Building a new gaming rig

[Synon29]

Hey guys this is not my first build but I haven't built a new system in 5 years so i'm a little behind the times in terms of what is the best. I have already ordered some parts but I am still undecided in a lot of areas. I'm planning on using this rig for mostly gaming, so i'm looking for best performance in that area. I live in the usa, and I have around 1500 dollars to spend. I'm not really partial to anything i'm most concerned about performance. The two areas i'm the most picky in is the motherboard and computer case. I want a fairly large case with plenty of room for upgrades, and good airflow for when I overclock.

I already have a mitbushi diamond pro 930sb Crt so i'm set there
Proposed motherboard Msi neo2 fr
Ordered: Antec truepower 650 blue
Considering Antec p182 case
Ordered: E8400 core 2 duo
Ordered: Evga 8800 gts
Considering: Corsair ddr2 800 ram or g.skill that name keeps coming up

Any help or advice on what you guys would change would be appreciated. I don't need the fastest gaming rig on the planet but I want as much as I can get for around 1500 dollars.

 

[MarcVenice]

This would be cheaper: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...7031&Tpk=abit%2bip35-e unless you need something on the MSI mobo that the abit ip35-e doesn't have. Or consider the gigabyte ds3l, all three mobo's will be fine though, and I'd simply go with the cheapest one.

Antec p182 rocks, it's going for 123$ here: http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/...05325&prodlist=froogle Got one myself, love it.

Ram, no rebate, good ram. http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820231122 If and when overclocking past 3.6ghz, this ram might be easier to work with: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820231145 Just for your consideration.

 

[Synon29]

I've decided on the p182, i'm switching to the Abit i35E it will give me pretty much everything I want at a cheaper price. That case on zipzoom is out of stock, and the cheapest I can find is 160 with shipping =( but well worth it IMO. The only other real question I have is xp or vista?

 

[MarcVenice]

Vista 64x to make use of all 4gb of ram. Vista used to suck, but no longer does. I dualboot XP and Vista, but I never ever use XP anymore, simply no need. Vista is often faster as well, more secure/stable and looks prettier

Do shop around for better prices on the p182 though, it has been going for 90$ AR on newegg.com. And, there is also the p180b, which is basicaly a p182, but can often be had for less money. Check newegg.com for example, I don't like the white color, but if you don't mind, it is a fair bit cheaper.

 

[Synon29]

Imo the white is kinda ugly LOL. The cheapest I can find for the case is 135 with shipping at mwave.com. If you know of a site where I can find it cheaper please let me know

 

[Roguestar]

Which 8800GTS did you get? 640 or 512?

 

[TheWrongTree]

Just chiming in on the Vista/XP question. I am running Vista 64 bit with no problems. Easiest OS install I've ever experienced. With new equipment it's great. I'm not sure I'd say it's faster than XP would be on the same hardware, but it is prettier and not slower enough to merit any serious mention.

Overall, I am pleasantly surprised that it has been so good after having read so much negative about it.

 

[Synon29]

I went for the 512 meg version of the 8800 gts.

 

[chinaman1472]

The negative feedback of Vista was from the release. Majority of the bugs have been worked out pretty much across the board, and a lot of haters haven't given enough use to see it. My only gripe with it really is that I'm not familiar with the layout after using XP for so long, which is probably has something to do with it as well.

It really only eats up all the memory if you want to be as flashy as possible I think; but then again, so does any other program when you want all the coolest/nicest/flashiest settings. Just look at Crysis .

 

[Roguestar]

From what I've seen, a lot of the people hating on Vista have never even used it; they just get their feelings second-hand from other forum users or articles. I've had only good experiences with Vista so far, and even my complaints about XP-x64 being a stinking mess comes from actually using it for a couple of months!