Building a Gaming PC - need guidance!

G

g0t-h4x?

n00b
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Apr 17, 2005
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Hi guys, first post here. Apologies if it's in the wrong place.

I've got about a $4000 budget that I'm planning to spend on a flatout gaming PC. The rig I have now had done me good service until now, but I'm going to turn it into a server and get myself a gaming rig. Problem is, I'm more or less hopelessly lost as to what the current hardware components are, good or bad. (Hey, I'm still living with a GeForce 2 GTS :p)

So, if you guys could put together some kinds list of components for a gaming PC that would be great. I want to go pretty hardcore on the GFX card (but I'd rather steer away from any ones that need more power than the internal power unit can supply), RAM (I was thinking dual 2 GB sticks if it's possible) , and core CPU speed (3-3.5 ghz minimum is my target, but I want to overclock the rig as much as I can). Other components I'm not too fussed about, as long as I can contain it all in the budget.

Thanks in advance. If you guys can't help me then it'd be great if you could direct me to a place that could.

h4x.
 
hi i can give you adivice on what products are good and what to stay the hell away from
just ask if you want my input (very long).
 
If you are not up to speed on today’s computer components you would probably benefit more by reading and getting yourself up to speed on the technology than buying from someone else’s list. If you plan on building the computer yourself, you need to know this information. I recommend reading the sticky sections at the top of each forum in the [H]ard|Ware section.
 
Thanks, I'm reading up on some stuff now.

At the moment, I don't think I'll be building anything myself until I get a cost from my local supplier about how much it'll be for him to put it together. If it's much more expensive I'll do it myself. Until then I'd just like to get a few opinions so I can pick and choose once I'm up-to-date.
 
You have a lot of reading to do; AMD's CPUs operating at a core clock of 1.8 GHz outperform Intel's at 3.0 GHz and beyond, cost less, emit 1/2 the heat and have a platform that is far more upgradable than Intel's at this time. You're best off with one of AMD's Socket 939 Athlon 64 CPUs. I'd recommend the Venice 3200+, which is supremely overclockable.

There are no video cards that don't run off your internal power supply. Last one that used a wall brick was about 8 years ago and barely made it to market. ;) You'll have no trouble running even 2 high end cards in SLI off one good supply, like an Antec True430. I'd recommend 2 PCI-Express eVGA 6800GTs (IDENTICAL models).

For your motherboard, if you want to overclock, get a DFI NF4 Ultra-D SLI. For RAM, 2 512 MB sticks of DDR400/PC3200 Kingston ValueRAM.

For storage, grab 160 GB 7200 RPM Seagate disks (quiet fast and reliable), as many as you need, and an NEC 3250A for DVD+/-RW and double layer burning capability.

For a case, pick what you like but for quiet, get something that takes 120mm fans. Never use an included Power supply unless it's from Antec. A system with these parts demands around 16A on the 12V rail, an Antec True430 and a 24 pin adapter will yield you about 26A, more than enough. Don't buy a supply from any company but Antec, Enermax, PC Power and Cooling, Fortron, SeaSonic or OCZ. Wattage is a fallacy, read this thoroughly: http://www.shsc.info/powersupplyguide

This should be below $2,000. With all the saved money, grab a nice display and sound system. :)
 
Thnaks for the info.

I've read some other stuff about AMD vs. Intel on the net and most of em say how AMDs beat Intel in most stability/performance tests.

And I have seen some cards that won't run off an internal power supply... I saw some stats on the GeForce 6800 Ultra and that needed 500 watts to run. If I were to get that running on my current PC I'd need an external power supply.

For RAM, couldn't I burn a few more dollars and get some more bang? I was thinking of at least 2GB, and up to 4 if it was possible. I suppose though that the GFX cards would take a higher priority and it all depends on how many slots I have left.

Thinking about getting a water cooled case too (if I really want to make my CPU go for all its worth), any good brands? Any real disadvantages of water-cooled cases?

h4x.
 
Epicenter said:
You'll have no trouble running even 2 high end cards in SLI off one good supply, like an Antec True430. I'd recommend 2 PCI-Express eVGA 6800GTs (IDENTICAL models).
Click to expand...

Dude, 2 6800gts + a 939 off a 430w? with a $4000 budget spend a bit more and get a PCP&C 510 SLI. More stable, higher quality and better for overclocking and upgrading in the long run plus its guarenteed to run a ludicrous amount of hdds as well as SLI 6800 at the same time heh.

Antec 550W truepowers are still really good PSUs, but with $4000 you might as well get the best.
 
I would get:

DFI nf4 SLI-DR
A64 FX-53/55
Dual 6800GT/Ultra
PCP&C 510 SLI

With $4000 you can get whatever you want and still have money left over.
 
