Building my first gaming rig

H

Hulk

Supreme [H]ardness
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Nov 4, 2005
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Ok, I am excited about finally getting into PC gaming. I do need some help picking out some components because I am still new to this and I'm not sure if everything will fit together.

Keep in mind that I want to spend as little as possible, and that I'd like to keep upgrade it in the future.


Question: When does DDR2 come out???

CD/DVD Drive $22 Sony CD/DVD drive - I don't need a dvd burner!http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827101131

$115 WD Western Digital Caviar SE16 250GB 3.5" SATA (Question, how much of a difference is there between 8MB and 16MB cache?)http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822144701

$162 Corsair 2GB DDR400 - is this a good choice? Any other RAM that might be slightly cheaper??http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16820145505

I plan on OVERCLOCKING sometime in the future when my processor becomes too slow, is that a good choice RAM for overclocking, if not then what is?

$233 Athlon 64 3700+1GHz l2 level 1mb - I think this is an excellent choice.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103539
much better deal than the 4000+!!!!

Monitor - I plan on playing games at 1024x768 and sometimes also at 1600x1200, would like an 18" viewable inch flat screen. I have no idea what kind.

PSU - I need one that will support two 7800GTXs,
$90 PSU – Antec Truepower TPII http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817103931

7800GTX - waiting until it drops down in price, couple months, then buying it, then maybe 12 or 18 months later getting another 7800GTX for super cheap (if they are still making them which they should).

Case - already have one picked out, dont need advice on that.
 
That's quite the res jump monitor-wise, grab a nice 19 inch CRT.

I like this PSU.

Care to post the case?
 
GForce64 said:
That's quite the res jump monitor-wise, grab a nice 19 inch CRT.

I like this PSU.

Care to post the case?
Click to expand...

will that PSU handle 2 7800gt or gtxs?
 
Hulk said:
will that PSU handle 2 7800gt or gtxs?
Click to expand...
That one will handle SLI 7800s

I would also look at this one..
A little more expensive than the Forton, but has APFC and 22a per 12v rail. Will give you more headroom for adding components, OC'ing, and will provide enough power for your system even if the room with the comp gets nice and hot, heating up the PSU.

As for cheaper boards that support SLI, here are the s939 SLI boards newegg has. I would definitely stay away from the gigabyte boards. The Abit is a good choice, as is the DFI (especially if you plan on OC'ing). The DFI can be somewhat difficult to set up though.
 
if you're worried about your power supply, head over to pc power and cooling. get one of those.

i have that mobo, but be careful with the switch thats on the board if you're going to be using sli

also have that cpu, i can get mine up to 2.8g on stock volts.

RAM is fine for now, however if you're planning on doing some heavy oc'ing you might want to upgrade in the future.

good LCD 19'' monitor
 
what kind of ram would you recommend? I'd like to have 1 gig X 2, i'll rather buy the right RAM now instead of upgrading later.

Also, I am looking for a crt monitor.
 
I'm really liking that NEC monitor, good price on it.

It is a flat screen correct?

And also in one of the reviews I read it said "You should take note that this monitor does NOT support NaViSet when pared with an nVidia graphics card, no big deal though."

What is NaviSet and is it really no big deal?
 
Indeed it's a flat screen. I wouldn't ever recommend anyone a curved screen CRT anymore. :p

It's fine. NaviSet's a software driver they add in your display settings to change settings for the monitor. You can do this via manual controls on the monitor too. Set up everything manually according to your liking and you won't have to touch it ever again.

-J.
 
would anyone happen to know what the refresh rate on that NEC monitor is when playing at 1600 x 1200? If its really low like in the 50s or 60s I would imagine it would be really hard on the eyes.
 
It goes up to 75 Hz like most 19" monitors do. I tried to find one for 85 which is optimal but couldn't find any at this moment.

-J.
 
GeForce X, thanks for all of your help. What do you think overall of my system?

I feel pretty confident about everything except for the RAM, I do not know how well it rates, is it considerd good RAM?

And I'm having second thoughts about the video card. I know there are already like a hundred threads about the 7800gtx/gt.

How much do you think the 7800gtx card will cost in say, 6 months?
 
Since you say you may overclock when you feel things get slower, this RAM should fit the bill. G.Skill is popular with overclockers. Even Eclipse, our "resident memory expert" recommends that RAM for daily use. You should be confident.

The only reason to not be confident is if it's DOA (dead on arrival) and decides not to work anymore. :)

Six months? I would say a ballpark estimate of $450? If ATI comes out with their complete revision of the Crossfire, perhaps the GTX will see competition and reduce its prices. But for as long as demand continues, the prices will continue to hover around the MSRP.

Don't bet on $400 anytime soon. What's great though is that you can overclock both GT's and both will work synchronously and you'd get performance well over a single 512 MB GTX.

-J.
 
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