1500$+ Gaming PC

[url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202][/url]Hi ya'll, im pretty new to buildin a comp, need some hints and tips if you got any for me, thanks


APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Month from now

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: gaming, gaming, gaming, surrrrfing the internet? gaming.... gaming, what else is to say?

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Any suggestions would be appreciative!!! im not sure if a keyboard, mouse need diff ports or do they come with every computer, moniters come compatible with all computers too or do they differ in ports?

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: newegg.com, tigerdirect.com

PARTS PREFERENCES: most likely will use a intel i7 920 with a X58 MB, any suggestions are appreciated

MONITOR RESOLUTION: the bigger the better? <-- hehe not sure on this part, any pictures or differences between the resolutions

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: im new to building a computer but i'd want to fit it with water cooling, as its quiter and more efficient


Some parts i thought of using

Intel i7 920

ASUS P6T V2

Antec 1200

Any suggestions would be appreciated, i was reading around the articles and i found this
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/rade [...] 70-13.html

As it suggests, the Radeon 7700 is better than the GTX 280, should i go for the graphics cards? i was plannin on GTX 260 but this seems much better and cheaper, can the MB support crossfire? or is it just better to stick to the GTX 260 or get something better like the GTX 280, things ill be looking for is like any bugs, errors these cards might have, also does Windows and Vista make any difference in graphics? i do belive windows 64 exists?

Yes, well any help would be appreciated and you can mention any items which u think might better suit my needs, thanks

Let's try again.

$219 X3 720 + GA-MA790X-UD4P
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.190734

(or E8400+GA-EP45-UD3P for $167+$115)

4GB DDR2-800 G.Skill $60
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820231209

Antec 300 $55
WD 1TB $100
Vista Home Premium 64-bit OEM SP1 $100

So far $534. You still have $966 for monitor, PSU, graphics, mouse, keyboard, speakers. Let's say $166 for mouse/keyboard/speakers together.

You need a monitor, PSU, video card for $800 total.

Acer H243Hbmid 24" 2ms(GTG) HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor $230
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6824009167
Corsair 750TX $100
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] &Tpk=750tx

$470 left for graphics.

You have two very good options iMO:
BFG 285 $335 (and you can upgrade the case to Antec 1200 with the rest)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814130446

Or two HD 4890 cards for $230 each:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814150359

The GTX 285 is better than the HD 4890, but not by much. Two HD 4890 working together will be WAY better than a single GTX 285. However, you can't have the Antec 1200 and those two cards, it's just too much for the budget. Maybe if you use Windows 7 RC (free download) instead of Vista...

and as i mentioned up there, there was an article that said the Radeon HD 7700 doubled can out perform a single Radeon 4890, and the GTX 280, question is, is if i can run crossfire with the P6T V2, and if theres any difference between the radeon and gtx, such as some may have some issues and such.

When you say Radeon 7700, do you mean HD 4770?

Yes you can run Crossfire with the P6T V2.

Two HD 4770 cards can beat a GTX 280 or a HD 4890, yes. Good bang for the buck there.

I wouldn't bother with a sound card yet. Try the integrated audio first. Most people are happy with it and never bother buying a sound card. You can easily add it later.
If you do buy one, check out HT Omega and Auzentech. They have better drivers than Creative X-Fi AFAIK.

This i7 build includes two factory over clocked gtx 260's.

You want to make sure you flash to the latest bios with that board, and then afterwards download the latest drivers for it.

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/g [...] ,7463.html <--- Gigabyte: Enable SLI On X58 Boards

