Help me put together a sexy gaming rig!

[pumpkinpie]

Hey guys, I'm new to Tom's hardware and heard this is the place to go for everything computers. So here I am

Anyways, It's been four years since I've had this peice of garbage and its time to upgrade. And I need some help.
Also, before I list everything, note that I live in montreal Canada, so no newegg. I will be using another place close: http://www.lucomputers.com/aStore/default.asp, so if you would like to put it together for me, you can use the system builder: http://www.lucomputers.com/aStore/default.asp?selection=customize&systemid=2692
Also, I'm trying not to exceed 1800$, as Ill still need to pay for taxes and shipping..


Basically what I need help with is motherboard, case, cooling, and power supply.

Now, here's the specs of my desired system:

Intel core 2 Duo Conroe 2.33ghz
2048 DDRII 800 RAM (NOt sure, either Kingston, Corsair or OCZ)
Western Digital 320g Harddrive
nVidia 8800gts 320mb (Either BFG or eVGA, not sure)
Windows Vista Premium (I don't know, either 32 or 64)
Sound Blaster XFI Xtreme Audio 24bit 7.1 PCI Value pack

Peripherals:
Logitech Cordless Desktop+mouse EX110
Logitech x240 w/sub
either BenQ 20" LCD 1680x1050 1000:1 5ms DVI-D Senseye OR
Samsung SyncMaster 19" LCD 1440x900 700:1 5ms


Those are the basics, now some other notes.
I will not be using SLI or upgrading to quad core, I just want a single 8800gts and a fine system that will suit my gaming needs for a few years. I want to be able to play games like Oblivion and Age of Conan when it comes out and not have to worry about bad graphics compatibility. I also do not need or want max settings, high is good enough for me.
With it I still need to choose a motherboard (which I have no idea which one to get), a case (my techy friend told me to get one without a psu, to get that seperate), and a psu (I heard 500w minimum for 8800gts?), as well as cooling (this I honestly have no idea either.)

A last note for my case, I don't care about something fancy, but side panels are nice, and I don't really want just a basic one, but also one that isn't over 100$.



Okay I've given enough info.. now I will be most grateful for tips and advice. Thank you.

 

[g-paw]

The Gigabyte P35 is a nice board. The Antec Sonata III comes with a 500w PSU and Antec makes good PSUs. Have 2 Antec Sonata IIs and the original Sonata and they are very quiet and easy to work . Not sure how sexy the Sonata is, I prefer woman and so don't think about it much

 

[pumpkinpie]

Is the 500w psu good enough for a single 8800gts?
anything else?

 

[g-paw]

Is the 500w psu good enough for a single 8800gts?
anything else?

The cards I looked at all have 400w - 425w requirements so the Antec 500w would work.

 

[pous]

If you check out my hardware specs, I run a Q6600 and 8800GTS 640 on my Antec NeoHE 500W psu... so that should do you fine, especially since you're not looking to get a quad processor.

Good luck with your build, the Gigabyte P35 DS3R or DS3L should be a great board for you, and I agree with what he said about antec cases and psu's, although if you wanted to save a little on the case I'd recommend the Centurion 534 by coolermaster, it's nice.

Good luck with your build.

 

[pumpkinpie]

yes if that works fine for your quad core and 8800gts then I'll definetly get it or something similar
I thought 500w was the bare minimum for that card

 

[Guest]

I just finished building my first system using a Q6600 and the Gigabyte P35 DS3R and the Centurion 534 recommended by Pous. I got under the table to turn it on and when I got back up it was already asking for the OS.

Can't ask for anything better.

 

[mad-dog]

Hey guys, I'm new to Tom's hardware and heard this is the place to go for everything computers. So here I am

Anyways, It's been four years since I've had this peice of garbage and its time to upgrade. And I need some help.
Also, before I list everything, note that I live in montreal Canada, so no newegg. I will be using another place close: http://www.lucomputers.com/aStore/default.asp, so if you would like to put it together for me, you can use the system builder: http://www.lucomputers.com/aStore/default.asp?selection=customize&systemid=2692
Also, I'm trying not to exceed 1800$, as Ill still need to pay for taxes and shipping..


