New Gaming Rig

1

1st Sgt. Burke

Limp Gawd
Joined
Nov 1, 2004
Messages
436
Building a new gaming rig for current/future games. My old rig wont run Ghostbusters so its time to start lookign into things.



1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming/web
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included? $1500 shipped
3) Where do you live? Florida
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? Everything
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? mouse and keyboard thats all
6) Will you be overclocking? No
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have? Not sure yet, but monitor budget is seperate
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC? next 3 months latest
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? Crossfire or SLI support as i want dual video cards (i assume thats better now) Im okay with onboard audio
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? Yes I have winxp keys and may get oem vista 64 depending on peoples feedback


My old rig is in my sig, I built it in 2004 and its showing its age now. Still plays games like COD4 at lower settings but I want to beable to play them at higher settings. And as I said above my rig wont even run ghostbusters right now.

Id like a 10,000rpm main harddrive, i have plenty of external storage so size is not really an issue. Whatever mobo I get i will probably max out with ram tho. Anyway I appreciate any advice as I currently have no idea whats good videocard/proccessor wise.
 
Here's a variant of an earlier build that I made for someone:

$620 - Intel Core i7 920, Asus P6T Deluxe v2 & OCZ Gold 3x2GB DDR3 1600 combo deal (free shippping on all three)
$40 - Xigmatek Dark Knight S1283V CPU cooler
$200 - XFX HD4890
$75 - Western Digital WD6401AALS 640GB HDD (free shippping)
$25 - Samsung SH-S223F SATA DVD burner
$79 - Antec Earthwatts 650W PSU (free shippping)
$81 - Cooler Master Centurion 690 mid-tower case (free shipping)
=====
$1120 - Subtotal (not including shipping, taxes, or rebates)

You don't need SLI or CrossFire if you don't plan on using a monitor with a resolution greater than 1920x1200. The HD4890 can provide excellent gameplay at that resolution, though you may have to adjust some of the visual settings in a few games (Crysis in particular).

Likewise, you don't need to max out on the RAM for a gaming machine. The majority of the games out today still aren't optimized to take advantage of more than 4GB of RAM.

If you want a fast hard drive, go with an SSD instead of a VelociRaptor. The WD6401AALS that I listed is only 10% slower than the VelociRaptor. The only prohibiting factor to getting an SSD is cost: you could buy two WD6401AALS drives for around the same cost of one OCZ Vertex 30GB SSD. But two of those SSDs in RAID 0 would blow any HDD setup out of the water.

You need a 64-bit OS to properly utilize all of your RAM, but with the pending release of Windows 7 (coming in October), it would make better sense to use the Windows 7 RC until the "final version" arrives.
 
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Tiraides build is pretty solid. But, I'm going to throw in something with a little more video graphics power and a lcd monitor.

CASE/PSU - Coolermaster RC 690 + Corsair 650TX both for $170 ($10 MIR on PSU)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.200608

CPU/MOBO - Intel Core i7 920 + ASUS P6T SE both for $470 ($15 MIR on mobo)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.203969

RAM/VIDEO CARD - OCZ Gold 6GB DDR3 1600 + XFX Radeon 4870X2 both for $463 ($20 MIR on Ram, $30 MIR on Video Card)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.198843

HDD - WD6401AALS 640GB 7200RPM 32MB Cache for $75 w/free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319

OPTICAL - Samsung 22X DVD Burner for $25
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151171

HEATSINK - Xigmatek Darknight-S1283V 120MM for $40
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233029

LCD Monitor - Asus VH242H 23.6” for $200 w/free shipping
http://secure.newegg.com/Shopping/ShoppingCart.aspx?Submit=view

Subtotal: $1,442.90
Shipping: $28.64 on UPS 3 Day

Grand Total: $1,471.54

No more playing COD4 on low settings this time. This is one crazy ass upgrade over your current build in your sig.
 
