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I need a $2400 Gaming Build!
- Thread starter Poemaster
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- Linux Sabertooth Systems
- Jul 24, 2006
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Why not do some research first and build a list of parts so that we can critique it, rather than just telling us to do it for you.
MattyMustng
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- Feb 10, 2007
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Ok here...for $2400 (all prices Newegg.com):
Core 2 Duo e6850 3.0ghz 1333 FSB $266 after July 22 price drop
GIGABYTE GA-P35-DQ6 P35 Motherboard $229
4 GB Corsair PC1333 DDR3 memory $778
2x 150GB Western Digital Raptor Drives in RAID 0 $330
MSI 8800 Ultra 768mb graphics $579
X-Fi XtremeGamer Fatal1ty Pro $145
MSI TurboStream 600W PSU $80 (may get one with more wattage if possible)
2x Lite-On 20x DVD Burner w/ LightScribe $62
Coolermaster Centurion 5 Case $40
Stock Cooling: Free
That's $2509. You could knock off a hell of a lot if you went with a P35 DDR2 motherboard with fast DDR2 memory. DDR3 memory, as you can see, is very expensive. I personally wouldn't spend so much on memory, but for performance it is the best. I would, however, still suggest 4GB for a $2400 build though. All the other components though are stellar. That Core 2 Duo is the newest Core 2 and it will perform wonders in games, as will the 8800 Ultra (the best single card). I personally own the Coolermaster case and can vouch for its excellence. If you want to knock off some money (although the DDR3 memory would be very nice), I would suggest thinking about using some of it for: liquid cooling, TV Tuner (Vista View Saber is a nice PCI-e x1 card), blu-ray or HD DVD drive, more storage (e.g. a 750GB additional hard drive). Those dual raptors will do nicely for gaming though. I didn't know if you needed an OS or not, so I didn't include it. If you are strictly a gamer, and I mean strictly, then go with XP Pro. Otherwise, get Vista Home Premium. I run Vista Ultimate and it is far better than XP. But, for sheer performance (although with those components I don't see you suffering), XP is better. You can run Vista without a hitch with those componenets though. Anything else just let me know.
Core 2 Duo e6850 3.0ghz 1333 FSB $266 after July 22 price drop
GIGABYTE GA-P35-DQ6 P35 Motherboard $229
4 GB Corsair PC1333 DDR3 memory $778
2x 150GB Western Digital Raptor Drives in RAID 0 $330
MSI 8800 Ultra 768mb graphics $579
X-Fi XtremeGamer Fatal1ty Pro $145
MSI TurboStream 600W PSU $80 (may get one with more wattage if possible)
2x Lite-On 20x DVD Burner w/ LightScribe $62
Coolermaster Centurion 5 Case $40
Stock Cooling: Free
That's $2509. You could knock off a hell of a lot if you went with a P35 DDR2 motherboard with fast DDR2 memory. DDR3 memory, as you can see, is very expensive. I personally wouldn't spend so much on memory, but for performance it is the best. I would, however, still suggest 4GB for a $2400 build though. All the other components though are stellar. That Core 2 Duo is the newest Core 2 and it will perform wonders in games, as will the 8800 Ultra (the best single card). I personally own the Coolermaster case and can vouch for its excellence. If you want to knock off some money (although the DDR3 memory would be very nice), I would suggest thinking about using some of it for: liquid cooling, TV Tuner (Vista View Saber is a nice PCI-e x1 card), blu-ray or HD DVD drive, more storage (e.g. a 750GB additional hard drive). Those dual raptors will do nicely for gaming though. I didn't know if you needed an OS or not, so I didn't include it. If you are strictly a gamer, and I mean strictly, then go with XP Pro. Otherwise, get Vista Home Premium. I run Vista Ultimate and it is far better than XP. But, for sheer performance (although with those components I don't see you suffering), XP is better. You can run Vista without a hitch with those componenets though. Anything else just let me know.
Dior
Distinguished
- Jul 22, 2007
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- 18,680
Gigabyte Ga-P35-ds3r $130
Q6600 $273
Corsair 620HX $150
Tuniq 120 Tower $60
MASSCOOL G751 Shin-Etsu Thermal Interface Material $5
MSI 8800 Ultra $579
4GB Super Talent DDR2 800Mhz 4-4-3-8 $200
150GB Raptor $175
500GB Samsung $110
Creative X-fi XtremeMusic Fatal1ty $145
LG DVD $28
$1855 total
Quad core @ over 3.0ghz with overclock, one of the best PSU's ever made, 4 GIG of fast memory, Fastest graphic card availible, 150GB raptor for OS and programs, additional 500GB for storage, killer sound.
Enjoy.
It seems like a lot of people like Gigabyte more than mobos from Asus. My system was built with Asus mobo.
