Need help, building a gaming computer

[dhill2006]

First of all, hello to everyone here. Been browsing these forums for a couple days, and there really seems to be some smart people here. Anyways, I am going to be building a gaming PC, looking to spend about $1,700 max. I've created what, to the best of my knowledge, seems to be a nice machine. However, I am pretty new at building my own computer, as I have only ordered pre-builts before. So I'm a little scared about compatibility, everything actually fitting and working, heat management ect. I'm going to put a list below of everything that I am goign to buy, and was wondering if I could hear some feedback. Will everything work correctly? Nothing is going to melt is it? For that price, are there any items I could improve (i.e Brand X has something for 200$ which is better then Brand Y that also costs $200)?


Case:RAIDMAX Ninja AT-918WBP (450W power)

Mobo: ASUS P5B Deluxe - Intel P965

Memory:CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240 Pin DDR2

Monitor: ViewSonic WG2021m B20" 8MS Monitor

Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E6300, Conroe 1066MHz FSB LGA 775

Sound Card: Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic 7.1 PCI

Video Card: ATI Radeon X1900XT 512MB PCIx16 GDDR3

Thanks in advance for the help.

 

[stevty2889]

DO NOT use the crappy PSU that comes with the case. 450w with only 14A on the 12v rail running a dual core, and 1900XT? Thats just asking for trouble. At the least, spend an extra $40-50 and get a Fortron.

 

[dhill2006]

Thanks for the input, is there any specific Fortron power supply that you reccomend?

 

[krotchy]

Why are you planning on spending more money on your motherboard than your processor? The only reason you need to spend 250 dollars on a motherboard is if you want an insane overclock.

Do you plan on overclocking? If not Id try to find a motherboard for the Core 2 Duo in the 100 dollar range, and going with a faster Core 2 processor. In the end youll have a much quicker machine.

Heres a good power supply choice:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817104954

Heres a very good quality budget case:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811119077

 

[stevty2889]

I'm using one of these. 450W with 36A combined on the 12v rails.

 

[Rommel44]

I´m going to buy this one: FORTRON Epsilon 600W ATX, aktivní PFC/P4, EPS/SSI [EPSILON 600 - its overkill for you but thats what i prefer.

btw: what HDD do you want use?

 

[dhill2006]

Nope, I don't plan on overclocking. I'm gonna look at some different motherboards, any suggestions? As for power supplies, I was looking at http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16817148002


Just finished checking out mobos, how about This? Also, This might be a stupid question but is the one PCI x16 slot enough? Wouldn't I need 2, one for the video card and 1 for the sound card?

 

[ltfc1988]

but if he spent more money on a mobo surely it would give a better performance than a cheaper one plus the capability of upgrading it in the future were as if it was cheap maybe it has restrictions.

 

[krotchy]

Originally posted by: dhill2006
Nope, I don't plan on overclocking. I'm gonna look at some different motherboards, any suggestions? As for power supplies, I was looking at http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16817148002

A non-name power supply rated at 520W may only give you 400W in reality, and it could end up damaging your components. Stick with a name brand, and the peoples suggestions around here. Theres a reason people push certain brands, they are known to be good and reliable.

Heres a quick build I came up with based on your budget:

Power Supply (Fortron 450W)
Case (Coolermaster Centurion 5)
Motherboard ( Intel BOXDP965LTCK Socket T)
Corsair XMS2 Memory - DDR2 800
Core 2 Duo E6400
Soundblaster X-Fi Xtreme Music
Video card - Saphire Radeon X1900XTX
Monitor: Viewsonic Vx2025WM, 20.1 inch Widescreen

Grand Total: 1541.45 + Shipping - Some Rebates

 

[stevty2889]

Originally posted by: dhill2006
Nope, I don't plan on overclocking. I'm gonna look at some different motherboards, any suggestions? As for power supplies, I was looking at http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16817148002


Just finished checking out mobos, how about This? Also, This might be a stupid question but is the one PCI x16 slot enough? Wouldn't I need 2, one for the video card and 1 for the sound card?

The Fortron I listed is much better, swapping one generic brand for another generic brand isn't going to do any good.

 

[dhill2006]

Alright, I replaced alot of what I put with what Krotchy put. Only thing I noticed is that on the motherboard you chose, some people said it wasn't a good gamer mobo. Also, what is the difference between the Sapphire Radeon, and the one I listed? Both look the same (to my untrained eye)

 

[Rommel44]

Originally posted by: stevty2889

The Fortron I listed is much better, swapping one generic brand for another generic brand isn't going to do any good.

Yeah a lot of people dont realize that good PSU is essential.

 

[krotchy]

Originally posted by: dhill2006
Alright, I replaced alot of what I put with what Krotchy put. Only thing I noticed is that on the motherboard you chose, some people said it wasn't a good gamer mobo. Also, what is the difference between the Sapphire Radeon, and the one I listed? Both look the same (to my untrained eye)

The intel board is the same chipset as the other 2 you picked, Intel 965. So its going to be very comparible in performance for games. Plus if your not overclocking, then there will be almost no difference between all the mobos. Alot of people tend to assume gamer=enthusiest=overclocker. You will do quite well with the Intel board since your not gonna overclock.

As far as your PCI question. A Video card uses a PCIex16 slot, sounds cards use a PCI slot. PCI is different from PCIe.

Also the Saphire I chose is an XTX, you chose an XT. The XTX is faster, and cheaper for whatever reason at the moment.

 

[dhill2006]

Originally posted by: krotchy

The intel board is the same chipset as the other 2 you picked, Intel 965. So its going to be very comparible in performance for games. Plus if your not overclocking, then there will be almost no difference between all the mobos. Alot of people tend to assume gamer=enthusiest=overclocker. You will do quite well with the Intel board since your not gonna overclock.

