First time gaming build...help appreciated

[golemofwill]

Hail Folks...


This is my first attempt building a system for gaming, just in time for the DarkFall release, and this is what I've come up with. If you have any recommendations or happen to see any compatibility issues...holla. Thanks

Case: Antec 900 case
PSU: Coolmax CUG 700w
HD: Seagate barracuda 500mb
Mem:Crucial Ballistix 2gb 1800 ddr3
GC: Saphire 4850 x2
MB: Asus P5Q3
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 3ghz
CPU Cooler: Zalman Cnps9700
Moniter: Viewsonic 19" WS LCD
Keyboard: Saitek Pz30au Eclipse
Mouse: Razer Deathadder
OS: Windows Vista 64

 

[antiacid]

IMO, go for a ddr2 board like the p5q pro and switch out that 4850x2 for either a gtx260+ or a 4870 1gig. With the money saved, you can afford 4gig of ddr2 ram and a 22inch ws lcd.

For the hdd, I'd personally go for a WD 640gig black because it is faster and I don't like seagate drives so much nowadays.

 

[shortstuff_mt]

What's your budget? I agree on going with DDR2 instead of DDR3 (64-bit Vista with 2GB of RAM!?). Actually, you might be able to squeeze an i7 build in. Let us know what your budget is and where you're planning on buying parts, and we'll help you maximize your performance for the $ spent.

 

[runmymouth]

Drop in 8 gigs of DDR2 800 for that price because with 8 gigs you can turn off page filing, which is a far more noticeable increase in speed compared with running 2 gigs of ram with vista. What games are you going to be playing? 4870 might be a better choice for current games than the 4850x2 becuase there is still not enough support crossfire or sli compared to single card gpu's. Upgrade the monitor to 22" imo also, at 19" you won't notice the nice video card as much.

 

[golemofwill]

I have $1500 with which to build a system that will be dedicated to playing Age of Conan and Darkfall. Its likely I will just purchase everything from newegg or its ilk. After a reprisal with your recommendations in mind here is the revised build:

Case: Antec 900
PSU: Coolmax CUG 700w
HD: WD RE3 WD 750gb
MB: Asus P5Q pro
Mem: Crucial Ballistix Tracer ddr2 1066 (a total of 8gb)
CPU: Intel core 2Duo E8400 3ghz
CPU Cooler: Zalman CNPS9700
GPU: Saphire 4870 1gb (get another when better supported)
Keyboard: Saitek Pz30au Eclipse
Mouse: Razer Deathadder
Monitor: ViewSonic 22" WS
OS: Windows Vista 64 home/XP 64 prof.

If you have an opinion about OS...whether Opengl support is important...lemme know. This build surpasses my budget by about $100. Thanks for the help thus far.

 

[xthekidx]

An i7 will give you a lot more for the same price. Here is something I put together for people looking at an i7 on a budget, it doesn't include a monitor. Those parts have $55 MIR, and the motherboard and CPU can be combo'd to save $30. You could then swap out the case for the Antec 900 or the CoolerMaster 690 and still have enough for your monitor/keyboard/mouse.
http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=10694326

 

[jyjjy]

If you are spending that much money it would be a shame not to go for an i7 system.

 

[xthekidx]

WOW the price on that G. Skill ram just skyrocketed $220 now, was $145. Look at this ram then for that i7 build if you decide to go that route:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227365

 

[xthekidx]

Look at this combo deal with that ram and a GTX 260 core 216, something you might want to think about
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.154863

 

[golemofwill]

Ok....so now for an i7 revision:

Case: Antec 300
PSU: Coolmax CUG 700W
MB: Asus P6T LGA 1366
CPU: Intel i7 920 Nehalim 2.66ghz
CPU Cooler: Zalman CNPS9700
GPU: Saphire 4870 512mb
HD: WD Caviar Black 640gb
MEM: OCZ Gold 6gb ddr3 1600
OS: Windows Vista 64 Home
Keyboard: Saitek Standard Eclipse
Mouse: Razer Deathadder
Monitor: ViewSonic 22" WS
For a total of $1576 w/tax and shipping...lil' over budget..

and again if you notice any issues with the build...speak up...thanks again

 

[Akebono 98]

WOW the price on that G. Skill ram just skyrocketed $220 now, was $145. Look at this ram then for that i7 build if you decide to go that route:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227365

@xthekidx: No doubt, in part due to your many recommendations driving up demand for this product... which in turn has not gone unnoticed by the marketplace!

 

[golemofwill]

The MB doesn't appear to support crossfire...so no augmenting with a second GPU later...bummer

 

[xthekidx]

That motherboard supports xfire and sli

 

[golemofwill]

Is that so...this is the build then, thank you folks...a special thanx to the kid