New Gaming Rig

[Random0808]

Ok, so i'm looking to build a gaming rig. Ive never built before, but ive been an enthusiast for a couple of years now.

Right, so my budget is about $1000

If anyone could use that, and possibly make a list of parts for me, that would be awesome

Basically though, it must have:

- Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600
- A 320gb or larger HDD
- 4gb Ram or more (must be good for OC'ing)
- Motherboard with good OC capability
- Antec Nine Hundred
- A graphics card capable of playing Crysis, Gears of War, Unreal Tournament III (basically most new-ish shooters, and future proof for say 2 years)
- Monitor

Any thing else that you can get that still stays within my $1000 budget (budget excludes shipping)

Thanks in advance

 

[Random0808]

Oh yeah, and an OS, preferably Vista Home Premium 64-bit, and i dont mind if its a system builders version or not

Im also going to need aftermarket cpu and gpu fans/heatsinks

Thanks again

 

[xthekidx]

Here is one I put together a few days ago.

http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=14507967

Some Notes:

$75 back after MIR
CPU and Motherboard can be combo'd for $15 off
$27 approximately for shipping
With shipping total is $963, after rebates $888.
750W PSU allows for 2 HD 4870's in crossfire later on. G.Skill PI Black Ram can be overclocked to 1066 easily. S1283 Dark Knight cooler allows for good overclocking of E8400. Q6600 can be swapped in for the E8400 for $30 more, and can be included in the Motherboard/CPU combo.

If you wanted to spend the rest of your budget, you could get the 1gb version of the HD 4870 and another 4gb kit of ram for a total of 8gb. That ram is also overclockable too, so there is no reason to spend the extra on 1066mhz ram.

 

[Random0808]

Thanks a lot....yeah i think i will go with the 1gb HD 4870, and the Q6600

 

[Random0808]

I'd still like more options though, so if anyone else wants to give it a try, that would be cool

 

[xthekidx]

Want another option huh? Ok...How about PII build?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.159210
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.155232
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119137
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231209
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116488
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136153
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233024

That is probably a stronger build than that first one I showed you, PII 940 performs about equally with Q9400, and overclocks well. Total comes to $1010, with $10 rebate comes to $1000. I personally think the CM 690 is a better case than the Antec 900, and cheaper. Shipping for that system would be $12 because the CM 690 has free shipping, saving you like $40 over the Antec 900. Downside is that that PSU wouldn't support 2 video cards in xfire, although it is a quality PSU.

 

[Random0808]

That looks like a nice build

At the moment though, I'm really unsure about AMD processors, although the PII looks good. I also didnt want to go over $200 on a processor, which is why the Q6600 was perfect. I think I wanna stick with Intel for my first build

The coolermaster case is cool, but ive already gone with a case now
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811166030
The extra cooling options this case provides, along with the ones already there really got my attention, and the price was a big plus

This is the build ive come up with, along with your suggestions....if it looks a lil wrong to you though, just make more suggestions and point me in a better direction ok

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811166030
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128358
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102801
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341011
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115017
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231209
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136298
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136153
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116488
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233024

Build comes to $1005.90 (then there's about $50 worth of MIR's) so $955.90

I also plan to add about 2 80mm case fans (or 120mm if they'll fit)

that will probably be another $30-$40 tops, so still under budget

Quick question....I wanna get the Q6600 up to about 3.6ghz on air...is that cooling option going to be good enough to do that, and well, is the setup i plan to get gonna cut it?

 

[Random0808]

Oh yeah, dont worry about shipping costs....I live in the caribbean, so Im having them shipped to Florida, and then here....so yeah, shipping isnt a factor in my budget

And another thing that i totally forgot about.... A MONITOR!! I wanted a decent 22" for no more than $170....but that also doesnt factor into my budget, so if you could find one of those for me too, that would be awesome

Thanks again

 

[xthekidx]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824254035
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009145

 

[Random0808]

Thanks dude

Umm, which one would you say is best?

This system needs to last me 3 years (i mean, i will upgrade certain parts like the GPU and whatever), but the core parts of the system i want to last me 3 years, 2 at a minimum. I would really like an i7 system, but i dont have the money for that right now, so quad core seems the way to go

I really feel like I'm spoilt for choice, but then when i narrow it down to quality components, im not spoilt at all


MORE OPTIONS PLEASE!!

xthekidx - you've been great help dont stop now

 

[xthekidx]

The acer is probably a better quality. Acer's are known for giving you a lot for what you pay. The Hanns G is the cheapest 22" that I have seen, but then again, there is a reason its the cheapest :/ I would go with the Acer

 

[xthekidx]

For your hard drive, Spend $10 more and get the Caviar Black 640Gb WD6401AALS. It has faster read/write speeds and will be worth the cost difference I think.

 

[Random0808]

Ok, well the Acer it is then....and sure, i'll go with the caviar black 640g hard drive

Thanks again

So now, im kinda torn for some reason, so I really need advice;
Q6600 or PII? (take OC'ing into account) which one is best for a first time OC'er?

 

[xthekidx]

PII will probably give you more performance for your money. Clock for clock, the Q6600 is a little bit faster, but the PII 940 can be pushed to higher clock speeds (~4.0ghz on air) than the Q6600.

For a first time OC'er, I cannot speak to the degree of difficulty AMD processors have for OC'ing, but the Q6600 is pretty easy to overclock, all Core 2 processors are.

I would be very tempted by PII at your price-point.

 

[xthekidx]

Someone else offer an opinion here, what do other people think?

 

[Random0808]

Alright, thanks dude

Yeah, where is everyone else lol

 

[Random0808]

Quick question "kid", is it the PII X4 940 that you recommend, or the 920?

 

[xthekidx]

940

 

[Random0808]

alright...imma have to take a quick look at that PII build you already did then

 

[jalpaugh1978]

Ok, well the Acer it is then

I just got that same monitor about a week ago and I can say you won't be disappointed

 

[jalpaugh1978]

I'm also looking to build within the next couple of weeks and your build looks a lot like want I've been looking into. The only differences are the motherboard, PSU, and GPU. I too am going with a Gigabyte MOBO, the UD3R to be exact. I don't care about running two GPU's so that board is perfect for me. And since I tend to lean more towards nVidia then ATI, I will be going with an EVGA GTX260 Superclocked version. As far as PSU goes, it's kind of a toss-up for me: Either the Corsair 650TX or that same PC P&C that you are looking at but in black not red

 

[Random0808]

Ahh cool...yeah im still really thinking about the q6600 vs PII.... and yeah, i dont think im gna SLI or XFire, so the UDR3 might be a good idea for me if i go Intel on this build...and can u give me a link to the black PC P&C you're talking about

Thanks for the heads up on the monitor btw

 

[Random0808]

ok, for some reason i have a sneaky suspicion that the title of my thread is turning people off, so im going to start a new thread :S