New Gaming Rig

T

ThR!LL

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jan 9, 2006
Messages
342
This computer I'm building for myself will primarily be for gaming and often use of CD and DVD burning. I don't want to break 2k not including shipping.So tell me what you think :)

Case:
Cooler Master RC 690
$84.99

Processor:
Intel Q9450
$349.99

Motherboard:
XFX MB-N780-ISH9 780i
$259.99

Video Card:
Evga 9800GX2
$579.99

Power Supply:
PC P&C 750W
$158.99

Memory:
Corsair 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR3 1333
$119.99

Hard Drive:
Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 500GB
$109.99

Optical Drive:
Samsung SH-S203N
$33.99

Heatsink:
Xigmatek HDT-S1283
$36.99

Fans:
Scythe S-Flex Medium Speedx3
$44.97

Thermal Compound:
Tuniq TX-2
$3.79

Total: $1783.67
 
Look at purchasing that Coolermaster RC690 case elsewhere for $70
http://www.svc.com/rc-690-kkn1-gp.html

Q6600 cpu is a great deal right now for only $180 at Frys.com. This is almost half the price of that Q9450 cpu.
http://shop1.outpost.com/ShopCartServlet?purchase=5101696

What size LCD do you have? If you have a 22" or smaller than 1 x 9800GX2 will be overkill for that res. A 8800GTS 512MB will be perfect for a 22" monitor. 1 x 9800GX2 will be plenny for a 24" lcd monitor with 1920 x 1200 if you expect to play high res gaming with AA/AF settings enabled. That 780i chipset mobo is not needed if you are not going to run SLI. I wouldn't if I am getting a 9800GX2 card. A P35 Intel Chipset mobo is good enough. That PC Power & Cooling PS is good but, you can go lower and cheaper. DDR3 RAM on a 780i chipset? Look at DDR2 800 4gigs G.Skills for $75. What about you O/S?
 
I second the recommendation for the Q6600 over the Q9450, as well as getting a 4GB kit of DDR2 800 RAM instead (especially when you could buy it for $70). (You'll need a 64-bit operating system in order to fully utilize all 4GB of RAM.)

Unless you have a 24" or larger monitor, you don't need SLI/CrossFire. Here are some alternative motherboards:

Danny Bui said:
Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L Intel P35 Motherboard - $90
MSI P35 Neo2-FR Intel P35 Motherboard - $112
DFI BloodIron P35-T2RL Intel P35 Motherboard - $120
Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3R Intel P35 Motherboard - $125
DFI LanParty DK P35-T2RS Intel P35 Motherboard - $140
Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3P Intel P35 Motherboard - $144
Abit IP35 Pro Intel P35 Motherboard - $170
Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS4 Intel P35 Motherboard - $170

Just to help you out: If you don't need RAID or more than 4 SATA ports or legacy ports, then check out the DS3L. If you need 5 SATA ports, 2 eSATA ports, and a second PCI-E x16 port, then get the Neo2-Fr. If you want heavy overclocking abilities and six SATA ports, check out the Blood Iron. If you like the BloodIron but want significantly better overclock stability, go for the LanParty. If you want 8 SATA ports, RAID, and legacy ports and high overclocks, than the DS3R is a good choice. If you want the DS3R but need Firewire and a second PCI-E x16 port, then go for the DS3P. If you want something that can overclock pretty damn high along with, RAID, eSATA ports and firewire connections, than the IP35 Pro. If you like the DS3P but want better cooling for overclocking, then go for the DS4.
Click to expand...

Consider the RC-590 instead of the RC-690. It's $10 cheaper, and, aside from the mesh front, it has the same features as the RC-690. And consider Yate Loon low-speed or medium-speed fans for the case. They'll perform just as well as the S-FLEX fans, but cost much less.
 
The G92/512MB 8800GTS, the HD3870X2, the 9800GTX, and the 9800GX2 work well by themselves on a 24 inch monitor (or a 1920x1200 resolution). The only exceptions are with demanding games such as Crysis or Supreme Commander... but one or two games don't justify the cost of SLI, especially in the long run. For most other games, one 8800GTS would easily suffice.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top