Gaming Computer Build W? Questions

[MielkeHBP]

So I'm with all the student loans, scholarships, and gift cards I recieved from christmas I figured I have about $1,500.00 to spend on a gaming computer. Right before christmas I bought a case and I already have a monitor mouse and keyboard...and nic. I really have been out of the market for the last few years since my computer has been able to run games fine, but it died the other day and I figure its time for DX10 and vista. I was wondering if there are certain brands to use, I remember the intel/amd battle when I built my computer 4 years ago and I went with AMD then but I am not sure who to go with now. if anyone feels like giving me some advice on a build or even fully create my build I would greatly appreciate it. Another thing that was controversial when I built, was modular powersupplies and sli...I have read on anandtech recently that sli is pointless unless your getting two 500.00 cards which i dont think fits into my budget, but I would like a modular powersupply seeing as it makes everything nice and *pretty*.

 

[MarcVenice]

What case did you buy ? You should read the stickied post about new builds tbh. To many things I could suggest without knowing exactly what you want and how. For modular PSU it's easy though, 520hx. Videocard, 8800gt or HD3870 512mb. CPU, I'd say e8400 most likely. Mobo, p35 chipset, 90-130$ or so, gigabyte ds3l or ds3r, abit ip35-e, asus p5k, etc etc. But for other stuff you should give suggestions first, I could say I love the samsung t166 spinpoint 500gb, but you might say I don't need 500gb and want something 250gb instead.

 

[jkresh]

Follow Marc's advice, also list what kinds of games you play and what monitor you have (what resolution you can play at), but here are some basics. Right now intel is faster but amd can be a better buy, the 3870x2 is the fastest single card you can buy (its 2 3870's on one card and it works with any motherboard, price is around $450, but nividia is likely to have a competor (2 8800gt's on one card) soon).

 

[Skott]

Just to add a little more to what has already been offered. $1500 will get you a nice mid priced performance rig for gaming if you build it yourself. As fas as SLI/CF goes its not worth it unless you plan to use a 24" or larger monitor. Better to get one good card instead of paying for two expensive cards considering how often new cards keep coming out. A single 8800GT plays most games pretty nicely although there are a couple of games that are the rare exception. Crysis is one such example. It'll be another year or so before they come up with a card that plays that game at full high everything. Buying 2 cards just for that isnt worth it IMHO. Get a single good card and play it at medium settings for now.

Anyway do as Marc suggested and give some more info so we can better help you out.

 

[DSF]

Read the sticky at the top of the forum titled "NOTICE - PC Builders...."

Answer those questions and it will be a lot easier to help you, especially if you look around the other threads first and get some idea of what you're looking for.

 

[MielkeHBP]

4GB Ram for Vista
HD3870x2 for sure
No sli, but I would like the asus maxi formula board
i dont know, but I would like some fast ram but apparently nothing really uses speeds of like 1600mhz.

I just want gaming, I dont need room for expansion....No sound card needed.

So far I have chosen(but feel free to make suggestions):

Raidmax Smilodon Case(bought)
Asus Max Formula Motherboard
Ati hd3870x2
corsair hx620 mod powersupply

Harddrives will be 3x http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16822116010
in raid 5. I dont store anything, this computer wont even go to a website, all upgrades will be done over the network or from discs and flashdrives

I was told quadcore isnt very good for gaming so I was thinking http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16819115037

not sure about heatsinks, but case cooling wont be a problem.

 

[imported_wired247]

Originally posted by: MielkeHBP
4GB Ram for Vista
HD3870x2 for sure
No sli, but I would like the asus maxi formula board
i dont know, but I would like some fast ram but apparently nothing really uses speeds of like 1600mhz.

I just want gaming, I dont need room for expansion....No sound card needed.

So far I have chosen(but feel free to make suggestions):

Raidmax Smilodon Case(bought)
Asus Max Formula Motherboard
Ati hd3870x2
corsair hx620 mod powersupply

Harddrives will be 3x http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16822116010
in raid 5. I dont store anything, this computer wont even go to a website, all upgrades will be done over the network or from discs and flashdrives

I was told quadcore isnt very good for gaming so I was thinking http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16819115037

not sure about heatsinks, but case cooling wont be a problem.

I don't see a scsi u320 raid card in there.... and if it were me, I'd prefer SAS to SCSI... much easier to deal with, no ribbon cables, no termination, all the benefits of scsi, but the ease of SATA

 

[NamelessMC]

You're not providing enough information!!!

Operating system - Windows XP, Vista, do you need it?

Monitor - Do you need one? Widescreen? What size? 22" is the best price/performance before they become super expensive.

Do you plan on watching movies, connecting to an HDTV, doing other work with it, especially since you're going to school?

The best price/performance components, as others have listed, are the E8400 and the 8800GT or Radeon HD3870 512. The question becomes whether you need a mid or high range enthusiast board, or something simple like Gigabyte's entry level boards. Hard-drive space also begs to question, as we don't know what type of work you'll be doing.

Do you want to over-clock? You can achieve 30% more performance if you do, and that's with risk-free over-clocking that's very mild.

 

[MielkeHBP]

I stated I have a monitor, I stated Vista, I stated gaming only
and ill overclock, but I will not use liquid cooling....so just small stuff.

 

[imported_wired247]

small stuff like a scsi card? heh...

 

[MielkeHBP]

"if anyone feels like giving me some advice on a build or even fully create my build"
"So far I have chosen(but feel free to make suggestions)"

I came here for some advice and Im still waiting, but due to the hostility and sarcasm that I feel I have recieved ill just take my question to people who know some answers...

 

[MarcVenice]

People said SAS over SCSI, or you need a SCSI card, which is very expensive, worth the trouble/cost to you ? The rest looks pretty good, high end mobo, videocard, 4gb of ram, case kinda sucks but you've bought it allready anyways. I'd throw in a 500gb HD just for storage, you can, so why wouldn't you ? I'd also get a arctic freezer 7 pro, or a tuniq tower 120, to keep things cool and 'quiet' running. Why the motherboard btw, any particular reason ? Any p35 mobo will do just fine for a HD3870 X2.

 

[Roguestar]

Originally posted by: MielkeHBP
"if anyone feels like giving me some advice on a build or even fully create my build"
"So far I have chosen(but feel free to make suggestions)"

I came here for some advice and Im still waiting, but due to the hostility and sarcasm that I feel I have recieved ill just take my question to people who know some answers...

Filling out the stickied thread at the top of this forum would still solve all your problems. Some people in this thread have made really good suggestions, what else do you want?