HDTV Gaming PC

[bozilla]

Hi,

I just finished setting up everything in my living room as far as home theater and gaming with XBox 360 goes, but I want to build a computer to connect to it too so I can play games like Battlefield 2 and new nice FPS shooters.

I'm trying to save some money and not pay this computer way too much because I have a ton of working computers in my home office that are pretty powerful. I just need this for HDTV gaming.

Now let me just point out what TV and audio receiver I have so you can also advise me on video/sound card that would support outputs that I could connect to my equipment. This is also significant I think because I don't have to buy the most expensive graphics card to play something in 1280x1024 or 1024x768 resolutions.

Ok here's what audio/video equipment I'm working here:

- TV: Pioneer Elite 1130HD 50" plasma - it has D-Sub, S-VHS and HDMI inputs.
- Receiver: DENON AVR-1906 Receiver


I'm trying to build a computer and here's what I have so far:

- Lian Li V SILENT PC-V1100B PLUS Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower

- ASUS A8N32-SLI Deluxe Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI X16

- eVGA 256-P2-N527-AX Geforce 7800GTX 256MB GDDR3

- Antec TRUEPOWERII TPII-550 ATX12V 550W Power Supply - Retail

- AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ Toledo 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Dual Core

- CORSAIR XMS 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR 433 (PC 3500) Twinx2048-3500LLPRO

- HITACHI Deskstar 7K500 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

- Logitech Cordless Desktop S 510 RF Wireless Slim Desktop

- Logitech G7 RF Laser Mouse

- PLEXTOR Black IDE DVD Burner Model PX-740A/SW-BL

Now, this computer comes out to $2,439.84 which is a bit on the high side for the living room computer though I wanted very good components and something that would last me for a few years playing latest games. That's why I've decided to go with SLI capable board so I can just pop in additional graphics card and increase the frame rate to support mode demanding games. I will install Windows XP Media Center on it, and that's why I chose this Logitech keyboard but I'm also afraid that it might not be a really good gaming keyboard. It does come with a nice remote for it as well. The reason why I'm installing Windows Media Center on it is so I could access it from my XBox 360 which is also connected to my home WiFi network.

I would really appreciate if you could review this configuration and maybe give me suggestions where I could save some money and get good gaming machine for resolutions 1024x768 and 1280x1024 (actually their widescreen resolutions) so I could game at full glory with my plasma and listen great audio. I'm missing a sound card card here since ASUS board has a high quality one onboard but let me know if that's not enough since I want to connect it to my receiver.

Thank you!

 

[Broly]

no such thing as an HD gaming system.
WTF is that? I thought all monitors > hdtvS?

 

[bozilla]

Well when I say HDTV gaming computer I mean that it will run very well at resolutions upwards from 768px in height. 1600x1200 gaming on my system would be definitely an overkill. That's what I meant, sorry if that caused any confusion.

 

[Broly]

Oh I seee. you're talking about the 768's. If you want my honest opinin, I'd say you should get an Athlon 3800+ X2 since many people have reported great overclocks.
Nice amp btw i am getting a Denon 4 series when I save up )). For your video card, Having a 30" apple and an x1800xt not cutting enough cheese in some games with GOOD GFX, I'd suggest you go with a 2 gt setup, or a 512 gtx, your choice.
Your Ram is spot on, I am an OCZ fan though, Platinum/Titanium .
The mouse is GREAT. But for intuitiveness I kept my mx5000, it's a great keyboard that's bluetooth. it has an lcd display that can display your music while you're playing WoW as long as you set your default player. It's nice changing music from your keyboard.
Also, I like your HD, but I'm a Seagate/ WD, personal opinoin stuff, maybe get an SATA 2.
I have the 716sa, dunno the diff between the 740, but you can't go wrong with plextor.
I have the v1000, but koolance edition, and I will tell you it's a hot hot case, keep it, great ventilation.
For your Antec, I have a phantom 500 and I'm really happy with that too.
Asus is great and I <3 that mobo.

Great setup man.

 

[Broly]

OH i'm a doofus you're not gonna run 2560x1600, Yeah your 7800gtx should be fine!

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Looks like the native res on the Plasma is
High Definition Resolution WXGA (1280 x 768)

You shouldn't have any problem selecting that as a res and turning just about everything all the way up with a nice videocard like you have selected. A DVI to HDMI converter would probably be the best bet.
Might want to go to AVSforum and see if anybody has any experience with that display to make sure there aren't any issues.

For the connection for sound you could use the 6-channel direct input and get an X-Fi or get a DD Live / DTS Live soundcard and hook up digitally letting your receiver do the decoding and conversion work.

