Building a Game Rig without Overkill?

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Volume

2[H]4U
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Jan 17, 2004
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Alright I'm rewriting my post completely as I previewed it and it looked like a text nightmare. So, this is hopefully more coherent...

Basically, I am building a gaming system but do not want to go overboard on the hardware.

We can have an endless flamewar on whether Intel or AMD is the best choice, using benchmarks and such, but I'm more worried about having a CPU that will play my video games without stuttering madly, rather than a benchmark comparison (which to me is arbitrary). I'd rather have your personal experience than a 3D Mark score ;)

I'd like to spend no more than about $700 (whether that's wishful thinking is up to you to tell me) on the CPU, Motherboard, Video Card, and Power Supply. Consider the remaining hardware (case, fan, DVD-RW, etc.) non-essential or already owned.

My goal is to have a system that will play smoothly, with overclocking as a last desperate resort for whatever newer games come out. Also, it would be a plus to have a future-proof socket on the board UNLESS I can get said board for less than $90. I will be playing at 1680x1050 resolution.

Examples of games I'm interested in running:
Source engine (even my laptop runs this without trouble, so no worries there)
Crysis on above-medium settings (sure not for the gameplay)
Command and Conquer 3
Call of Duty 4, 5
Bioshock
Fallout 3

Thanks for putting up with this lengthy post, I look forward to your input...
 
1. Never mention futureproofing. Hell, X58 isn't a "futureproof" socket type since there could be a move to 1166.

CPU - Q6600 (as much as I'd like to recommend the Q9550, $100 premium is still not worth it over the Q66) $190 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115017
Mobo - Gigabyte P45 UD3R $120-$15MIR http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128359
Mobo - ASUS P5Q Pro $120-$15MIR http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131299
Video Card - What resolution monitor?
PSU - Corsair 520HX $110-$20MIR http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139001&Tpk=520hx
PSU - Corsair 620HX $160-$30MIR http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139002&Tpk=620hx
PSU - Silverstone ST60F $105-$25MIR http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817163109&Tpk=st60f
PSU - Silverstone ST70F $125-$25MIR http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817256045&Tpk=st70f
PSU - Antec NeoPower 550 $60 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817103941
 
OP updated with resolution. 1680x1050 I was thinking of getting a 4870 for $250

Do you suppose the 550w Antec PSU will be enough for some minor CPU + GPU overclocking down the road? I ask this with the assumption that wattage is a major factor.

EDIT:
With your suggestions in mind, I have compiled the following:
ASUS Radeon HD 4870 1GB GDDR5
Antec NeoPower 550 550W
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500)
GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz

Subtotal $690

What do you think? And the 1066 RAM is like $5-10 more than the 800 version, so I might as well... right? I do feel comfortable going with the LGA775 socket, as Intel still has quite powerful quad-core chips that I could upgrade to down the road if need be.
 
I'm not a fan of ATI myself from dealing with my 4850s so my recommendation would be a GTX260 216 as you can find them for reasonable prices $220-$230AR right now http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1385878

Alternatively if you want to pay less and possibly run FO3 on less than max settings, you can opt for a 9800GTX+ or 4850. The rest of the games minus Crysis (very playable on High @ 1440*900) will/should run the rest of the games on full eye-candy @ 1680. The going price is around $130-$140 AR.

Yes the 550 will be enough.
 
lowteckh said:
I'm not a fan of ATI myself from dealing with my 4850s so my recommendation would be a GTX260 216 as you can find them for reasonable prices $220-$230AR right now http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1385878

Alternatively if you want to pay less and possibly run FO3 on less than max settings, you can opt for a 9800GTX+ or 4850. The rest of the games minus Crysis (very playable on High @ 1440*900) will/should run the rest of the games on full eye-candy @ 1680. The going price is around $130-$140 AR.

Yes the 550 will be enough, more than enough.
Click to expand...

I'm pretty set on the video card manufacturer to be honest, but I will research some more. Also, please take a look at my post above, I updated it with a build.
 
=.=" You keep editing, can't keep up...

I'd suggest going with the P5Q Pro since that is Crossfire compatible as well and at a lower price point with free shipping.
 
lowteckh said:
=.=" You keep editing, can't keep up...

