New Build. I'm a newb.. please proof

[Shlokda]

Ok I'm basically shooting for a 1200-1400 dollar computer for strictly gaming, chat, internet, listening to music. I want to be able to handle like 90 percent of most games out there, (and those to come)

I've never built a computer before and don't know much about it anyways. Me and some friends have put together a list. Here it goes:

MOBO: GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD3R LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813128375

CPU: Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16819115202

RAM: G.SKILL 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820231223

Video Card: EVGA 896-P3-1262-AR GeForce GTX 260 Superclocked Edition 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814130372

PSU: CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16817139006

Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3750330AS 750GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16822148298

Optical: LG Black 22X (CAV) DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 22X (CAV) DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 22X DVD±R DVD Burner - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16827136152

Sound Card: Recertified: Creative 70SB073A00000-8 7.1 Channels 24-bit 96KHz Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Gamer

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16829102028

Case: Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16811129021


Thats about it.. Few things, I am going to run XP 32 bit, and im aware 6gigs of ram is overkill and will be underclocked, but I just wanted to go ahead and buy it to since prices are a steal, and I want to be future proof.

Also I know nothing about this mobo's integrated soundcard, therefore I don't know if its totally neccessary for me to buy this new soundcard that I spec'd.

Also What should I do about internet.. We have a wireless network at our house and the modem/router is a floor beneath my room. I'll have to either drill a hole and run a cat5 down there, or shoudl I get a wireless card?

Let me know what you guys think about the current build.. any suggestions welcome.

I'm willing to spend about 1400 or less ( its about 1400 with what i have spec'd right now)

 

[nsafreak]

Originally posted by: Shlokda
Ok I'm basically shooting for a 1200-1400 dollar computer for strictly gaming, chat, internet, listening to music. I want to be able to handle like 90 percent of most games out there, (and those to come)

I've never built a computer before and don't know much about it anyways. Me and some friends have put together a list. Here it goes:

MOBO: GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD3R LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813128375

CPU: Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16819115202

RAM: G.SKILL 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820231223

Video Card: EVGA 896-P3-1262-AR GeForce GTX 260 Superclocked Edition 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814130372

PSU: CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16817139006

Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3750330AS 750GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16822148298

Optical: LG Black 22X (CAV) DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 22X (CAV) DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 22X DVD±R DVD Burner - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16827136152

Sound Card: Recertified: Creative 70SB073A00000-8 7.1 Channels 24-bit 96KHz Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Gamer

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16829102028

Case: Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16811129021


Thats about it.. Few things, I am going to run XP 32 bit, and im aware 6gigs of ram is overkill and will be underclocked, but I just wanted to go ahead and buy it to since prices are a steal, and I want to be future proof.

Also I know nothing about this mobo's integrated soundcard, therefore I don't know if its totally neccessary for me to buy this new soundcard that I spec'd.

Also What should I do about internet.. We have a wireless network at our house and the modem/router is a floor beneath my room. I'll have to either drill a hole and run a cat5 down there, or shoudl I get a wireless card?

Let me know what you guys think about the current build.. any suggestions welcome.

I'm willing to spend about 1400 or less ( its about 1400 with what i have spec'd right now)

If you run XP 32 bit you're going to leave 2 gigs of RAM completely unused, not a good idea if you ask me. Won't hurt anything but you'll have paid for RAM that you aren't using. Nowadays I typically recommend folks avoid Creative. It used to be they had an awseome product, nowadays not so much. The hardware is still decent but the drivers suck absolute balls. Tons of un-needed bloat. The only other change I might consider making is going with a Western Digital Caviar Black of equivalent size instead of Seagate, they seem to perform a bit better than Seagates currently. Otherwise not a bad build.

 

[AVP]

Drill a hole! That is what I did at my house

Otherwise, pretty good. On board sound is good these days, you don't really need the sound card. Looks sweet.

 

[Shlokda]

also, I don't know much about cases and what size I need to fit all this stuff in it. The one I have spec'd looks cool but I cant really tell how big it is.. I would like the smallest case possible, but still be able to hold all of this stuff.

