Help Building First Rig (Gaming)

T

TheEnglishJob

Weaksauce
Joined
Feb 21, 2009
Messages
110
For starters:

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Gaming
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
My target is $1000 (everything included) but I would be willing to spend a couple hundred ($1500 tops!) more if I thought it would either increase the upgrade ability of the machine or be just be really worth it. I would rather spend the extra cash on the motherboard and processor and upgrade things like RAM and hard drives in a couple years when I need to.
3) Where do you live?
Los Angeles
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.
Everything
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
None
6) Will you be overclocking?
Don't plan on it
7) What size monitor do you have or plan to have?
Need (19" would be nice but I'm not picky..I currently use a 17" that randomly changes colors...not so good)
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Within the month
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
Honestly...not sure. From my research I think RAID and SLI won't do much for my gaming. As far as any other features, I want to be able to take advantage of future technologies.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license?
No. I was thinking 64-bit Vista

I'm looking for something reliable and don't need the latest and greatest. However, I don't want something that is going to pigeon hole me and not allow me to upgrade in 2-3 years. I want to be able to run all the games out on the market and in the next 3-4 years at a reasonable quality (I don't need everything to be the highest resolution...however if I can get that for $1500 I wont appose).

I'm kind of a big novice at this and the whole thing is a little overwhelming. Thanks.
 
here is a i7 suggestion. $1380 after s&h but before mir.
LG 22x sata dvd burner
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136152
Cooler Master 690
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119137
Western Digital 640gb AAKS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136218
Acer 22" monitor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009145
EVGA GTX 260
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130434
G Skill 6gb 1600 ram
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231225
Gigabyte EX58-UD3R motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128375
Vista Home 64bit
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116488
i7 920 + corsair 650w combo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.159778
 
Any recommendations for speakers? Nothing fancy, I'm just currently using the speakers on my faulty monitor so those are out of the picture.
 
Is there really any need for SLI in what I want to do (gaming and general Microsoft office stuff). I got the impression that was more important if you were doing extreme multitasking and video editing stuff. Correct me if I'm wrong though.
 
sweet. I like the monitor suggestion as well as the speakers. Out of curiosity, i have an old mouse and keyboard which I've had for 8 years and have ABSOLUTELY no problems with either. They both work perfectly. Is there anything I'm missing out on if I don't upgrade those? My mouse has 5 keyes total (left/right click, left/right click on side of mouse, and wheel)
 
SLI is useful for gaming, but only at stupid high resolutions. In you're case it is not important at all.

I vote for auceny's build, its very solid.
 
So I calculated, with the original build plus new monitor and speakers = $1490 - $50 MRI = $1440. This is within my budget, but if I was to make any changes to drop the price what would be the first thing I should look at downgrading?
 
TheEnglishJob said:
So I calculated, with the original build plus new monitor and speakers = $1490 - $50 MRI = $1440. This is within my budget, but if I was to make any changes to drop the price what would be the first thing I should look at downgrading?
Click to expand...

if you have a micro center or frys near you they might have the i7 920 for $230 with local pickup. could go with a smaller monitor. 3gb of ram instead of 6.
 
That build you're looking at seems to be really ideal for what you're looking for. I'd say go with it for sure. But I do have to ask.....do you have a microcenter anywhere near you? www.microcenter.com If you do then you can save some money by going in an getting one of the i7 920 cpu's because they're $229.99 in store pick up right now....in store only.

One thing though....you live in California so I think you might have to pay sales taxes since newegg is based out of California.... Someone correct me if I'm wrong please.
 
the I7 is way over priced for gaming, unless you have the money, and are using a ton of multiple threaded applications. I would use that money to get WD Raptor.

I would get a basic motherboard for core 2 d , and the cheapest core 2 d, ( you will never max your CPU that much in gaming, I have a e6300, and a nvidia 285 and can max games @ 2048 * 1536 ), and make sure it has a pci-e 16x slot.
get four gigs of ddr 800, anything else is a waste of money.
a wd raptor drive
I would go with case of your choice, just sort by money and reviews.
pioneer dvd burner.
nvidia 260 - 285 , depending on how much cash you got.
Look for a pc power and cooling power supply. make sure it's over 600 watt.
find the cheapest LCD 19" monitor that does HD 1080P, I think there is one around $200.
Use headphone / Mic combo for speakers.
Find a good keyboard and mouse combo, although I prefer the logitec laser corded mice.
 
auceny said:
if you have a micro center or frys near you they might have the i7 920 for $230 with local pickup. could go with a smaller monitor. 3gb of ram instead of 6.
Click to expand...

lol Beat me to it....but really if he can swing it I think the 6gb will be much better especially with Vista 64bit. Might as well utilize everything he can. :)
 
Unless you really want that polished feeling of a MS product, then I would go with OO.
 
