Building a good gaming rig

[girishgmc]

Hi Guys I am A No0b.
By profession m a doc but I like to hang out with my pc occasionally (Yeah m a serious gamer too but nt tht chronic. I like to play cs , halo , battle field , serious sam , GTA ,Just Cause ,etc etc) TIME TO WASTE SOME BOTS!!!!
After going through many forums on anandtech.com & other websites I have decided for foll. configuration
Please comment on following config-->
Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3L Board
Core 2 Duo E7200 2.53 Ghz
PNY Nvidia GeForce 9600GT 512Mb(or to go for 9800GT instead)
2gb+2gb ddr2 ram(Please suggest brand name)
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
Antec Sonata III Mid tower with 500W power supply
How much MONEY wud I have to shell out approx..
I have DVD-RW drive already.

 

[girishgmc]

one more thing i wud like to ask ,is my config future proof

 

[Blain]

Originally posted by: girishgmc
Hi Guys I am A No0b.
By profession m a doc but I like to hang out with my pc occasionally (Yeah m a serious gamer too but nt tht chronic. I like to play cs , halo , battle field , serious sam , GTA ,Just Cause ,etc etc) TIME TO WASTE SOME BOTS!!!!
After going through many forums on anandtech.com & other websites I have decided for foll. configuration

one more thing i wud like to ask ,is my config future proof

1. Make sure your PC has a spell checker
2. "Future proof" is a myth

 

[Hammyton]

Originally posted by: girishgmc
Hi Guys I am A No0b.
By profession m a doc but I like to hang out with my pc occasionally (Yeah m a serious gamer too but nt tht chronic. I like to play cs , halo , battle field , serious sam , GTA ,Just Cause ,etc etc) TIME TO WASTE SOME BOTS!!!!
After going through many forums on anandtech.com & other websites I have decided for foll. configuration
Please comment on following config-->
Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3L Board
Core 2 Duo E7200 2.53 Ghz
PNY Nvidia GeForce 9600GT 512Mb(or to go for 9800GT instead)
2gb+2gb ddr2 ram(Please suggest brand name)
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
Antec Sonata III Mid tower with 500W power supply
How much MONEY wud I have to shell out approx..
I have DVD-RW drive already.

The PC you want looks pretty similar to the one I'm getting, maybe you can use the parts I have as reference. Also I got the ideas for my parts from the thread stickied in this forum for computer builders. You should definitely look there if you're planning on building a computer, but since you make no mention of buying a monitor I'd say your rig should be around 700 Dollars.

 

[aigomorla]

Originally posted by: sonnygdude
In his original post he did say "good gaming rig" and "decent computer" not "tremendous, engorged, throbbing e-penis"

Wow did i piss you off somehow?

this the second post where your trying to put me out on a bonfire.


Well, budget is important. Why? becuase we need to know what kind of class in machine he's building. Its not always 100% epenis and bragging rights.

My machines, all 4ghz yorkfields do use there full power. I crunch, so every last GHZ i get counts.

You think theres no difference between a 3500 dollar computer and a 1000 dollar computer? Then maybe you should take a look at my picture again.

Do you even play crysis which the op is asking about? Cuz Sakura and Freya was resdisgned with it in mind to play at max settings. You are aware crysis is a killer game for systems as well, and a 1000 dollar system(unless moderately overclocked) has very little chance of even running the game with medium settings on a 20.1?

Crysis warhead is a bit better programed, but the original crysis... Well i lag in some scenes even with my hardware.

And yes i play both.

Originally posted by: Hammyton
So after doing a little more research (which admittedly I should have done before opening this thread) I made a basic list of parts:

Core 2 Duo E7200
GIGABYTE GA-EP43-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P43 ATX Inte
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)
CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W
WD Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200RPM 16MB SATA 3.0Gb/s

wondering what you guys thought.

Op, that looks like a great and solid build. The gigabyte boards are great, and they take a lot of stress. That is one of my favorate brand names on the LGA775 platform now.

The HD4850 is a great card, and will give you what you want. Its gonan be your first step into a large class card, so i know your gonna have fun poping 3dmark and all those other bench mark programs.