 

[Broly]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
Looks like the native res on the Plasma is
High Definition Resolution WXGA (1280 x 768)

You shouldn't have any problem selecting that as a res and turning just about everything all the way up with a nice videocard like you have selected. A DVI to HDMI converter would probably be the best bet.
Might want to go to AVSforum and see if anybody has any experience with that display to make sure there aren't any issues.

For the connection for sound you could use the 6-channel direct input and get an X-Fi or get a DD Live / DTS Live soundcard and hook up digitally letting your receiver do the decoding and conversion work.

forgot about intergrated sound >< I think an x-fi, base edition is good

 

[bozilla]

Ok, so the real question here is:

Can I save money without sacrifice the purpose of the system by going for let's say X2 3800+ / 7800GT OC-ed maybe and adding a X-Fi XtremeMusic version. This CPU/video would slice my comp price for a few hundred bucks.

Right now my main workstation that I work and game on is Dual Xeon 3.6Ghz with 4gb of OCZ 3-3-3-8 ram and ATI X800XT PE card. I would be pretty satisfied if I could get this gaming performance on this new media computer.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

You should have no problem gaming on that res with a 3800+ and a 7800gt.

 

[LOUISSSSS]

get a silent fanless heatsink for your cpu, follow up on that with more research from c&c section

 

[bozilla]

Ok so I tried to make the final price a bit lower on the computer so I'm now wondering if this new configuration would work just as fine with the ability of upgrading to another GTX card later down the road. Here's what I have now:

- Thermaltake Tsunami VA3000BNA Black (this seems like a very good case for the price it will go nice with the rest of my components too). The case in my setup is somewhat hidden so the look is not a major issue.
- ASUS A8N-SLI Premium Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
- XFX PVT70FUDE7 Geforce 7800GTX 256MB GDDR3
- Antec TRUEPOWERII TPII-550 ATX12V 550W Power Supply - Retail
- AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ Manchester 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Dual Core
- CORSAIR XMS 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR 433 (PC 3500) Twinx2048-3500LLPRO
- Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic 8 (7.1) Channels
- HITACHI Deskstar 7K500 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
- Logitech Cordless Desktop S 510 RF Wireless Slim Desktop
- Logitech G7 RF Laser Mouse
- PLEXTOR Black IDE DVD Burner Model PX-740A/SW-BL

Now this configuration costs $2,188.84 and I could probably get it under $2000 with GT card instead of GTX but I don't know how much performance wise I would have to sacrifice?

 

[alimoalem]

Originally posted by: bozilla

I'm trying to build a computer and here's what I have so far:

- Lian Li V SILENT PC-V1100B PLUS Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower

- ASUS A8N32-SLI Deluxe Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI X16

- eVGA 256-P2-N527-AX Geforce 7800GTX 256MB GDDR3

- Antec TRUEPOWERII TPII-550 ATX12V 550W Power Supply - Retail

- AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ Toledo 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Dual Core

- CORSAIR XMS 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR 433 (PC 3500) Twinx2048-3500LLPRO

- HITACHI Deskstar 7K500 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

- Logitech Cordless Desktop S 510 RF Wireless Slim Desktop

- Logitech G7 RF Laser Mouse

- PLEXTOR Black IDE DVD Burner Model PX-740A/SW-BL

Now, this computer comes out to $2,439.84 which is a bit on the high side for the living room computer though I wanted very good components and something that would last me for a few years playing latest games. That's why I've decided to go with SLI capable board so I can just pop in additional graphics card and increase the frame rate to support mode demanding games.

$2400 is way too much to spend imo. and getting SLI to "pop in" cards for later in isn't really a good idea. you can always sell of your card and save the money you were going to spend on a new card to buy a better single card. you can drop to a non-SLI board this way as well.

500gb is WAY too much. this is a gaming rig, not your main setup. why do you need so much space? stick with an 80gig or 160 at max.

the 4400 may be overkill. just get a 3800

with these cuts, you'll save some money so you can buy a 7800gtx 512mb and be closer to $2000

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: bozilla
Ok so I tried to make the final price a bit lower on the computer so I'm now wondering if this new configuration would work just as fine with the ability of upgrading to another GTX card later down the road. Here's what I have now:

- Thermaltake Tsunami VA3000BNA Black (this seems like a very good case for the price it will go nice with the rest of my components too). The case in my setup is somewhat hidden so the look is not a major issue.
- ASUS A8N-SLI Premium Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
- XFX PVT70FUDE7 Geforce 7800GTX 256MB GDDR3
- Antec TRUEPOWERII TPII-550 ATX12V 550W Power Supply - Retail
- AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ Manchester 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Dual Core
- CORSAIR XMS 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR 433 (PC 3500) Twinx2048-3500LLPRO
- Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic 8 (7.1) Channels
- HITACHI Deskstar 7K500 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
- Logitech Cordless Desktop S 510 RF Wireless Slim Desktop
- Logitech G7 RF Laser Mouse
- PLEXTOR Black IDE DVD Burner Model PX-740A/SW-BL

Now this configuration costs $2,188.84 and I could probably get it under $2000 with GT card instead of GTX but I don't know how much performance wise I would have to sacrifice?

Have you thought about going with value ram? A64 doesn't benefit too much from getting really expensive ram. You don't have to run 1:1 for the memory either, so you can overclock without pushing the ram too hard either.

memory matrix thread

I didn't look up how much the ram you have selected is, but it looks expensive

 

[bozilla]

You read my mind. Actually I got the computer down to $1800 with 7800GTX card or $1660 with 7800GT card.

Here's the final configuration, I just need an OK from you guys and I will order it. I have great respect for people and their suggestion on AT forum.

- Thermaltake Tsunami VA3000BNA Black

- ASUS A8N-SLI Premium Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX

- eVGA 256-P2-N527-AX Geforce 7800GTX 256MB (470/1200)

- Antec TRUEPOWERII TPII-550 ATX12V 550W Power Supply - Retail

- AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ Manchester 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Dual Core

- CORSAIR XMS 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR 400 (PC 3200) Twinx2048-3200c2pt - Retail
(Geil memory was $186 and this Corsair is $230 but for $50 difference I feel better getting Corsair)

- Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic 8 (7.1) Channels

- WD Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 16mb cache

- Logitech Cordless Desktop S 510 RF Wireless Slim Desktop w/remote

- Logitech G7 RF Laser Mouse

- PLEXTOR Black IDE DVD Burner Model PX-740A/SW-BL


Total: $1,806.84

Total with 7800GT instead of GTX: $1660,00


I think I should be in very good shape and have a great gaming machine with this. What do you think?

Oh btw, can you maybe suggest a good keyboard/mouse from Logitech that will work for gaming from 8-10ft distance. I read good things about 3100 set, but I'm not too fond of getting MX1000 simply because it has to be recharged and there's no way to swap out baterries or to use AA batteries. I could actually save another maybe $50 since what I have listed now is pretty expensive $60-$70 for a mouse and $70 for the set with remote. I'm just shaky on that keyboard and whether or not it's good for gaming.

Anyone?

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

For that case, have you thought about getting a HTPC case to put in a component stand or something?

If it's really going to be out of sight, you could get something that's quieter and still a great case. The Antec 3000b is a nice case I've used a couple times. Of course this is a personal preference thing, but you can get that case for about $50 or $60 shipped.
A Seasonic would be a great PSU to couple with that case if you're looking for something quiet. (Of course the videocard fan might be loud anyway, I'm not sure which ones are quieter than others)

 

[bozilla]

Well good questions there. HTPC cases are still not where I want them to be. I read many reviews including the ones here on AT and I'm not impressed. Almost all of them have some flaws, especially in size and fitting the components. The ones that might work are ugly for me. The only one that drew my attention was that Lian-Li HTPC case that was reviewed recently on AT, but some people reported problems with longer graphic cards not fitting in. So to avoid any hassles in building I just decided to go with the regular case.

I will have to look at that Antec case you suggested.

This Thermaltake case pretty much hit the sweet spot since a lot of people reported it to be quite and that it has nice cooling airflow and it was $108.

Even though I said the case will out of sight I still want to be somewhat nice and in black color to match everything else that I have.

Personally I've never heard of Seasonic PSUs but that doesn't mean they are not good. I just like to stick to confirmed quality and pretty much in that category falls Anter and PC Power & Cooling. PCP&C is a bit too much for this rig and Antec would do just fine I think.

The GTX that I picked out has passive cooling so no fan noise, so I think I should be ok in that department.

What do you think?

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

The Antec is a black one OOS where I got mine

Seasonic has taken off a lot with popularity (I'll credit ribbon13 for most of it).

Check out some reviews and search around a bit if you want to check them out. I have a 430watt and it's very quiet and has worked fine for me for going on a year.

Passive cooling should certainly be quiet Just make sure you get decent airflow through the case of course.

 

[bozilla]

Oh yeah, that doesn't look bad at all. I didn't know it was that cheap. So you say it's pretty good to work with and with good cooling/sound dampening?

