Building a Gaming Computer [HELP]
 

Okay, so, I'm a computer scientist, in the stand point that I program, I'm not exactly a hardware buff. I can solder, and assemble computer hardware, but I'm at an impass when it comes to me building a new gaming computer. I find the hardest thing about building a new gaming computer, is selecting the hardware, I need help.

Okay, Here's the layout - Gaming computer to run the latest games, ie, Modern Warfare 2, Unreal Tournament, Fall out 3, and all the other benchmark games, built to run at 1920 x 1200 resolution.

Budget: I'd like to build a computer for 1500 or less, not including monitor, or peripherals, unless that addition that busts the budget, is a must have, like it cooks oven baked cookies for you. PC EZ Bake oven

I haven't built a computer in 6 years, so I'm way out of the game with new technology, and even worse, the computer world is going through a change (FSB speeds switching to Interlink path tech measured in G/Ts, and so on)

I thought I had it all figured out, read a bunch of reviews on best processor for price, find a matching motherboard chipset that performs well, maintain a high FSB speed to match super fast RAM, then find the best single video card for your money that runs on PCI-E x 16. I ended up with

Build List:
CPU: Intel i7 920, 2.66GHz, 4.8 G/Ts Bus speed $269.99
RAM: 6GB
Corsair Dominator 1600MHz (3 x 2GB) $204.98 (also has 20$ mail in rebate)
PSU: Corsair 750W $109.99
MOBO: Asus Rampage II Extreme $364.00
GPU: Sapphire Radeon 5850 1GB $318.00
HD: WD Velociraptor 150GB 10k rpm $149.99
Heatsink: Noctua NH-D14 Ultra Silent CPU Cooler $90.00

total: $1507.00

Monitor: Samsung 23" LED Monitor $318.00


What do you think?

have you tried toms hardware website?

its a good place to read decent reviews of the latest hardware

Tom's Hardware: Hardware News, Tests and Reviews

also price shop Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, Digital Cameras and more! for your components

ive always built my own machines, but ive always used amd, so i couldnt really help you too much on an intel machine...

I've built a few quad core 4+gb machines recently with 24" lcds, and all peripherals w/o going cheap on anything. i'm talkin 80$ keyboards and 60$ mice. >100$ cases and 200$ psupplies. a 1500$ bugdet is easy to make. i'm about to run an errand but when i get back i'll look at some stuff for you.

As you know there is no such thing as future-proofing for computers, so try and get the latest stuff, and sell parts before they become obsolete. My 2 cents.

My recommendations:

Processor - i7 (199 @ microcenter)
RAM - Corsair/OCZ 3gb of ram (unless your going 64-bit) then go 6gb (even then, its overkill), speed is dependent upon MOBO & what you want to do for overclocking
Power Supply - seasonic/ corsair power supply (preferably modular for ease)
Motherboard - Gigabyte, MSI, or DFI lanparty Mobo
Graphics Card - ATI 5850 or 5950
HDD - 10k raptor drive as your main, Seagate 7200 rpm hdd any size as your secondary, or if your feeling expensive SSD
OS - XP or Windows 7 (avoid vista) or OS X (technically illegal)
Monitor - avoid TN panel, if you want quality.



Newegg is the best place to get the parts or you can shop around. I didnt check the price, but i just gave your parts you should try and use! If you have more questions ask. I build computers, as a hobby, for elderly, regular household users, and gamers!

You can definitely save some money on a gaming rig by using the previous generation CPU, and there really aren't any games that are truely multi-core enabled yet (or CPU bottle-necked). But from the other side of things, by purchasing the new technology now you will save the hassle of upgrading the motherboard and CPU again in 18 months when the games start to catch up. Quad-core definitely helps out if you are doing other things like video editing, video encoding.

My theory for my last 2 rigs has been buy 1 rev old. Why pay the "tax" on the premium hardware? The money I've saved by buying the 'former top of the line' gear has allowed me to upgrade more frequently - keeping up. Two different theories, but after building two over priced PC's, this approach seems to work better for me.

