Gaming Rig Help

E

Envie

n00b
Joined
Nov 26, 2008
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54
Hello! Just want to say thanks for all your help the past week, I'm looking at another build now and here are my thoughts...

-Building a Heavy Duty Gaming Rig
-I have $3,000 Canadian to spend, mind you, you don't have to spend it all ;)
-I live in Southern Ontario.
-Everything is needed for this build, I have no parts to re-use.
-As of now, I do not plan on over-clocking.
-I will use two 22" LCD monitors, yet to be selected.
-I plan on building the middle of January, hope to get a build list complete in time for the Christmas sales.
-Crossfire and SLI are needed, I don't think RAID is necessary, but I wouldn't object to having it. The more bells and whistles the better, to an extent at least...

This is the current parts list I put together, feel free to point out my errors.(prices are Canadian)
Case-----COOLER MASTER RC-690-----------------------------------------------------------100.00
PSU------CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready--------152.25
MoBo----GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD5 LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel-------------------349.99
CPU------Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz------------------------------------------------369.99
HSF------Stock, might upgrade if I overclock later-------------------------------------------0.00
Ram------two(G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1000)------136.12
Video----two(SAPPHIRE 100259-1GL Radeon HD 4870 1GB)-------------------------665.54
HD--------two(Western Digital Caviar Black WD5001AALS 500GB)------------------184.98
Optical--two(Pioneer 20X DVD±R DVD Burner IDE Model DVR-116DBK)--------75.98

Subtotal-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2034.85
**I want cutting edge, not bleeding edge
Prices have been adjusted according to the quantity

Ok, I switched to dual cards. What cables do I need to make that work?
Well, in your opinion is this a high end gaming build? Any ideas on how to improve it would be appreciated. Also, if you see any issues of parts not fitting, or supporting each other, let me know. Thanks for your help guys, I would be lost and playing a 486 still without you.
 
It's not soo high end man if you're only going with 22" lcds. Also, no sense getting that Radeon 4870X2 for a 22" (1680 x 1050) resolution. Just get a GTX 260 (216) video card for that res.
 
I'd still consider i7 cutting edge... bleeding edge would be i7.extreme edition, IMO. I'd consider Core2 other side of the blade, lol... it cuts, just not as sharp. :p

I also agree with HG.
 
Hey, can you squeeze all of this in your $3,000 budget? Hehe

Case - Coolermaster RC 690
PSU - BFG ES-800 800 watt
Mobo - Gigabyte GA- EX58 UD5
CPU - Intel Core i7 920(2.66ghz)
RAM - G. Skill 6gig DDR3 1333 PC 10666 Triple Channel Kit
Video - 2 x EVGA Geforce GTX 260 in SLI
HDD - WD 6400AAKS 640gig
Optica Drive -Samsung 22X Sata DVD Burner
O/S - Windows Vista Home Premium 64bit
Keyboard - Saitek PZ30AU Black 104
Mouse - Logitech G5 Laser Mouse
Speakers - M-AUDIO Studiophile AV 40 (I have these and they sound very good for a 2 channel)
Monitor - BenQ FP241VW 24” (8bit P-MVA) Display. Non TN panel with HDMI, DVI-D(HDCP), VGA, Component, S-Video , Composite and 3 x USB ports. 1:1 pixel mapping for your PS3 or Xbox 360

Total: $2,783.37 Wow, I did not know it would make it under $3,000. Hehe. Naw but, you should go less on this build. I'm just messing around here.
 
That's in Canadian dollars.

$2,690.85 to be exact. Before shipping & rebates.

$856.01 more than the OP subtotal.
 
lol, not quite that much Superfly ;)

Ok, I made some modifications from Guru's List, Does this look respectable, or are more changes needed?
 
Hmm.. I guess you want the price down. No problem. Can adjust. BTW, your adjustments don't make sense. DDR2 on an X58 chipset mobo? 2 x Radeon HD 4870 in Xfire and you will be getting 22" lcds?
 
I was thinking a card per moniter, the ram I just never changed becasue I figured it would still be compatible. Yes, I am retarded XD
I dont get half of this newer stuff, what are some good resources to read up on? (I have tried wikipedia already :p)
 
1 video card will already do Dual Monitor setup. Most video cards have 2 x DVI inputs to connect 2 x LCDS
 
Not necessairly, some games don't do too well or even benefit at all with SLI or Crossfire. For only a 22" display. A Radeon HD4870 1gig or Geforce GTX 260 (216) is plenty already. Pointless to run 2 x HD4870 video cards on a 1680 x 1050 resolution. If you're going for a 22" lcd, you should do pretty good with the XFX Geforce GTX 260(216) Black Edition video card. It will outperform a Radeon HD 4870 1gig and a reference clocked Geforce GTX 260(216) video card. This is due to its very high factory overclock speeds. It can also come close to the performance of a GTX 280 1gig video card at $100 lower in cost.
 
