Attention System Builders: Ideal Build 6/4/08

I've noticed on this forum and others multiple daily posts requesting advice on building gaming computers. Nearly the same questions are posted repeatedly, which is understandable. Most people are building computers in order to play the latest games at medium to high settings with good frame rates, and want to spend between $700 and up.

This post is intended to summarize advice that I and others have repeatedly given recently, and imho seems to represent the consensus opinion of most
knowledgeable posters. It's for all potential system builders who fit into the
700 and up price range category above, as well as for myself so I can just
reference this info in other posts rather than frequently retyping it. I'm sure there will be dissenting opinions, and please feel free to post them in
response.

Any combo of any of the items on the list below should be compatible, and
produce a system capable of playing any current game on medium high (Crysis) to very high (Age of Conan) to max settings (virtually every other game).

If posters think this is useful, it could be redone and updated every few weeks as prices change and new products come out.

A couple notes first:

Dual or Quad Core CPU?: No simple answer. The dual cores are cheaper. If your primary goal is gaming, dual cores outperform the quads because they'll usually overclock higher and because current games don't take advantage of the extra cores. If you multi-task or do lots of video/photo editing, then the quad will likely be better. If you don't want to update your computer for several years and want to be 'future-proof', then go quad core.

RAID 0: Though many swear by setting up two hard drives in RAID 0 to increase performance, many articles suggest the real world performance
improvement is not worth the added expense, complexity, and drive failure rate. My advice would be to stick with one big drive in this price range.

SLI: Unless you intend to play games on a very large monitor (24 inches and up) at very high settings and resolutions (1920X1200 and up), SLI does not offer enough improvement in gaming performance to justify the cost in the opinion of most. It's usually not a great upgrade pathway either. The best single-card solution you can afford will usually give you the most bang for your buck (especially with the GTX260 and 280 GPU's being released later this month).

Nvidia Chipsets: If you're not intending to use 2 GPU's in SLI (for
reasons as discussed above), there's no reason to buy a motherboard with an Nvidia chipset (such as 650i, 780i, 790i). Those chipsets have been plagued by more instability and problems than the recent intel chipsets (like P35, X48). If you're intent on doing SLI GPU's, then you're stuck with an nvidia chipset board however. BTW, this is another reason not to go with SLI.

New GPU Release: The Nvidia and ATI new families of GPU's are being released within the next few weeks. If you want the fastest GPU you can get that won't need to be upgraded for quite a while, delay your build until they come out. Otherwise, consider getting a EVGA or BFG
brand GPU, since they offer the option of a 'trade-up' upgrade for 90-100 days after purchase, just in case you change your mind.

Nehalem: This is the name of the next Intel CPU family coming out within the next year, which will reportedly outperform today's best Core 2 family chips by 20-50%. Unfortunately, Nehalem is a physically larger chip and will require a new socket - thus, you'll need a new motherboard in order to upgrade. You might keep this in mind before you drop 2-300 bucks on a new motherboard today.

"Future-Proofing": Many people want to build a 'future-proof' system that will allow them to play the newest games at high to max settings for 3-4 years. Unfortunately, this is probably impossible since that length of time is an eternity in computing terms. IMHO, a better strategy is to build a mid-to-high end system every 1-2 years. Often, you'll be able to recycle the case and PSU, sometimes even the HD or motherboard. For example, today for $1000-1400 you can build a system that'll play all games on high to max settings for the next 1-2 years, and you'll get more bang for your buck than blowing 3k on a bleeding edge system that'll be underperforming within 2 years. This way you'll always have a high-performing, cost-effective system.

Overclocking: Even if you've never done it before, it's so easy and the performance gain so large with the new 45nm Core 2 Duo chips that it'd be a shame not to at least consider doing it. There are fairly simple primers and guides you can read in the overclocking section of this board and others that'll walk you thru it.

OK, here goes. I didn't list prices because they change daily and differ among various sites.