Under $1400 budget, with Vista Home Premium 64bit O/S

CASE/PSU - Coolermaster RC 690 + Corsair 650TX both for $170 ($10 MIR on PSU)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.200608

CPU/MOBO - Intel Core i7 920 + ASUS P6T SE both for $470 ($15 MIR on mobo)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.203969

RAM/VIDEO CARD - OCZ Gold 6GB DDR3 1600 + XFX Radeon 4890 both for $288 ($20 MIR on Ram, $10 MIR on Video Card)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.197118

HDD/OS - WD6401AALS 640GB 7200RPM 32MB Cache + Win Vista Home Premium 64bit both for $155
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.198217

OPTICAL - Samsung 22X DVD Burner for $25
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151171

HEATSINK - Xigmatek Darknight-S1283V 120MM for $40
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233029

LCD Monitor - Asus VH242H 23.6” for $200 w/free shipping
http://secure.newegg.com/Shopping/ShoppingCart.aspx?Submit=view

Subtotal: $1,347.89
Shipping: $30.84 on UPS 3 Day

Grand Total: $1,378.73
 
10k rpm hard drive? a raptor? it runs like a jet. so noisy. try a SSD if size does not matter :D.
x25-m or ocz vertex, faster than 2xRaptor in raid 0. and no noise at all
 
No sense getting a 10K Raptor these days. It's best to wait and get an SSD drive. Or, if money is not an issue, than get an SSD Drive.
 
HardwareGuru said:
No sense getting a 10K Raptor these days. It's best to wait and get an SSD drive. Or, if money is not an issue, than get an SSD Drive.
Click to expand...

I Love my raptor 10k rpm. I only install apps and have my OS on it. And it made a huge difference from when I had it on a 7200 maxtor. Not only on load times, but applications also load faster.

Ide recommend it.
 
That was then and this is now... They are barely 5-10% faster than current generation of 7200 rpm drives at 2 to 3 times the cost.
 
Okay so Im ready to buy now.

Need more links as the above combos are all dead.
Budget is now $1850 shipped with a good lcd monitor for gaming, id prefer the biggest monitor i can get without sacrificing too much computer. Presently i ahve a 19" CRT so whatever would be an equivalent or better switch would be fine.
Again all assitance is appreciated

another option to is to order a Dell.........but I assume theyre still just ripping people off.
 
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For a high end gaming system, Dell is not the way to go. For a basic low budget family computer that is used just to check email, browse the web, and play multimedia, then Dell is great. :p

Sorry, I have no time to shop right now. Hopefully HG or someone does. ;)
 
Sorry, kinda busy at work right now to whip up a sick build. But, I will get back to you.
 
Here's 2 builds man to consider:

Build 1 – CoolerMaster Case w/ Coolermaster 600 watt modular PSU with 40A on the +12V

CASE/PSU – CoolerMaster Storm Scout + CoolerMaster RS600 modular PSU both for $184.98
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.208532

MOBO/CPU – ASUS P6T SE LGA 1366 + Intel Core i7 920 both for $469.98 ($15 MIR on mobo)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.208282

VIDEO CARD/RAM – HIS Radeon HD 4890 1GB + OCZ Gold 6GB DDR3 1600 both for $282.98 ($15 MIR on Ram)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.208635

HDD – WD6401AALS 640GB for $74.99 w/free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319

OPTICAL – Samsung 22X DVD Burner for $28.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151188

HSF – Xigmatek Darknight-S1283V for $39.98
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233029

O/S – Use your WinXP or Download Windows 7 RC.

Total: $1,081.90
Shipping: UPS 3 day: $35.77
Grand Total: $1,117.67

LCD Monitor - ASUS VH242H 23.6in for $179.99 w/free shipping ($10 MIR)
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10010377

Computer + LCD Monitor = $1,297.66



Build 2 – Antec 300 Case w/Antec 650watt psu with 45A on the +12v


CASE/PSU – Antec 300 + Antec EA650 both for $144.94
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.204132

MOBO/CPU – ASUS P6T SE LGA 1366 + Intel Core i7 920 both for $469.98 ($15 MIR on mobo)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.208282

VIDEO CARD/RAM – HIS Radeon HD 4890 1GB + OCZ Gold 6GB DDR3 1600 both for $282.98 ($15 MIR on Ram)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.208635

HDD – WD6401AALS 640GB for $74.99 w/free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319

OPTICAL – Samsung 22X DVD Burner for $28.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151188

HSF – Xigmatek Darknight-S1283V for $39.98
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233029

O/S – Use your WinXP or Download Windows 7 RC.

Total: $1,041.86
Shipping: UPS 3 day: $29.48
Grand Total: $1,071.34

LCD Monitor - ASUS VH242H 23.6in for $179.99 w/free shipping ($10 MIR)
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10010377

Computer + LCD Monitor = $1,251.33
 
People should pay this man! :p HG needs to start a "extra shipping costs for hawaiians fund." :p
 
$1,850 budget? This build outta slam for $1,630.85. Play COD4, COD5 at 1920 x 1200 res at 100+ fps and max out all settings.