Some advice- attempt to buy all your stuff from the same site - what you save by shopping around could end up being eaten by shipping and handling fees. Newegg is always my first recommendation- good prices, and more importantly, a solid reputation.

this is some good advice guys - and the shopping aroudn part that I'm doing, I always make sure they have free shipping, so that doesn't hurt me.

As far as Intel and not AMD. I've always been an AMD guy, but AMD also has been keeping up and surpassing, somethings, Intel, but right now, the new FSB interconnect technology is my must have. I've never had a compy with higher than 333 FSB speeds, and I reallly wanna try a 1600MHz FSB compy.

I'm actually gonna have a small (30GB) SSD for the operating system to work on, and a larger 750GB HD 7200 rpm on the side, or 300GB 10k rpm


I plan to do light overclocking to get the 2.6GHz proc up to the 3.X+ range.

A lot of my review serches do actually end up on Tomshardware.com, I used to actually used Hard OCP as my review site ever since my first build, probably back in '98

UPDATE: I threw some more info on the first post as I decide on what I want. I'm using it as a working note pad. I think my hardest decision will come down to GPU and MOBO. I've always loved NVidia, and every review I've read seems to be swayed with bias, like only Radeon, or only NVIDIA.

EVGA nVidia GeForce 275 Superclocked – 896MB GDDR3, PCI Express 2.0 seems like an option for around 300

Read more: http://www.brighthub.com/computing/h...#ixzz0ZVugrOVc

Since your in CS, you'll appreciate this article Agner`s CPU blog - Stop the instruction set war Some more "food for thought" on the Intel vs AMD war. (warning: Heavy geek content)

The new Western Digital Black drives have been getting some good press lately. I ordered two 1TB drives to replace some aging 500gig drives in my home server. SSD's haven't proven themselves to me yet, still nervous on the read write issues. Speed is one thing, but I'd rather have reliability.

the read write issues have supposedly been solved with Windows 7's support of the TRIM firmware, and a lot of existed SSD's just update their firmware to have TRIM fix their issues. *goes and reads the geek article, lol*

Here's core components of the box I built over a month ago:
CPU: Core i5 750 ($198)
MB: MSI P55M-GD45 ($110)
MEM: 4x2GB G.SKILL DDR3 1333MHz (8GB total for $140)
VID: ATI HD5850 ($254... tee hee, ordered before prices went up)
PSU: Corsair HX650 ($120)
SSD: Intel X25M 80GB GEN2 ($280)

For gaming, I have my computer hooked up to a 1080P HDTV. All of my games run at max settings at 1920x1080. I leave out anti-aliasing since I sit far from the TV. Attached is photo without the graphics card in place.

Don't get the GeForce card from PNY. They have crappy heat issues (I should know).

In regards to ATI vs. nVidia, new product offerings from ATI made me switch from nVidia. The HD 5850 is a bargain of a card, and it was cheaper than my $300 budget for a gaming video card. The only gripe I have with ATI is the Catalyst Control Center, but I don't notice any issues with the SSD haha.

Seriously, though... I switched back and forth looking for performance bargains as well as power efficiency.

ATI 9700Pro -> GeForce 256 -> X800XL ->X1800GTO2 -> 8800GT G92 -> 8800GTS G92 -> HD 5850... that's everything I've owned since 2000.

Damn DIG, you just went old school on me, 9700 pro, that was a beast of a card at the time! When ATI > Nvidia! Put ATI on the map!

Equinox, visit this website ([H]ard|Forum - Powered by vBulletin), make an account and post under the section called: General Hardware
Very helpful guide: Building or Upgrading a Computer (The Detailed [H] Guide) - [H]ard|Forum

I am going to go over your first post really quick, but the above are some quick tips.