As long as your not going 24 inch class, or larger, the HD4850 should be enough oomph and more! You may want to venture in Overclocking. You'll see a benifit from your gpu's when your cpu is from stock to around 3.0 - 3.2 ghz. Thats usually where all the sweet stuff starts rolling in.

But good luck with build!

Originally posted by: girishgmc
one more thing i wud like to ask ,is my config future proof

You should make your own thread, and follow the stickys listed at top.
Let the op have his own glory in this own thread.

 

[sonnygdude]

Originally posted by: aigomorla

Wow did i piss you off somehow?

Nah, I just don't like the way you look!

 

[Hammyton]

One question that just arose that I forgot to mention was whether I should keep my PCI SoundBlaster Live Value! or get a new soundcard? Is it really worth it to shell out more money for a new soundcard or will I pretty much see no difference over my current 8 year old one?

 

[Roguestar]

FWIW, OP, I have a Radeon HD 4850 and I play Crysis Warhead at 1680*1050, 2xAA everything else on high and it runs hella smooth.

Also, stick with onboard sound for a while and see how you like it. It'll be fine for all but the best speaker setups and dedicated audio techs.

 

[Hammyton]

Originally posted by: Roguestar
FWIW, OP, I have a Radeon HD 4850 and I play Crysis Warhead at 1680*1050, 2xAA everything else on high and it runs hella smooth.

Also, stick with onboard sound for a while and see how you like it. It'll be fine for all but the best speaker setups and dedicated audio techs.

Thanks for the input Roguestar. Looks like I'll probably opt for a 4850. I'll probably also stick with the onboard sound and/or the Sb Live!

One more question that arose that I'm not really sure about is whether to opt for Vista64 or Vista normal. I understand I need Vista64 to use all of the memory on my new computer but some older software probably won't be compatible with it.

What are some of your experiences?

 

[Roguestar]

I've used Vista Ultimate x64 for over a year and had no problems with it. I've not had any problems with any software except a really old copy of Nero I got with my first DVD burner, years ago; the new version works fine. I use Adobe and MS Office suites, games, programming tools, web server and media centre programs and don't have any issues with any of them. I'm running it now with 4GB of RAM and it's great. If you're using 4GB of RAM and want to be able to use more in the future, definitely go with x64.

 

[Ichigo]

Originally posted by: smithrwon
For one, read the sticky at the top of the General Hardware forum. It also depends on if you're reusing old parts.

An example, based on newegg prices, would be:

E8400 + Asus P5Q Pro ($274.68 combo)
WD 640 GB ($74.99)
Sapphire HD 4850 ($139.99 after mail in rebate)
G.Skill DDR2-800 ($59.99)
Any DVD Burner = $25-$30
PSU: Corsair 550VX ($77.99 after mail in rebate)
Stock HSF unless you're overclocking heavily
Whatever case you like
OS
Probably like $700-$1000

Unless, there was a hell of a deal that week, shens.

 

[Hammyton]

Just got the computer at 711.23 before rebates and its up and running great Thanks everyone for your great suggestions and OMG DUAL CORE IS AWEEESOMEEEE

 

[VirtualLarry]

And here I was going to post my "deluxe gaming PC build" for Aigo to scrutinize.
Prices on some items (namely, CPU and RAM) have dropped since I picked up the parts for this rig some months ago. It's a flaming Q6600 monster with Crossfire HD4850s on an X48 chipset, with 8GB of RAM and the cheapest Vista x64 available. Prices are if I were to sell the rig, which I may or may not after I build them. I have two of them.

Q6600 gaming rig


paid sell

Q6600 CPU $210 $215
Tuniq Tower cooler $63 $65
DFI X48 TR2 mobo $260 $260
4GB DDR2-800 RAM $80 $80
4GB DDR2-800 RAM $80 $80
WD6400AAKS SATA HD $84 $85
Antec 300 case $42 $60
Antec EarthWatts 650W PSU $74 $100
2x 120mm case fans $22 $25
DVD burner $25 $40
2x VisionTek 4850 512MB $320 $420
Vista Home Basic $32 $90

total parts $1292 $1520

Non-refundable assembly charge $50
Non-refundable software installation charge $50
1 year warranty (15% of parts) $228

grand total $1848