Really fast Gaming Computer

[bozilla]

Hi guys,

I want to build a best of a gaming PC for myself. I already have a dual xeon workstation but I want to have this new computer be just for gaming.

What would you suggest. Budget is around $3500.

This is what I have so far, but feel free to recommend your own components.

ASUS A8N-SLI Premium Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+ Toledo 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Dual Core Processor Model ADA4800CDBOX - Retail

CORSAIR XMS 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered System Memory Model TWINX2048-3200C2PRO - Retail

2x Western Digital Raptor WD740GD 74GB 10,000 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - RAID 0

PLEXTOR Black IDE DVD Burner Model PX-716AL/SW - Retail
ASUS Black IDE DVD-ROM Drive Model E616A - OEM

Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic 8 (7.1) Channels PCI Interface Sound Card - Retail

Logitech Z-5500 505 Watts 5.1 Speaker - Retail

2x ASUS 7800GTX/2DHTV/256 Geforce 7800GTX 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 VIVO PCI Express x16 Video Card - EXTREME in SLI

Now, I'm not sure if I want the new eVGA 7800GTX (
eVGA 256-P2-N529-AX Geforce 7800GTX 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail). It says it runs at 490Mhz Core while ASUS Extreme is 486Mhz.
I somehow feel more comfortable buying a product from ASUS then from eVGA.


Keyboard, mouse and case are really a non-issue..monitors too, so just concentrate on core performance. Power Supply will be PC Power and Cooling too.

Should I go for FX57 instead of X2? I might still want to use the machine for some work down the road if I need it, so I'm more for X2, but the primary task for this machine is to be ULTIMATE-no hickup-crazy framerates-gaming BEAST.

Thanks.

 

[Mik3y]

point of inquiry: how much faster can a computer get? damn. are you made of money?

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

$3500 and that doesn't include a monitor? yikes...

Are you sure you want to do this?

I guess if you don't have anything you want to spend money on otherwise then go ahead, but you could spend half what you're planning and still have a system that will play anything out there... and then when it doesn't cut it anymore you'll be able to buy a next gen computer that should be better than the one you're planning.

I'll earn my title and recommend spending more on your sound system.

If I was forced to spend $3500 without monitor, I'd be getting a $2000 sound system and a $1500 computer

Looks like you have some nice stuff picked out.

I wouldn't RAID raptors. A single and a high capacity regular sata is a good alternative.
"but I have a server for storage"
ok, just get a single raptor then.
Just make sure a raptor is best for what you want to do http://www.anandtech.com/storage/showdoc.aspx?i=2454

You better have a very high res display for this or it's going to be a total waste.

 

[Some1ne]

Well, if all you care about is getting the best performance available today, that system will just about do it. From a practicality standpoint though, I'd drop to a non-SLI board, and only get one of the 7800's. I'd also just get a 4400+ and overclock it instead of getting the still extremely expensive 4800+. I would apply the money I saved on this towards getting an X-Fi Elite Pro, and also Klipsch 5.1 THX certified speakers instead of the Logitech. Even with only one 7800GTX and an overclocked 4400+, it will still be a beast of a gaming machine, and you'll have saved yourself almost $1000 (before reapplying the money to other areas).

There's nothing wrong with having a RAID-0 of raptors, and since it seems like getting every bit of possible performance is taking priority over practicality in your build, a RAID-0 of raptors is the logical conclusion. It will give you a bit of an edge, at least some of the time. An FX-57 will do slightly better for gaming (unless you overclock the 4800+), but the 4800+ is a better chip overall, and more future-proof. Personally I'd stick with the 4800+ (or od the other thing and get a 4400+ and overclock).

 

[raildogg]

please do not spend more than $2,000 on a computer. a few years ago I spent almost $3000 and now I regret it. it was not worth it since most of the components become obsolete quickly.

Buy a decent computer for around $1,500 and spend the other $500 on a Dell 2005fpw. When you upgrade your components later on, you wont feel so guilty.

that Plextor drive is too expensive.

NEC 3540A is the one I would buy. If you must have a Plextor, then the 740A is a good choice. Skip the Raptors. Get a single 250GB drive from WD, Seagate, Hitachi or Maxtor. According to that order.

Are you going to be playing at the highest resolutions with all the settings maxed out? Just get one 7800GTX. There are many models under $500.

 

[Boztech]

Go with the X2 - it will have both enough juice for gaming and the benefit of dual core in multitasking and with new multithreaded software as it is released.