Quick edit: Will be back in a few minutes, going to use Newegg to build your 1500USD computer. :D

Here we go:

CPU - 288.99: Intel Core i7-920 Bloomfield
GPU - 259.99: EVGA GTX 275
MB - 300: Anything ASUS (unless you plan to do SLi stick with ASUS)
SSD - 299.99: Intel X25 (80GB)
HDD - 199.99: 2TB (Western Digital)
PSU - 109.99: Your choice is good (love corsair PSU), make sure you get a modular one, can easily keep case clutter down.
Memory - 149.99: G.SKILL 6GB, I have a spot for G.Skill because they make some of the best (real priced) memory. If you plan to go extreme on your OC then you need the Corsair, but if you just plan to hit 3.0 to 3.2 the G.Skill can do perfectly fine.
Heatsink (also buy thermal compound, Arctic Silver 5, costs about 9 bucks) -Thermalright Ultra Extreme 120
Total - I am around 1650 currently.

Many of these items will have discounts or mail in rebates which will help lower the cost. Also, you can buy a MB for less than 300 and it be great, I put 300 as a max you should pay. The SSD is also up in the air, that is one of the best SSDs on the market currently and you could buy a slightly smaller one from Intel if you just plan to run the OS and some programs. Terabyte hard drives are super cheap right now, I threw up the 2TB as it is the largest currently and finally dropped below the price point I would pay for it. You can get 1TB or even 1.5TB, from western digital, for sub 150USD or even sub 100USD if you find a good sale.

You will also need a case, unless you have an older one. Buying a new case, look for one with 120mm fans, and even then think about upgrading them down the road as it can make even the fastest machines run much quieter.

A few questions about the hard drives:
~Do you plan to just run the OS on the SSD or also programs?
~Do you do photo editing or video editing that you need a quick secondary drive?

The EVGA 275 will be a cheaper option, but if you go this route then do not buy the OC or Superclocked version, you can do that all on your own. EVGA has a program they bundle (or you can download for free) which does the OC and is easy to use. Also with EVGA do not forget to register the card right after you install it, you get lifetime support and a discount on upgrading if you upgrade within X amount of time.

Any other questions let me know, but it all comes down to what you plan on doing this besides just gaming also.

Nice build .. what Heatsink are you using? Very clean lay out.

I would put money on it being:
Newegg.com - Scythe SCMNJ-1000 80mm Sleeve "NINJA MINI" CPU Cooler - CPU Fans & Heatsinks
Looks exactly the same as the one in my HTPC and the one I linked is what I use, though it has been deactivated I am sure there is a similar, newer, version being made.

Though not a bad build, I would not just pick any old PSU. A good efficient PSU will help prevent instability issues, especially if doing some minor overclocking. I always go by the 80 Plus efficiency standard to pick out a PSU you need. Here is the website:

80 Plus PSU List

Also, some motherboards are loaded with features you may never use. Make a list of what you would actually use and make a comparison on the Motherboards. No need to get triple or quad sli if you do not intend to use it. Also, if you are not an audiophile, the integrated sound on most of the current motherboards is not half bad. That could save you some on a separate soundcard.

Well if he sticks with Corsair he is getting some of the best PSUs on the market, they are the most efficient and provide extremely solid build quality. Torn a few down and the work they do is top notch, also stick with the HX line.

I'm gonna take your extensive advice, especially when it comes to the 80 GB SSD Intel drive, and I only plan to run Windows 7 on the SSD, and then get a large storage 7200rpm drive, maybe 750GB. As for the memory, I may take your advice. I'm only looking for reliable 1600MHz ram, so Corsair, although I love them, isn't necessary. The Corsair PSU is 80 plus, or whatever that means, so I'm covered, but I forgot to check if my PSU is modular, which I remember is a big thing when it comes to cleanliness of the case. As far as case is concered, I know I'm gonna end up with a LIan Li case I'm sure, that or a Thermal Take, but whatever. It's either a new computer, or 6POT Brembo brakes that cost 2k+. :) Thanks A LOT for all the research Dreamer!

If you only plan to run the OS on the SSD then you can easily drop that down to a 30GB SSD. I would then skip the 2TB and go for a 7200rpm drive for your programs, though some companies are not producing 1 to 2TB drives that are 7200rpm. First ones were only "green drives" which means they vary, up to 7200rpm but at idle they drop.