The idea here is to mix and match components below from different categories depending on your personal preference and budget. I left AMD out of this game so that every part on the list is compatible with every other part (also - I'm not an Intel fanboy, but the truth is AMD is lagging far behind Intel in overall performance at this point in time). This means you can choose any kind of combo you want (example: mid-range CPU, low-end RAM, high-end GPU, low-end Motherboard) and still be ok. You should be capable of selecting components below and ending up with a system ranging in price from around $750 and up. Any system made up of components from the categories below should perform at a relatively high level and run most games and at mid-to-high settings, as well as perform solidly at video/photo editing, web, email, cd burning, etc etc.

CPU:

Value/Low-End: For those on a very, very tight budget only
Intel Pentium E2160 Allendale 1.8GHz 1MB L2 Cache
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116036
Intel Pentium E2200 Allendale 2.2GHz 1MB L2 Cache
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116063
If you're on a very tight budget, then you could consider these CPU's. They
overclock well. However, the E7200 below is only currently about $50 more, and will almost double the CPU performance of your system.

Mid-Range (best price/performance ratio):
Core 2 Duo E7200
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115052
Runs cool, overclocks extremely well, great price.
Core 2 Duo E8400
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115037
Also runs cool and overclocks extremely well, in fact most will probably be able to overclock this slightly higher than the E7200. If you're not overclocking at all, then this is your choice, since at stock it runs 3.0GHz vs. 2.5GHz for the E7200.
Core 2 Quad Q6600
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115017
Probably the best overclocker of the quad cores, though the 45nm Q9300 is close.

High-End (overkill for most, but good choices if you're not overclocking and
want the fastest stock CPU's, or have money to burn/want bragging rights)
Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Wolfdale 3.16GHz 6MB L2 Cache
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115036
The fastest dual core chip available. The E8400 above however performs just about as well stock and overclocks just about as well also however.
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 Yorkfield 2.66GHz 12MB L2 Cache
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115042
Great quad chip, overclocked or not. The Quad Q9300 chip listed below performs almost as well for 80-100 dollars less however.
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300 Yorkfield 2.5GHz 6MB L2 Cache
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115043

Motherboard:

All of the below will support the latest CPU's and GPU's

Low End: (this is still a good performer, overclocks pretty well, fewer bells
and whistles)
GIGABYTE GA-P31-S3G LGA 775 Intel P31 ATX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128077

Mid-Range: (best price/performance ratio, overclock very well, have everything
most people want/need)
GIGABYTE GA-EP35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128337
DFI BloodIron P35-T2RL LGA 775 Intel P35
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813136038
ABIT IP35 Pro LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813127030
EVGA 123-YW-E175-A1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 750i FTW SLI
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188026
I would go with this last one above ONLY if you are intent on going with SLI GPU's since the Intel p35 and X38/48 chipsets are probably more stable. As many have pointed out however, this is probably the most trouble-free of the current Nvidia chipsets.

High-End: (overkill for most, overclock very well, lots of bells and
whistles, crossfire or SLI capable)
ASUS RAMPAGE FORMULA LGA 775 Intel X48 ATX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131284
GIGABYTE GA-X48-DS4 LGA 775 Intel X48 ATX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128336
XFX MB-N780-ISH9 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 780i SLI
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813141005
This last board above is only for those who decided they must run 2 X GPU in SLI. Otherwise, stick with one of the first two boards, as
they will probably be more likely to run trouble-free.

RAM:

Get at least 2 X 1 gig, preferably 2 X 2 gigs. Go with DDR2, either 800 (fine
for most) or 1066 (more expensive, only if doing very aggressive overclocking).
Look for RAM with low timings (5-5-5-15 for example). Lower voltage (1.8 for
example) tends to be better as well. A couple good choices below:

Two Gigs (2 X 1gig sticks) of RAM:
G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231098
GeIL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820144062

Four Gigs (2 X 2gig sticks) of RAM, midrange (best price/performance
ratio):
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231122[/L]
CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145184[/L]
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1000
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231145
this last choice is for those who want more headroom for aggressive overclocking of the CPU at about the same price as the others above. If you don't plan to overclock, you're better off with DDR2 800 RAM(one of the first two above)

