Gaming build - suggestions?

[Uncshabob]

In a couple of weeks time I am planning to build a decent gaming rig that can run all the latest games at decent settings. This is what I'm gunning for:

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 3.0 Ghz 6MB Cache 1333 FSB LGA 775 - $265
Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L - $125
Transcend 2GB DDR2 800 Mhz PC6400 RAM - $45
XFX GeForce 8800GT 512MB 600Mhz DDR3 Dual DVI/HDTV PCI-Express - $380
Western Digital HD 320 GB 7200 RPM 16Mb SATA 2 - $92
Cooler Master RC-690 Case - $99
Cosair HX-520 520w PSU - $129

Total: $1135 AUD (1,016.47 USD/520.04 GBP/687.575 EUR)

I've got the optical drives/monitor/keyboard/mouse/spea­ kers already that I can use from my older comp, so the components listed is all I'm planning on getting. My budget is $1300 (AUD) for the time being, and I'm trying to look for the cheapest possible price. Those are are cheapest prices I've found, but they are subject to change within a couple of weeks so hopefully by then I can get a similar price overall or maybe cheaper. What I do know for sure is that I've seen 8800GTs cheaper than that, so hopefully within a couple of weeks the price will drop.

I'm still unsure what PSU to go with though - I've been recommended the Cosair HX-520 520w because the brand is reliable, not too pricey and the power is enough. Is 520 watts enough juice for the system I'm getting, or is it best to get something in the 400 range? Also, what is the difference between the DS3L and other varieties of the P35 motherboard? Is it worth spending the extra cash on some of those other versions?

I also don't plan to overclock this system, well perhaps not straight away anyway. If I am, what is a reasonable OC for a system like this with only stock air cooling? Is the RAM good enough? If I will OC, I'll stick with air cooling because I find water cooling to be waaay too expensive and a bitch to maintain.

So, any suggestions for this system? Good components for good price? Is there anything I need to change? Any help would be much appreciated.

 

[systemlord]

I'd wait for the NVidia 9800 series cards coming out in Feb/March if I were you. Also get a better PC case because having better airflow in your case will make all your components last longer. Get the Antec 900, its a great gaming case.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021&Tpk=antec%2b900

 

[Uncshabob]

I'd wait for the NVidia 9800 series cards coming out in Feb/March if I were you. Also get a better PC case because having better airflow in your case will make all your components last longer. Get the Antec 900, its a great gaming case.

Three reasons why I'm not keen on the 9800 series:

1) I'm not going to wait that long as I'm planning to build this comp at the end of this month.
2) The 9800s will most likely be in the $600+ range, too pricey for me.
3) The 8800s are good enough as it is.

A lot of people recommended the RC-690, as it has many of the features you can find in more expensive cases for a reasonable price. Antec 900s are usually $160+, again, maybe a tad too pricey for me. What advantages does the Antec 900 have over the RC-690 and is it worth the extra $$$?

Thanks.

 

[akhilles]

What beginners don't know about watercooling is maintenance: flush the coolant & rinse the parts every 3 to 6 months for optimal performance.

The PSU is good. Heck, don't change a thing. The build looks great.

DS3L doesn't have RAID & firewire.

I haven't seen any benchmarks of this CPU. Well, I guess it's no as popular as the E8500 (look at the cache & stock speed). I would expect the Wolfdale to oveclock better than current C2D's. If you plan to o/c, you'll need good cooling. A good cpu cooler would be a good start.

 

[systemlord]

My bad I thought the case you selected was a different one, the CR690 is a very good case because it has two side 120mm fan mounts great for cooling the mobo or graphics card area. Well considering that when the 8800GT came out it took forever for people to actually get one, so you might be waiting even longer than Feb/March for something they may be delayed even longer.


I then recommend the 8800GTS 512MB simply because of the dual slot cooler, I also hear that the 8800GTS 512 OC's alot better than the 8800GT's. I just don't and never will like the single slot GPU coolers on any card. Unless your planning to use an aftermarket cooler for your 8800GT. What resolution are you going to be playing at?

 

[systemlord]

What beginners don't know about watercooling is maintenance: flush the coolant & rinse the parts every 3 to 6 months for optimal performance.

Please tell me your kidding about having to flush the system every 3-6 months? If thats the case maybe I'll stay air cooled.

 

[Uncshabob]

]DS3L doesn't have RAID & firewire.

Pardon my ignorance, but what is RAID? And do I need them two features for what I am intending to do with this comp (gaming/general word processing/general browsing/torrents)?

I then recommend the 8800GTS 512MB simply because of the dual slot cooler, I also hear that the 8800GTS 512 OC's alot better than the 8800GT's. I just don't and never will like the single slot GPU coolers on any card. Unless your planning to use an aftermarket cooler for your 8800GT. What resolution are you going to be playing at?

Usually it costs an extra $100 for a GTS and with little increase in performance, that's why I opted for the GT. I'm aware that the fan speed on the GT is slower than normal, so I'm going to increase the speed. Don't intend to OC the card either - so I think the stock cooler as well as the case fans should do an ample job. If not then I will consider getting an aftermarket cooler (though am hesitant because it voids the warranty on the GT).

