I haven't built a new PC in a while and am kind of lost as to what is good and what is crap right now in the PC industry. I am looking to spend around $3,000 USD on a new computer and thought I would ask you guys what I should get. Here are the parts I need: MoBo CPU 2x GPU's in SLI 2 GB ram Budget sound card 2 HDD's 2 DVD burners Case PSU (SLI ready) Mouse/gaming pad Keyboard Operating System (I have a liscense (actual stickers on my old laptop and PC) for XP home and XP Pro, but no disk and no friends locally with disks) I am looking at making something similar to the DM2006 pc from Maximum PC Magazine, but without all the fancy extras. I would like to water cool the GPU's, CPU, and the north bridge if it could fit into the budget. Overclocking is not a must for me, but if the MoBo has some sort of auto over clock function, I am fine with that. Also, is DX10 important to wait for, and what about Vista? Tell me if these are important or not. I'm really just wanting a PC that can play F.E.A.R. and other games at the Highest setting with decent frame rates. Edit: I am intending to use the Samsung SyncMaster 931b monitor that I have. Please give me your opinions on it and let me know if you think I should try to squeeze a different monitor into the $3,000 budget? So far, I like the monitor, but if it is going to be holding me back from getting high quality images, I may be willing to change it.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145033 Ram CPU (may wanna wait for Quad core for the same price) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819115001 Hd's x2 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822152042 Graphics Cards x2 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814127097 This is just a suggestion of hardware. Most likely you will want to wait for the 8800gtx's (which look like they will beat most SLI configurations and also look to be limited by cpu's meaning it's probably wise to buy one instead of two when they are released.) Quad core will be released soon as well and it is worth waiting to see AMD's solution before buying anything. For Ram Pc2 5400 will be good for nonoverclocking systems. The HD's are at a good price but you may want to hunt down a SATA2 version instead as they will be slightly faster. Don't skimp on the psu as it will need to be around 700-800w. Any Lian-li case will be good and last you forever. As for watercooling you should avoid the 7950's as they will cost you about $400 just for blocks in an SLI configuration. Dangerden has very reasonable prices though. Vista will run you anywhere from $150 (upgraded xp to the low end version) to $400 (highest end non-upgrade). I reccomend audigy 2 for a budget sound card. Also your monitor will have low resolutions makeing a high end machine overkill so you may want to get something that has a ws res of 1900x1200. Ohh and the last thing is to check out ebay as you will cut your cost almost in half. Especially on the watercooling.
Your ideas are very similar to what I was looking at already. Guess I'm thinking on the right page so far. Here is the list I have compiled so far. Let me know what you would change. Thanks for the help. What kind of price range am I looking at for a monitor that would work well with a high end system.
What the Corsair 6400c4 or the 8500? I have the 6400C4 in my P5B Deluxe and according to CPUZ's memory tab, the memory is designed to run at 1066 but at looser timeings (5-5-5-15). WHile I never have tested it at this speed, i've tested it at 950~1000 and it runs fine, although I had to loosen the timings at higher speeds.
For the price of your fans and HS you can get a Watercooling system from Dangerden. Also your case comes with very nice fans that are relatively quiet. Especially with the panels on. Also I was able to stick 3 120mm radiators into that case without a hitch. Look up P180 mod in these forums to get an idea. Also why do you need a phone modem? You may want to wait for Vista as well. Also the 8800gtx's look to score about the same as a 7900gtx SLI setup meaning it will leave you the option to double your performance with SLI when you need to
Just made you a new list https://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion/WishList/MySavedWishDetail.asp?ID=3555752 You'll notice there is no videocard, processor, or Operating system. Ohh and no mousepad but that's because I forgot. Get a steelpad or something. You also have $2000 left to spend. I would wait and get the quadcore Intel, Windows Vista, and a 8800gtx. That should be about $3000 after all the pieces are put together. I also thought about your monitor issue. You will want something with higher resolutions if you want to see all of the eyecandy. Since you have an LCD that you can use for Lans I suggest a CRT. This is what I have. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330023535571 It is a 24inch widescreen CRT that displays up to 2304 X 1440. It isn't very portable and you'll want a large desk but For gameing it is unbelieveable. For only $300 off of ebay it has the size as this http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&sku=320-4335 with compareable resolutions to this http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&sku=222-0863
your wish list doesn't work Go with: E6600 Asus P5W-DH 2 gb DDR2 667 XFI Xtreme Music (any more isn't really helpful) 2 WD 500gb sata drives 2 cheap dvd burners (I like the LG ones because they're shorter than most by a full inch) Silverstone TJ09 case (If you can afford. if not, try the lian li pc73) Logitech MX 3100 combo (wireless kb and mouse) Xtrac Ripper mousepad For an OS, try your favorite torrent site to download the iso of your windows XP pro retail or oem. You have a COA already, so it should be just great. Make sure to get the right one though Wait for the 8800GTX's. They'll be about 600 each or so.
