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New to building -- need orientation

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Killraine   09-09-2008 at 04:04:20 AM

Hello all,

I grew up in a mac family and am now at the point where I am able to spend the money on a decent gaming computer. That being said, I know little to nothing about building a gaming computer.

I am hoping to build a computer to work with the 23" HD Apple Cinematic Display that I already own.

For a budget, I was hoping to spend around $600, but I am willing to go higher if it is necessary or if it would elongate the "lifetime" of the computer, ie. how long it can keep up with the newer games.

Hopefully, someone can guide me in the right direction or at least to a starting point.

Thank you for any help you can give.

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emp   09-09-2008 at 04:35:16 AM
- 0 +

EDIT: I just checked out that display, and even though it's great, you will need to spend more on graphics if you wish to make it run to it's fullest. Get two of the HD 4850 I am listing below to run in crossfire mode and you'll be set.

 

DFI LANPARTY DK X38-T2R LGA 775 Intel X38 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813136045

 

Intel Pentium E5200 Wolfdale 2.5GHz 2MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819116072

 

(2x) SAPPHIRE 100245L Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814102770

 

G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820231098

 

PC Power & Cooling S75QB 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI NVIDIA SLI Certified (Dual 8800 GTX and below) CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Retail

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817703009

 

COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UB Black /Blue Aluminum Bezel , SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811119047

 

Western Digital Caviar SE WD3200AAJS 320GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822136098

 

SAMSUNG Black 22X DVD+R 22X DVD-R 16X DVD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 22X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe - OEM

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827151173

 

ZEROtherm Nirvana NV120 120mm 2-ball UFO Bearing / Transparent CPU Cooler - Retail

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] %20nirvana

 

Total is around $900, but the kind of display you want to use needs A LOT of graphical horsepower to run.

 

Another less expensive option (albeit far less powerful, and might have to lower some settings in a few highly demanding games) would be the same build except with a different motherboard, graphics card, and power supply:

 

GIGABYTE GA-EP35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] -EP35-dS3l

 

VisionTek 900244 Radeon HD 4870 512MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814129113

 

CORSAIR CMPSU-450VX 450W ATX12V V2.2 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Retail

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817139003

 

Total with this setup is around $710, but is considerably less powerful than the above.


Message edited by emp on 09-09-2008 at 04:50:05 AM
------------------------------ Anxiously awaiting the Hydra 100 and the Hydra Engine...
www.lucidlogix.com
 Reply to emp
chris312   09-09-2008 at 05:32:07 AM
- 0 +

I really don't think a dual-card configuration is necessary for 1920x1200. Maybe for 2560x1600...

------------------------------ How to future-proof your computer: Indefinitely postpone buying it.
 Reply to chris312
emp   09-09-2008 at 05:43:56 AM
- 0 +

For 2560x1600 you'd need more than just one HD 4870 X2...

------------------------------ Anxiously awaiting the Hydra 100 and the Hydra Engine...
www.lucidlogix.com
 Reply to emp
dirtmountain   09-09-2008 at 06:09:55 AM
- 0 +

Try this case from www.buy.com, great price and free shipping $50
http://www.buy.com/prod/antec-thre [...] 06549.html
Motherboard - P45 with crossfire at 8x/8x when you can add the 2nd card Foxconn P45 $110 after rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813186148
CPU - E8400 $170
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819115037
Power supply - OCZ StealthStream 600w can handle 2 HD4850s in crossfire $55 after rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817341010
RAM - 2x1 GB DDR2 800 1.8v OCZ Gold $18 after rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820227124
Hard Drive - Western Digital 640GB SATA $85
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822136218
DVD Burner - Liteon SATA $23
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827106100
GPU - HD4850 $150 after rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814102770

$661 after rebates and before shipping, no OS. You keep eventual crossfire alive with the 4850
you could get a cheaper, smaller hard drive, and get the E7200 or E7300 and make budget


Message edited by dirtmountain on 09-09-2008 at 06:11:47 AM
Reply to dirtmountain
Killraine   09-09-2008 at 08:55:49 PM
- 0 +

Thanks a lot for the quick help. It looks like I'll probably need to spend a bit more than I originally thought.

I would like to bump this thread to see if anyone else has any input on what you recommended before I whip out the old Visa.

Also, is Newegg generally used as the cheapest and most reliable place to get hardware? Or is it worth it to look into the smaller names to try and grab a cheaper price?

Reply to Killraine
emp   09-09-2008 at 09:01:36 PM
- 0 +

There's nothing wrong with looking for better deals on other sites, however newegg usually has the best deals or some of the best deals with the best customer support in case something happens to arrive DOA.

------------------------------ Anxiously awaiting the Hydra 100 and the Hydra Engine...
www.lucidlogix.com
 Reply to emp
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