Building gaming computer, budget of $3000.

[Redchaostri]

Hello,

I am building a new gaming rig, and am looking for some feedback. I have a budget of around $3000, and all parts will be bought in the U.S. I will be picking up everything as soon as I decide on what to get.

CPU Core 2 Quad Q6600 GO $290
Heatsink Thermalright Ultima-90 $50
Fans x3 Scythe S-Flex SFF21F $20
Compound Artic Silver 5 $8
Motherboard Gigabyte GA-P35C-DS3R $160
RAM OCZ Gold DDR2-800 DDR2 SDRAM (2 x 2GB) $236
Graphics eVGA Geforce 8800 GTS 640mb 370
Monitor UltraSharp 2407WFP-HC 24" $630
Storage
DVD Lite-On 20x DVD+-R/RW $35
Audio ???
Speakers Logitec Z-5300s From previous system.
Enclosure Antec 182SE $200
PSU Corsair 520HX $125
Mouse Logitec G5 $45
OS ???

For storage I am thinking of getting a Raptor for OS and games, and then some 500gig drives for storage. Will the Corsair 520HX have any problems with running all of that? And is the Raptor worth the price premium for it?

For the motherboard should I just get the Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R instead?

I will be stepping up the EVGA Geforce 8800 GTS when the 9xxx series comes out (Step up price is not apart of this budget.). My question for this though, is the 8800 enough to run the Dell 2407 at its native resolution (1920x1200)?

As for audio card, I haven't a clue. I rarely listen to music, so the main use will be games. Any recommendations?

I haven't looked at Vista much, so which package should I look to get.


Hopefully that answers most of the questions that might arise. Feel free to list any recommendations (with a brief reasoning please) you might have.


Thank you for your time and patience,

Red.


---Also can anyone tell me how I can get an older account restored that I don't have access to it's email account anymore?

 

[Diaonic]

ZALMAN CNPS7700-CU 120mm 2 Ball Cooling Fan - Retail
EVGA 122-CK-NF68-A1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
2x Western Digital Raptor X WD1500AHFD 150GB 10,000 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive
2x BFG Tech BFGR88768GTXOC2E GeForce 8800GTX 768MB 384-bit GDDR3 PCI Express
Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 Conroe 3.0GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6850 - Retail
Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM
Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner With 12X DVD-RAM Write Black SATA Model LH-20A1S
1x SILVERSTONE FM121 120mm Case Fan - Retail
SILVERSTONE ST1000 ATX12V / EPS12V 1000W Power Supply - Retail
CORSAIR XMS2 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel


This is what I just ordered totaling just under 3k
I'm using the sound card from my current pc and this is obviously without a monitor.

I'm putting those raptors in a raid 0.

 

[drakore]

I like your build a lot.

Yes the card is powerfull enough to run 1 monitor at 1900x1200. You have the right idea changing the videocard with the new release from Nvidia. They are supposed to be much much better.

Just get the home premium or something.

Ok some suggestions:

you may want to consider the 620HX instead just in case.
Don't get AS5 get the MX-1 or MX-2 instead. The Thermalright stuff is actually decent so you could just stick with that.

The onboard audio is good... If you wanted to get something better, you could use the Auzentech Prelude 7.1. It uses the X-FI chipset so you will get EAX.

change the burner to a Pioner DVD212-D it is much better.

If you don't want to upgrade to more memory later on, consider 4x1gb sticks. You will get better timings and it will cost a little less.

 

[hiepbiz]

I see that you pick the Q6600 G0; that must mean you want a little o/c action. Then i would recommend Asus P5K Premium, a very fine motherboard for o/c that quad CPU. It is a popular choice among xtremesystems.org members. And an o/c Q6600 is the best CPU imo ( i got my Q6600 to 3.7ghz on Ultra 120 extreme with ease). Also, you might as well get the Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme (although i would build a water-cooling system or buy a custom-build phase cooling). If you decide to stick with air, then i would suggest Sharkoon Golf fans (http://www.xtremesystems.org/f...howthread.php?t=137832 - Nice comprehensive comparison). I would buy a ceramique and a AS silver 5 (ceramique is a better chocie for phase). And while you're at it, buy their ArctiClean as well to prep your CPU surface for better thermal paste application. Lapping is very important for o/c. it will void your warranty but so worth it (cut down my temp by 5oC, some other even up to 15oC, of course YMMV). Lap both your IHS and your heatsink.

If you want to go with 4gb of memory, remember to get 64-bit OS (either vista or XP) to fully utilize all 4gb. IMO, Vista is not good for gaming just yet (you may want to wait until they release SP1). I would just go with XP for now. And Vista security is horrible. And i would go with drakore's suggestion, 4x1gb is a much better choice for o/c right now.

As for case of choice, I am always a sucker for CM stacker. But IMO, any full tower case from major brand would be sufficient. Although personally, i would go with CM cosmos.

I like your monitor of choice. But I would go with 8800gtx instead of gts version. GTX is much better than GTS in everyway (not just the usual speed bump). I never see the need for SLI, but if you opt that way, 680i motherboard is your only choice for good o/c. I would go with Asus striker.

You might as well buy two DVD burners. One for scanning (lite on is an excellent choice), and the other one for burning (pioneer is very good).

And your HDD choice is excellent, raptor for game and OS while 500gb for data. And raptor is really worth the money (cut down your load time, high sustainable transfer rate). I wouldn't go with raid on Asus board though cause they always have raid problem.

