[[General Home Built] Gaming System

go for E8400, now the price is getting better (not much difference with E6850 I guess).

PSU-750W, a little overkill I guess. 600W will be decent enough, you'll still have some rooms for another card (sound card or else).

OS? >
- Windows XP - 2GB mem will be OK;
- Vista - 4GB better  

Monitor?
with 8800GTS (512MB?), you can fly up to 22" with no lag in any current games  

So far so good, just add HDD & optical drive, then it will be fine.

i agree with antas. looks good.

I would highly recommend the Corsair 620HX power supply. It has modular cables so you only have to plug in the ones you need. It really cleans up your case and looks nice... I only have like 3 cables plugged in.

an E8400 processor and Gigabyte DS3L mobo would be a good combination.

thanks for the help. After more research I came with these and I need more feedback please!

I would like to say it again that I'm trying to build the best possible GAMING system.


Mobo- Gigabyte GA P35 (89.99)

CPU- Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 wolfdale 3ghz (240$) or should I go with the intel core 2 quad core Q6600 Ventsfield 2.4ghz for 254.99?

Hard drive- Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 500GB (119.99) Is one sufficient?

Video Card- EVGA GTS 512 MB 8800 (259.99 after rebate)

Memory- Corsair 4GB (2x2GB) DDR2 800 PC2 6400 (84 after rebate) Is this a good choice?

Power Supply- Is the OCZ GamerXstream 700w for 104.99 after rebate the best choice?

Case- I would buy the Antec 900, but I think it's a mid-case and I really want a cool looking full tower that has enough room. Can anyone recommend?

So far, this is all I have... if possible please help with the listed :

CPU cooler/ Case Fan / CPU fans or Water Cooling?

GOOD Keyboard and Mouse

Screen ? I was looking at the Samsungs 22' inch widecsreen LCD monitor but it costs 269.99 after rebate . Is it worth it?

Audio card

CD/DVD

Should I stick with 32bit XP ? or get the 64- bit ultimate for Vista?


Thanks for all the feedback. I'm planning to build this system in a week.

This is for some insight in OS:
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/249212-13-newbie-13...

For the processor here are my thoughts:

E8400 is faster and better for today's games & applicatons.
Q6600 is quad core (FSB1066), and more future proofing.

So, if you're thinking to upgrade in near future (6-12 months), E8400 will give you the current top performance. BUt if you want to use your processor for as long as possible (1-3 years), Q6600 is a better option.

For MOBO:
since you're planning for 22" monitor, which is I don't see the need for SLI. I will say any P35, preferably GA-P35-DS3L is sufficient esp. with price/performance ratio. But if you're looking for the top notch, with SLI possibilities, consider NVIDIA 780i mobos.

Monitor: Dunno for this one, Samsung has a great reputation, but never had experienced on it's LCD. So I cannot say anything on this ..

Memory should be fine, good price ratio.

Audio Card: the onboard card is sufficient (at least for me). It's 7.1 ready. My suggestion is: give it a try for onboard card, if you're not satisfied with it, the Creative X-Fi always be there   I myself do not bother to have separate card since when I'm satisfied enough with onboard.

For other issue: PSU, casing, cooling, > I don't have really good knowledge on this. For sure somebody else does  

Thanks for the input.

i'm not sure about the monitor .. I might go for the 24' ones but those probably require SLI... and i would probably get the nvidia 780i but that costs too much.

I'm debating whether to get the Thermaltake Armor Tower, CM stacker 830, or the antec 900...

Is the onboard audio card sufficient for gaming experience? I would prefer the top-notch experiecen even though I might have to dish out more money.

Is it better to go water or air? cooling ^^ . personally, i'm a newb at this area the most (heatsinks coolers. no idea) -.-

Is the samsung's SH- s203B dvd drive sufficient? for cd...dvd. i dont think i would need floppy. those things are near extinction.  



Are all my other components okay so far? mobo..cpu .. hdd , video , memory , psu


Thanks in advance.

At the level of Q6600 or E8400, the vga card power is the critical gaming factor, not the cpu.
With few exceptions, current games can't take advantage of more than two cores.
flight simulator X is an exception).
For the same price, about $270, you can get a Q6600 2.4 or a E8400 3.00 for $240.
It makes more sense to me to take advantage of the higher clock speed of the duo cpu.
In addition, the new Exxx cpu's are supposed to be 10% faster in games clock for clock than their predecessors.
They will take less power, and run cooler. Indications are that they will overclock higher and easier.

I like the parts you picked so far.

Look at the dimensions of the Antec 900, it is not a tight case. It will hold three times the parts you picked.

