Need advice on good gaming pc

[Mr_KnowNothing]

Hey guys, I've been browsing these forums for awhile because I'm looking to set up a new computer specifically for gaming. Some of the games I intend to be playing are Crysis and Supreme Commander, so I need something pretty decent. What I've learnt sofar is not to buy the real new hardware because of the priceerformance comparison next to the older models. Quality is really important, but I don't want to waste money.

I'll be buying my PC parts from Umart, because of the proximaty to where I live and I hear it is quite cheap. Assembling it at home.

This is what I have selected sofar. What follows came to Aus$3k. I'd be ok spending Aus$4k and don't really wanna go higher than that

Processor: Intel Core i7 940 Processor LGA1366 2.93GHz 8MB Cache CPU
(I hear 920 would suffice, what are your thoughts?)

Mobo: eVGA 132-YW-E178-A1 780i SLI 1333FSB 1066MHz SATAII RAID
(I randomly chose this one, suggestions?)

Ram: 2 x OCZ DDR2 8G(2x4G)PC6400 800Mhz Platinum
(too much?)

Harddrive: Samsung 250G 7200RPM SATAII
(I don't need anything big, it's for gaming)

Graphics: XFX GTX280 280GTX 1GB 602/2210Mhz
(will I need another? should I go for something else to save money?)

Soundcard: what would be good for gaming?

cooling: Something decent

Speakers: any suggestions? I don't need anything fancy at all. I'll be using headphones most of the time

Monitor: I'd say 21-24 inch would be nice. Any brand suggestions?
DVD: -
Case: -
Power supply: -


You'll notice I left a lot of blanks and questions hehe. I really don't know that much about computer part models, comparisons or their compatability. I'll keep browsing to learn more. When I get this computer I do plan on upgrading parts every few years to play the up to date games.
As I said, this computer will be specifically for gaming alone (Got laptop and external hd for videos and work).

 

[alcattle]

The CPU won't work with that MB or RAM. You need an X58 board, not sure if Nvidia has a I7 chipset yet.
I7 only use DDR3 with a lower voltage than the 775 RAM DDR2/3.
Figure out those two and we can proceed from there.

 

[sharken]

Of course get the 920, they are all the same chip, Check this out, buy a 920 go into bios change BCLK from 133 to 145 or so, WOW same clock as 940, on same chip lol oh wait... unless you like to pay them 250 more to do that for you lol

 

[uniqueflame]

Of course get the 920, they are all the same chip, Check this out, buy a 920 go into bios change BCLK from 133 to 145 or so, WOW same clock as 940, on same chip lol oh wait... unless you like to pay them 250 more to do that for you lol

+1


I'm an amateur at building PC's but I think for gaming it's Quality > Quantity, would you really need 8 GB to play Crysis? Correct me if I'm wrong

 

[sharken]

People barely use 4 lol, seen a post other night someone choosing a mobo, said one board will hold 24gb of memory though, LMFAO

 

[uniqueflame]

People barely use 4 lol, seen a post other night someone choosing a mobo, said one board will hold 24gb of memory though, LMFAO

...24gb?... overkill much?

@Mr. KnowNot

800Mhz? As I said before Quality > Quantity, get like a 4gb 1066mhz DDR2, or a 1333mhz DDR3 (DDR3 is a bit expensive but looking at what you're buying I don't think the budget is too much of your problem)

 

[Mr_KnowNothing]

Ok thanks for that

This is the new list of items.

Processor: Intel Core i7 920 Processor LGA1366 2.66GHz 8MB Cache CPU

Mobo: Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD5 X58+ICH10R QPI 6.4GT/s DDR3 2000

HD: Seagate SATAII NCQ 500GB 7200RPM 32m Cache(ST3500320AS)
(should I get something that is 10000RPM?)

RAM: OCZ 3G(3x1G) DDR3 10666 Platinum

Graphics: XFX GTX280 280GTX 1GB 602/2210Mhz

This comes to a total of AUS$2260

Also need:

Soundcard: what would be good for gaming?

cooling: Something decent

Power supply: ?

any more input?

 

[uniqueflame]

I personally got the Sonata III Mid-Tower and is starting to regret it, if you want it for gaming, go for something roomy so you can put fans in (if you want to overclock) something like Antec 300 should be suffice (again, correct me if I'm wrong)

For cooling, are you overclocking?

and power supply, are you planning on have some headroom for future upgrades? SLI? overclocking?

For sound card, I'm stuck at a bit of a dead end too, so I can't help you there

 

[Mr_KnowNothing]

yeah for sound card im looking at this: Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer Fatal1ty Professional Series

Yes I'll be overclocking, and I plan on upgrading the parts every few years.