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New to building a PC

V

VanFrieheit

Junior Member
Okay first off, greetings to anyone who reads this.

Heres the story. I want to build a pretty decent gaming desktop. Although I haven't had much to do with new technology and its really wearing me down.

I've been browsing and finding myself almost overwhelmed but I'm slowly piecing through and finding things I think would be a good base for the system I'd like to build.

I'll list them off in hopes this will give a good picture of where I'm at for the rest of my machine.

Processor - Intel Xeon X3360 Yorkfield 2.83GHz LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80569X3360

Motherboard - EVGA 132-CK-NF79-A1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 790i Ultra SLI DDR3 ATX Intel Motherboard

Power Supply - ZALMAN ZM850-HP Continuous 850W ATX12V V2.2 / EPS12V V2.91 Modular Heatpipe-Cooled SLI Power Supply

Graphics Cards Possibilities:

1) EVGA 512-P3-N871-AR GeForce 9800 GTX(G92) 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card

2) EVGA 512-P3-N877-AR GeForce 9800 GTX SSC 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card

I apologize if these are the wrong things to be starting with. I really need someone to help me fill in the gaps of all the other things I'm gonna need. Cables, compatabilities and such things. If this is inappropriate of me to ask, let me know, I'll delete the post. If anyone has help to offer, I welcome it. Thanks.


 
These topics fit best in the General Hardware section, where they give building advice all day long 🙂 so if you want the thread moved over to General Hardware, just say 🙂 It's OK here in Computer Help too, but would get more coverage over in GH.
 
Now you've been shipped over here by mechBgon, try and add the missing information you've not got in the OP that's requested in the sticky at the top of the forum.

Your motherboard and PSU are both too expensive; you're not using SLI so just get yourself an intel P35-based motherboard. Don't spend the money on the 9800GTX at the moment; it's just an overclocked 8800GTS - buy one yourself and overclock it if you want, otherwise get it from XFX/EVGA (whoever have the step-up program) and wait and see what new cards come out at the end of the summer.

Otherwise, we need to know your budget. That PSU is overkill for your needs, too.

Any reason you're going for the Intel Xeon instead of a vanilla branded Core 2?

Some basic suggestions you're likely to get, once you've posted your budget and needs:
E7200 CPU http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16819115052 $131
G.Skill 4GB DDR2-800 http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820231122 $85
Gigabyte EP35 DS3L http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813128337 $90
Corsair 520HX PSU on buy.com http://www.buy.com/prod/corsai...loc/101/203270716.html $80AR

Do you need an OS, monitor, case, keyboard etc? Fill in the info in the sticky.
 
1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.
-Gaming with a fair amount of multitasking

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread
-Around $1,800-2k

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.
Most of the stuff I'm looking at is New Egg products or possibly ebay if I find some stuff that beats out new egg prices.

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.
-I've never liked AMD Processors, and I'm going to stick with nVidia and go SLI

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.
My current computer is over 5 years old. Nothing from it will be used save maybe the case (its a Dell XPS Gen 4 the case is pretty massive)

6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads.
I've been researching all over, not a lot here but alot of online articles.

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.
I don't know a thing about manually over clocking so unless I get a godsend of someone wanting to aim message me and educate me, I don't think it'll be happening. This computer does need to last me quite a while so I might want to get as much as I can out of it. So in the end overclocking is a big possibility

8. WHEN do you plan to build it?
Within the next month and a half.

On a side note I would like to use SLI, I've seen the processor for about $250 on ebay and the mother board for about $200 both sealed brand new. My only needs are gaming and lots of multitasking. I will need an OS, I have a monitor,keyboard,mouse/5.1 speakers already. I am looking at the products you listed at the moment, so thank you for showing me those.
 
"Lots of multitasking" doesn't require a quad-core processor; don't just believe the marketing hype. I've recommended a motherboard/CPU combo well within your budget; save the money and put it towards something else or save it for an upgrade a year from now. Any specific reason you're set on SLI? SLI does not make economical sense as an upgrade path and is only worth it immediately if you're using it for a huge resolution monitor. You also won't need a 790i board if you're saving money and not wasting it on SLI. In regards overclocking, read the how-to in the CPU subforum; it's pretty easy. As for your OS; you can get Vista Home Premium OEM from newegg for $99 if I recall correctly.
 
Originally posted by: VanFrieheit
Okay, so what might you recommend for high end gaming graphics wise?
Click to expand...

First, are you keeping your current monitor? If so, what size is it? If not, what size are you planning to buy?

Unless you're using a monitor larger than 22" don't even worry about SLI at all. Even with a 24" monitor you could easily get by with a single powerful graphics card, depending on what games you intend to play. The more specifics you can give about what you want to play, the better.

With monitor concerns out of the way, be aware that there are hidden costs in the 790i. It only takes DDR3, which adds quite a bit to the total cost. DDR3 is 5-10 times as expensive as DDR2 and provides no appreciable performance increase for that added cost. If you absolutely, positively must go SLI, look at 750i or 780i boards.

I also wouldn't buy computer parts off of eBay if you can find them elsewhere. (Unless you're buying from a major retailer's eBay outlet, or the price is truly incredible.) With a lot of eBay purchases you'll probably have to go through the manufacturer in the event that you need to return a defective product. Newegg and similar sites on the other hand have very friendly return policies.

My advice to you is to look at similar threads - there are a lot of threads where we've put together gaming PCs in your price range. Research the parts that are frequently recommended and see what you think of them.
 
Okay. My current monitor is a syncmaster 940b, I believe its either 6 or 8 ms.

Its 19 inches.

Games on my list:
Conan
CS:Source
Assassin's Creed
CoD 4
P.S.U. (doens't require much of anything though)
And other like new games in those genres
 
Okay, thats good to know. My main goal is to get something thats going to last a while, have some upgradability, and run anything I want on it seemlessly, even if its a couple games at a time. But if I don't need SLI for that I won't bother.
 
I've made up a list of components that would be good for your needs and budget, I got my prices off Ncix, its a canadian site.

Processor - Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 - ~$200
Motherboard - Gigabyte DS3L P35 - ~95
Videocard - Nvidia Geforce 9800GX2 - ~$500
Power supply - Silverstone 500W - ~$80
Memory - G.Skill 4Gb ddr2-800 - ~$85
Case - Antec Nine Hundred Gaming Case - ~$100
Sound (optional) - Creative Labs SB x-fi gamer -~$90

total = $1150

Then I'd take $550 and get a 24" BenQ 1920x1200 monitor leaving you with around 300 which is just short of what you could get some Logitech Z5500 speakers for (just spend less on the case). If I wanted to spend 2 grand I'd go with that, you could overclock the processor to 3.6 ghz for daily use and it'd last as long as you can expect a computer to last.

You could also spend a bit less and still get a decent pc though too, or you could keep your monitor and speakers and go for sli 9800gx2's but I really think that the monitor is worth it.
 
Serious waste of money on the GX2 if you stay with a 19" monitor. You're much better off spending $200 for an 8800GTS, and $200 on an upgrade later on. I also wouldn't buy the sound card straight away. I'd try the onboard sound. If you don't like it, then spring for the sound card.
 
I've got Z5300 5.1s from logitech right now, I really enjoy them. So thats not a concern.

I like your suggestions, this is really helping me out a lot. Maybe it is time for a new monitor, I could definately see it happening a few months after the rig is built. But those were some awesome figures.

I want to say I appreciate everyone's input and time and I'll try to post a revised list of what im looking at in a day or so.
 
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