ASUS P5K3 DELUXE/WIFI-AP LGA 775 Intel P35 ($247): it is only 7 dollars more expensive than the one from Gigabyte
RAM:
Corsair DDR3 XMS3 1333MHz: if you aren't overclocking
-less expensive (good) $389
-higher latency (bad) @ 9
SUPER TALENT DDR3 1600MHz: if you are overclocking
-more expensive (bad) $590
-lower latency (good) @ 7
*By the way just get 2GB of RAM. It is plenty for running VISTA smoothly, and 32-bit OS can’t even read all 4GB anyway. Just get 2GB. It is plenty for now, and you can add more memory later
CPU:
Intel E6850 $266
-Intel Dual-Core CPUs are incredibly easy to overclock with the ASUS Mobo.
- blazing fast 1333MHz, which is basically irrelevant when you're overclocking
or Q6600 $273
- it is a bit harder to overclock
- it has four cores, so it's really fast
*Cooler: If you aren't overclocking the standard cooler will just do fine. But if you are overclocking I suggest you get a TEC cooler($120, VIGOR GAMING CLT-M2A /Thermal Electric Cooler). Liquid Cooling is such a hassle. You have to check for leaks and the installation takes hours of effort.
*I would suggest you get E6850 until the new 45nm processors come out in 2008. if you don't want to upgrade in 2008, just get q6600
Graphics Card- MSI 8800 Ultra OC ($580), because it runs cooler than the GTX's and is a bit more stable than the GTX's @ the same clock speed
* just get one unless you have a 30inch screen. Because I saw almost no difference on my 24inch screen between one GPU and two GPU's
PSU:
Thermaltake toughpower 1200W($380) or Enermax 1000W PSU($330). Both of them are really nice. If you want to get the best, pay more money and get PC Power & Cooling 1000W PSU($530). PC Power & Cooling has been making the best power supplies for a long time.
Hard drives:
Western Digital Caviar 750GB ($200) for storage
and
Western digital Raptor 75GB x2 in Raid 0 (Incredible speed) $155x2=310
/ if you don't want to do RAID, just get one Western digital Raptor 150GB $195
(less incredible speed, but more reliable)
Operating System
I would choose Linux or XP, but it is all personal choice here. *Warning: don't get 64-bit OS. There aren't a lot of drivers out there for the 64-bit OS. Plus, get an OEM copy if you can. They are the exactly the same, except OEM's cost A LOT less.
All the things put together costs between $2316 (cheepest everything) to $2850 (fully loaded). You also have to think about buying a copy of one the OS's. I also did not include minor things such as DVD-ROMs. Notice how I did not include any sound Card. For me, onboard is good enough.
Good Luck!
My system:
Asus 05k3 Deluxe WIFI
E6600 @ 3.6 GHz
XFX 8800 Ultra XXX Edition
Corsair 2GB XMS3 @ 1333 MHz w/ 8-6-6-15 latency
Western Digital Raptor 150GB Harddrive x1
Seagate 750GB x1
Toughpower 750W PSU
Swiftech Ultra Watercooling Kit
3DMark06 Score 1280x1024): about 14000
If you want to Over Clock and have the same mobo, send me an email at postpet04 at hotmail dot com
I would be glad to help you over clock to maximize your rig's potential.
ASUS P5K3 DELUXE/WIFI-AP LGA 775 Intel P35 ($247): it is only 7 dollars more expensive than the one from Gigabyte
RAM:
Corsair DDR3 XMS3 1333MHz: if you aren't overclocking
-less expensive (good) $389
-higher latency (bad) @ 9
SUPER TALENT DDR3 1600MHz: if you are overclocking
-more expensive (bad) $590
-lower latency (good) @ 7
*By the way just get 2GB of RAM. It is plenty for running VISTA smoothly, and 32-bit OS can’t even read all 4GB anyway. Just get 2GB. It is plenty for now, and you can add more memory later
CPU:
Intel E6850 $266
-Intel Dual-Core CPUs are incredibly easy to overclock with the ASUS Mobo.
- blazing fast 1333MHz, which is basically irrelevant when you're overclocking
or Q6600 $273
- it is a bit harder to overclock
- it has four cores, so it's really fast
*Cooler: If you aren't overclocking the standard cooler will just do fine. But if you are overclocking I suggest you get a TEC cooler($120, VIGOR GAMING CLT-M2A /Thermal Electric Cooler). Liquid Cooling is such a hassle. You have to check for leaks and the installation takes hours of effort.
*I would suggest you get E6850 until the new 45nm processors come out in 2008. if you don't want to upgrade in 2008, just get q6600
Graphics Card- MSI 8800 Ultra OC ($580), because it runs cooler than the GTX's and is a bit more stable than the GTX's @ the same clock speed
* just get one unless you have a 30inch screen. Because I saw almost no difference on my 24inch screen between one GPU and two GPU's
PSU:
Thermaltake toughpower 1200W($380) or Enermax 1000W PSU($330). Both of them are really nice. If you want to get the best, pay more money and get PC Power & Cooling 1000W PSU($530). PC Power & Cooling has been making the best power supplies for a long time.