Mouse and keyboard: Hum, I love my Logitech wave set. But for gaming, i would go with the new Microsoft gaming mouse to replace that generic wave mouse. I dont' know why you would pick a G5.

Sound card is not very important to me, but if you see the need, Prelude 7.1 is definitely the best choice for gaming and SQ.

Lastly, the heart of the computer, the PSU. Well, http://www.xtremesystems.org/f...howthread.php?t=108088 is a very good PSU profiling list. for the sytem i would suggest to go with 650-700w for tier 2 brands (1k might be overkill).


The most important thing of all is that you should scout around F/S section on anandtech forum or hardforum to get better deal off your component of choice. They also have some exotic parts for sale also (i just saw someone was selling their custom built phase). As long as the component is nto DOA, i think buying used components is a better choice. In the end if you save a lot, you can buy for yourself another graphic card or monitor or whatever you want LOL.

 

[GuitarDaddy]

I like your build, looks good. I recommend forgetting about the step-up program, it's a marketing scam and will most likely not benefit you for the following reasons.

1. Everyone I have known that tried to use it to step up to the next generation 6xxx>7xxx
or 7xxx > 8xxx got denied.

2. As long as they can sell a newly released card for anywhere close to MSRP, they will not make it available to the stepup program as it is deemed to be in short supply (read the fine print of the stepup program). The 9xxx cards won't be available to the stepup program until well after your 90day stepup period expires, or they will show up but show as backordered.

3. By the time it actually becomes available for the stepup program it will be selling at a sizeable discount to MSRP at major retailers. And by then it will be cheaper to buy the new card from a retailer and sell your old one on eBay, than paying the difference between MSRP and what you paid for your current card.

I love EVGA as a company and I have two of their cards, but the stepup program is so much huey and I'm saddened by all the posts I see from people planning on using it and others touting it and making recommendations or purchases based on it. When 99% of them will never use it once they find out details. Sounds good but once you read and understand the fine print and the way they administer the program, it's useless in 99% of cases.

 

[Redchaostri]

Thanks for the replies. I have updated my list as follows:

CPU Core 2 Quad Q6600 GO $290
Heatsink Thermalright Ultima-120 $60
Fans x4 Scythe S-Flex SFF21F $13 x4
Compound Artic Silver Ceramique $8
Motherboard Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R $130
RAM ???

Graphics eVGA Geforce 8800 GTX $530
Monitor UltraSharp 2407WFP-HC 24" $630
Storage
HDD WD Raptor 150GB $190
DVD Lite-On 20x DVD+-R/RW $35
DVD2 Pioneer DVR-212DBK $33
Audio ???
Speakers Logitec Z-5300s From previous system.
Enclosure CM Cosmos 1000 200
PSU Corsair 620HX $200
Mouse Logitec G5 $45
OS Vista (most likely)


For the RAM I will try to find some 2x1GB sets with good timing. For larger HDD I am looking at the WD Caviar SE16 750GB. As for the OS I will probably do Vista.

Any other suggestions?

For this build I will only be doing air cooling. Perhaps mid/late next year I will try out phase or water cooling. I will be overclocking some, but not hardcore amounts. Thanks GuitarDaddy for the info on the Step-Up program. I will just grab a very cheap video card til the 9xxx series comes out. If Nvidia isn't releasing a new high-end card, I will just get a 8800GTX.


Thanks again for the feedback.

 

[aigomorla]

....

lemme tweek your build a little.

Follow GuitarDaddy's advice on a beefier board.

The Asus P5K premium, or DLX is a much better choice.

I personally like the the Gigabyte DQ6 over the DLX tho. I never tried the Premium.
The DS3P should be the only lower end gigabyte board you look at. The rest of the lower ends can be very sketchy from my research. If your stuck on that budget, Abit IP35 is a better choice IMO.

If budget board is what your aiming at. But i honestly dont see the need since your putting 3k /w monitor.

Gigabyte DS3P or DQ6 or Asus P5K-DLX or P5K-E

Those 4 boards should be your main choice if overclocking is your forte.


For RAM:
Crucial Ballastix DDR2 800 or 1066 if you can find them on super rebates. Micron D9's FTW!


Can i recomend you a different monitor? Goto a BnM store and check out the Gateway 2485 b4 you hit that buy on that dell.

 

[LightningRider]

In response to one of the above users who said that Vista security is bad. That is wrong, Vista's security is great and is much better than XP. It's also not that bad for gaming anymore, recent drivers have improved things a lot. I think you should get Vista x64 unless you need some specific program that only runs on XP or 32bit Vista.

Otherwise I think Vista is great despite what others say.

 

[Redchaostri]

Thanks again for the replies. List updated and most likely finalized.

CPU Core 2 Quad Q6600 GO $290
Heatsink Thermalright Ultima-120 $60
Fans x4 Scythe S-Flex SFF21F $13 x4
Compound Artic Silver Ceramique $8
Motherboard Asus P5k Deluxe $220
RAM Crucial Ballistix 2x1GB DDR2-800 x2 $63x2 after rebate
Graphics eVGA Geforce 8800 GTX $530
Monitor Gateway FPD2485W 24" $500 after rebate
Storage
HDD WD Raptor 150GB $190
DVD Lite-On 20x DVD+-R/RW $35
DVD2 Pioneer DVR-212DBK $33
Audio ???
Speakers Logitec Z-5300s From previous system.
Enclosure CM Cosmos 1000 $200
PSU Corsair 620HX $115 after rebate
OS Vista (most likely)


And last advice or recommendations?

Thank you for your time,

Red