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811119137 $74.99
COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817139006 $119.99 ($99.99 after $20.00 Mail-In Rebate) Free Shipping*
CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - Retail

http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=MB-EX58U3R $185.99 | $170.99 after rebate Free Ground Shipping
GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD3R Core i7/ Intel X58/ DDR3/ CrossFireX/ A&GbE/ ATX Motherboard

http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=I7-920 $265.99 Free Ground Shipping
Intel Core i7 Processor i7-920 2.66GHz 8MB LGA1366 CPU, OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835185093 $36.99 Free Shipping*
Scythe MUGEN-2 SCMG-2000 120mm Sleeve CPU Cooler - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835154003 $4.99
Tuniq TX-2 Cooling Thermal Compound - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814127430 $174.99 ($154.99 after $20.00 Mail-In Rebate) Free Shipping*
MSI N260GTX-T2D896-OCv4 GeForce GTX 260 896MB 448-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814127430 $174.99 ($154.99 after $20.00 Mail-In Rebate) Free Shipping*
MSI N260GTX-T2D896-OCv4 GeForce GTX 260 896MB 448-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820227381 $94.99 ($74.99 after $20.00 Mail-In Rebate) Free Shipping*
OCZ Platinum 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
Free OCZ 8GB flash drive w/ purchase, while supplies last

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827118030 $25.99 Free Shipping*
Sony Optiarc Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA DVD/CD Rewritable Drive - OEM | New 24X burner from Sony Optiarc

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.186064 Combo Discount: -$20.00 Combo Price: $154.98
Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Hard Drive - OEM
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit for System Builders - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6824236050 $149.99 ($129.99 after $20.00 Mail-In Rebate) Free Shipping*
ASUS VW224U Black 22" 2ms(GTG) Widescreen LCD Monitor w/ HDCP Support 300 cd/m2 1000:1 (ASCR 5000:1) Built in Speakers - Retail

Total: $1,464.87 | $1,349.87 w/mail in rebates

is the Coolermaster more worth it than the antec 1200? sorry i am kinda new.... what is the 120mm fan for? i was hoping to put in water cooling, does that mean i should still put in some air cooling?

hmm, i do find the antec 1200 much sexier...can i always change the blue led lights to green? if thats even possible, do the cases come with built in LED lights?

Vista 64 SP1 is where it's at these days. It's a entirely new Vista...not to mention it beats the crap out of XP SP3 for gaming these days....DX10 and more fps with the newer games. Google it. Even the updates these days favor Vista over XP. You would be crazy not to use Vista 64 SP1 if you plan on gaming. Later on move over to Windows 7...but for gaming these days XP is deadsville.

This is an i7 build with a factory overclocked 4890 (the fastest single graphics card ((You only need 2 if you get a 30" monitor))). Also will you be overclocking? If you won't be then you don't need a cpu cooler and compound.

CPU - Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819115202
$280

RAM - OCZ Platinum 6GB DDR3 1600 (Is 6GB too much or too little?)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 820227381&
$90 ($20 MIR)

MB - Asus P6T SE
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813131386
$210

GPUs -

Sapphire Radeon HD 4890 1GB OC Edition
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814102831
$260 ($20 MIR) <<-- Prices are dropping

Case - Antec 1200
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] tec%201200
$180

CPU Cooler (You only need this if you are going to overclock) - ZALMAN CNPS9900LED 120mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835118046
$75

PSU - CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] air%20750W
$120 ($20 MIR)

DVD - LG Black 22X
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827136152
$25

Compound - ARCTIC COOLING MX-2 Thermal Compound
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835186020
$8

HD - Samsung Spinpoint F1 HD102UJ 1TB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822152101
$80

Total - 1268 ($60 MIR)

Ways to save money:
Get an Antec 900 or 300. (With a 300 it will cost $130 less while a 900 is $80 less.)

Do you need an OS? If so then Vista Home Premium 64-Bit OEM for System Builders is $100.

Eh, i am new-ish...so i guess ill go with air for now, if anything i can most likely switch to water if its a big deal, any articles on the i7's idle/load temps ?

what it says on the box, it's made of pure copper not an alloy or whatever.

but to be honest for a bit more either get a coolermaster v8 or drop down to an akasa nero or xigmatek dark knight.

If you go up top to these forums there's a temp guide under the over clocking forum for cpu's. Also that Xigmatek HS paired with decent thermal compound like Arctic Cooling MX-2, Arctic Silver 5, Tuniq or OCZ Freeze will work just fine for good clocks along with a case that has decent cooling. That Antec 1200 your looking at is a good one, and about the best of them all for cooling/airflow is the Cooler Master haf for $150 @ newegg.

http://www.tomshardware.com/review [...] ,2268.html <---check this article out.