I'd suggest going with the P5Q Pro since that is Crossfire compatible as well and at a lower price point with free shipping.
Click to expand...

Yeah I'm a total edit ninja :D
I should also note that I have no desire to spend money on two video cards, so Crossfire is not a concern. But, I will research the motherboards further. It's just a shame that I can't seem to find a stable, reputable Intel board for under $100.
 
You're looking into P43 for under $100. Don't skimp on the board, it'll be one of the worst decisions you'll be making. $105 AR and free shipping for the 2 mentioned boards isn't bad (there are others, just don't wanna go dig up Danny's mobo list...). To note, I've received 4/4 or 5/5 of my ASUS rebates all done within the past half year.
 
Fair enough, makes sense. I guess my taste for Lian-Li cases never diminished either, so I'm paying another $110 in that department.
 
Volume said:
Fair enough, makes sense. I guess my taste for Lian-Li cases never diminished either, so I'm paying another $110 in that department.
Click to expand...

Which Lian Li case? OH and the aforementioned mobo list:

Gigabyte GA-EP43-DS3L Intel P43 Motherboard - $80
MSI Neo3-F Intel P43 Motherboard - $85
MSI P45 Neo3-FR Intel P45 Motherboard - $110
Asus P5Q Pro Intel P45 Motherboard - $120
Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R Intel P45 Motherboard - $120
Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P Intel P45 Motherboard - $135
DFI Lanparty DK X38-T2R Intel X38 Motherboard - $150
Asus P5E Deluxe Intel X48 Motherboard - $220
DFI Lanparty DK X48-T2R Intel X48 Motherboard - $220
Gigabyte GA-EX48-DS4 Intel X48 Motherboard - $225

Just to help you out: All of these motherboards have PCI-E 2.0 which may be useful for future GPU upgrades. If you don't need RAID, more than 6 SATA ports and only need semi-decent overclocking, check out the DS3L. If you need 8 SATA ports, RAID, 4 PCI slots, and legacy ports, then get the Neo3-Fr. If you need 8 SATA ports but want RAID, firewire, a second gigabit port, support for 16GB of RAM, optional eSATA, and excellent overclocks, then get the UD3R. If you like the UD3R but want a second PCI-E x16 slot and x8/x8 Crossfire support, then get the UD3P. If you like the UD3P but want an onboard pre-installed fast booting Linux setup and don't need a second gigabit port, then get the Asus P5Q Pro. If you want a motherboard with excellent overclocking capabilities above all else (feature wise), go with the UD3P. If you want Crossfire with full x16/x16 bandwidth, get the Lanparty DK X38. If you have cash to burn, need x16/x16 Crossfire, and don't give a absolute damn about getting the most value for your money, get the Asus, DFI, or Gigabyte X48 motherboards. Do note that the Asus website can be slow sometimes.
 
Should mention. There's a combo deal with the Q6600 and Gigabyte UD3P. So buying those together pretty much gets you the UD3P at the cost of the UD3R.
 
Vorith said:
Should mention. There's a combo deal with the Q6600 and Gigabyte UD3P. So buying those together pretty much gets you the UD3P at the cost of the UD3R.
Click to expand...

Great! Thanks for letting me know.

I now have that combo in my cart and ready to buy it. The CPU+Mobo combo is at a subtotal of $310, with a $30MIR as well. Let me know if it's a good deal, and I'll snag it tonight!
 
Not a bad deal, not an insane deal either but money saved is still money saved.
 
lowteckh said:
Not a bad deal, not an insane deal either but money saved is still money saved.
Click to expand...

Yeah $15 is kinda "meh" but it'll buy me a pack of Red Bull. I've read some reviews on the board and I'm impressed.

Also, I've been told that for my resolution a 9800GTX+ 512MB is still actually a good card, especially for the $170 it costs. What do you think? Or would the $250 4870 1GB be that drastically different at that same resolution?
 
Get one of the $200 (512MB) HD4870 or GTX 260 (Core 192) cards instead. They offer better performance for only a little bit more money.
 
1GB 4870s are $210 AR and 216SPs are $220AR now.

Or settle for a 4850 for just $130AR, $145 before for equal performance to the 9800GTX+
 
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