Build 3 – CoolerMaster Case w/ Coolermaster 700 watt modular PSU with 50A on the +12V + Radeon HD 4870X2 2GB Video Card

CASE/PSU – CoolerMaster Storm Scout + CoolerMaster RS700 modular PSU both for $204.98
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.208781

MOBO/CPU – ASUS P6T SE LGA 1366 + Intel Core i7 920 both for $469.98 ($15 MIR on mobo)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.208282

VIDEO CARD/RAM – Sapphire Radeon HD 4870X2 2GB + OCZ Gold 6GB DDR3 1600 both for $452.98 ($15 MIR on Ram, $10 MIR on Video card)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.208649

HDD – WD6401AALS 640GB for $74.99 w/free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319

OPTICAL – Samsung 22X DVD Burner for $28.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151188

HSF – Xigmatek Darknight-S1283V for $39.98
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233029

O/S – Use your WinXP or Download Windows 7 RC.

Total: $1,271.90
Shipping: UPS 3 day: $28.96
Grand Total: $1,300.86

LCD Monitor - ASUS VK266H 25.5in for $329.99 w/free shipping ($30 MIR)
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10010374

Computer + LCD Monitor = $1,630.85
 
What the hell man, you still have money left. Upgrade your speakers to

M-Audio AV40 for $118.78 + $16.95 shipping = $135.73
 
haha... everytime HG or someone mentions those speakers I get so tempted to buy them. :( :p
 
Awesome. Ill go with build #3. Just to clarify tho will this be an upgradable platform for the future, my last rigs life span was doomed becasue of the socket 754 and AGP slot.

Also are radeon drivers still a pain in the butt as they used to be? Ive always ran a nvidia card becasue of them.

HG thanx alot man i appreciate it.
 
There are always new sockets and slots coming out. Though, PCI-E3.0 is a while away, and LGA1366 isn't even a year old, so you'll be good for a while. ;)

Drivers are drivers... some work, some don't... you just need to find ones that do work.
 
Going core i7 for gaming is about as smart as buying an ASUS Mars gtx295.
 
Well i put this together yesterday but had to head home from work so here is my build for ya

$24.99 - LG DVD Burner Black SATA Model GH22NS50 - OEM
$197.99 - ASUS VH242H Black 23.6" 5ms HDMI Full 1080P Widescreen LCD Monitor - Retail
$439.98 ($219.99 EA) - 2 x EVGA 896-P3-1170-AR GeForce GTX 275 896MB 448-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
$107.99 - mushkin 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model 998659 - Retail
$39.98 - XIGMATEK Dark Knight-S1283V 120mm Long Life Bearing CPU Cooler - Retail
$184.98 - Seventeam ST-850PAF 850W ATX 12V V2.2 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Retail + Thermaltake V9 Mid Tower Case
$179.98 - Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM + Vista 64bit Home Premium (With Windows 7 Upgrade or at least thats how i read it.)
$524.98 - ASUS P6T Deluxe V2 LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail + i7 920 Retail CPU

Subtotal - $1,700.87
Shipped - $12.98

Total Shipped before rebates - $1,713.85

$70 worth of rebates in the build as well if you don't mind dealing with them
 
1st Sgt. Burke said:
meaning the i7 core isnt good for gaming?
Click to expand...

Meaning it is a waste of money that could be spent better elsewhere. Core i7 chips are good but they cost too much. Unless you get a good deal from somewhere I don't think they are worth it(at least not for gaming).
 
Yeah. Although I came up with those Core i7 builds, personally I would not put together a Core i7 build myself if it was just for gaming only. If I did more stuffs on the pc that would take more advantage of the core i7 cpu power, then I would go for it. I would more than settle for an AMD Phenom II X3 triple core or Phenom II X4 build. But, I was mainly working with your budget.
 
HardwareGuru said:
Yeah. Although I came up with those Core i7 builds, personally I would not put together a Core i7 build myself if it was just for gaming only. If I did more stuffs on the pc that would take more advantage of the core i7 cpu power, then I would go for it. I would more than settle for an AMD Phenom II X3 triple core or Phenom II X4 build. But, I was mainly working with your budget.
Click to expand...

QFT

Jospeh said:
... Core i7 chips are good but they cost too much. ...
Click to expand...