AMD FX-55
DFI SLI Socket 939 board
1GB of Corsair low Latency RAM at 3200 speeds
Diamond Max 10 Maxtor HDs with the 16MB cache will own you
Audigy 2 ZS, only real gaming option as far as sound cards
2x6800 Ultras for the max speed
PC&P 510 SLI PSU

There, end of story.
 
Personally, im happy with my Audigy 2 Zs Platinum sound card. They do have a Platinum pro version , but there isnt much difference. There is also an audigy 4, but it was always weird to me.
 
Oh, and i'll also second the PC P&C PSU. They are supposed to be the best...

If you do get 2 6800 GT/Ultras, would it be possible to get them from BFG? Their cards work great, and the customer service is wicked(in a good sense). Heck, the cards are even OCed out of the box.

And people mention 1gb ram....... If you have money, any way you could try for 2GB?
 
And I have seen some cards that won't run off an internal power supply... I saw some stats on the GeForce 6800 Ultra and that needed 500 watts to run. If I were to get that running on my current PC I'd need an external power supply.
Click to expand...

You don't buy external power supplies, they don't even exist. You just install a power supply that is powerful enough to drive your components and replace your existing one.

FunkStar said:
Dude, 2 6800gts + a 939 off a 430w? with a $4000 budget spend a bit more and get a PCP&C 510 SLI. More stable, higher quality and better for overclocking and upgrading in the long run plus its guarenteed to run a ludicrous amount of hdds as well as SLI 6800 at the same time heh.

Antec 550W truepowers are still really good PSUs, but with $4000 you might as well get the best.
Click to expand...

DO YOUR RESEARCH BEFORE YOU POST.
An FX-55 uses about 7 amps on the 12v rail, a 3200+ or 3500+ uses 3-4 amps. A 6800GT uses 2.9 amps. The board and fans use about one together. A 7200 RPM hard disk, 2 amps, an optical drive, 1. The full system with a 3200+, 2 6800GTs, 2 hard disks, 1 optical drive is still only 16 amps on the 12v rail. An Antec True430 supply offers 26 amps. FAR MORE than sufficient. Wattage is a fallacy.

Read this.
http://www.shsc.info/powersupplyguide

.. as for some other facets of the machine, anything past a 3500+ won't be really worth it in price to performance for games. You can use water cooling if you like for QUIET, but you can get almost as quiet with good air cooling like an Antec Sonata case with 1 120mm fan and a Zalman CNPS 7000-AlCu, and Seagate only hard disks. To overclock on an Athlon 64, you don't have anywhere near as much heat to deal with as on the Intel platform, so you are better off just using a good powerful heatsink/fan like the CNPS 7000-AlCu or the Thermaltake Silent Boost and some Arctic Silver 5, and just making sure your case cooling is at least halfway decent.
 
Epicenter said:
You don't buy external power supplies, they don't even exist. You just install a power supply that is powerful enough to drive your components and replace your existing one.
Click to expand...

Actually i heard you can connect a 2nd PSU up to your regular one in a way that the extra PSU will turn on once you turn the first one on. Or that you can take a simpler route and just put an extra PSU outside your computer, and turn it on with the power switch on it.
 
g0t-h4x? said:
Thnaks for the info.

I've read some other stuff about AMD vs. Intel on the net and most of em say how AMDs beat Intel in most stability/performance tests.

And I have seen some cards that won't run off an internal power supply... I saw some stats on the GeForce 6800 Ultra and that needed 500 watts to run. If I were to get that running on my current PC I'd need an external power supply.

For RAM, couldn't I burn a few more dollars and get some more bang? I was thinking of at least 2GB, and up to 4 if it was possible. I suppose though that the GFX cards would take a higher priority and it all depends on how many slots I have left.

Thinking about getting a water cooled case too (if I really want to make my CPU go for all its worth), any good brands? Any real disadvantages of water-cooled cases?

h4x.
Click to expand...

If you've got $4000, why not have it built by someone in the area? 2GB of memory in plenty, 4GB is excessive. I would wait until the next generation of graphics boards comes out and SLI them or maybe just get on 6800GT, sell it, then get two next gen boards. Or you could get something like a 3500+ and save $600 up for better graphics down the line.
 
Id get 2GB of fast ram (not sure whats fast now, i only understand from PC3200 and below)

Id get an Athlon 3500 Winchester and overclock it to 3800 speeds

A geforce 6800ultra or GT for the graphics.
 
You don't need 2 PSUs, end of story. Just one decent one like an Antec True430. If you don't want to build the machine, you can have Monarch build you one (www.monarchcomputer.com) with the specs I listed above. :) They charge almost nothing more than the cost of the parts.
 
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