Mid-range Gaming Rig...need advice

sitheris

sitheris

[H]ard|Gawd
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Jul 30, 2004
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I have decided that I need to build a Gaming PC...running bootcamp on my MacBook Pro just isn't cutting it. I haven't really built a PC for about 2 years so I'm a little out of the loop. I've put together a wish list on Newegg but need help selecting a Motherboard...I have no idea what's good and what's not these days. Should I go with an Intel chipset? nVidia? etc..

Click to see my wishlist

I already have a case that I'll use (cooler master centurion from my old rig), I really just need mobo recommendations and advice/comments on the other things I've selected.

Also, I'm hoping that video card will be able to run most things at max settings at 1920x1200.

Again, this system will be used for gaming only. I don't plan to OC at all, but I may do SLI sometime in the future. My budget on this is about $1200-1500.

Thanks in advance!
 
I wish people would make wishlists like you did, more often. Makes things so much easier.

Anyway, first off, you don't need the really long SATA cables, go for something shorter. The ones with the motherboard might be a little too short though, if you plan on doing some better cable management. Are you going with rebates? If yes, go with the GTS, if not, go with the GT, which would be slightly slower, but better value either way. Max settings at 1920x1200 depends on what games, but several should be fine.

Seeing as you are using a not-so-cable-management-friendly case, you will really want a modular power supply. The Corsair HX520 will not only do that, but it is plenty of power for your SLI GTS setup in the future.

The newer 780i motherboards are the ones you want to be looking at. If you wanted slightly faster hard drive performance, consider the newer 7200.11 drives. For less noise, look at a Samsung drive. The Arctic Silver compound is great, easy to spread, and good performance, MX-2 is slightly better, but MUCH more difficult to spread.

Finally, if you are going to buy one of these processors, at least overclock it a bit. 3.2GHz or something like that. If you buy an aftermarket cooler, like the Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro, you won't need thermal paste, as it comes pre-applied, but buy some for the future. Nothing more annoying than waiting for thermal paste.
 
if your planning to go sli then the 780i should be considered. but seeing how theres going to be the 9800 gx2 coming out in few months maybe you should just step up to it because the 9800 gx2 is really just two video cards combined together and itll be 30% better than the ultra which is normal for sli
 
Like ^^^ said, if you are planning on SLI then 780i is the way to go, but you should first look at the performance gain against the price point if said board before you do so. In my opinion it isn't worth it for most games.

If you decide to opt out of SLI I would go with this P35 chipset board. Its a great single video card motherboard and overclocks like crazy.

You might also want to look at the new batch of "high end" NVIDIA cards coming out in the near future, and because of EVGA "Step-Up" program you can get the newer card with the few bucks from the P35 board you get.

Also the 520HX is a great power supply for your rig, its not only modular but the brand quality and amperage on the 12V rail are excellent.
 
I think the list you have is good enough to run games including crysis. Intel chipsets are the way to go now unless you have to have SLI. As for the motherboard I would recommend considering ASUS. Particularly this motherboard:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131219

The P5E has great features and has a solid "no gimmicky" look to it. It also features 45nm Intel CPU support and has (x2) PCIe2 video slots to support your favorite video card.
This board only supports crossfire, so if you want to run a dual card setup, you will have to change your card selection to AMD/ATi (I would choose either the 3870 or 3850 in crossfire).


Have a nice day.
 
Thanks for all the helpful replies. I'll have some things to consider over the next few days...really I'm not sure if I need SLI or not (especially if I step up to the newer cards). The games I play for now are Tabula Rasa, HL2, and WoW. I know these games aren't too demanding but I plan to try out Bioshock, Crysis, Hellgate London, etc.
 
Almost forgot, I wanted to ask about the memory - I chose DDR2 800, but I see many of these motherboards support DDR2 1066. Only problem is there doesn't seem to be many decent looking 4gb kits (and no 2gb sticks) at all. Can I just use DDR2 800? I mean you can't beat 4gb for $100 :)
 
You're not going to need that 1066 speed unless you overclock that Proc to crazy speeds.
 
Okay I've made some adjustments, you can check my wish list again (link is in OP). Is there anything I'm forgetting? I plan on placing the order tomorrow. I'm pretty much happy with my choices after spending the day researching stuff.

I'd appreciate if I could get some last minute approvals before I order :)
 
Any reasons you went with the DS3P as well as the that 750 Watt PSU?

The PSU especially because its pretty much overkill for your rig.
 
bigk said:
Any reasons you went with the DS3P as well as the that 750 Watt PSU?

The PSU especially because its pretty much overkill for your rig.
Click to expand...

I went with the DS3P after doing a lot of research. I don't think I'm going to bother with SLI anymore, I'll just step up the 8800gts when new stuff is out. I went with the 750 because the 620w corsair costs the same price :) I know it's a little overkill but better to have more than you need than to push a psu to its limits and make it work hard.
 