The i7 920 prices are decent... its the mobo and RAM prices that cost too much, IMO.
 
Hmmm so the i7 is overkill (for now). I assume the other option is to go with a lesser proc and therfore cheaper mobo/ram and spend more on a graphics card?

Like I said Im way out of the loop as far as graphics cards and procs at the moment. The rig will mainly be used for gaming, web surfing, movies and stuff. My wife will inherit my current rig and use that for photo editing (amature) and other MS office based crap, as well as light gaming.

But if the i7 is the way to go to stretch the life of the rig ill go that way. Im mainly concerned about keeping up graphics wise....
 
By the time you need an i7 something better will be out there for less. Buy it then. Future proofing is largely useless. Don't buy a better graphics card than you need unless you are getting a new monitor soon. I just don't see the point of getting an i7 for gaming. It just isn't worth it. It is suited well for multithreaded apps but for gaming it doesn't provide enough of an improvement to be worth getting.
 
I would say so yes. My reason is because looking at your setup in your sig, it's very outdated

CPU - Single core Athlon cpu
RAM - 3gig DDR RAM
VIDEO - Nvidia 7900GS AGP

Anything will be a major upgrade to this. I have a smiliar setup to yours but, mine is actually even slower. In your case, get a Phenom II X4 cpu, 4GB ram, 640gb HDD, Radeon HD 4890 video card and you will be happy. I highly doubt you will say to yourself: "Damn... I should have just gone with a Core i7 build. This Phenom II X4 build is not that much faster than my Athlon 64 3400+ setup"

I would say a good Phenom II X4 build + 25.5" lcd monitor for $1200-$1300 budget would be sweet. The main thing here is that your see an improvement from your current build and with a setup like this, you will definitely see an improvement.
 
Well Ill definately be getting the monitor in build 3 that HG put together for me.

Yeah my rig was built in 04 but it has kept up so far as the only thing i replaced was the graphics card cause i fried my 6800gt in 07.

Hmm so now i dunno what to do.

Go with a slower proc for now or spend more for a faster proc which may end up not being worthwhile for gaming at all? Saving more moeny in this economy would be good....

Another quuestion with crossfire and sli out now is it better to get two medium level cards or a single high end card?
And the whole nvidia vs ati thing, is ATI still winning?
 
I'm just speaking from my personal point of view on your situation. I'm not telling you to not get a Core i7. But, for me, I normally don't spend much on a PC despite me configuring builds on Hardforum for other people.
 
Okay I slept on the deals, anyway Ive always been a Nvidia guy so i put this together how does it look? is everything compatable with each other and do i need anything else? Aftermarket heatsink etc?

LG Black 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 22X DVD-R 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA DVD Burner - OEM (pretty much only one in stock)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136167

Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319

COOLER MASTER RS-700-AMBA-D3 700W ATX12V V2.3 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Power Supply - Retail
COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.208786

OCZ Gold 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Low Voltage Desktop Memory Model OCZ3G1600LV6GK - Retail
EVGA 02G-P3-1185-AR GeForce GTX 285 2GB 512-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.205473

EVGA E758-TR 3-Way SLI (x16/x16/x8) LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80601920 - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.211024

puts me at just under $1300
 
Which monitor were you considering again? And when were you going to get the monitor?
 
Buying a GTX 285 with next generation graphics cards coming soon isn't the brightest idea in the world.
 
1st Sgt. Burke said:
Also are radeon drivers still a pain in the butt as they used to be? Ive always ran a nvidia card becasue of them.

HG thanx alot man i appreciate it.
Click to expand...

After using NVIDIAs for a while I now have an ATI card. Installation was a breeze, no issues. Of course there is always some drivers that will give you issues.

1st Sgt. Burke said:
And the whole nvidia vs ati thing, is ATI still winning?
Click to expand...

There are deals on both. I get whatever is better for the money at the time.
 
Its not worth the price. General at 1920x1200, GTX 275 is more than enough. But since the 4890 is just as fast as GTX 275. Their are both much better value than GTX 285 at this time.
 
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I agree with what It_shiro mentioned earlier. It is one of the higher end cards for now, but, not for very long. Plus, for $300+ dollars, I am not quite impressed with the performance of the GTX 285 video card. A GTX 275 or Radeon HD 4890 will max out all COD titles at 1920x1200 already for alot cheaper cost than a GTX 285 video card.
 
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