BTW, I love your room setup Very cozy!

Oh and let me show you where this media center should fit:
My theater setup

The pics below are my work area, don't pay attention to that. Where you see the TV in the living room you will see an AV stand to the right and then the big speaker. The computer will be to the right of the right speaker so it won't be that visible.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Harmony 880
Mine is being difficult right now

Are those Klipsch Synergy (sp?)

I need to work on my furnature

For the case, yeah I liked working with it. It comes with one 120mm fan with room for another in front. Good airflow and and stock fan is very quiet with 3 different speeds you can select. I don't know about sound dampening compared to others, but it's very quiet to start with and if you keep the other components quiet it should give you a very good end result.

 

[bozilla]

Dead on man. They are Klipsch Synergy Good eyes.

Ok you helped me a lot, I think I'm gonna go with your suggestions. The comp comes to $1700, not bad at all. That's $700 in savings.

 

[Broly]

Hey bozilla
are those 5.1 speakers THX Ultra certified? What is the quality of them?
I need great speakers for my room but I do not want to push for something larger such as the synergy, but at the same time I"m getting that 45" native 1080p resolution AQUOS

What would you suggest to compliment a denon 4806 since you look like you know your home theatre?

 

[CalvinHobbes]

What would you suggest to compliment a denon 4806 since you look like you know your home theatre?

Do you have a price range in mind?
How big is the room?
Have you gone to listen to any speakers?

Speakers are very much a personal preference. It's hard to recommend a speaker to someone due to the variables involved.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: bozilla
Dead on man. They are Klipsch Synergy Good eyes.

Ok you helped me a lot, I think I'm gonna go with your suggestions. The comp comes to $1700, not bad at all. That's $700 in savings.

Awesome. I'd still check over at AVSforum if possible just to make sure the display is going to work well with your computer. I haven't had any issues with the 5 or 6 different tv type displays I've used over the years, but I know sometimes there can be issues, especially not that display technology has diversified so much.

Even if there are some issues, powerstrip should be able to get you good results if default isn't perfect.

 

[bozilla]

I have to agree with Calvin. Picking out is speakers is something you have to go and listen to for yourself at the electronics store where they have components set up and can connect any speakers to it.

I loved how my Klipsch/Denon receiver combination sounded, especially the powerful and yet warm sound the combination of the two produces.

If you are looking for something in the lower price range I would recommend Polk Audio. They have lower priced sets and would produce very decent sound. You can also consider Klipsch Synergy series like I have but go with smaller speakers. Great speakers and excellent value. I was considering their Reference series but I'm just fine with Synergy. My set-up is 6.1 too, I have a center speaker set in the back of the living room.

Again you would have to listen and make a decision based on that.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: Broly
Hey bozilla
are those 5.1 speakers THX Ultra certified? What is the quality of them?
I need great speakers for my room but I do not want to push for something larger such as the synergy, but at the same time I"m getting that 45" native 1080p resolution AQUOS

What would you suggest to compliment a denon 4806 since you look like you know your home theatre?

Klipsch's THX Ultra set is a lot more expensive than what bozilla or I have going.
http://www.klipsch.com/product/product.aspx?cid=774

I'm not good enough to tell exactly what model of the synergy line he has going, but you can get an idea of the pricing at Best Buy. For a reference poing, they sell F-1s for $260 each and F-3s for $435 each. The centers range from $185 to $330 and bookshelf synergy will run $235 to $330 at BB.
For the sub it's a bit hard to tell what I'm seeing from the pic
Something in the $400-$500 range from Klipsch would be my guess.

So that would be around $1500 to $2000 depending on what models those are, where he got them, and what kind of package discount he may have gotten on them.

My own speakers were in the same general pricerange. I paid $2600 for the 5.1 set which would have been about $3600 without any package discounts and buying new.

For the Ultra2 Klipsch set you're looking at about $8000 I think. It's a bit tough to find prices on dealer only high end stuff online.

I demo-ed some Klipsch reference series when I was trying to find speakers that I liked but they didn't do it for me. You're really going to have to go out and demo some stuff for yourself, especially if you're thinking about spending that much on sound.

There are plenty of options out there and there's not one "right" answer for everybody.

I think as a rough estimate of how much you might want to spend, roughly spending the same amount on the sub as the receiver and spending twice the amount of the receiver on the speakers would be a good starting point.

Example: $500 receiver $500 sub $1000 5.0 speakers

But of course you're going to be starting at a much higher pricepoint with a serious receiver like you have picked out.