As for my resolution, what ever is natural for a 17 inch monitor. Anywhere between 1152 x 864 to 1280 x 1024... what would you recommend?

 

[systemlord]

DS3L doesn't have RAID & firewire.[/quote]

Pardon my ignorance, but what is RAID? And do I need them two features for what I am intending to do with this comp (gaming/general word processing/general browsing/torrents)?

RAID is running two hard drives as one, both the HDD run as one. There are pretty big performance increases using two HDD in RAID 0, (1) one drive can read data and the second hard drive can write data all at the same time. One HDD can only do either read or write data at a time.

****UPDATE****
Also if one HDD fails you lose everything because your storing example: Lets say your going to install Crysis on a RAID 0 set-up, half of the game go's onto one HDD and the other half of the game go's to the your second HDD. One fails thats it.

 

[Uncshabob]

RAID is running two hard drives as one, both the HDD run as one. There are pretty big performance increases using two HDD in RAID 0, (1) one drive can read data and the second hard drive can write data all at the same time. One HDD can only do either read or write data at a time.

****UPDATE****
Also if one HDD fails you lose everything because your storing example: Lets say your going to install Crysis on a RAID 0 set-up, half of the game go's onto one HDD and the other half of the game go's to the your second HDD. One fails thats it.

Hmmm I'll think about it, though it my force me to go over my budget of $1300.

 

[aevm]

Nice list. Maybe upgrade to GA-P35-DS3R, if you have $30 more. It's more future proof, allowing more hard disks.

You can learn a lot about RAID from wikipedia. It's best to avoid it until you know more about the various types of RAID and can pick the right one for you. Still, it's another good reason to get the DS3R over the DS3L.

You do realize that air cooling also requires maintenance, as in getting rid of dust, right? I've got two cats and they shed a lot and they LOVE the hot air coming out from the PC, so in my case this is a bit of pain

Maybe get a Corsair 550VX if it's available where you live and cheaper.

The 8800GT comes between HD 3870 and 8800GTS G92 512MB, performance-wise. Both are quieter than it because they have decent dual-slot coolers.

 

[Uncshabob]

You do realize that air cooling also requires maintenance, as in getting rid of dust, right? I've got two cats and they shed a lot and they LOVE the hot air coming out from the PC, so in my case this is a bit of pain

Yes, it does... not as ridiculous as water cooling tho. Cleaning dust from time to time shouldn't be a problem.

Actually I was considering getting an Antec P182 for that very reason as it has a dust filter.

 

[aevm]

The P182 is absolutely great. I know for sure the 620HX cables are long enough for it, but don't know about 520HX. Check before you buy.

 

[Uncshabob]

Someone also recommended me the 8800 GTS 512 instead of the 8800GT 512, and putting 4gb of ram instead of 2gb even with a 32 bit OS (I have XP Home). Is the GTS worth the extra cash and will 1gb or 1.5gb of ram on top of 2gb really make a difference?

 

[systemlord]

Someone also recommended me the 8800 GTS 512 instead of the 8800GT 512, and putting 4gb of ram instead of 2gb even with a 32 bit OS (I have XP Home). Is the GTS worth the extra cash and will 1gb or 1.5gb of ram on top of 2gb really make a difference?

Adding 1.5GB of extra RAM, minimal at best. Also its not good to mix different brands of RAM in your system.

 

[aevm]

IMO the GTS is worth the extra cash, because it is faster and it has a good dual-slot cooler. I saw a nice deal for it at tigerdirect.com yesterday, $350 including a copy of Crysis. Shop around, there may be even better deals elsewhere.

The extra 2 GB won't really make a difference if all you do is stop all applications and start a game. However, if you use massive apps like Photoshop or Visual Studio or SQL Server they will benefit. Also, if you have lots of background tasks the extra RAM helps.

 

[systemlord]

The 8800GTS 512MB is worth the little extra price,I have seen these newer GTS OC like crazy.

 

[Uncshabob]

How much faster though?

Damn, that's an awesome price but sadly I live in Australia. 8800 GTS 512 around here is $460+, cheapest I've found was around $430.

 

[aevm]

At the same clock. the GTS will beat the GT by 128/112 i.e. 14% or so, because it has more stream processors. If you consider that the better cooler allows higher clocks, the advantage grows. The GTS is close in performance to the 8800GTX (at 1600x1200 or less), so you can look at Tom's VGA charts and compare GT with GTX for a better idea.

 

[Smoked Turkey]

E8400 with a 8800GT and you will have no problems. Forget the "wait until" game, that never ends. I am running a AMD 5600+ with a 8800GT on a 22" WS and can run most everything at high with no problems. Screen resolution will be the biggest problem in the end. P35 Chipset is all you will need. X38 will support DDR3 and PCIe 2.0 G35 is just P35 with integrated graphics. Over 3GB in a 32 bit system is pointless. Stick with DDR2 800, current systems won't use the bandwidth. Name Brand with 4-4-4-12 timings will help support over-clocking later if you need to. Try to find a PS with 80% or greater efficiency that is also UL or CE listed so it wont burn your house down.