Hard drives:
Western Digital Caviar 750GB ($200) for storage
and
Western digital Raptor 75GB x2 in Raid 0 (Incredible speed) $155x2=310
/ if you don't want to do RAID, just get one Western digital Raptor 150GB $195
(less incredible speed, but more reliable)
Operating System
I would choose Linux or XP, but it is all personal choice here. *Warning: don't get 64-bit OS. There aren't a lot of drivers out there for the 64-bit OS. Plus, get an OEM copy if you can. They are the exactly the same, except OEM's cost A LOT less.
All the things put together costs between $2316 (cheepest everything) to $2850 (fully loaded). You also have to think about buying a copy of one the OS's. I also did not include minor things such as DVD-ROMs. Notice how I did not include any sound Card. For me, onboard is good enough.
Good Luck!
My system:
Asus 05k3 Deluxe WIFI
E6600 @ 3.6 GHz
XFX 8800 Ultra XXX Edition
Corsair 2GB XMS3 @ 1333 MHz w/ 8-6-6-15 latency
Western Digital Raptor 150GB Harddrive x1
Seagate 750GB x1
Toughpower 750W PSU
Swiftech Ultra Watercooling Kit
3DMark06 Score 1280x1024): about 14000
If you want to Over Clock and have the same mobo, send me an email at postpet04 at hotmail dot com
I would be glad to help you over clock to maximize your rig's potential.
MattyMustng
Distinguished
- Feb 10, 2007
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- 18,510
Why would he even consider Linux? This is a gaming build. I wouldn't take linux on a gaming build to save my life. For gaming, get an 8800 GTX or Ultra. One of those will run any game currently on the market. I suggest Vista over XP, unless all you will be doing is gaming. Vista will hurt your gaming performance, but it makes up for that in many other areas.
I did not write that I like Linux for its gaming performance. I said, I LIKE IT!!!! Anyways, that was pretty stupid. Your choice of OS depends entirly on your personal preference.
Poemaster, I say that P35 is better because it fits your budget nicely. with $2500 budget limit, it's hard to run SLI or CrossFire. P35 isn't ridiculously expensive like the Striker Extreme (Nothing against Striker Extreme) and it is incredibly stable. Plus, P35 is future proof. It will be compatible with the 45nm chips that will be coming out, and DDR3 is compatible. Right now, DDR2 is winning the battle agianst DDR3, but in the future, DDR2 can't measure up to DDR3's performance.
*If you need help when building your computer or when over clocking, send me an email at postpet04 at hotmail dot com. I will be glad to help.
Dior
Distinguished
- Jul 22, 2007
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Did you even bother checking what clocks MSI 8800 Ultra works at? I'll tell you it's 660mhz core and 2300mhz memory, the EVGA 8800 GTX costs $70 less but it's memory is at 1800Mhz, I wanna see you try to overclock it to 2300Mhz and keep it stable
Also MSI comes with free Company of Heroes which still retails for $40 which makes it even a better buy. It was a waste of money @ $829 when it first came out, but now when you can get one for $579 it's definitely worth it.MattyMustng
Distinguished
- Feb 10, 2007
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- 18,510
Actually what you said was, "I would choose Linux or XP." In a forum where peopel are offering suggestions for this person's gaming computer build, and you say that you "would choose Linux" it can only be assumed that you are personally suggesting that he use Linux. Therefore it was not "stupid" as you say, for me to mention that Linux is incredibly poor for gaming. I also completely disagree with onboard sound. I am running a 5.1 sound system and I have to use an X-Fi card because onboard sucks incredibly. Now, with 2.1 or something, I agree that sound cards can be a big waste of money. But if you have 5.1 or higher a sound card is truly a necessity. I don't know what type of sound system he has if any. And, some games (Battlefields for example) take advantage of sound card RAM, which is only availabe on the X-Fi's. Also, I have no idea why you believe a Q6600 is "fast" simply due to its 4 cores. Four cores does not mean at all that something is "fast." You are going to need multi-threaded applications or a lot of multitasking to take advantage of such cores. A gamer is going to benefit more from a fast dual core (e6850). This is not to say that the Q6600 is a bad gamer - it most certainly isn't. This was the debate over X6800 and Q6000 months ago. Now, with the emergence of such games as Crysis, a quad core will come in handy. But as it stands now, an e6850 is best, and it certainly won't be terrible in the future. But, realistically, I think either is a good choice. I just don't think there should be a notion that more cores is guaranteed to be faster. Clock speeds and every come into play, not just cores.
Because SLI is only worth it if you are buying two of the top end cards available (currently 2 x 8800GTX/8800 Ultras). Anything less than the top end card and you'd be better off buying one single card, ie. you're better off with one GTX than two GTS cards, mainly for cost, power consumption and noise reasons.
Well the 8800 series is getting a bit long in the tooth, and really the prices should be a fair bit lower already than they currently are, but for various reasons they've remained high (ATI being so late to market with competition seems to be the main reason). By the time the prices come down to a reasonable level, the tech will probably be outdated. For instance a 7900GT goes for about £75 used on eBay. If I was to buy a second one I have a setup worth £150. But for barely any more money I can get a brand new 8800GTS 320MB that will outperform two 7900GTs and will use less power and make less noise.
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