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Building a game rig, first time. Would like help

Forum Homebuilt Systems : New System Build - Building a game rig, first time. Would like help

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I've been thinking about putting together a computer for a while, but I've never had the time. But with alot of games coming out that I've wanted to play, I've decided to try. I looked around and found some parts I think I'd like to use, but would like to hear some experienced opinions. I'm pretty new to this, and my friend got me worried about saying he'd never install a power source or motherboard because to much would go wrong. I hope I'm up to it, anyway here is a list of parts I was concidering. Not sure if they're all compatible or what have you.

motherboard. EVGA 122-CK-NF68-A1 LGA 775 NVIDIA 680i SLI ATX

processor. I'm not sure if I should get Intel's Core 2 Quad Q6600 or the Core 2 Duo E6850

RAM. I'll need some help here I think, not sure if I should get 2 1gb or 2 2gb. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Case. Thermaltake Armor VA8000BWS full tower case.

Videocard. I'm not sure, I'm looking at EVGA 640-P2-N821-AR 8800GTS 640MB 320-bit HDCP, something else my friend suggested to me.

Hard drive. This I could use help on too, I'm not sure which is better for gaming. I was told a high rpm was good for gaming, but not sure if I should try for just one Western Digital Raptor 150GB 10,000 RPM 16MB Cache Serial ATA150 or try two with a raid, or to get a less expencive but slower rpm hard drive (or two in raid).

Optical drive. Way can't afford a blu-ray or hd dvd drive, so hoping games keep with dvd's for a while. I read in pc shopper this was a good drive, SONY AW-Q170A-B2 DVD+-RW. Also, this may sound ingnorant, but what does OEM mean? It says that next to the optical drive and operating system in the pc shopper magazine.

Power source. Not really gonna lie, I need help here. I don't really know where to start, but I'd like enough wattage to be open for expanding later. My old pc once blew out the power supply that came with it, the place I took it too said it was the bare minimum for the system (pre-bought system) and that they were suprised it lasted so long.

Operating system. Another thing I'll need help with. I was told that windows vista had the divx 10, which let for better gameplay graphics, but I don't know which version would be for me. I personally want to stick with XP, but I figure Vista can't be to bad, and I always kinda resist change to things like that.

If I'm forgeting something, which is more then possible, I could use an experienced opinion. Is the PhysX PCI card worth buying? Also, what would be a nice sound card. I don't have great speakers, they came with my computer, but I could probably get a nice sound card and then work up to better speakers. I'm thinking of having a budget from 2000 to possibly 3200 dollars, my friend said building a computer would be better then buying prebought for me. I appreciate your time and concideration.

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A lot of your questions can be answered by a build guide I put together: http://www.buildmyrig.com/content/view/16/48/

I'll do my best to answer them here personally, though.

Motherboard: That's a good motherboard, but it's expensive and you most likely don't need the SLI (unless you're doing dual 8800GTXs or Ultras). You can see other recommended mobos on the guide.

CPU: I'd personally go with the Q6600. The E6850 is faster and has a higher clock, but once multithreaded applications and games become more mainstream, the Q6600 is going to be beating it quite easily. With many applications, the Q6600 is already in the lead.

RAM: Any sort of DDR2 800 would probably work for you. See the guide for recommendations.

Videocard: Again, the guide. It'll show you the best bang for your dollar.

HD: Don't bother with raid 0, it's expensive and mostly useless. I highly recommend this HD: http://www.buildmyrig.com/content/view/56/212/ which is almost as fast the 150GB raptor and holds a heck of a lot more.

Optical: I agree with just staying with DVD for now until the HD format drives drop in price more.

PSU: There's good recommendations on the guide. I personally prefer Corsair. There's a great deal going on now, but you need to act fast on it: http://www.buildmyrig.com/content/view/64/212/
The 620W version will be more than enough for most anything and should last you a long, long time.

OS: I really prefer Vista over XP, but it's really a personal preference. I'd just go with the basic Home version. There are guides online to unlocking features found in more expensive versions if you like.

Physx cards are mostly a gimmick and only work for a couple of games. Even then, it's artificially implemented in those games and it's really just a money making scheme at this point. Don't bother.

OEM means that it comes without the original box and usually without any cables. An OEM optical drive will be just the drive. No cables or manuals.

Hope this helps.

Message edited by brynnb on 08-22-2007 at 12:32:03 AM

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Reply to brynnb

OEM stands for Original Equipment Manufacturer more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origi [...] nufacturer

Generally you get better prices with OEM but less 'accessories' also for example with windows there are more license restrictions.

Reply to DaLeech

Wow, this is really close to what I was looking to build for my first PC. A lot of the same parts too.

I was looking at the 150gb raptor to install the OS and games and apps while I would get 2 of the 750gb's for the storage.

Reply to dolphin03

Get a P35 motherboard.

Go with the quad core.

More RAM is better.

EVGA Nvidia card is good.

10000 RPM isn't necessary; go with a 7200 with SATA300. Some people get a small 10000 RPM drive for their OS/applications and get a bigger 7200 RPM (storage) drive for their music, documents, etc. You may want to do this.

OEM = Original Equipment Manufacturer. This means you get the stripped down version of whatever - no user manual, no fancy packaging, etc. Just the component. You may not get the SATA/IDE cables with the OEM burner, so make sure you check.

I'd say with a quad core and a high end graphics card you'll need a minimum of 500W PSU. Get a good brand too - something like Corsair, Antec, PowerPC, Thermaltake, Silverstone, etc.

If you get Vista, get the Ultimate version. If you get XP, get XP Pro.

Stay away from the PhysX card. For sound cards, get something like a SoundBlaster X-Fi XtremeGamer. Speakers depend - if you're getting a 2.1 system (two speakers and a sub) get the Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 speakers. If you're going for a 5.1 system get the Logitech Z-series (either Z5500 or Z5300 are their top models I think).

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Reply to ben72227

What's a P35 motherboard? Any suggested ones to look at? I think I will do that idea on the hard drive, the 10000rpm for system programs and an extra for storage.

Reply to Xellos14

Get the gigabyte p35 Ds3r, this is probably the best board for OC and the P35 chiplet supports the new 45 nm cpu's coming out this year, but it only supports one PCI-E x16, so cant be used for SLI but SLi is pointless anyways. i would get the 2900 xt over the 8800 gts 620 mb, all the benchmarks show that the 2900 xt is superior and when better drivers come out it will be much better too. http://www.legionhardware.com/docu [...] id=650&p=3

the benchmarks don't lie

Message edited by sharp910sh on 08-22-2007 at 03:32:53 AM

Reply to sharp910sh

ben72227 wrote :

I'd say with a quad core and a high end graphics card you'll need a minimum of 500W PSU. Get a good brand too - something like Corsair, Antec, PowerPC, Thermaltake, Silverstone, etc.

Antec is a terrible PSU manufacturer. They have a 9.5% failure rate while almost every other producer is around 0.5 to 1.5%. Getting the Ultimate version of Vista is also silly unless you really need the features it offers. Otherwise, the home premium version works fine and costs a ton less.

I second the P35 DS3R. It definitely has some of the best reviews out there and will suit your needs very well.

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Reply to brynnb

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