My New gaming computer

[BigFatCow]

Ive been out of the hardware game for a while now, but i want to build a new gaming computer so i did a little research and this is what i came up with. Budget is around $1000 but i can spend up to $1500. So what do you guys thing any one thing gonna be a bottleneck for me? Anything i should change? Any parts I can get that would be better for cheaper? All opinions are welcome, and appreciated.


Mother Board - $122 ASUS A8N-SLI Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD

Video Card - $119x2=$238 XFX PVT43GNDF3 Geforce 6600GT 128MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16

Processor - $296 AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ Manchester 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Dual Core

Ram - $158 CORSAIR ValueSelect 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200)

Hard Drive - $155 Western Digital Raptor WD740GD 74GB 10,000 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive

DVD Drive - $37 NEC Black IDE/ATAPI DVD Burner Model ND-3550A

Total Price - $1,005

 

[quackerww]

Video Card - $119x2=$238 XFX PVT43GNDF3 Geforce 6600GT 128MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16
Hard Drive - $155 Western Digital Raptor WD740GD 74GB 10,000 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive

I think those are a waste of money...
Get a 7800... and a seagate.

 

[BigFatCow]

Originally posted by: quackerww
Video Card - $119x2=$238 XFX PVT43GNDF3 Geforce 6600GT 128MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16
Hard Drive - $155 Western Digital Raptor WD740GD 74GB 10,000 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive

I think those are a waste of money...
Get a 7800... and a seagate.

The 7800 is more money. Is it really worth it? Im talking about the GT, the GTX is way too much money. and does Seagate make a 10k RPM Drive?

 

[quackerww]

Honestley why sli to very low end cards? Get a raptor later you will get more power graphics wise then you will get hd wise. Thats just me thinking tho.

 

[BigFatCow]

Originally posted by: quackerww
Honestley why sli to very low end cards? Get a raptor later you will get more power graphics wise then you will get hd wise. Thats just me thinking tho.

I guess if i did get a 7800 then later on i could just buy another 7800 and sli them for more performance later. Thats a pretty good idea. How much better is the 7800gt then 2 6600s?

 

[imported_killuminati]

yyeah u can get a 7800gt for $275 , get and upgrade to SLi later .

Peace & ciao !!!

 

[quackerww]

Much, Much!

Its like night and day.
One 6600 is a 3DMark Score: 1300 - 2 would be 2600 im guessing.
One 7800gt is a score of 4000+ - 2 = 6000+

 

[TanisHalfElven]

no i think only WD make 10000 rpm drive. but yes a 7800 gt is very worth it. not to mention the advance techs and upgrade potential its just overal a much faster and better card. also its about 250

 

[Inappropriate4AT]

Personally, I would scrap most of it. I think 2GB of ram, the dual core CPU, and the raptor are overkill for the GPU power you plan on having.

I'd go with 1/2GB of ram depending on your decided GPU, a cheaper non SLI board (imo SLI is only viable for higher end), a 3200+ unless you have no interest in overclocking, then something slightly faster, a 200GB 16mb hard drive, and a much higher end GPU. You'd save close to $200 which can be put towards a 7800GTX or X1800XT.

The hard drive would offer performance very close to a raptor in everyday tasks, close enough to justify the $50+ differential imo. A single core CPU, though not as future proof, would offer a much better gaming experience when paired with an ~$400 graphics card than SLId 6600gt's and a dual core CPU.

I just think the current machine you have spec'd out is more of a server powerhouse for multitasking environments than a gaming machine, and it sounds like you wanted it mainly for gaming.

 

[RussianSensation]

Graphics card is always a top priority.

Therefore, at least 6800GS, preferably OC 7800GT. I am not into SLI, but yours is priced reasonably. Otherwise good configuration if you are fine with 70 gigs of storage space. Case, PSU?

 

[Wall7486]

Video Card: 7800GT
Extra hard drive, like the 7200.9. I personally do like the raptor with the OS and applications that I run a lot. The extra hard drive is so you won't install that many junk in the raptor and some extra storage for let say movies, songs, and other "junk".

I see you haven't listed a case yet. I suggest you take a look at the p180, or the thermaltake tsunami.

 

[Finns14]

Get rid of that SLI board and buy 7800GT way better performance if money is your concern buy a single core cpu right now like the 3200+ becuase you won't see any bottle necking with it. Also ditch the 10k RPM HDD you will save a good deal of money with little performance difference.

 

[MrX8503]

bigfatcow i dont think you realize this, but i believe 1 7800gt beats sli 6600gt. So yeah SLI two lower cards is pointless.

In my honest opinion, SLI is never cost effective. If your doing SLI, do it right when you buy your rig. By the time you buy another 7800gt for SLI setup there will be a card that can beat your SLI setup, for example the sli setup you were going with (SLI 6600gt).

In fact you can already buy a card that beats 7800gt SLI (x1900). And it would be more cost effective too. 2x 7800gt=~$600, 1 x1900=~$500 also you would save money by not buying an SLI board.

EDIT: i wouldnt ditch the x2 for a single core, unless dual core is too expensive.

Also i see that you do not have a PSU listed. I would look into getting a psu, unless you already have a good one.

