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$1500 budget - gaming rig

1

1457

Member
i have $1500 budget, and i want to build a system primarily for gaming. i do not need two video cards, though i would not mind a motherboard with sli function. i do not plan on overclocking. i read a lot of posts and reviews but at this point i am overwhelmed. there are simply too many parts and too many options. i would like your expert opinion. if you have any suggestions, please post them. i have monitor/speakers/keyboard/mouse. what i'm mainly looking for is
7800 GT (evga, bfg?), amd cpu (x2 or not?), harddrive (74GB 10k raptors or other?), asus motherboard (a8n sli deluxe?), ram (?), powersupply (ocz powerstream 520, seasonic, antec neopower?). again, budget is $1500. i also need a copy of xp professional SP2. and also a case (p180, or lian-li?)

thank you.
 
everything you put in parenthesees look pretty good. for ram you could go with ocz, kingston, or corsair.

edit: oh and most certainly go with x2
 
You can't really go wrong with picking either BFG or EVGA, just buy the one that is cheaper. Raptor Harddrives are alittle spendy but are well worth it because of its high rpms. With the Power supply go for S-12 500W as it is extremely quiet and a very good PSU. Everything else looks pretty good.
 
another vote for s12 500 PSU and an x2 3800+. i got a 7800GT from tigerdirect last night...it is 330 shipped with a 30 dollar mail in rebate, so it comes out to be 299! 3dfuzion makes it, but its got all the same stuff the others have and a warranty so i figured what the heck...

also i got the EPOX EP-9NPA+ULTRA. it is pretty dang sweet so i think you should at least take a look at it. how much ram do you want? if you can afford it, get the g.skill 2x 1gb DDR500 from newegg. it is 245 + shipping. you wont find anything even close to that anywhere. running it at DDR500 will make your X2 very happy, and also this way you dont have to OC to get better performance. if you want to OC though, it will.

i chose the 74gb raptor as well. the speed should be well worth the extra cost.
 
Originally posted by: bamacre
He's not OC'ing, does he really need a 500w PSU?
Click to expand...

not necessarily, but its a really good PSU and future proof because he said he isnt opposed to SLI. plus it really isnt that expensive.
 
Alright, here we go:

ASUS A8N-SLI Motherboard ($129)
AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ ($347)
2GB Corsair XMS RAM ($246)
EVGA 7800GT ($400)
OCZ Powerstream 520W ($139)
 
the motherboard looks good
get 2gb ram (that g skill looks like a good deal)
do not get the raptor. the performance difference (if any with the new SATA II drives) is very minimal
the video card looks good. i think BFG sometimes OCs there cards so sometimes they're a little better and i think they have a lifetime warranty (not sure, better check on that) but eVGA makes good cards too. if you wanna save more money, go with the cheaper. u can get an amd 3700+ but since you won't be overclocking i guess the x2 3800 would be better for you
 
Originally posted by: Xanis
Alright, here we go:

ASUS A8N-SLI Motherboard ($129)
AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ ($347)
2GB Corsair XMS RAM ($246)
EVGA 7800GT ($400)
OCZ Powerstream 520W ($139)
Click to expand...

S12 500 is a better PSU and costs less, and 2gb of G.skill DDR500 is 1 dollar cheaper and will run much better with an X2. the X2 needs more bandwith, not faster latency. DDR400 with good timings will be slower than DDR500 with slower timings.

its up to you 1457, but i wouldnt get DDR400. i made this decision last night after thinking about it for several days and doing tons of research and asking a lot of people. i actually made the purchase last night is what i meant.
 
As far as RAM goes, get the OCZ EL Platinum 2GB CAS-2-3-2-5 (2x1GB) Setup. This is what I have and it is wickedly fast.
 
*prices from newegg*

Epox 9npa+ ultra $105
X2 3800+ $347
eVGA geforce 7800gtx $467
2x1gb value ram (you can decide, corsair, crucial, ocz, kingston) ~$250
seasonic s12-500 $129
thermalright xp-90 $43
thermaltake A2013 fan ~$8
Seagate Barracuda 7200.8 250gb $107

thats at total of about $1450
 
Originally posted by: Waylay00
As far as RAM goes, get the OCZ EL Platinum 2GB CAS-2-3-2-5 (2x1GB) Setup. This is what I have and it is wickedly fast.
Click to expand...

waste of money if you have an a64. the timings make almost no difference. bandwith is what you want since the a64 mem controller is already so fast/efficient.

DDR400 @ 2-3-3-5 will be considerably slower than DDR500 @ 3-4-4-8 on an a64. this isnt true for intel setups, however.
 
eVGA 7800GT
A64 X2 3800+
Hitachi 7k250(speed)/Seagate 7200.8(reliability)/Samsung SP2504C(quietness)
asus a8n sli premium(fairly decent oc with heatpipe cooling)/epox 9npa+ultra(high oc, easy setup)/dfi ultra-d(extreme oc and sometimes hard to setup)
OCZ value 2x1GB
Seasonic S12 500w/600w
Antec P180
 
wow. thanks a lot to all of you for your advice and suggestions. here is what i came up with after reading your posts:
OS XP Professional SP2 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16837102153 141.95
NEC Black IDE DVD Burner http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827152047 38.98
cpu amd 3800 x2 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103562 347.00
psu seasonic s12 500W http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817151024 129.00
ram g.skill 2x 1gb DDR500 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820231021 245.00
hd Seagate 7200.8 250gb http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822148065 108.25
gpu BFG 7800GT http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814143037 349.00
ASUS A8N-SLI Premium http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131540 167.99

it is over $1500 but i think i can squeze in a little more. is this setup well balanced/good?
 