I'd go for this drive. There is a new ES.2 500GB Seagate drive, too (I don't know why it is more expensive than 7200.11).

That 750W PSU is an overkill.
 
The 520HX is MORE than enough to handle your rig, let alone the 650.

But if you have the money to spend, more power to you.
 
my concern is when the 9800 series come out, how much power will they take?

The 8800ultra requires 520w minimum psu. It's only going to be more with the 9 series right? Better safe than sorry...I do plan on getting top of the line when the 9 series comes out.
 
I may not be correct, but I would hope that since (I have heard) that a 9800GTX is a die shrink of an 8800GTX that it would consume the same (or less) power.
 
vsrdan said:
There is a new ES.2 500GB Seagate drive, too (I don't know why it is more expensive than 7200.11).
Click to expand...

It's supposedly an enterprise level drive, meaning that its supposedly more reliable than standard desktop drives.

bigk said:
The 520HX is MORE than enough to handle your rig, let alone the 650.

But if you have the money to spend, more power to you.
Click to expand...

I agree, the 520W is more than enough to handle your rig and future upgrades.

sitheris said:
Okay so maybe this PSU is a little more reasonable:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703005

It has the same 5 yr warranty like the corsair models, and it's on sale!
Click to expand...

That unit is rather loud, IMO. If you don't mind the noise, go for it. If you want a quieter solution, the Corsair is your best choice.


I don't see an aftermarket cooler in your wishlist. Do you plan on OC'ing? If so, go for one of these:
$35 - Scythe SCNJ-1100P Ninja Plus Rev.B CPU HSF (optional $7 Thermalright LGA775 Bolt-Thru-Kit; recommended esp. for quadcore usage)
$45 - Tuniq Tower 120 CPU HSF
$46 - Thermalright Ultima 90 CPU HS + Panaflo Hydrowave Fan, FBA09A12M - Z ($3)
$55 - Thermalright Ultra 120 eXtreme CPU HS + Scythe S-Flex Fan SFF21E ($15)

sitheris said:
Almost forgot, I wanted to ask about the memory - I chose DDR2 800, but I see many of these motherboards support DDR2 1066. Only problem is there doesn't seem to be many decent looking 4gb kits (and no 2gb sticks) at all. Can I just use DDR2 800? I mean you can't beat 4gb for $100 :)
Click to expand...

The RAM you get depends on how far you plan on OC'ing...
/*------------- <cut n paste> -------------*/
Formulas for Intel platform @ 1:1 settings: (base FSB speed is SDR, or single data rate)
c x [Base FSB speed] = CPU speed (c = CPU Multiplier)
2 x [Base FSB speed] = RAM speed (DDR: double data rate)
4 x [Base FSB speed] = FSB speed (QDR: quad data rate; Effective FSB speed)

On Intel platforms, running the RAM higher than a 1:1 ratio with the CPU is, for the most part, useless, so don't bother trying to do so. If the BIOS does it for you, just let it. All you need is a 1:1 config, though. Here's some possible clock speeds (as always with OC'ing, your results will vary):

E6750: 8 × 333 = 2.6Ghz, DDR2-667 << STOCK speeds
E6750: 8 × 400 = 3.2Ghz, DDR2-800 << Easy OC
E6750: 8 × 450 = 3.6Ghz, DDR2-900 << Good OC
E6750: 8 × 500 = 4.0Ghz, DDR2-1000 << Great OC
/*------------- </cut n paste> -------------*/

If you don't plan on OC'ing at all, snap out of it and OC to at least 3Ghz, lol. If you're ok with a 3.2Ghz OC, then the RAM you chose is fine. If you want to go higher than 3.2Ghz, because the chip can, go for the G.Skill 4GB DDR2-1000 instead.

$115 - G.Skill 4GB (2x2GB) DDR2-1000 F2-8000CL5D-4GBPQ

For reference, my E6750 can reach 3.6Ghz EASILY. My E6750 @ 3.8Ghz (475x8; 1.55v; VID: 1.35v) stays nice and cool (22°C ambient; AC MX-2 TIM):
27°C, 52°C: Tuniq w/ stock fan
28°C, 52°C: Ultima90 w/ 92mm Panaflo Hydrowave FBA09A12M
 
enginurd said:
That unit is rather loud, IMO. If you don't mind the noise, go for it. If you want a quieter solution, the Corsair is your best choice.
Click to expand...

Seriously? The reviews on newegg praise it for being very silent
 
The Newegg reviews are what you don't want to look at. The power supply is great, but not modular. Although many people have said that you might not want an SLI motherboard. I personally would go for one, as SLI would be required in the future. But, unfortunately, this is really only if you can find a cheap second card.
 
Well I placed my order - I went with the Corsair 620w Modular PSU. I just want to have enough room for upgrades in the future, I think I should be fine with a little bit of overkill :)
 
congratulations...I say if you can afford the 620W Corsair then might as well go for it. Now you can add additional drives, etc. when ever you want.

Have fun with the system!
 
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