 

[VERTIGGO]

Originally posted by: quackerww
Video Card - $119x2=$238 XFX PVT43GNDF3 Geforce 6600GT 128MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16
Hard Drive - $155 Western Digital Raptor WD740GD 74GB 10,000 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive

I think those are a waste of money...
Get a 7800... and a seagate.

the Raptor maybe a "waste" but if you want maximum game load speed, they're great, but you might want the 150GB just because its twice the capacity. Its $280.

 

[MrX8503]

Originally posted by: VERTIGGO

Originally posted by: quackerww
Video Card - $119x2=$238 XFX PVT43GNDF3 Geforce 6600GT 128MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16
Hard Drive - $155 Western Digital Raptor WD740GD 74GB 10,000 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive

I think those are a waste of money...
Get a 7800... and a seagate.

the Raptor maybe a "waste" but if you want maximum game load speed, they're great, but you might want the 150GB just because its twice the capacity. Its $280.

If its just for games, i dont think you would need 150gigs. If its neccessary i guess keep the 74gig and buy a big hdd for everything else.

 

[Praxis1452]

Get the 7800GT it is much much much more cost effective than SLI and less hassle. Then screw the raptor. It is really not worth the cost unless you can't stand waiting 20 more seconds waiting for a game to load and want to spend $40 extra and get 1/3 of the HD capacity you could at that price.... Also I would just get a motherboard w/ out SLI. SLI is just not cost effective unless you have $3000 to spend don't do it. Get the motherboard for less money and with more features. The Ultra-D if you wwant to overclock. And you can get a 320gb Western Digital hard drive with 16mb cache for $155.

 

[djnsmith7]

Get a 7800 GT & a SATA drive & be done w/ it...I say Nay on the Raptor...

Instead, buy 2 200 GB SATA drives (1 to back up the other)...

ZipZoomFly.com has some good prices on SATA drives...

Also, for your MB, drop that board & get either the A8N-SLI-Deluxe or Premium...Better boards...

 

[BigFatCow]

Originally posted by: Inappropriate4AT
Personally, I would scrap most of it. I think 2GB of ram, the dual core CPU, and the raptor are overkill for the GPU power you plan on having.

I'd go with 1/2GB of ram depending on your decided GPU, a cheaper non SLI board (imo SLI is only viable for higher end), a 3200+ unless you have no interest in overclocking, then something slightly faster, a 200GB 16mb hard drive, and a much higher end GPU. You'd save close to $200 which can be put towards a 7800GTX or X1800XT.

The hard drive would offer performance very close to a raptor in everyday tasks, close enough to justify the $50+ differential imo. A single core CPU, though not as future proof, would offer a much better gaming experience when paired with an ~$400 graphics card than SLId 6600gt's and a dual core CPU.

I just think the current machine you have spec'd out is more of a server powerhouse for multitasking environments than a gaming machine, and it sounds like you wanted it mainly for gaming.

I definatly do plan on using this computer for alot of stuff besides gaming, right now i have 1gb of ram and i am always hitting the page file, thats why i want to get 2gb of ram. I dont want to o/c i used to do that kind of stuff but im not into it anymore. I think the 3800+ should be fine for me. I plan on going with the raptor because a faster HD just makes the whole computer seem faster IMO. I had a 15k rpm cheetah in my old comp and loved it. I already have a 400gb drive for storage. I dont know too much about the dual core CPUs but it seems like it would be a good thing to get, and since you guys changed my mind to a 7800gt video card i think they would pair up nicely.


Im going to buy a case and psu out in town. Just a cheap one.

Thanks for all the opinions everyone. :beer:

 

[MrX8503]

a cheap case is fine, but dont get a cheap PSU. Unless it was the best performing PSU ever that is good price/performance ratio.

 

[imported_taku]

wow. . my head is swiming. not a gamer and could care less about SLI, but i think the advice on one high end game card is good. and the advice on the high end power supply isgreat. All the rest. personal perference and how deep are your pocket. myself i like cheap.

MSI K8NGM2-FID
2000 pro . sp4
xfx 6600GT
antec tx640b with sp400
amd 939+3700 single layer
Emprex dual layer cd dvd r/w
floppy
2x120 ide maxtor
corsair 2x512
3 dell 1905 FP protait mode


P4C800 deluxe p4 chip
2000 pro . sp4
everthing else about the same
except 4 dell 1905FP
pny 5500 dual port analog agp
and another one PCI dual port

 

[drpootums]

Yeah, make sure not to get a "cheap" power supply. Get a decent branded PSU with plenty of amps on the 12v rail.

check into OCZ, Fortron, Antec, etc. for good quality PSU's

Also, if you're investing that much money into a rig like that, make sure you get a case with good airflow, even if it costs you a couple of extra $$.


Good luck!!

 

[Twsmit]

I concur with the majority here. SLI is a waste unless you spend the big bucks up front for cutting edge tech, 2x 6600GT is pointless. Secondly the raptor while the best HDD is clearly a waste of money with your configuration and budget. Getting a raptor is something you do when you have already exhausted all other avenues of performance and want to get the last bit of speed. Raports are not needed for people on a budget.

Dual core is ok, but you can save cash with a single core. Gaming right now does not really benefit from dual core, but it is one "premium" component that is worth buying right now if you can fit it in. (raptors and SLI are not worth buying)

Get a beefy video card, and match it with 2GB value ram, and a mid range/lower end NF4 Ultra or SLI board (get an SLI board for the features, not to actually use SLI) and pick up a good PSU, antec, enermax, seasonic, fortron etc...