Basically what I need help with is motherboard, case, cooling, and power supply.

Now, here's the specs of my desired system:

Intel core 2 Duo Conroe 2.33ghz
2048 DDRII 800 RAM (NOt sure, either Kingston, Corsair or OCZ)
Western Digital 320g Harddrive
nVidia 8800gts 320mb (Either BFG or eVGA, not sure)
Windows Vista Premium (I don't know, either 32 or 64)
Sound Blaster XFI Xtreme Audio 24bit 7.1 PCI Value pack

Peripherals:
Logitech Cordless Desktop+mouse EX110
Logitech x240 w/sub
either BenQ 20" LCD 1680x1050 1000:1 5ms DVI-D Senseye OR
Samsung SyncMaster 19" LCD 1440x900 700:1 5ms


Those are the basics, now some other notes.
I will not be using SLI or upgrading to quad core, I just want a single 8800gts and a fine system that will suit my gaming needs for a few years. I want to be able to play games like Oblivion and Age of Conan when it comes out and not have to worry about bad graphics compatibility. I also do not need or want max settings, high is good enough for me.
With it I still need to choose a motherboard (which I have no idea which one to get), a case (my techy friend told me to get one without a psu, to get that seperate), and a psu (I heard 500w minimum for 8800gts?), as well as cooling (this I honestly have no idea either.)

A last note for my case, I don't care about something fancy, but side panels are nice, and I don't really want just a basic one, but also one that isn't over 100$.



Okay I've given enough info.. now I will be most grateful for tips and advice. Thank you.

Here's a PSU Wattage calculator to play with.......The ASUS program calculates a minimum figure, add 25%for headroom
http://support.asus.com/PowerSupplyCalculator/PSCalculator.aspx?SLanguage=en-us

 

[rodney_ws]

Since you said you were going to game "for a few years" I think you're not being realistic going with that 320 MB card. The 640 MB GTS should have a longer gaming life as current titles are beginning to take advantage of 512+ MB cards (the flip side of that coin is that they punish cards with less than that amount severely)

 

[TSIMonster]

Here is what I would do from that website:
CPU Intel Core 2 Duo Conroe E6420 2.13GHz FSB 1066, 4MB CPU
CPU Cooling Intel / AMD Original Cooling Fan & Heatsink
Memory 2048 MB DDR II 667 Memory 240 Pin (Kingston) (1024 x 2) (on sale)
Mother Board (NEW) ASUS P5K Motherboard
Hard Drive 1 Seagate 320GB 7200RPM 16MB Cache Serial ATA
Optical Drive 1 LG 18X DVD RW +- Dual Layer Serial ATA
Video nVidia XFX 8800 GTS 320 MB GDDR3 560Mhz Core Clock PVT80GGHE4 (on sale)
Case Cooler Master Elite RC-330 Case (black)
Power Supply 500 Watt Antec Power Supply Earthwatts EA-500
LCD Acer AL2016WSD 20 in Wide Screen, LCD 1680X1050,600:1, 8MS
Speakers Logitech X240 2.1 Speaker w/ Sub 970285
I/O Device 1 Logitech G11 Gaming Keyboard
I/O Device 2 Logitech G5 Laser Wired Gaming Mouse w/ Adjustable Weight (black)
Operating System Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 64 bit
Warranty Free 3 Years Parts & Labor Warranty (valid when operating system is purchased)

Friday, September 14, 2007
1:46:07 PM Priced At: $1,547.00

 

[pumpkinpie]

Since you said you were going to game "for a few years" I think you're not being realistic going with that 320 MB card. The 640 MB GTS should have a longer gaming life as current titles are beginning to take advantage of 512+ MB cards (the flip side of that coin is that they punish cards with less than that amount severely)

Well alot of people have said that the 320mb will last me a long while, maybe not a few years but whatever. I can always upgrade to 640 if the 320 becomes to taxed, right?