To read up more on nehalem, check out the anandtech articles, as well as all the articles found via the intel cpu subforum stickies.
 
You should do very good. Waaaayy better than what i currently have. My system is only:

Acer Quad System
Cpu - Q6600 cpu stock at 2.4ghz
Ram - 2 gig DDR2 667mhz
HDD - 500 gig
Video - EVGA Geforce 8800GT SC

The games I played and tortured on this average setup. Hehe
Crysis, Crysis Warhead, COD 4, COD 5, Rainbow 6 Vegas, Turok, UT3, Stalker, Gears of War, FO3, TF2

Resolutions played ranging from 1440 x 900 - 1920 x 1200
 
 
You know, I think the important thing to know is....will this be primarily used for gaming only? Is there anything else you will be doing on the pc? Photoshop editing, Watching videos, editing videos, scientific software applications, CAD drawings? What budget are you comfortable on spending despite a $3,000 budget? Are you set on getting 2 x 22" lcds?
 
HardwareGuru said:
You know, I think the important thing to know is....will this be primarily used for gaming only? Is there anything else you will be doing on the pc? Photoshop editing, Watching videos, editing videos, scientific software applications, CAD drawings? What budget are you comfortable on spending despite a $3,000 budget? Are you set on getting 2 x 22" lcds?
Click to expand...

This will be primairly a gaming rig, I have no intention of any other use, perhaps some minor photoshop and movie watching but nothing heavy.
Hrm, Well, I want two moniters over 20" each, the higher quality the better, to an extent of course.
As for the budget, I have a cap at 4000, so I am completely comfortable with spending up to 3k total. Yes, I know I said 3k at the start, but that was because I didnt want to spend it all on the pc itself.
 
I borrowed the parents compy for school.
It was an AMD 1.8 (single core, yes, those still exist), 1gig of ram and a crappy 256mb video card. Not the greatest for games, but I survived school, perhaps because of that XD.
 
From what you just mentioned earlier, and the computer you are using, you should be pretty happy with this setup. All including 2 x 22" lcds for under $2,000 canadian dollars.

CASE - CoolerMaster RC-690 for $82.00
http://www.xpresscanada.com/index.php?do=ShowProduct&cmd=pd&pid=015481&cid=CS.664

PSU - Antec EA650 650W for $76.33
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Produc...3canadaCA-_-Power+Supplies-_-Antec-_-17371015

CPU - Intel Core 2 E8400(3.0ghz) for $193.31
http://www.mdgistore.com/product_info.php/products_id/128

MOBO - Asus P5Q Pro($15 MIR) for $150
http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=10530BD7774&vpn=P5Q Pro&manufacture=ASUS

RAM - G. Skills DDR2 800 4gig for $55.35
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Produc...-Memory+(Desktop+Memory)-_-G.SKILL-_-20231145

VIDEO - XFX Geforce GTX 260(216) Black Edition for $377.12
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Produc...-Pr1c3canadaCA-_-Video+Cards-_-XFX-_-14150330

HDD - WD 6400AAKS 640gig for $76.85
http://www.xpresscanada.com/index.php?do=ShowProduct&cmd=pd&pid=018205&cid=HD.443.877

OPTICAL - Samsung 22X Sata DVD Burner Model SH-S223F for $25.99
http://www.a-power.com/product-6357

O/S - Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64bit for $148.36
http://www.xpresscanada.com/index.php?do=ShowProduct&cmd=pd&pid=012532&cid=SW.815

Monitors 2X - Samsung 2253BW 22” for $214.88/each
http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=14040MN1773&vpn=LS22AQWJFV/XAA&manufacture=Samsung

Total: $1,615.07 canadian dollars before shipping & rebates
 
While this would indeed work, I was hoping to pay a bit more and get a bit more life out of it. I'll talk to my bro and get back to you. Thanks so much for your help guys.
 
Envie said:
While this would indeed work, I was hoping to pay a bit more and get a bit more life out of it. I'll talk to my bro and get back to you. Thanks so much for your help guys.
Click to expand...

Paying another $1000 will only get you an extra 6 months, maybe 8 months at most,out of that PC. More than likely you can get another PC for $1000 in a few years that'll absolutely beat whatever $3000 to $4000 PC you buy now. So I recommend going with HardwareGuru's build $1600 CAD build and then get another PC in two years with the other $1000 to $2000.
 
Makes no sense to spend a bit more thinking you will get more out of it when you won't utilize the power of a Core i7 build. I have a Acer Core 2 Quad Q6600 system and I don't utilize the multi-core also. I only bought it because it was cheap. But, if I was you, I would just build me a Core 2 E8400 system right now for gaming.
 
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