Four Gigs, high-end, DDR2 1066 for aggressive overclocking (there's no point
in DDR3 RAM right now - maybe when we update this thread next time?):
CORSAIR DOMINATOR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145197
mushkin 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146785

Power Supply:
Don't skimp on this. If you want to overclock, you might get by with less, but
to be safe most will recommend at least a 500W unit from a good company. Corsair, Antec, PC Power and
Cooling, and Thermatake are good brands. One current bargain is this Antec case
with quality 500W PSU included for around $130:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129024

Low-end/budget (if you have to save money, you can probably get by with this,
but I'd recommend a mid-range PSU below):
SeaSonic SS-500ES ATX12V/V2.2, EPS12V/V2.91, 500W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...le-_-Power+Supplies-_-SeaSonic+USA-_-17151040
Thermaltake Purepower W0100RU 500W ATX 12V 2.0
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153052

Mid-Range, two excellent choices:
CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX 550W ATX12V V2.2
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139004
PC Power & Cooling Silencer PPCS500 500W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703015

High-End (overkill on the PSU never hurt anything):
If you're going high-end, I don't know of any reason not to simply get the most
powerful PC Power and Cooling or Corsair brand PSU you can afford. It's hard to go wrong. If you're going SLI, go to the Nvidia website and make sure the PSU you choose is certified for the SLI setup you plan to run.
Examples:
CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006
PC Power & Cooling T12W 1200W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703012

GPU:
Keep in mind the next generation GPU release over the next few weeks.

Lower End - Can still play games on mid to high settings however:
EVGA 512-P2-N757-TR GeForce 8600 GT 512MB 128-bit GDDR3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130290
SAPPHIRE 100226L Radeon HD 3850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102715

Mid-Range - Best Values Currently, can play all games on high to max settings:
8800GT 512MB or the 8800GTS 512MB. Examples below:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130318
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127325[/L]

High-End:
Currently this is comprised of the 8800GTX ultra, 9800GTX, and the 9800GX2.
These are not recommended currently however since in less than 2 weeks the new GPU's will be released that will blow these away, and the prices on these will drop. If you want to take a peep at the fastest GPU on the planet (if only for the next two weeks), here it is:
EVGA 01G-P3-N892-A3 GeForce 9800 GX2 SC 1GB 512-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130353

Case:
Personal preference. Pick one with space for at least a couple 120mm fans for good airflow (and don't forget to buy an
extra 120 mm fan if the case only comes with one). Quality brands include
CoolerMaster and Antec. Lian Li is generally considered the cream of the high end. There's so many good choices, I only listed one in each category that I know from personal experience are very good:

Lower-end:
Rosewill R5604-TBK 0.8mm SECC Screw-less Dual 120mm Fans ATX Mid Tower
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147033
A surprisingly solid case at this price level.

Mid-Range:
COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119137
Very popular. Good air circulation and construction.

High-End:
LIAN LI PC-A10B Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112122
Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021
This one's very popular with some overclockers b/c of all the fans, though I've personally never been convinced tons of fans is the answer to ideal case airflow.

Hard Drive:
How many gigs you get depends on what you're doing with your computer. For gaming, 250gigs is plenty, but if you want plenty of storage for music, video editing/files, etc go for 500gigs or more. The Western Digital AAKS series and Seagate 7200.11 series are good choices. Good examples below:
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136218
Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3500320AS 500GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148288

High-End: (much more expensive per gig, but the fastest HD you can buy)
Western Digital VelociRaptor WD3000GLFS 300GB 10000 RPM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136260

DVD Drive:
Get an SATA one at this point - easier to install. I like this one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151153
because it's quiet and speedy.

CPU Cooler:
Even if you're not overclocking, and aftermarket CPU cooler is a good idea. If you're overclocking, it's really a must.
This most effective on the market:
XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 120mm
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233003
The xigmatek is great, but very large and too tall for some mid-size cases.
Smaller and stil very good is this one:
ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186134
IMHO, water-cooling these days is not necessary b/c the CPU's run so much cooler and the aircoolers like the one's above have gotten so much better. You don't really want to try to overclock to 5.0GHz do you?