Also, something I did not look into was your CD/DVD drive, for a good CD/DVD burner/player that will do everything is probably around 30-40USD. One thing I would recommend is two, it sounds wasteful, but there are many times I like to watch a movie and play a game which still requires a CD.

it should be mentioned, in case you switch motherboards, that socket 1136 is the only socket that will support the new Core i9 6-core chips coming out next year. Anything else will dead-end your system at Core i5/i7. Unless you want a new mobo next time you upgrade. Given that it's been six years since your last upgrade, I doubt this is even an issue for you anyways, but in case you're planning your next upgrade to be sooner... FYI

good info, thanks, I def will keep that in mind.

Oh and it has been so long because I've been in the Army about that long, different countries and so on, no time to lug around a case.

Correct... NINJA MINI REV B., which supports LGA1156. I couldn't fit the 92mm PWM fan on the other side because of the memory, so I had to set it up to pull air. However, I managed to squeeze in an 80mm fan at 5V to push air through the heatsink for better efficiency.

As for SSD, 80GB is a bid excessive for simply Win7-only. With optimizations, I was able to get the footprint down to 8-9GB. With the extra space, I install drivers, utilities, and some small apps that I didn't mind taking up space. It's really nice to have small stuff load up super fast. Right now, I have a 150GB RaptorX for all of my games, temp location, Internet cache, etc. Look up Kingston 40MB SSD, which uses Intel flash. It's a bit slower than the X25-M, but priced just right for OS-only storage.

for the past 15-ish builds i've done i've used Zalman fans. they've been great and use good mounting methods.

I'm a hardware and software consultant. I build gaming computers all the time. This build would be outstanding, kudos on the Asus MB.

:tup:

Xbox 360?

you're fired.

it will play those games in 1080p

yes it will, but it's not a Computer.

but he just wants to game

No... wants to build a gaming computer. :)

Besides... consoles are due for graphics overhaul.

go to bing[dot]com and search for Tiger Direct Cashback - use that site and you will get a 13% cashback on all the crap you are buying... and FWIW - get a Dell SW24'' instead its 1/2 the cost and same quality

That cashback works on many websites and the percent back changes almost daily so you have to be watchful. Newegg has gone up to 15% at one point, Amazon has done 10% (most I have seen).

Top websites to order from:
~Newegg
~Directron
~Tiger-direct
~Amazon

Local:
~Fry's electronics
~Micro-center (Only if they are having a sale)

I personally like zipzoomfly.com (used to be google gear many years ago)

they have a lot of free shipping items.

unfortunately in the past few years their selection has gone downhill along with pictures. newegg is still the best for shopping.

I always keep zipzoomfly in my list to look at, but never end up ordering from them.

yeah they've really slacked of as of late

[OT]
NewEgg has been price gouging. I RMA'd some G.SKILL memory. After over a week of not hearing anything I called and was told they refunded the money because it was out of stock. I told them I was supposed to be given the option to wait for it to be in stock again. That same day I called the memory was in stock, but it was selling for $95 instead of $75 for 4GB. To resolve the issue, I recently reordered the memory and was given $20 refund from the order. The memory backed town to $90 when I bought it.

ZZF has a nice offer that will lower prices of components by a few bucks, plus they had rebates on three items of interest (Intel SSD, CPU, and Corsair PSU). I'm still waiting for my rebate cards at the moment... gas money!
[/OT]

EQUINOX... post your specs and pictures of your build!

ZZF does a similar thing, when items go out of stock on their website they will lower them a bit below competitors price and then when they come back in stock shoot above others all of a sudden. I have had many items with alerts from them so I could jump on a price when they came in stock, but when I got the email the price was way above normal.

Memory prices are particularly volatile because they are shipping out of Asia, and the fluctuating weak US dollar has been all over the place. Because places like Newegg by stuff by the container load their price is dictated by what they paid for the particular container at the time it shipped, so when they get new stock the price can change. But given that you had an outstanding order they should have made good on that order anyway. Glad to see you got it sorted in the end.