OK, since this is my first post I'll try to make it as complete as possible....
I want to build a PC primarily for gaming. I'm currently playing BF2 (never got into 2142) and some COD4. I plan to set this up in the living room since I've been using our 1080p LCD. I need everything soup to nuts for the PC itself....nothing carrying over from an existing build. Don't need any peripherals (monitor, keyboard, mouse etc...) just the case and anything that would go inside it. Budget is $1000-$1200.
Since this will be in the living room there are special considerations. I plan to use an HTPC style case specifically the Silverstone LC17. Managing heat could be a potential issue in this style of case. It's a full ATX case....Looks like some of the larger video cards shouldn't be a problem as long as I'm happy with no more than 4 HD's. Considering the heat issues I probably don't want to stuff any more than that in there anyway.
Noise is also important since this will be in the living room. Looking to keep the PSU and other cooling as quiet as possible. Although I do understand that I may have to compromise on some fan noise on a gaming build.
I'm in OR so all parts will be bought in the US....I'm not partial to any particular vendor although I use Newegg a lot simply for convenience.
I have done some research already. Here's my current thinking:
CPU/MOBO.....I'll probably use an E8400 when available unless there's a compelling reason to go q6600 for this purpose. I don't see SLI as being realistic given the limited physical space in this case and of course cooling. Because of that I'm looking at going with IP35 although I haven't decided which one. Maybe this Asus P5K-E? Or an Abit IP35 Pro?
CPU cooling.....not sure there's a billion options out there. It just needs to be quiet
.
Memory....not sure, so many flavors. 2GB minimum...more depending on OS and budget. I can always start with 2GB and add later although it would be nice to start with 2GB DIMM's in case space becomes an issue in that case. Seems like CPU cooling could interfere with one or more slots depending on the mobo and cpu heatsink/fan used.
HDD....I think budget might be the limiting factor here. Sure a couple 10k drives would be great, but most likely not necessary. Higher capacity of 7.2's would be nice for media purposes also.
Optical....actually I do have an optical drive I can use to get going so skip the optical drive.
Audio....I'll probably start out with on board audio unless it's just unacceptable, again to minimize how much I try to stuff into that case. 7.1 is not necessary but if it's included that's fine. My Marantz SR18 won't use it and it was a butt load of dough a few years ago and I'm not ready to replace it just yet. I want S-PDIF out , optical/toslink if I can get it.
Video....since I don't see dual cards happening in this case (SLI or Crossfire) I need as much card as I can fit in my budget. I've been looking at different flavors of 8800GT's but I'm not married to nVidia....just seems to be the card of choice right now. Maybe that's just me being lazy and buying into the marketing...IDK.
Overclocking is certainly not out of the question although it would be mild due again to heat.
OS....if it were purely for gaming I'd throw XP on it and call it good. But I'm wondering if Vista Ultimate would make more sense if I'm even thinking about using it for a media PC? I see there are a good number of people gaming just fine on Vista 32 and 64 bit. 64 bit might be nice looking forward, although it seems there isn't really a benefit to go 64 bit yet.
I guess that's it! Kind of a long first post but I wanted to make sure it was complete. If I missed anything I'm sure I'll hear about it. LOL
Thanks for a great resource in this site, and I look forward to your recommendations.
I want to build a PC primarily for gaming. I'm currently playing BF2 (never got into 2142) and some COD4. I plan to set this up in the living room since I've been using our 1080p LCD. I need everything soup to nuts for the PC itself....nothing carrying over from an existing build. Don't need any peripherals (monitor, keyboard, mouse etc...) just the case and anything that would go inside it. Budget is $1000-$1200.
Since this will be in the living room there are special considerations. I plan to use an HTPC style case specifically the Silverstone LC17. Managing heat could be a potential issue in this style of case. It's a full ATX case....Looks like some of the larger video cards shouldn't be a problem as long as I'm happy with no more than 4 HD's. Considering the heat issues I probably don't want to stuff any more than that in there anyway.
Noise is also important since this will be in the living room. Looking to keep the PSU and other cooling as quiet as possible. Although I do understand that I may have to compromise on some fan noise on a gaming build.
I'm in OR so all parts will be bought in the US....I'm not partial to any particular vendor although I use Newegg a lot simply for convenience.
I have done some research already. Here's my current thinking:
CPU/MOBO.....I'll probably use an E8400 when available unless there's a compelling reason to go q6600 for this purpose. I don't see SLI as being realistic given the limited physical space in this case and of course cooling. Because of that I'm looking at going with IP35 although I haven't decided which one. Maybe this Asus P5K-E? Or an Abit IP35 Pro?
CPU cooling.....not sure there's a billion options out there. It just needs to be quiet
.Memory....not sure, so many flavors. 2GB minimum...more depending on OS and budget. I can always start with 2GB and add later although it would be nice to start with 2GB DIMM's in case space becomes an issue in that case. Seems like CPU cooling could interfere with one or more slots depending on the mobo and cpu heatsink/fan used.
HDD....I think budget might be the limiting factor here. Sure a couple 10k drives would be great, but most likely not necessary. Higher capacity of 7.2's would be nice for media purposes also.
Optical....actually I do have an optical drive I can use to get going so skip the optical drive.
Audio....I'll probably start out with on board audio unless it's just unacceptable, again to minimize how much I try to stuff into that case. 7.1 is not necessary but if it's included that's fine. My Marantz SR18 won't use it and it was a butt load of dough a few years ago and I'm not ready to replace it just yet.
I want S-PDIF out , optical/toslink if I can get it.Video....since I don't see dual cards happening in this case (SLI or Crossfire) I need as much card as I can fit in my budget. I've been looking at different flavors of 8800GT's but I'm not married to nVidia....just seems to be the card of choice right now. Maybe that's just me being lazy and buying into the marketing...IDK.
Overclocking is certainly not out of the question although it would be mild due again to heat.
OS....if it were purely for gaming I'd throw XP on it and call it good. But I'm wondering if Vista Ultimate would make more sense if I'm even thinking about using it for a media PC? I see there are a good number of people gaming just fine on Vista 32 and 64 bit. 64 bit might be nice looking forward, although it seems there isn't really a benefit to go 64 bit yet.
I guess that's it! Kind of a long first post but I wanted to make sure it was complete. If I missed anything I'm sure I'll hear about it. LOL
Thanks for a great resource in this site, and I look forward to your recommendations.
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