Help on gaming rig(3.0ghz e8400 + 8800gt)

dirtydfl

Junior Member
Jun 6, 2008
4
0
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Yes I'm gaming.

Let me start off by telling you what I KNOW I'm buying:

Intel Core 2 Duo Processor E8400 (2x 3.0GHz/6MB L2 Cache/1333FSB)
NVIDIA GeForce 8800GT 512MB
4GB Ram


With that being said, I decided to buy this rig when Age of Conan didn't run on my old comp.
The specs above will well run the game. I will most likely not be upgrading this computer again
until Darkfall Online and Diablo 3 come out(a couple years). Use this information to base:

1)What motherboard?? P5n?? p5k?? p35??...etc...x36 for future??..etc
2)Which of the brands/speeds of ram????
3)'Which PSU power supply? Not some junky crap that wont pump out power on rails
4)(quality cases)Which case has enough space and is easy to install all this?? Here's some common
cases available: http://www.ibuypower.com/ibp/S...ose.aspx?mid=119&oid=1

If you can assist in any of the questions please do.
 

alimoalem

Diamond Member
Sep 22, 2005
4,025
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budget?

will you be overclocking?

this is more of a nit-pick but do you have any preferences for the case? window...door for the drives...plain vs. real flashy. again, price matters a lot for this.

i'm not too knowledgeable with the expensive stuff like motherboards, etc. but i think if you answer the first two questions it'll help a lot more with responses.
 

dirtydfl

Junior Member
Jun 6, 2008
4
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Originally posted by: alimoalem
budget?

will you be overclocking?

this is more of a nit-pick but do you have any preferences for the case? window...door for the drives...plain vs. real flashy. again, price matters a lot for this.

i'm not too knowledgeable with the expensive stuff like motherboards, etc. but i think if you answer the first two questions it'll help a lot more with responses.

Keep the budget in the range ive been spending for the other parts(IE keep in mind the target range im in...8800 gt..e8400...4gb ram)

My only preference for the case is:
Easy to install everything(maybe sliding trays?), no worries about overlaping graphics cards or sound cards, GOOD AIRFLOW =p so I dont overheat.

Overclocking.....possibly. I'm told the e8400 bumps from 3.0 up a good amount if you OC it...so I guess Ocing is an option if i found a thread with steps. I'm not gonna go crazy hardcore OCing like most

Thanks
 

Rhaze

Member
May 23, 2008
37
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I would get..

Asus P5Q-Deluxe (Or similar variation).
Mushkin, Corsair, Crucial DDR2 @ either 1000 or 1066 2-2GB of course.
Seasonic Modular PSU... I forget their model stepping.. I think 700, 600, 500.
I have no ability to suggest cases to anyone.. ever.
 

DarkRogue

Golden Member
Dec 25, 2007
1,243
3
76
There is a very in-depth thread on overclocking over at the CPU forum - it's a sticky, you can't miss it.

E8400 overclocks to 3.6GHz fairly easily for most people, but it's not a guarantee since all CPUs are different.
The above mentioned RAM manufacturers are all good ones, although nowadays they're all so similar, just get whatever suits you or is cheapest.
If you're not overclocking past 3.6GHz, go with DDR2-800 (PC6400) as it's generally cheaper than DDR2-1000+. The latter is usually needed if you're going to push your FSB past 400MHz for overclocking.

As far as PSU is concerned, go with something that is efficient. Antec Earthwatts, Seasonic S12II / M12II, Corsair VHX, etc are all good, quiet, efficient power supplies. As for the wattage, if that is all you'll be running, something around 400w is more than enough. 380w is what I'm running with a similar rig in my sig (overclocked) but I wouldn't have minded getting a 430w or 480w at most. Don't believe all the hype, unless you'll be running dual video cards and a ton of hard drives/optical drives, etc you won't need over 500w.

As far as motherboard goes, get any P35 chipset board. You don't seem to be setting up for crossfire/SLI so P35 is your best option at its price point. X38 for better Crossfire, or 780i for SLI. The GA-EP35-DS3L is a good choice, but I'm apprehensive recommending Gigabyte boards right now due to their DPC latency issue.

Case is a very subjective thing. I love my P182 because it's big, quiet, and very cool (looks sleek too) but you may not like it because it's not as easy to work with as other cases. Perhaps you could give us an example of a case you'd like and we can go off that.
 

dirtydfl

Junior Member
Jun 6, 2008
4
0
0
(this thread has been posted on multiple forums, hence that explains any mix ups or inconsistencies)

Thanks for the replies. I've narrowed it down further now, now its time for you guys to fine pick.

Decided:
GeForce 8800GTS 512mb(faster/newer/better then 8800gt, 30$ more)
Intel Duo E8400 procs.
Rocket Fish Case(full tower Lian Li case for 50$ at best buy!!!)
A p35 chipset motherboard
4 GB(2x2GB) DDR2-800


The Questions:
1)Which p35 motherboard will run the above with no hassels/compatibilty issues(ex. I don't want
to have to spend 10 hours getting it to post)? Gigabyte is a favorite thats been thrown at me but newegg shows Gigabyte as having like 10 different p35 boards/revisions. Asus was also recomended to me. But which specific model should I get? I just really don't want to have to go through the BS of flashing bios..etc before I can even boot to windows.
2)Haven't gotten to break apart and get down to PSU's yet, so keep that discussion up
3)Ditto with the brand of ram I'll buy, but its down to the regulars(g.skill, OCZ, Crucial, Corsair)

Also now getting slightly OT - but I have no moniter, so I'll need to buy one. If you guys come upon any deals let me know. I just want something in the same budget lines as above, with resolution above 1024x768(can't game in that anymore guys, hurts the eyes lol), light/not heavy screen, but most importantly something that will due justice to spending the $ on the new psu/gfc card/mobo. Basically I've been gaming on my 14 inch widescreen laptop and my dads 13 inch up till now, I'm not used to playing games in uber high resoulutions/extra large moniter screens, 19 inches would be as big as I think I could adjust, but I dunno I think Ill go window shopping tomm. and see
 

dirtydfl

Junior Member
Jun 6, 2008
4
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also should I get the p35 or should I wait for the p45 that are coming out? I don't plan to SLI or crossfire until the next upgrade(couple years from now)
 

powerup

Member
Dec 6, 2004
125
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0
Mine is a similar build to yours. Check out the parts in my sig. It is running very nice and very easy to put together. The mobo did not need to be flashed, I just put the e8400 in and installed the stock hs and fan. running awesome.