 

[zerocool84]

Originally posted by: nsafreak

Originally posted by: Shlokda
Ok I'm basically shooting for a 1200-1400 dollar computer for strictly gaming, chat, internet, listening to music. I want to be able to handle like 90 percent of most games out there, (and those to come)

I've never built a computer before and don't know much about it anyways. Me and some friends have put together a list. Here it goes:

MOBO: GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD3R LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813128375

CPU: Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16819115202

RAM: G.SKILL 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820231223

Video Card: EVGA 896-P3-1262-AR GeForce GTX 260 Superclocked Edition 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814130372

PSU: CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16817139006

Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3750330AS 750GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16822148298

Optical: LG Black 22X (CAV) DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 22X (CAV) DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 22X DVD±R DVD Burner - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16827136152

Sound Card: Recertified: Creative 70SB073A00000-8 7.1 Channels 24-bit 96KHz Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Gamer

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16829102028

Case: Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16811129021


Thats about it.. Few things, I am going to run XP 32 bit, and im aware 6gigs of ram is overkill and will be underclocked, but I just wanted to go ahead and buy it to since prices are a steal, and I want to be future proof.

Also I know nothing about this mobo's integrated soundcard, therefore I don't know if its totally neccessary for me to buy this new soundcard that I spec'd.

Also What should I do about internet.. We have a wireless network at our house and the modem/router is a floor beneath my room. I'll have to either drill a hole and run a cat5 down there, or shoudl I get a wireless card?

Let me know what you guys think about the current build.. any suggestions welcome.

I'm willing to spend about 1400 or less ( its about 1400 with what i have spec'd right now)

If you run XP 32 bit you're going to leave 2 gigs of RAM completely unused, not a good idea if you ask me. Won't hurt anything but you'll have paid for RAM that you aren't using. Nowadays I typically recommend folks avoid Creative. It used to be they had an awseome product, nowadays not so much. The hardware is still decent but the drivers suck absolute balls. Tons of un-needed bloat. The only other change I might consider making is going with a Western Digital Caviar Black of equivalent size instead of Seagate, they seem to perform a bit better than Seagates currently. Otherwise not a bad build.

Hopefully he'll move onto W7-64 or Vista64 later down the line to take advantage of the extra RAM.

 

[Slugbait]

I don't see a display here...or the rez you'll be running at, for that matter. If you're using a 19", your video card is overkill...and if you're thinking about upgrading the display later, you can get a better video card at that time for less than what you'll pay for with the 260.

 

[Shlokda]

I have a 20" monitor. I had extra cash and wanted to make sure I got a really nice video card.

 

[Shlokda]

and yes, I plan on switching to windows 7 or vista down the road.. I already have a copy of XP Professional at the house and I just wanted to use that for now.

 

[imported_wired247]

everything looks fine, but swap the 7200.11 drive for something else. everyone is talking about firmware problems with those drives.

most people are recommending WD caviar black, maybe go for 640gb version


the creative X-Fi chip is very good, but the cheapest X-fi card is just as good as the most expensive IMO.

by no means would I call that video card overkill.


your PSU, however, is overkill. unless you plan on swapping out for an SLI setup.

you can run any 2 cards on the market with a good 750W psu.

if you are never going to run 2 graphics cards, go with more of a 500-600W psu

 

[Denithor]

Use the Corsair 650TX instead, about $20-30 cheaper & still plenty of power even if you decide to add a second GTX 260 later on.

 

[Shlokda]

UPDATE:

Build is now as follows:

CPU- intel i7 quadcore 2.66 ghz
Mobo - gigabyte GA-EX58-UD3R LGA 1366 Intel X58
PSU - Corsair 650TX
RAM - GSkill tri channel 6GB DDR3
HD - Western Digital Caviar Black 640 GB
Video Card - EVGA geforce GTX 280
Optical - LG w/e i listed earlier
Soundcard - none.. Gonna see how the onboard stuff sounds then ill go back and get one if need be
Case - Antec 900 black steel ATX
OS - friends giving me vista 64 bit

Periphs - Gonna try one of those saitek eclipse keyboards

Thanks for all the suggestions. Dropping the psu to a 650 TX was a good idea.. saved me some dough. ALso nice recommendation of the western digital caviar.. I had looked at a western digital that wasnt a caviar black and was wondering why the seagate had better specs, then realized I wasnt viewing a caviar black..

Should be a pretty nasty gaming machine. I'm looking forward to getting it up and running and putting it through its paces.