Operating System:
Take your pick. Since SP1 came out, I'd recommend Vista to take advantage of DX10 for the newest games. If you still cling to XP like a security
blanket, so be it. Either will cost you about 80-100 bucks at newegg.

Monitor:
Imho, the sweet spot currently is the 22'' widescreen LCD, in terms of
price/screen real estate ratio. If you can afford a 24'', go for it - that's
what I have and I love it.
Acer AL2216Wbd Black 22" 5ms Widescreen LCD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009094

Happy building! More importantly, happy gaming!

Nice guide man, should be very helpful

While I applaud your effort at helping both the people looking to build a new PC and those who help those people sort out their build list, there is one flaw in your plan: Different people have different needs, budgets and required parts.

Also, the Gen[H]ard FAQ stickied on top of the forums is suppose to help others pick out parts as well. Granted it isn't used much, unfortunately since a lot of work went into it, it is still there for reference. I really should start remembering to refer people to that FAQ more often.

Danny Bui said:

While I applaud your effort at helping both the people looking to build a new PC and those who help those people sort out their build list, there is one flaw in your plan: Different people have different needs, budgets and required parts.

Click to expand...

I completely agree. That's why I mentioned that this guide is for those who want to build a computer primarily for gaming with a budget between $800-1500 sometime in the near future. There's certainly no way one post could address everyone's individual needs - that's why we have an entire forum.

I think you need to reconsider at least one of your opinions... the eVGA 750i SLI FTW motherboard is stable and a great overclocker. Even [H] Enthusiast gave it a Gold Award. Another review had a Q6600 overclocked up to 3.6GHz in 10 seconds of BIOS adjustments.

Updated the OP significantly. I agree, the 750i SLI seems to be one of the more stable of the Nvidia chipsets/MB's, but I'd still take the p35 or X48 over it personally for stability.

I added this board to the OP in the midrange MB category as an option. thanks:
EVGA 123-YW-E175-A1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 750i FTW SLI

very nice guide man.

That Purepower PSU isn't that good either. The only good Thermaltake PSUs are part of their Purepower RX and Toughpower.

Also, even with bragging rights and money to burn, I do not think its a good idea to recommend the E8500. Bad recommendation since it costs $70 more than the E8400 yet is only 164mhz faster than the E8400. Even if you do want the fastest CPU possible, it's still pretty stupid/inefficient use of your money.

Do have to admit though, if you keep this list update with good parts, good for you! Just beware of the caveats with maintaining like this. It's actually been tried and done before but with minor success.

Good thing I have my own list

Nice guide. Could use some formatting to make it easier to read. You could also ask a mod to sticky this thread if you plan to keep it updated. And of course, I agree with Danny.

This is a great thread. Hopefully it will help with the "Build me a PC" threads.
sticky

Thanks for the good feedback. I'll try to keep it up to date.

I would add the new Corsair 1kW (which got a good [H] review), Thermalright HSFs like the Ultra120Ex/Ultima90I, and what about some Asus motherboards like the P5K/Q?

Overall though, good guide. Hopefully people will read this rather than making zillions of similar threads.

Good guide worth reading. This should be good for the first time builder who is looking to learn a little more and get to know what is good to used when building his/her first computer. Good job!

well thought out, and informative,

maybe include some info on ddr3 for newbs

not sure but some may find this confusing:

8800GTX ultra

Click to expand...

nice guide man!

updated slightly with a couple comments on Nehalem and the idea of 'future-proofing'

awesome thread. I should have read this first!

Should probably put this on the front page, people aren't finding it.

And update it. The new P45 motherboard and ATI cards are out now. The E8500 and Thermaltake PSU is still on the list when they shouldn't be. In addition, the PPCS500 500W PSU should also be removed since it only offers 35A on the +12V rail. The Corsair 550VX offers 40A and is only $5 more. The Corsair 450VX offers 33A on the +12V rail and only costs $15 less.

EDIT: Hmm the OP hasn't logged in since the 11th of this month...