Need help and opinions on building a Gaming Rig

[NIZMOZ]

Okay guys, it's time. I have sold my Xbox, and trying to sell my old XPS, and it's time for me to build a new machine. Done with the bought machines, going back to the way I use to be, and build machines. But since I have been out of the scene for a while, I need to get some opinions from you all.

So, give me a machine that is a gaming rig, that is fast, powerful, and can handle damn good FPS in games. I want a RAID 5 with fast speeds. I will most likely overclock this machine so take that into count. Would like to see 4.0ghz from it if possible. I prefer Newegg for the vendor. I love Gigabyte boards over other brands as well. Never had a issue with those.

I already have a Case, Coolermaster 690. Just need a power supply that will support the new video cards and future expansion if needed.

Budget.....

$1000-1500 at the most. That is a stretch. But rather try to keep it closer to $1000 if possible.

Also I have a 37" LCD 1080P, which I am thinking of switching out maybe for two monitors? This LCD is a bit overkill. I can't get it far enough away on my desk to not hurt my eyes. lol. I had one 24" 2407 Dell, and gave that to my brother as a gift. The price above does not include the monitors btw. Maybe two 22"s? What do you prefer as a setup?

Thanks guys!

 

[NIZMOZ]

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.

Online Gaming, web browsing, video editing/picture editing.

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread

$1000-1500 at the most

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.

USA

4. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc, etc, etc, you get the picture.

Seagate, Gigabyte

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.

Have a new Coolermaster 690 case in the box still. No PS.

6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads.

Yes but too many variables.

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.

Overclocking yes. Want 4.0ghz speeds and fast FPS in games.

 

[NIZMOZ]

So far this is what I have put together. I have two boards in there because I can't decide which one to go with. X38 or P35......help me make my decision on that. Is it really worth $40 bucks more?

Qty. Product Description Savings Total Price
1
Thermaltake Purepower RX W0144RU 600W Power Supply
Item #:N82E16817153049
Return Policy: Limited 30-Day Return Policy
Add this item to your cart
-$10.00 Instant $124.99
$114.99
1
CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory
Item #:N82E16820145184
Return Policy: Memory (Modules, USB) Return Policy
Add this item to your cart
$76.00
4
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 250GB 3.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
Item #:N82E16822148262
Return Policy: Limited 30-Day Return Policy
Add this item to your cart
$259.96
($64.99 each)
1
Sony NEC Optiarc 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model AD-7190S
Item #:N82E16827118002
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
Add this item to your cart
$26.99
1
areca ARC-1210 PCI-Express x8 SATA II Controller Card
Item #:N82E16816131003
Return Policy: Limited 30-Day Return Policy
Add this item to your cart
-$40.00 Instant $329.99
$289.99
1
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 3.0GHz LGA 775 65W Processor
Item #:N82E16819115037
Return Policy: Processors (CPUs) Return Policy
Add this item to your cart
$204.99
1
GIGABYTE GA-EX38-DS4 ATX Intel Motherboard
Item #:N82E16813128089
Return Policy: Limited 30-Day Return Policy
Add this item to your cart
$206.99
1
GIGABYTE GA-EP35-DS4 ATX Dynamic Energy Saver Ultra Durable II Intel Motherboard
Item #:N82E16813128087
Return Policy: Limited 30-Day Return Policy
Add this item to your cart
-$10.00 Instant $179.99
$169.99
1
ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler
Item #:N82E16835186134
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
Add this item to your cart
-$5.00 Instant $36.99
$31.99
Grand Total: $1,381.89

 

[DSF]

If I'm not mistaken the P35 will only run its second PCI-express slot at x4. If that RAID card needs x8 to run at full capacity, the X38 might be the better choice. (Since you need the main PCI-e slot for your graphics card.

Also, if you want to take the E8400 to 4.0GHz you're probably better off getting DDR2-1000.

 

[NIZMOZ]

You know I just noticed that DSF. I have been reading and reviewing all this for the past few hours. And if I want to get a PCI-X 2.0 slot, I need a x38 board. Because I am strongly considering the new 9800GX2 card from BFG as part of my build.

Okay I need many ports, Fire, USBs, SATA, etc. I need a good board for a good cost that will support that and the raid card.

ASUS, Gigabyte are now on my list. Any recommendations from you folks?

 

[DSF]

Originally posted by: NIZMOZ
You know I just noticed that DSF. I have been reading and reviewing all this for the past few hours. And if I want to get a PCI-X 2.0 slot, I need a x38 board. Because I am strongly considering the new 9800GX2 card from BFG as part of my build.

The PCI-e spec is backwards compatible, so that's not really an issue.

 

[NIZMOZ]

True, but rather it run faster from the start with 2.0 instead.

Here is the build so far as of now..without the E8400 since newegg just sold out. I need to find a retailer I can get it from fast.



ASUS 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model DRW-2014L1T

ASUS 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model DRW-2014L1T - Retail
Item #: N82E16827135156
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

-$4.00 Instant


$39.99
$35.99




Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250410AS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250410AS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
Item #: N82E16822148262
Return Policy: Limited 30-Day Return Policy



$259.96
($64.99 each)




BFG Tech BFGE981024GX2E GeForce 9800 GX2 1GB (512MB per GPU) 512-bit (256-bit per GPU) GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card

BFG Tech BFGE981024GX2E GeForce 9800 GX2 1GB (512MB per GPU) 512-bit (256-bit per GPU) GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
Item #: N82E16814143128
Return Policy: Limited Non-Refundable 30-Day Return Policy


$20.00 Mail-in Rebate

$549.99




CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX ATX12V / EPS12V 750W Power Supply

CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX ATX12V / EPS12V 750W Power Supply - Retail
Item #: N82E16817139006
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

-$50.00 Instant
$10.00 Mail-in Rebate

$179.99
$129.99




G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1000 (PC2 8000) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-8000CL5D-4GBPQ

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1000 (PC2 8000) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-8000CL5D-4GBPQ - Retail
Item #: N82E16820231145
Return Policy: Memory (Modules, USB) Return Policy

-$50.00 Instant


$139.99
$89.99




GIGABYTE GA-EX38-DS4 LGA 775 Intel X38 ATX Intel Motherboard

GIGABYTE GA-EX38-DS4 LGA 775 Intel X38 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Item #: N82E16813128089
Return Policy: Limited 30-Day Return Policy



$206.99




ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler

ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler - Retail
Item #: N82E16835186134
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

-$5.00 Instant


$36.99
$31.99

Subtotal: $1,304.90

 

[s44]

Are you doing Newegg-only? The Corsair 750 is much cheaper here.

Also, for OC the Xigmatek is a much better cooler at a comparable price.

 

[DSF]

Just FYI, PCI-e 2.0 doesn't run faster with current graphics cards. It provides more bandwidth which will likely be necessary in the future.

But again, it's a moot point since you need the second PCI-e x16 slot.

 

[crimson117]

Here's an E8400 in stock: $212 shipped from Moogr.com

 

[Roguestar]

PCI-X is not the graphics card slot, that's PCI-Express or PCI-E.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PCI-X
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PCI_Express

And what DSF said is correct, PCI-E 2.0 is backwards compatible but current cards haven't saturated 1.0 yet.