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Pulling the trigger on new Gaming PC this week

D

Dashel

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

Gaming: FPS, MMO's, RTS. Higher end games. Also video editing and general multimedia tasks.

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

1000-1200 for the remaining parts I need.

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

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.

None.

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

I will be using my Antec 900 case, Corsair 520W PS, Lite On DvD Drive, Dell 2001FP 20" monitor, G15 Keyboard, Logitech laser mouse, Klipsh speakers.

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

Yes they were extremely helpful. Most if not all choices based directly off other threads and advice given in them.

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

Yes to a very small degree and not right away. This would be my first foray into overclocking. I'm not looking to do anything radical.

8. WHEN do you plan to build it?

I plan to buy within the next 2 weeks.

Any advice on better deals for these components, or better choice in OS and RAM would be very much appreciated. I'm fairly confident in the other choices but any comments are welcome.

My priorities are rock solid stability, performance and value for the price.


http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16832116488
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit English 1pk DSP OEI DVD - OEM
$109.99

http://www.newegg.com/product/...x?item=N82E16813127030
ABIT IP35 Pro LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
$169.99 ($139.99 AR)

http://www.newegg.com/product/...x?item=N82E16814127325
MSI NX8800GTS 512M OC GeForce 8800GTS (G92) 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
Free Witcher PC game w/ purchase
$224.99 ($194.99 AR)

http://www.newegg.com/product/...x?item=N82E16819115037
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail
$199.99

http://www.newegg.com/product/...x?item=N82E16820148183
Crucial Ballistix 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
$109.99

http://www.newegg.com/product/...x?item=N82E16822136218
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
$109.99

Subtotal: $924.94
Tax: $64.75
Shipping: $14.57
Grand Total: $1,004.26
- 60.00 Mail in Rebates
944.26 AR
 
Oh and one last note... I will also be upgrading to a 24" widescreen soon as well. Likely the Dell 2408. So this PC needs to pack some power.

 
I have a similar build (though older video card). I went with a MSI Neo2-FR though it was second (but available) choice to the Abit IP35-E which is my suggestion if you dont need the extras on the Pro.

I'm also not a big fan of Crucial, I used to always buy them and they ran perfectly at rated settings but with no room for oc at all. I rarely see GSkill here in UK but hear lots of good comments on US sites.

Any cash you save throw it on the video card, it's pretty much always the bottleneck for games.
 
It seems I've been hearing fairly often about Ballistix RMAs lately, but maybe that's just a vocal minority on AT. Personally, I think running RAM at 2.2V is asking for premature failure. I would buy RAM like the kit that chinaman suggested which is not only less expensive, but runs at the standard 1.8V.
 
Originally posted by: chinaman1472
Get the Gigabyte P35-DS3L or Abit IP35-E if you don't need the extra features on the IP35-Pro.
Get this G.Skill memory and save yourself $35: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820231122
Since you will be gaming on a 24" monitor soon, consider the eVGA version of the GPU. If the 8800GTS 512MB isn't enough power for the 24", use the step up program.
Click to expand...

I do need the firewire and I like that the pro has the extra USB ports. I also may use the second LAN connection so I'm going with the pro.

G. Skill is good stuff? I'd like to be able to mildly OC the 8400.

Good point with the EVGA thank you. What would be a step up from the 8800GTS 512 by the way?


Originally posted by: Davegod

Any cash you save throw it on the video card, it's pretty much always the bottleneck for games.
Click to expand...

Same question I guess, not sure what card would be more powerful but not overpriced.

DSF: Thanks for the tip, choosing RAM is still a bit of a mystery to me. Appreciate the insight.

 
As far as overclocking the E8400, how high are you intending to go? DDR2-800 will take you up to 3.6GHz. If you're planning to go beyond that, you should probably look at DDR2-1000.
 
Yes the 3.6 is the figure I seen thrown around most often. I'm looking to just dip my toes into the overclocking waters so to speak. I understand the 3.6 is a fairly easy and stable OC for that chip? That's all I'm looking for. Easy and stable.

 
The next step above the 8800GTS 512MB would be the 9800GTX right now (or the 9800GX2 if you got cash to blow). Rumor has it that this summer, they'll be releasing the 9800GT and maybe some others. The 9800GT, if their naming scheme follows, should be a bit weaker than the 9800GTX in terms of performance, but may be a better deal for the price.

~3.6Ghz is the number thrown around most often usually due to the DDR2-800 RAM. You'll have to check OC threads on this (and if you're smart, other) forums to see what people get to see what is "easy and stable," but definitely doable. You may want to look into getting an aftermarket cooler for the CPU. I'm not sure how good the stock cooler is for E8400 overclocking.
 
Originally posted by: DSF
It seems I've been hearing fairly often about Ballistix RMAs lately, but maybe that's just a vocal minority on AT. Personally, I think running RAM at 2.2V is asking for premature failure. I would buy RAM like the kit that chinaman suggested which is not only less expensive, but runs at the standard 1.8V.
Click to expand...

It's usually anecdotal evidence; I've been ordering direct from Crucial for a few years now, they're always speedy, cheap and have great customer service. Not to mention my DDR2-533 running at 802MHz.
 
Just goes to show 2 things:

1) There's a lot of anecdotal evidence thrown around on the internet.

2) Everybody's going to get a bum piece of equipment once in a while.
 
Well it's ordered. Just wanted to say thanks for all the help in this thread and others. Figured I'd post my final items in case it helps anyone else out there:



ABIT IP35 Pro LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80570E8400 - Retail

EVGA 512-P3-N845-AR GeForce 8800GTS (G92) KO 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ - Retail

Microsoft Windows Vista 64-Bit Home Premium for System Builders Single Pack DVD - OEM
 
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