Here is a AMD Build for comparison
$1,267.90 before shipping ( $35.50) and tax ($104.60) damn tax on newegg must suck lol also 45 bucks in rebates not included in price $1,407.72 total not counting rebates.


Antec Nine Hundred Comes with free 22x DVD burner
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021

HITACHI 0A38016 1TB 7200 RPM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822145233

ASUS VH242H Black 23.6" 5ms HDMI Full 1080P Widescreen LCD Monitor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236052

MSI R4870-T2D1G Radeon HD 4870 1GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127400

two of the following = 8GB total
A-DATA 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820211364

GIGABYTE GA-MA790XT-UD4P AM3 DDR3 AMD 790X
AMD Phenom II X3 720 2.8GHz Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Black COMBO
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.162223

Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116488

CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005
 
lundrog said:
It's a difference in a faster drive, that everything on it benefits from, vs a quad cpu, which is made for multitasking applications, not gaming.
Click to expand...

3 times the cost, half space and barely 10% faster? Its a waste...
 
If I wanted to cut costs down to $1000 (we'll say before taxes) what kind of build could I get. I realize I would loose the i7 technology. I'm not against spending the money for either of the builds shown but a friend of mine is insisting that I'm wasting my money on technology that outperforms any games I'll play.
 
Well if gaming is your only real concern then spend the money in the card and save on the other components for another day.

also things like the case u can cut corners on the case to a degree spend 40 bucks instead of 80-100

go am2+ with ddr 2 save $200 bucks atleast just changing out the motherboard, cpu and ram without a hell of alot of performance loss.. and it will be drop rdy for am3 processor in future.

AMD Athlon 64 X2 7750 Kuma 2.7GHz
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103300

Foxconn A7GM-S 2.0 AM2+ / AM3 Ready AMD 780G
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813186165

two = 8GB total ram is cheap take advantage!
A-DATA 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820211188

these 3 changes make my original build $1,081.41 before taxes shipping etc not including 45 bucks in mail in rebates.

drop the 24 inch monitor for the 22 and your sub $1000


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820211188
 
AMD Phenom II X3 720 2.8GHz $150
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103649
BIOSTAR TA760G M2+ $80
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138137
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR2 800 $46
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231122
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB $75
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136218&Tpk=wd 640
LG Black 22X DVD R/RW $26
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136153
SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 4870 512MB $180
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102810
XIGMATEK HDT-RS1283 Red Scorpion $33
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233012
BFG Tech LS SERIES LS-550 550W $80
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817702008
Antec Three Hundred $60
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129042&Tpk=antec 300

Total before S&H $730

Acer X233Hbid Black 23" $200
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009163

Optional bling

3 x XIGMATEK XLF-F1253 120mm 4 white LED LED Case Fan - Retail $27
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233015
NZXT Sentry LX dual bay fan controller $60
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811992004
 
I just want to point out:

TheEnglishJob said:
However, I don't want something that is going to pigeon hole me and not allow me to upgrade in 2-3 years
Click to expand...

Aren't all of the C2D builds going to run into this problem (CPU+MB+RAM are in effect tied together for all future tech; i.e. upgrading MB or CPU would require upgrading all)? I think that's the most compelling argument for i7 in this case. Alternatively, you would be betting that all the future upgrade paths on the i7 platform will not be worth the up-front premium now.
 
largefarrva said:
One thing though....you live in California so I think you might have to pay sales taxes since newegg is based out of California.... Someone correct me if I'm wrong please.
Click to expand...
Yes we in California do pay taxes (about 8.25%) since Newegg is based here or at least has a warehouse here in California (City of Industry).
 
i think if u go with the 4870 its well worth the extra 20 bucks to go 1GB performance reasons.

as for motherboard since they are the same cost might aswell grab the foxcon as its got a better (more options) chipset running it.

/shrug i like AMD
 
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