Originally posted by: 1457
i have $1500 budget, and i want to build a system primarily for gaming. i do not need two video cards, though i would not mind a motherboard with sli function. i do not plan on overclocking. i read a lot of posts and reviews but at this point i am overwhelmed. there are simply too many parts and too many options. i would like your expert opinion. if you have any suggestions, please post them. i have monitor/speakers/keyboard/mouse. what i'm mainly looking for is
7800 GT (evga, bfg?), amd cpu (x2 or not?), harddrive (74GB 10k raptors or other?), asus motherboard (a8n sli deluxe?), ram (?), powersupply (ocz powerstream 520, seasonic, antec neopower?). again, budget is $1500. i also need a copy of xp professional SP2. and also a case (p180, or lian-li?)

thank you.
Click to expand...



Well, for 1. If you're not going to utilize SLI, then don't bother with the SLI board. 2.) I don't see any reason to spend $125 on a power supply when a $75 power supply will dothe exact same job. If you don't plan on Overclocking, steer clear of the overclockers memory. I can only offer the opinion for these components here;

Enhance, X2 460watt Power supply $54

AsRock 1695 $66

3800+ X2 $343

2GB PC3200 $193

Antec SLK3000B $26

7800GT $299

Arctic Silencer NV 5 rev.3 $29

320GB Western digital $132

Windows XP Pro $133

Sub-total=$1085

But, that's just my opinion.

 
Originally posted by: 1457
wow. thanks a lot to all of you for your advice and suggestions. here is what i came up with after reading your posts:
OS XP Professional SP2 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16837102153 141.95
NEC Black IDE DVD Burner http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827152047 38.98
cpu amd 3800 x2 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103562 347.00
psu seasonic s12 500W http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817151024 129.00
ram g.skill 2x 1gb DDR500 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820231021 245.00
hd Seagate 7200.8 250gb http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822148065 108.25
gpu BFG 7800GT http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814143037 349.00
ASUS A8N-SLI Premium http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131540 167.99

it is over $1500 but i think i can squeze in a little more. is this setup well balanced/good?
Click to expand...

that motherboard is a little bit much. get the Epox 9npa+ ultra for $100
 
that motherboard is a little bit much. get the Epox 9npa+ ultra for $100
Click to expand...

i have never built a pc before and i'm hearing that inexperienced builders are having some problems with this board. however, the price is very good so i think i will give it a try.

 
thats what i would recommend. its got Up to 80% efficiency. dual 18A 12v rails. the quietest psu out there.
 
ok thank you very much. this is the final system, though with shipping and tax it might hit $1700 mark:
mb EPoX +Ultra http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813123236 105.00
cpu amd 3800 x2 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103562 347.00
psu SEASONIC S12-500 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817151024 129.00
gpu BFG 7800GT http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814143037 349.00
hd Seagate 7200.8 250GB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822148065 108.25
ram g.skill 2x1gb DDR500 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820231021 245.00
NEC Black IDE DVD Burner http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827152047 38.98
os XP Professional SP2 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16837102153 141.95
case antec p180 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811129154 129.99

~1700 including shipping and tax
 
Originally posted by: 1457
ok thank you very much. this is the final system, though with shipping and tax it might hit $1700 mark:
mb EPoX +Ultra http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813123236 105.00
cpu amd 3800 x2 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103562 347.00
psu SEASONIC S12-500 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817151024 129.00
gpu BFG 7800GT http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814143037 349.00
hd Seagate 7200.8 250GB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822148065 108.25
ram g.skill 2x1gb DDR500 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820231021 245.00
NEC Black IDE DVD Burner http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827152047 38.98
os XP Professional SP2 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16837102153 141.95
case antec p180 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811129154 129.99

~1700 including shipping and tax
Click to expand...

looks awesome...it will be a killer rig. pretty dang close to what ive got also!
 
I would recommend shopping around. You can find better deals elsewhere. Newegg is not the cheapest place to buy stuff anymore. Check out Pricewatch.com, and look for Monarchcomputer.com, ZipZoomFly.com, Ewiz.com, and a few other sites. This is especially true if you have to pay sales tax at Newegg.
 
Originally posted by: bamacre
I would recommend shopping around. You can find better deals elsewhere. Newegg is not the cheapest place to buy stuff anymore. Check out Pricewatch.com, and look for Monarchcomputer.com, ZipZoomFly.com, Ewiz.com, and a few other sites. This is especially true if you have to pay sales tax at Newegg.
Click to expand...

QFT
 
Yeah, I ordered all of my parts (except RAM) from ZipZoomFly.com . Shipping there was very fast, and everything came a day early.
 
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