I would highly suggest Crucial Ballistix PC4000 or G.Skill PC4800 instead of the Corsair you have picked out. Will reach much higher speeds.

I would also suggest the DFI NF4 SLI-DR over the Asus - a much faster board with more overclocking features than you can choose to use, or you can run stable without. There is also an expert version of this board coming out in the next few weeks. Anand has a review in the works as we speak.

Might also want to check out the XFX offering for the GTX, it has higher clocks and a transferrable warranty.

Everything else looks good.

 

[aatf510]

Originally posted by: raildogg
that Plextor drive is too expensive.

NEC 3540A is the one I would buy. If you must have a Plextor, then the 740A is a good choice.

The Plextor drive is about quality burns and all the advance feature, the NEC simply doesn't compare (esp the time it takes to start reading a disc), and don't get the PX-740A, it's the exact same thing as the BenQ DW1640. (yes, I have both the NEC and Plextor and a BenQ too.)

Originally posted by: raildogg
Skip the Raptors. Get a single 250GB drive from WD, Seagate, Hitachi or Maxtor. According to that order.

There is no way you are putting a 7,200rpm drive in that computer. The people that ask you to avoid the Raptor are usually the one that never owns a fast HD.

Originally posted by: raildogg
Are you going to be playing at the highest resolutions with all the settings maxed out? Just get one 7800GTX. There are many models under $500.

If you have a 21"+ monitor and you like Max Settings, one GTX isn't going to give you butter smooth gaming. I have one GTX KO and it simply isn't enough for BF2 @ 1920x1200. However, IMO SLI is still a half-baked tech, I remember my games didn't really ran that smooth when I had the 6800GTs in SLI. SLI is more about benchmarking than real performance gains.

FYI, eVGA makes much better video card than ASUS, and yes I bought many ASUS video cards before including the Riva128 w/ 4mb ram (the very first Nvidia chipset)

 

[PKing1977]

eVGA has the best customer service I have seen from any company. They have won my service for life! Not to mention they make a really good video card. I am not knocking on ASUS as I am sure they make a fine card, but they cannot add the level co customer service and a life time warrenty.


PKing

 

[CalvinHobbes]

You're much better off spending less and trying to keep a future upgrade path as an option. PC components advance so quickly that in 6-12 months that PC will cost a lot less and won't be the fastest PC anymore. You're better off getting 80-90% of the performance for MUCH less money and upgrading later when something new comes out.

 

[Polish3d]

Buy everything you see in my sig, period, but go watercooling. Although note that I got some special handpicked mushkin ram so YMMV

I dont know if you really want to go Klipsch over logitech

 

[FlasHBurN]

I would wait on the graphics card, it has been shown with a lot of the up-and-coming games that they really get a boost with 512MB of ram.

 

[rafal]

When reading that, it got me thinking that I spend even more on a computer than what you guys are saying. I'm not good of a computer builder and troubleshooter, so I just ordered it from Alienware. Anybody know that company? It's expensive, but now I can't wait to get it.

 

[Some1ne]

Alienware: http://www.tomshardware.com/howto/200509131/index.html

It's overpriced if you're capable of building your own system, but it'll get the job done.

 

[firewolfsm]

IBUYPOWER.COM VALUE PROIBUYPOWER.COM VALUE PROIBUYPOWER.COM VALUE PROIBUYPOWER.COM VALUE PROIBUYPOWER.COM VALUE PROIBUYPOWER.COM VALUE PROIBUYPOWER.COM VALUE PROIBUYPOWER.COM VALUE PROIBUYPOWER.COM VALUE PROIBUYPOWER.COM VALUE PROIBUYPOWER.COM VALUE PROIBUYPOWER.COM VALUE PROIBUYPOWER.COM VALUE PRO

very cheap, upgrade it, will be more powerful for 3300 than anything alienware can build unless you need sli

 

[Ronin]

The only real thing I don't like about that build is the motherboard choice. You could do better (MSI for stability, DFI for overclocking).

As far as the CPU choice, it's up to you. I have both, and I game with the FX57, and the 4800+ does crunching.

Oh, not too fond of those speakers, either. You might consider the S750's. I've compared the two side by side (literally, actually), and the S750's offer up better sound, and more wattage, too.

One more thing. If you want faster, and you're gonna stripe (not that the stripe is going to make much difference), go SCSI. A pair of 15k RPM drives smoke.