As far as your PCI question. A Video card uses a PCIex16 slot, sounds cards use a PCI slot. PCI is different from PCIe.

Also the Saphire I chose is an XTX, you chose an XT. The XTX is faster, and cheaper for whatever reason at the moment.

Thanks, that cleared everything up for me. Looks like I am close, if not finished in finding out what I'm going to get.

 

[gobucks]

if you're not overclocking, then you may want to buy a faster CPU. that X1900XT might be bottlenecked a bit by the e6300. you're better off buying a $120-150 mobo (abit ab9 pro is good, so is that intel p965 mobo) and an e6400 or e6600. of course, i highly recommend overclocking, since these 65nm chips are absolute monsters at overclocking - my e6400 is running at 3.24GHz, a 52% overclock.

Also, that soundblaster extrememusic is not really necessary. all current intel mobos have azalia HD audio, which is pretty good. I'd try it out, if you don't like it then you can try grabbing an x-fi. also, the ab9 pro (and i think the intel board as well) have dolby digital live support, which means you can drive a set of 5.1 speakers using a digital connection with full dolby surround. the x-fi doesn't have this.

 

[dhill2006]

I may consider overclocking, it depends on how complicated it is and how much time it takes, as well as how much of a difference I will notice.

 

[Talcite]

btw, go with the x1900xt. not xtx. there was a review about that card on the AT main page, and they said the performance difference wasn't worth the extra cash. Spend the saved cash on a better cpu. if you can cough up some more, go with the e6600. It's got a 10-15% performance boost.

 

[dhill2006]

Is it worth getting a 10,000rpm hard drive?

 

[cmdrdredd]

Originally posted by: dhill2006
Is it worth getting a 10,000rpm hard drive?

I would say no...You can get awesome deals on Seagate drives which are fast and extremely reliable. I always recommend Seagate.

 

[glorygunk]

Ahhh....you forgot to allocate some money for cooling!

I always reserve at least $50 for good cooling...but up to $100 in your case, since you're using very good components. Think about spending $30-$50 for a quality CPU heatsink (something from Thermalright, Zalman, Cooler Master, etc). I also typically replace the video card fan with something from Zalman or Arctic Cooling for ~$30. Since the fans included in most cases are crap, I'd get some better fans from Panaflo, Nexus, Aerocool, etc. A fan controller to run all this is a good idea as well.

In the end, you'll have a much quieter PC with much lower temps, which means your new computer will be more stable and ready to overclock Oh and don't use Newegg for these parts...my favorite store is SVC (www.svc.com).

Good luck!

 

[dhill2006]

Thanks for the heads up about cooling. This might seem weird but, would I still need that sort of cooling if I keep the side of my case open, good airflow, and a actual big fan (like the kind you blow on yourself) blowing on the open side? I know it seems ghetto, especially since I'm spending almost 2k on the system itself, but I already went over my budget a little and don't want to spend any more if at all possible.

 

[dhill2006]

Or if that isnt possible, I am also clueless when it comes to that sort of internal cooling. Do you think you could point me in the right direction by creating a list of some sort of the cooling things that I should buy? I am looking to spend about $70. Also, do these fans use alot of power?

At the moment I will be usingThis power supply

Running:
This Keyboard (lights up)
This Video Card
This Sound Card
This Mouse
This Processor
And this light

Is that power supply enough for all that?

 

[Crescent13]

Originally posted by: dhill2006
Thanks for the heads up about cooling. This might seem weird but, would I still need that sort of cooling if I keep the side of my case open, good airflow, and a actual big fan (like the kind you blow on yourself) blowing on the open side? I know it seems ghetto, especially since I'm spending almost 2k on the system itself, but I already went over my budget a little and don't want to spend any more if at all possible.

No. Case open is usually a bad idea. Believe me I tried it, it RAISED my temps. Think about it, with the case closed, the air moves from the front to the back, running over all components that need cooled and exiting out the back and the PSU. With a fan blowing on it, well it wouldn't be as efficient as the way it's already working. Anyway, a fan won't do you much good if you don't have any good heatsinks. so no leave the case closed.

 

[Crescent13]

Originally posted by: dhill2006
Or if that isnt possible, I am also clueless when it comes to that sort of internal cooling. Do you think you could point me in the right direction by creating a list of some sort of the cooling things that I should buy? I am looking to spend about $70. Also, do these fans use alot of power?

At the moment I will be usingThis power supply

Running:
This Keyboard (lights up)
This Video Card
This Sound Card
This Mouse
This Processor
And this light

Is that power supply enough for all that?

Keyboard: Good
Video Card: No no no no no hells no. Faster, cheaper, better graphics quality, and HDR + FSAA
Sound card: your link is wrong.
Mouse: Logitech Mx518. Cheaper, Same res (1600DPI), back and forward buttons, more erogonomic. Etc. I've had this mouse for about 2+ years now and it's never failed me. I love it.
Processor$50 cheaper for the excact same thing
Light's are a waste of money. Don't buy it. It's unnecessary. And if you go to the lan parties with one of theese lights, you won't be the cool guy with a light in his comp, you'll be the guy that wasted his money.

 

[dhill2006]

Alright thanks Crescent13, took your suggestion on the video card and mouse. As far as the broken sound card link, here is one that works. So with all that, will that power supply be enough?



Edit: Also, is this monitor good for gaming? I remember hearing to stay away from things with 16ms times. However, it says 8ms gray-to-gray, and 16ms white-black-white. I'm a little confused about whether this would be fine for fast paced FPS games or not.