Building a new gaming PC

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bernymachd3

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Nov 26, 2007
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I'm building a new gaming computer. I have a list. I just wanted some of you guys to look through it. I haven't kept up with the technology so I don't know whats better than this one and so forth.

xfx GeForce 8800GT - 270
Enermax 500W PSU - 115
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 - 280
Patriot Extreme 2GB - 80
WD 150GB 10,000rpm SATA - 170
Seagate 7200rpm SATA - 70
ASUS 18x DVD+R - 33

So far its 1,016.93 w/o tax and w/o shipping.

I still need a good motherboard around 100-200 (atx) and a good aftermarket heatsink. Thanks. I appreciate any help.
 
bernymachd3 said:
I'm building a new gaming computer. I have a list. I just wanted some of you guys to look through it. I haven't kept up with the technology so I don't know whats better than this one and so forth.

xfx GeForce 8800GT - 270
Enermax 500W PSU - 115
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 - 280
Patriot Extreme 2GB - 80
WD 150GB 10,000rpm SATA - 170
Seagate 7200rpm SATA - 70
ASUS 18x DVD+R - 33

So far its 1,016.93 w/o tax and w/o shipping.

I still need a good motherboard around 100-200 (atx) and a good aftermarket heatsink. Thanks. I appreciate any help.
Click to expand...

You can probably get better bang for your buck by dropping the raptor and getting a bigger hard drive or getting two relatively cheap ones and putting them in Raid 0. The raptor is fast and nice, but it really won't affect your gaming ability much, so unless you don't have any plans for everyday usage out of the computer I think you can save money or get better space for your cash.

Pretty sure you can get cheaper and just as good 2x1GB Memory Kits also. If you are paying a price premium for lower latency ram, consider just getting the cheaper kit as their performance difference isn't really that big. I assume you have a case, monitor and OS already since they aren't in the budget? Assuming you aren't looking for SLI, considering getting the Gigabyte DS3R, Abit IP35-E/IP35/IP35-Pro or the Asus P5K-E for your motherboard choices, based on what you need from it like firewire or raid. All of these are sub 200 dollars, some even closer or below the 100 dollar range, you should be able to find something that fits your needs in them.
 
I agree with Anchen.

Another good, no-frills board is the Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L (no raid, no firewire). If you need RAID, the DS3R is good. If you need Firewire, check out the Asus P5K. If you need both RAID and Firewire, the Abit IP35 is a great value. The higher end boards are also good: Asus P5K-E, GA-P35-DS4, and the crowd favorite, IP35 Pro.

Avg Transfer Rate, Access Time: HDD info, Price
78MB/s, 08.2ms: WD Raptor WD1500ADFD 150GB, $160AR
72MB/s, 15.4ms: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250410AS 250GB, $65
65MB/s, 13.7ms: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS 320GB, $80
65MB/s, 13.2ms: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3300620AS 300GB, $60
63MB/s, 12.9ms: WD Caviar SE16 WD5000AAKS 500GB, $90
52MB/s, 14.0ms: WD Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB, $70
112MB/s, 13.2ms: RAID0 'cuda's, 600GB total, $120 (ICH9R on P35-DS3R)

As you can see, the 'cuda is twice the size and half the cost, for nearly the same performance. Stick them in RAID0, and you've got an even more cost effective solution. Though, the seek time of the Raptor can't be beat. If you have cash to burn, do so on a Raptor if you really want it. Otherwise, there are better cost effective solutions depending on your needs.
 
Thanks for the response guys. I decided to swap some things out and add in a motherboard into the list. Price came out nearly close. I do have a case, I'm still deciding on a monitor, I can get windows xp with sp2 from my school. I mainly play cs, cod4, battlefield, a lot of strategy games, some rpg, and so forth. I don't plan on buying everything new, but maybe. I'm going to look in the forsale section when I'm set.

ABIT IP35 Pro LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail - -----$179.99

XFX PVT88PYDF4 GeForce 8800GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card ----- $269.99

ENERMAX Liberty ELT500AWT ATX12V 500W Power Supply ----- $115

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz LGA 775 Processor Model - $279.99

G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual -----$49.99

(2) Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250410AS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s -----$140

ASUS 18X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe and 14X DVD-RAM Write Black ----- $33

New price is $1068

If anyone has no further help to provide, then I guess I'm on the right track. Thanks guys.
 
forgot to add budget in case someone was willing to help me find some better alternatives. I was looking to spend upwards to 1500 max just on the new components alone. I wasn't sure if I go ahead and upgrade to a better gfx. I was hoping to use the 8800GT for awhile till the 9 series came out, then spend my money on that.
 
