual 8800's, unless you want bragging rights spending another 600 on a SLi setup that will only boast performance by up to 30% is not worth it. SLi is a gimmick these days, they just want your money. Also with the products that say "SLi Certified" or "Ati Crossfire Certified"

And we are not mind readers, so we are not sure on price drops.
 

choirbass

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with that much money, i agree about going with a raptor for the gaming hdd... not in raid 0 however, at least when it comes to gaming, as you wont see a boost above a single hdd in nearly all gaming situations... the 150GB 16MB ADFD will offer the largest total capacity (2*74GB platters)... the 74GB 16MB ADFD will offer half the total capacity, at slightly faster performance (1*74GB platter)... and the 36GB 16MB ADFD offers faster performance even still i believe, but only half the total capacity, yet again (1*74GB platter, half disabled i believe)
 

r0x0r

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You have a budget of $300,000 and that's all you're buying? :wink: :lol:

:?

Are you referring to the "3,000k"? The OP's budget would be $3,000,000 then.

BBsin26 could buy AMD with that much in a few weeks time at the rate they're going. :wink:
 

bydesign

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The raptors are a waste of money. The may be the fastest out there but in the big scheme of things they're slow.

Stay away from SLI and Antec PSU's. SLI support in Vista is lacking and only gives you only a 50% bump in performance. I have three top of the line Antec in the garage all fried. Your PSU choice is bet over the top unless you go SLI.

I april Intel will be doing a price drop consider qaud version of the E6600. Future games will start taking advantage of those extra cores. Cool it with Tuniq tower.
 

choirbass

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The raptors are a waste of money. The may be the fastest out there but in the big scheme of things they're slow.

i may be missing something... but you might have to explain that to me. as far as computer technology goes, "in the big scheme of things" everything is slow, relatively speaking. as far as raptors being a 'waste', if you cant afford them, i would have to agree with you... there are better hdd purchases for a more balanced price/performance/capacity ratio, which is why i said, "with that much money, i agree about going with a raptor for the gaming hdd", there arent much more acceptable choices where top speed is concerned, and money isnt as much of a concern... even scsi hdds arent ideal for desktop use, and for the price, they certainly would be a waste in that case, relatively speaking. ssds arent around quiet yet, so for right now, they arent even worth considering.

now if youre meaning while actually playing the game? and not even using the hdd so much then at all really, after the level or map is loaded, i would agree with you more there too... but for an OS hdd even, the raptor is the most ideal choice, cost aside