Building a $2000 gamer PC

I'm looking to buy a $2000 gamer PC, and would really appreciate any feedback. So far, I've got this set up in my NewEgg account:

Case
Hard-Drive
Graphics Card
Sound Card
Power Supply
RAM
Mother Board
Processor
OS
Fan

First: I already have a Dual Layer Light Scribe burner, and a mouse and keyboard, so those aren't added, and with the 9800 card comes an HDMI cable and plug-in, so I'll just hook it up to my tv.

Anyway, I'm more of an nvidia fan than an ATI, and I chose a Mother Board that would let me SLI when I want to. My only questions are with the graphics card and the mother board. The mother board supports DDR3 ram, and looks to be designed to support those bulky nvidia cards, but is it too extravagant? Perhaps it's price comes from the company behind it's creation. Also, is it easier to SLI two 8800 cards right now, or just go with the 9800? Has anyone used this case or heard anything about it? I've heard the 9800 cards can get fairly hot, so I want to make sure the case has a lot of air flow. Any feedback would be great.

Oh, click on the names to open up the newegg page...

 

i would stay away from sli, nvidias chipsets have not been very good lately. an x48 motherboard and a gx2 would be better. ddr3 is not worth it. get some good ddr2. the case you chose is fine for low budget build and home computers. you will want something a little nicer lie the antec p182. you dont really need 100watts. a 600watt corsair unit will be much better for what you want.

case $140 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129025
mobo $290 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128331
cpu $350 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115042
ram $120 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227289
psu $150 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139002

the rest of what you chose looked fine

 

Thanks for the advice! Saved me about $100!

 

Yep, I agree, stay away from sli, that is the worst route you can go down.
I recommend, a nvidia 8800gts, and try to get a blu-ray drive, most pc's in the future will have them

 

Indeed, there are a lot of not so nice choices in the original list. The P182 is a nice case, but up to a point case is mostly down to personal preference. I'd stay away from either the 9800GX2 or the pair of 8800s. A single 8800 will be a much more reliable performer.

Krj's recommendations will serve you far better.

 

How is a 9800gx2 card unreliable?

 

It isn't especially, not that I've heard anyway, but it relies on SLI to work - it isn't a magically faster single card, it's just a pair of 8800s in SLI, but using only one PCB, therefore it has the same performance and compatibility issues of SLI.

 

Oh, so it's not a spectacular difference from a single 8800 card? Is there a specific company that makes great nvidia cards? Krj was saying nvidia had some manufacturing problems or something?

Also, F4HAD suggested a Blu-Ray drive. Is that going to make a huge difference? If I don't buy a 9800 card, I'll probably take the money from that and buy an 8800 and this thing:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136137

 

That depends. Bluray drives are cheaper now than they used to be, but later down the line they'll be cheaper still, and unless you're using your PC as a media center, there's no reason to own one yet - games don't come on them for the PC.

As for the graphics cards, use either BFG or XFX avoid EVGA, they've had quality control problems lately.

 

This card looks good:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150261

 

That will do nicely - it's probably the exact card I'd recommend.

 

Great! Thanks for all the help!

 

Don't be silly. You don't need a $500 flagship Graphics card even if you have the money allocated. That thing will loose its vaule in 5 months. I have always always told people never to go for flagship cards, but $300 cards. This way you can buy a new one in a year and still be only $50 over what use to be flagship.

And no need for that ram. overkill. you are spending that kind of money on ram, and only $200 on the processor? You have got you priorities backwards boy.

 

Q9450 PROCESESOR for £200 I think thats a bargain!!

 

Not going to tell us where you found it? In fact, don't bother - because that belongs in the PC building thread, not in a highjack of some guy's build advice thread.

 

I've changed the video card from the 9800gx2 to the 8800gts, and also changed the ram from ddr3 to ddr2 w/ 4 gigs, and the Q9450 processor. Maybe read the entire topic before commenting next time.

 

Wise choices. Good luck with the build.

 

Thanks for all the great advice! I'm also going to use Vista 64 bit.

Has anyone used one of these cases:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811103010

It looks like it runs really cool, and would keep the temp nice.

 

i would get the antec 900 or the p182 over that case. both provide excellent cooling and i think they look better.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129025

 

The Xclio cases are actually very poor for airflow as the layout isn't right. The Antec P182 isn't great for cooling either due to its silence-oriented nature. The Antec 900 is alright, but is personal taste for its looks, plus every man and his dog has one, and it has some hideous design flaws.
How about:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119137
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146047