The Enermax Libterty PSU is not worth getting anymore. I'm not saying it's a bad PSU, far from it, but there are much better power supplies these days for around that price that offers more power on the +12V rail.

Here are some other recommendations:
Corsair 450VX 450W PSU - $70
Corsair 550VX 550W PSU - $91
Corsair 520HX 520W PSU - $101
Corsair 650TX 650W PSU - $137
Corsair 620HX 620W PSU - $140
Corsair 750TX 750W PSU - $154
Silverstone SST-ST75ZF Zeus 750W Power Supply - $160
PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Quad - $161

Remember that wattage doesn't mean as much these days. What matters most is where those watts are being delivered. For current rigs, it's all about how much amps are on the +12V rail since most PC parts draw their power from there. You determine the amperage on the +12V rails by first finding out what's the total combined wattage set aside for the +12V rails alone. So for example, the Corsair 450VX has 396W on the +12V rail. Divide that total wattage for the +12V by 12 and you get how much amps the PSU has on the +12V rail. In this case, 396W divided by 12 is 33A. So the Corsair 450VX PSU has 33A on the +12V Rail.

For comparison,
- The Enermax Liberty only has 32A on the +12V Rail.
- The Corsair 550VX has 41A on the +12V rail
- The Corsair 520HX has 40A
- The Corsair 620HX has 50A
- The Corsair 650VX has 52A.

Why get 2 x 250GB drives? Are you using them in a RAID setup? If not, for that amount of money, you can get a 500GB drive for much cheaper:
Western Digital WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - $98
Hitachi Deskstar T7K500 HDT725050VLA360 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - $100
Samsung SpinPoint T Series HD501LJ 500GB 7200RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - $107
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 500GB 7200RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - $110

As for HSF recommendations, I recommend any of these HSF:
Scythe SCNJ-1100P Ninja HSF - $36
Tuniq Tower 120 HSF - $45
Thermalright Ultima-90 HSF - $46 & Panaflo FBA09A12M 92mm Fan - $3
Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme HSF - $57 & Scythe S-Flex SFF21E 120MM Case Fan - $14

And just to throw it in there, here are a few case recommendations as well:
Cooler Master Elite 330 RC-330-KKN1-GP ATX Case - $40
Cooler Master Centurion 534 ATX Case - $40
Cooler Master Centurion 532 ATX Case - $50
Cooler Master RC-690-KKN1-GP ATX Case - $70
Lian Li PC-7B Plus II Silver ATX Case - $80
XClio Windtunnel ATX Full Tower Computer Case - $100
Gigabyte Aurora GZ-FSCA1-ATB ATX Case - $116
Antec P180 ATX Case - $120
Antec P182 ATX Case - $123
Antec P180B ATX Case - $130
Thermaltake Armor VA8000BWS Full Tower ATX Case - $137
Lian Li PC-A16A ATX Case - $150
Thermaltake Armor VA8003BWS Full Tower ATX Case - $150
Coolermaster COSMOS 1000 RC-1000-KSN1-GP Full Tower ATX Case - $156
Lian-Li V1000A Plus II ATX Case - $180
COOLER MASTER Stacker RC-832-KKN1-GP Full Tower ATX Case -$200
Lian Li PC-V1200 ATX Case (Silver) - $210
Lian Li PC-V1200 ATX Case (Black) - $214
Lian-Li PC-V1100A PLUS II ATX Case - $220
Lian Li PC-V1200B Plus II ATX Case - $240
 
Thanks guys. The PSU confused me as well as the HSF. I decided to get the corsair 520W PSU, and the Tuniq Tower 120 HSF. I really don't need another HD, so I'm going to stick with 1 HD for now. I also decided that I mind as well upgrade my case, so I'm going to go with the Thermaltake Armor VA8003BWS Black Full Tower Case w/ 25cm Side Panel Fan. Should stay around the 1k area. I appreciate everyones help :)
 
Good choices. The Thermaltake Armor is a pretty cool case IMO. If I was building a multi-terabyte server, I'd go with that case.
 
Danny Bui said:
Good choices. The Thermaltake Armor is a pretty cool case IMO. If I was building a multi-terabyte server, I'd go with that case.
Click to expand...

/me hates it's flaps, lol. though, the BF/CM deals for it were VERY tempting!
 
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