I've been looking around this forum for quite a bit, but I am still extremely confused. I want to build a gaming pc on a budget of about $1.5k and I can't understand a lot of what is being said about the parts. This is a first for me, so I am looking for something definitive that will work (preferably). Any advice or a list of parts would be greatly appreciated. As for what I am looking for, this is what I am considering so far: Processor - Intel C2Q Q6600 2.40GHz OEM MOBO - ASUS P5E3 WS PRO LGA 775 Intel X38 ATX Intel Motherboard I am not sure what to get for cooling and what case to get. For a video card, I am looking at a XFX PVT98FYDF9 GeForce 9800GTX but I am not really sure. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.
if you're looking at a PC that expensive you can afford to use a better CPU than that - go with a Core 2 Quad Q9450. The motherboard you've chosen is pretty good, but horrifically expensive. You should consider one of these as they're still excellent boards: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128336 Boards beyond even $150 are only used for dual graphics systems or extreme overclocking, so you may as well take full advantage of that fact. Bin the 9800GTX, go with a pair of Radeon HD4850 cards - on they're own they're cheaper and yet offer superior performance, and with two of them, they're near unstoppable. I'd recommend using a high quality CPU cooler - at least an Arctic cooling Freezer 7 Pro, but better still a Thermalright Ultra-120 with a Scythe 120mm fan. Use a Corsair PSU, probably a 650W TX for dual graphics.
Thanks a lot for the reply. If I go with everything that you have suggested, can you suggest a case for it?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146047&Tpk=NZXT+Tempest This is one of the best cases out there at the moment.
i know cases are persoanly, but i wouldnt tuch the tempest. sorry sam, i like nzxt, but that this is such a 900 rip off. IMO if your budget fits, get the antec 1200.
Lol it's a 900 rip off by style, but if you look at how it's built for one moment, you'll see what a vastly superior product it is. The 1200 is all very well, but it's twice the price. Quite a few people on aD are suggesting the Tempest as a viable case now, it's inexpensive, fantastically cooled, respectably quiet and free from all the hideous design flaws of the 900.
and what design flaws would they be? and i will eat some humble pie. i disregarded the tempest due to the fuirst review i read about it (which wasnt that good) but now i just read like 5, and didnt realise its around £60. its a bargin, and brilliant. shme the cable mangement couldnt be a bit better and black interior. haha
The hard disk cage is just plain gross to use, it really is, and the side panel doesn't attach properly, pretty fundamental things really...
He doesn't have the misfortune of needing to remove hard disks on a regular basis then. To swap out three hard disks in my Lexa Blackline takes around 40-50 seconds. In the Antec 900 it took about 15-20 minutes. Disgusting. In any case, the Tempest is similarly priced, more intelligently cooled, can store more drives than the 900 and in the same easy manner as the Blackline.
no he doesnt, but how many people do swtich out that much? anyway, i'd still go for the tempest, but for £60 you can get soem very nice lian li cases (although once again personal choice, that i would choose) but for me it have to be the antec 1200 next.
Sorry for the bump, but I would like a last minute check. I am thinking of starting to order the parts soon, and this is what I came up with after some deliberation. Corsair Dominator DHX PC8500 - This I am not sure about. Lot of $$ for RAM...almost $300. Core 2 Quad Q9450 GIGABYTE GA-X48-DS4 Radeon HD4850 x 2 Thermalright Ultra-120 Scythe 120mm fan Corsair PSU 650W TX WD Velociraptor DVD Drive - need some suggestions. Nothing too fancy. EDIT: Tempest case. You guys argued so much and then I forgot to list it. Haha. After adding the cost of a monitor, and a mouse (I have extra keyboards and don't feel like shelling out more cash), and assuming around $50 for the DVD drive, it winds up at around the $2000 mark. Any suggestions?
Nevermind the previous question. I am thinking of switching the Velociraptor to a different HD due to money constraints. I may get a cheaper seagate one. Too poor to shell out $300. Oh, and is all of that RAM necessary? I kindof want to cut the cost a bit more.
Hmm... Assuming that DDR3 isn't worth it yet, I would recommend buying cheaper DDR2, like http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227269. However, I would like to ask you where you are buying your parts. I'm also building a new gaming computer and it is VERY similar to yours. But mine was only about $1200-1300, not $2000. (Although your HD is more expensive than mine by about $200) Just checking to make sure you aren't paying too much for your parts. BTW I use http://www.newegg.com/ Hope I was able to help and have fun with your new rig =)
I'll probably buy some from tigerdirect and the rest from newegg. Depending on the sales. The HD, I will most likely replace with something cheaper. $300 is a bit too much. I also included the monitor in the cost and some other random generous estimates so I don't get surprised. why is the RAM that I looked at so expensive? Can someone explain the differences between the following two and advise me to get one of the first or two of the second? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145179 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145043
I was going to ask, I've not seen any set of DDR2 that costs three hundred dollars. The stuff Abuzar posted is about as good as it gets anyway. As for the velociraptor, you can drop it in favour of a normal HDD, but I tell you now, the performance drop is vast. No other drive comes remotely close to the performance of the Velociraptor.
