Hey guys,
I'm just about to build my new gaming rig, also used for some basic work at home (Office), internet, e-mail, the usual web stuff, plus an occasional movie.
I'm currently running A64 3200+ on socket 754 with 1 GB RAM, GF 6800 GT and 19" Philips CRT but this setup fails in new games like F.E.A.R., CoD2 or X3: Reunion. My aim is to be able to play every game in 1280x1024x32 with 4xAA and 8-16xAF smoothly.
Here are my preliminary choices:
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ (upgrading from A64 3200+ Newcastle; this CPU looks more future-oriented than A64 4000+, plus it seems to O/C well - I thought about getting X2 4200+ but I don't think those extra MHz are worth the cash)
heatsink: Zalman CNPS 9500 LED (upgrading from Zalman CNPS 7000B-AlCu; the new Zalman looks like a very efficient and a decently quiet cooler, and since I intend to OC my CPU by 200-400 MHz, I might need its power)
mobo: ASUS A8N-SLI Premium (upgrading from ASUS K8N-E Deluxe; I flirted with the A8N32-SLI a bit but Premium also has heatpipes instead of fan, PCI-E x2 x16 doesn't seem to bring incredible advantages, plus the new board is more expensive and hardly available - I hope I can OC efficiently also without the 8-phase power system)
RAM: Kingston HyperX 2x 1GB PC3200 CAS2 (upgrading from 2x 512 MB KHX 3500 CAS 2.5; I don't want swap file accessing in BF2 or F.E.A.R. so I'm gonna get 2 1 GB modules)
video: ASUS GF 7800 GT x2 (SLI, blue LED edition) (upgrading from Leadtek GF 6800 GT; I flirted with the GTX 512 but those beasts are expensive and not really available, plus economically, GTs should be a better option to sell in case I fall in love with G71
- I'm only a bit afraid of noise but it should be bearable with those ASUS fans)
sound: Creative SB X-Fi Xtreme Music (upgrading from Audigy 2 ZS; I hope I don't get compatibility problems with the mobo but in case of trouble, I'll just RMA for firmware flash, I'm not going to pay the extra cash for the IMO useless X-RAM on Fatal1ty)
HDDs: 2 x 250 GB WD Caviar SATA II 16 MB 7200 rpm (upgrading from Seagates 8 MB 7200 rpm: one ATA100 160 GB and one SATA 200 GB; I wanted the new 500 GB Seagate but these Caviars look way more attractive in terms of price - less $$/GB)
DVD burner: NEC ND-3500 black (I'm sticking with my old burner because the new ones only burn dual layer DVDs faster and I'm not interested since I'm not paying for a DL DVD 8x as much - at least here in Poland - as for a regular 4.7 GB DVD)
FDD: 3.5" black Alps (most important and costly part of my rig)
PSU: SilverStone Strider 600W (upgrading from BeQuiet ColorLine 450W; I need a new PSU for SLI, and this one is SLI-certified, modular and seems to be quiet as well thanks to one 120 mm fan)
case: Aerocool AeroEngine Jr. Black (it's a keeper cause I'm happy with it - quality, good cooling: 3 fans - intake 120, intake 80, exhaust 120, silent operation, IMHO good looks)
monitor: ViewSonic VX924 (upgrading from Philips Brilliance 109P4 19" CRT; I could use a bit more space and a sleek looking black object on my desk - I'm watching the VX922 but according to first reviews the difference seems non-existent in practice while price in Europe is way higher and availability in Poland simply zero as of now; still a bit afraid of native res, viewing angles, color banding and ghosting but I think I'll risk it)
speakers: Creative GW ProGamer G500 (upgrading from Altec Lansing ACS54 4.1; the new Creatives with THX seem very nice; I thought about Logitech Z-5500 but they are a bit more expensive so the price difference may not be justified, and the subwoofer is so huge, I'd have to rearrange my room for it)
headset: Steel Sound 5H (upgrading from Sennheiser PC150 and a bit tired of their crisp and clear but a bit flat sound; 5H seems to get good reviews; I also thought about Medusa for 5.1 sound but opinions differ here as to what this 5.1 "emulation" is really worth)
mouse: Logitech MX518 (upgrading from MX510 and expecting no substantial difference - initially, I wanted G5 laser mouse but many gamers I trust complain about its unpredictable behavior, bad scroll wheel and dpi switch positioning; plus I got used to 2 thumb buttons)
keyboard: Logitech Internet Navigator SE (keeping this one since it's functional, reliable and good-looking; I wanted to grab the G15 but I don't think the gadgets like backlit keys, LCD or 18 extra keys are worth the cash; plus it's so huge I'd have to change my desk - seriously, I measured)
pad: Allsop Raindrop black (keeper; I just love cloth pads)
printer: HP OfficeJet PSC 2175 (keeper; new ones might be a tad faster but for my printing/copying/scanning needs, this one is more than adequate)
Sorry for the lengthy post but it's quite a bit of money so I don't wanna make too many mistakes building this comp Feel free to post your comments and recommendations.
As for games, I play FPS's, RPGs, sports games, plus some racing, sims, strategies, adventures... in case this helps you evaluate some components
Shoot away.