Here is what I would do from that website:
CPU Intel Core 2 Duo Conroe E6420 2.13GHz FSB 1066, 4MB CPU
CPU Cooling Intel / AMD Original Cooling Fan & Heatsink
Memory 2048 MB DDR II 667 Memory 240 Pin (Kingston) (1024 x 2) (on sale)
Mother Board (NEW) ASUS P5K Motherboard
Hard Drive 1 Seagate 320GB 7200RPM 16MB Cache Serial ATA
Optical Drive 1 LG 18X DVD RW +- Dual Layer Serial ATA
Video nVidia XFX 8800 GTS 320 MB GDDR3 560Mhz Core Clock PVT80GGHE4 (on sale)
Case Cooler Master Elite RC-330 Case (black)
Power Supply 500 Watt Antec Power Supply Earthwatts EA-500
LCD Acer AL2016WSD 20 in Wide Screen, LCD 1680X1050,600:1, 8MS
Speakers Logitech X240 2.1 Speaker w/ Sub 970285
I/O Device 1 Logitech G11 Gaming Keyboard
I/O Device 2 Logitech G5 Laser Wired Gaming Mouse w/ Adjustable Weight (black)
Operating System Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 64 bit
Warranty Free 3 Years Parts & Labor Warranty (valid when operating system is purchased)

Friday, September 14, 2007
1:46:07 PM Priced At: $1,547.00

This seems like a perfect setup, however I have just a few questions:
Is 2.13ghz cpu going to hinder anything instead of 2.33ghz?
Is the 667mhz ram worth it instead of spending the extra cash for 800mhz?
Any why 64bit vista? Isn't everyone using 32bit?

Thanks for your time

 

[jwolf24601]

2.13-2.33 is not much of a difference at all

667mhz is capable of running at fsb 333mhz, the 6420 will have the MB running at 266mhz so there will even be room to overclock without overclocking the ram.

Vista 64 is capable of addressing a LOT more ram, 32bit has trouble using more than 2gb (DDR2 and Video card ram combined). MS had to release a hotfix to prevent the OS from trying to do more than that.

However most applications now are 32bit so it will still be an issue.

Most of the driver and performance issues for 64bit have been fixed so any difference in performance should be negligable, and with better future capabilities 64bit is the way to go in my opinion.

For my computer I plan to buy vista home basic 64bit when they have SP1 on it, supposedly around x-mas. I find that running basic is slightly better for gaming cause it doesnt have the aeroglass and other bloat stuff. If the pretty windows apeals to you get the premium. I never use the pretty features so I dont want em.

 

[jwolf24601]

CPU (NEW) Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.4GHz FSB 1066, 8MB Quad Core CPU (on sale)
CPU Cooling Intel / AMD Original Cooling Fan & Heatsink
Memory 2048 MB DDR II 667 Memory 240 Pin (Kingston) (1024 x 2) (on sale)
Mother Board (NEW) ASUS P5K SE Motherboard
Hard Drive 1 Western Digital Raptor 150GB 10,000RPM 16MB
Optical Drive 1 LG 18X DVD RW +- Dual Layer
Video nVidia eVGA 8800 GTS 640 MB GDDR3, Dual DVI, HDCP
Audio Onboard Audio
Network Card Onboard Network Card
Case Cooler Master Centurion 5 Case (blue)
Power Supply 535 Watt Enermax FMA II Power Supply SLI EG-565P-VE FMA II
LCD Samsung SyncMaster 19' 940NW Wide Screen LCD, 1440 x 900, 700:1, 5ms (on sale)
I/O Device 1 Logitech G11 Gaming Keyboard
I/O Device 2 Logitech G5 Laser Wired Gaming Mouse w/ Adjustable Weight (black)
Operating System Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic 64 bit
Warranty Free 3 Years Parts & Labor Warranty (valid when operating system is purchased)

Friday, September 14, 2007
5:34:33 PM Priced At: $1,802.00

This is the rig I would make with 1800 before taxes/shipping

P.S. Went over $2 so dig through the couch for change...

 

[pumpkinpie]

That build also seems good.. I think I might switch the case and PSU to an Antec Sonata III deal, but otherwise all that looks perfect.

 

[pous]

Why not get 2gb ddr2 800 ram? I just think if you're spending the money you should get higher speed... also if you're getting 64 bit vista... why not 4 gb memory?

It's looking like a great build but those are two thing's I'd want to change if it was my money.

 

[TSIMonster]

Unless he is doing some heavy overclocking, PC6400 is not needed and saves him some cash.