Get an oem cooler. It will keep your cpu cooler, and be quieter. There are a number of good ones out there. Look for a large one with a 120mm slow turning fan that directs the hot air towards the rear of the case. With it, there is no need for liquid cooling. One of the best is the thermalright ultra 120 extreme.

The samsung 203 is a nice quiet sata burner that I can recommend. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Foe a new build, vista 64 is a good way to go. It does not seem worth it to me to invest on an OS that is not going to continue to be developed. I saw home premium upgrade on sale at costco for $85. Send microsofr $10, and they mail you a 64 bit version of it. I see very little in ultimate for the home user. If you are eligible, check out the academic discounts.

Do some research on lcd monitors. It really is confusing. Get the best one you can afford; it will last you through several generations of pc's. To me, bigger is better, and look for one with a 178 degree viewing angle.

See how onboard sound sounds to you. Add in sound cards seem to cause more than their fair share of problems.

---good luck---

Have a look at these two articles for overclocking quad core vs. dual core:

http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/11/08/dual_vs_quad/

http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/08/08/extreme_fsb_2/in...

Thanks again.  

Sorry I didn't realize I had two topics on the same subject but I wanted more input/opinions. Thanks!
 
Building off of the advice that you guys have given, here's my wishlist on newegg:

https://secure.newegg.com/NewVersio [...] ID=5806845


Please help me review on things I could alter or change to make the price/efficient ratio better ! 1.6k is pretty insane ... I didnt realize that the 8800 GTS (G92) would cost 350$ ... I always thought it was 249$ .


If possible, please include what CPU Coolers/Heatsinks and/or Water Coolers I should get to keep my system as cool as possible ^^ .

I might hold on buying the fata1ity soundcard since I won't be using speakers often, only headphones for gaming haha.  

Please advise on replacable, less costly parts that I could get and how I can limit spending. Also if possible, please give me websites where I could probably get these for cheaper prices, I've been using only newegg.

Your link to your newegg wish list does not work.
The evga 8800GTS-512-G92 is $274.99 after a $30 rebate. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

The best cooler in my opinion is the thermalright ultra 120 extreme. $55.99 at www.heatsinkfactory.com http://www.heatsinkfactory.com/thermalright-ultra-120-e... you will want a fan for it also.

A less expensive option is the arctic cooling freezer 7 pro $26.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

https://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion/WishList/MySavedWi...


I apologize. Hopefully this link will work.

Thanks for the advice on the arctic cooling freezer 7 pro. I think i'll be getting that for my system!

Seems like the link still doesnt work. I'll post it individually.

CASE:
Thermaltake Armor Series VA8000BWS Black Aluminum / Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail

$134.99


MOBO :
GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX All Solid Capacitor Intel Motherboard - Retail

$89.99


VIDEO
EVGA 512-P3-N841-AR GeForce 8800GTS (G92) 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail

274.99 after rebate

CPU
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80570E8400 - Retail

239.99 but out of stock... anyone know where else I can get this?

Memory/ram
CORSAIR 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X4096-6400C5 - Retail
74.99 after 40$ rebate

HD
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3500630AS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

109.99 $


Keyboard
Logitech G15 2-Tone USB Wired Standard Gaming Keyboard - Retail

89.99

Monitor
SAMSUNG 226BW Black 22" 2 ms (GTG) DVI Widescreen LCD Monitor - Retail

269.99 after rebate

Mouse
Logitech G5 2-Tone 7 Buttons 1 x Wheel USB Laser Mouse - Retail

44.99



I might get the x-fi extreme gamer fata1ity for 135.99 if i feel the need to.
Should I get the 64 bit vista home prem? or should i go for XP 64-bit


My main questions are whether the parts I picked are really worth the price and if I could find other alternatives such as the memory/ram , just about everything... Are there other websites where I could also order these parts for lesser prices?

Lastly, is this a good build for a gaming system? Anything I should switch?


The total price for this system not including shipping , cpu cooler/heatsink is 1330$ . also not including the vista and x-fata1ity


thanks for all help!

what gets me angry is how newegg prices change all the time... why

I saw vista home premium upgrade at Costco for $85. Send microsoft $10 and you also get the 64 bit dvd. There is a way to use the upgrade disk to get a retail install(vs. oem). If you are eligible, there are academic discounted prices for students. I see no sense in investing in XP, particularly the 64 bit version. Microsoft is putting it's development dollars into Vista, not XP.

I once had the logitech G15 keyboard. It worked fine, but I could not see the illuminated keys properly, even at high illumination. If you can, go to a local store and test out the feel of the keyboards and mice before ordering.