I'm just about to build my new gaming rig, also used for some basic work at home (Office), internet, e-mail, the usual web stuff, plus an occasional movie.
I'm currently running A64 3200+ on socket 754 with 1 GB RAM, GF 6800 GT and 19" Philips CRT but this setup fails in new games like F.E.A.R., CoD2 or X3: Reunion. My aim is to be able to play every game in 1280x1024x32 with 4xAA and 8-16xAF smoothly.
Here are my preliminary choices:
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ (upgrading from A64 3200+ Newcastle; this CPU looks more future-oriented than A64 4000+, plus it seems to O/C well - I thought about getting X2 4200+ but I don't think those extra MHz are worth the cash)
heatsink: Zalman CNPS 9500 LED (upgrading from Zalman CNPS 7000B-AlCu; the new Zalman looks like a very efficient and a decently quiet cooler, and since I intend to OC my CPU by 200-400 MHz, I might need its power)
mobo: ASUS A8N-SLI Premium (upgrading from ASUS K8N-E Deluxe; I flirted with the A8N32-SLI a bit but Premium also has heatpipes instead of fan, PCI-E x2 x16 doesn't seem to bring incredible advantages, plus the new board is more expensive and hardly available - I hope I can OC efficiently also without the 8-phase power system)
RAM: Kingston HyperX 2x 1GB PC3200 CAS2 (upgrading from 2x 512 MB KHX 3500 CAS 2.5; I don't want swap file accessing in BF2 or F.E.A.R. so I'm gonna get 2 1 GB modules)
video: ASUS GF 7800 GT x2 (SLI, blue LED edition) (upgrading from Leadtek GF 6800 GT; I flirted with the GTX 512 but those beasts are expensive and not really available, plus economically, GTs should be a better option to sell in case I fall in love with G71
- I'm only a bit afraid of noise but it should be bearable with those ASUS fans)sound: Creative SB X-Fi Xtreme Music (upgrading from Audigy 2 ZS; I hope I don't get compatibility problems with the mobo but in case of trouble, I'll just RMA for firmware flash, I'm not going to pay the extra cash for the IMO useless X-RAM on Fatal1ty)
HDDs: 2 x 250 GB WD Caviar SATA II 16 MB 7200 rpm (upgrading from Seagates 8 MB 7200 rpm: one ATA100 160 GB and one SATA 200 GB; I wanted the new 500 GB Seagate but these Caviars look way more attractive in terms of price - less $$/GB)
DVD burner: NEC ND-3500 black (I'm sticking with my old burner because the new ones only burn dual layer DVDs faster and I'm not interested since I'm not paying for a DL DVD 8x as much - at least here in Poland - as for a regular 4.7 GB DVD)
FDD: 3.5" black Alps (most important and costly part of my rig
)PSU: SilverStone Strider 600W (upgrading from BeQuiet ColorLine 450W; I need a new PSU for SLI, and this one is SLI-certified, modular and seems to be quiet as well thanks to one 120 mm fan)
case: Aerocool AeroEngine Jr. Black (it's a keeper cause I'm happy with it - quality, good cooling: 3 fans - intake 120, intake 80, exhaust 120, silent operation, IMHO good looks)
monitor: ViewSonic VX924 (upgrading from Philips Brilliance 109P4 19" CRT; I could use a bit more space and a sleek looking black object on my desk
- I'm watching the VX922 but according to first reviews the difference seems non-existent in practice while price in Europe is way higher and availability in Poland simply zero as of now; still a bit afraid of native res, viewing angles, color banding and ghosting but I think I'll risk it)speakers: Creative GW ProGamer G500 (upgrading from Altec Lansing ACS54 4.1; the new Creatives with THX seem very nice; I thought about Logitech Z-5500 but they are a bit more expensive so the price difference may not be justified, and the subwoofer is so huge, I'd have to rearrange my room for it
)headset: Steel Sound 5H (upgrading from Sennheiser PC150 and a bit tired of their crisp and clear but a bit flat sound; 5H seems to get good reviews; I also thought about Medusa for 5.1 sound but opinions differ here as to what this 5.1 "emulation" is really worth)
mouse: Logitech MX518 (upgrading from MX510 and expecting no substantial difference
- initially, I wanted G5 laser mouse but many gamers I trust complain about its unpredictable behavior, bad scroll wheel and dpi switch positioning; plus I got used to 2 thumb buttons)keyboard: Logitech Internet Navigator SE (keeping this one since it's functional, reliable and good-looking; I wanted to grab the G15 but I don't think the gadgets like backlit keys, LCD or 18 extra keys are worth the cash; plus it's so huge I'd have to change my desk - seriously, I measured
)pad: Allsop Raindrop black (keeper; I just love cloth pads)
printer: HP OfficeJet PSC 2175 (keeper; new ones might be a tad faster but for my printing/copying/scanning needs, this one is more than adequate)
Sorry for the lengthy post but it's quite a bit of money so I don't wanna make too many mistakes building this comp
Feel free to post your comments and recommendations.As for games, I play FPS's, RPGs, sports games, plus some racing, sims, strategies, adventures... in case this helps you evaluate some components
Shoot away.
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