Why? I thought everything on my list would work together. Did I miss something? As for using the bit torrent to download the os, I live out in the sticks of Kentucky so I am stuck with dial-up at the moment, so downloading even a small file hurts. That is why I have the dial up modem in the wish list. Ok, everyone has made some really good points, so now I am thinking to get a new monitor with a higher resolution. But I still need to stay under $3,000. A CRT won't cut it due to the size of my desk. It's small due to the size of the room it is in. I had a 19 inch CRT up untill my son fried it a few months ago, and I couldn't fit the keyboard on the desk without it hanging off. That's when I got the Samsung Monitor I have now. I'm not sure about the quad core cpu's. Do I need one? The C2 Extreme 6800 was scoring better on the bench marks than the quad 6700. I would have to assume that in the future patches and updates would make it so games will be more able to use the quad core better. So it is a viable option. The G8800gtx (or whatever its called) is a good idea too. Especially if it will run as well or better than the SLI setup I was looking at. How much cheaper than the pair of cards I was looking at would just one of the new ones be? Why would Vista be the OS to have? I guess you have to have it for DirectX 10, but what else does it do better than XP. Generally, I wait until an OS is a bit more mature before I switch. With having Dial-up, I won't be able to get all the updates/patches as quickly. It took me forever to get SP2 when it first came out. I like the feedback that everyone is throwing at me. Please keep it up. I am going to try and find out more about the new GPU's, Vista, and the quad core CPU's. For the time being, please omit the Keyboard, mouse, and mousepad from the list. I want to focus on the main stuff first. CPU: Quad 6700 or C2 Extreme 6800 GPU: Dual 7900gtx SLI setup or 8800gtx MoBo: (Anyone know if/when any boards with the 590 chipset will be available for C2 extreme or quadcore) RAM: CORSAIR XMS2 2GB Sound: Onboard is fine if on the MoBo, but a basic card will work if not. DVD x2: Something fast for games and burning. HDD x2: Don't need tons of storage because I back everything up on DVD's (photo's and videos) Case: Antec Performance I P180B or something in the same price range (anyone know of a case with the dvd drives on the bottom? My pc sits on a shelf above the monitor. I hate standing to access the drives.) Monitor: Nothing too expensive. Just something that displays high res. Watercooling: CPU, GPU, and maybe northbridge. PSU: SLI ready with the ability to handle two of the 8800gtx cards if I get a second one in the future. I don't have to have top of the line CPU's and GPU's, but I want it to be a fast pc that will display the games in the highest settings. If it can be done with cheaper stuff, please let me know. Also, when I try to watch a DVD on my pc now, it doesn't look as good as the tv. I do want my next PC to be able to display the movies with high quality. Maybe HD if that doesn't require a ton of money. I'm probably asking too much, but that is why I am here. To find out the best that I can make for the money I will have to spend. You guys are great. Thanks for the help.
CPU:Go with quad. I suspect support for these will come rather quickly. Graphics:8800gtx as you can add in another card down the line and it will be much faster on games without SLI profiles. MoBo: There aren't any yet that I am aware of But Nvidia will be releasing two new chipsets for Conroe users very soon. I believe they are the 680i's or something like that. Sound: Onboard is pretty good on most motherboards. An X-fi is 100bucks which is a quick and easy upgrade you can save for the future. DVDx2: NEC makes a 18x DVD burner. Check newegg. I think it's 30 Bucks HDDx2: If you want blistering speed then pick up two Raptor 36gb drives and put them in raid0. Sata in raid 0 is pretty fast though so maybe just some 160gb drives to save you money for other things. Case: The antec p180 is nice but heavy. Only a problem if you move it often. Lian-li makes very high quality cases. Same with coolermaster. Just search for those on newegg and see what you like. There is plenty available. Monitor: If you're going LCD You may want to try ebay or it'll cost you alot. The preferred gameing resolution is 1900x1200 (widescreen) or 1600x1200 (4:3 normal) These monitors will run you about $800 and $600 on newegg or about $500 and $300 on ebay. Look for the Ultrasharp 2405, 2407, (24inch widescreen) or a 20.1inch 4:3 monitor. Also look for one with a response time of 12ms or lower because you may experience ghosting on slower monitors. Watercooling: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835703014 this is a great starter kit. You may be able to get better priceing from www.dangerden.com Look for the same type of thing. This is the exact same thing as the first shown only as an external solution. Should give you the same preformance. PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817104015 As a rule of thumb, If you find that a PSU can handle a x1900xtx crossfire setup then it can handle two 8800GTX's http://www.newegg.com/Product/ShowI...120mm+CPU/VGA/Chipset+cooling+system+-+Retail
Don't go with the FSP Epsilon / OCZ GameXstream. Ripple = bad. You can't go wrong with a Zippy, Etasis, Enhance, or PCP&C. All server grade power supplies with great regulation.
I'm going to try and make due with my two old dvd drives. They aren't really fast, but will that matter in the games, or just burning? Also, is it faster to run two HDD's in raid, or can one drive alone run as fast? I've never done raid before so I am new to the idea. I have a backup drive, but want my main drive(s) to be fast for gaming. What if I went with the C2D E6600 and an 8800gtx card? Would that be a good combo? I've been looking at monitors, but don't really know what I am needing to look for. can someone recommend a good monitor? around $600 or so? This is what I think I am looking at so far: $600+/- 8800GTX $1000+/- Quadcore extreme 6700 $600+/- Monitor $200+/- Motherboard $160+/- PSU (SLI ready) $200+/- 2x HDD's in raid $300 CORSAIR XMS2 2GB $150 Case --------------------------- $3300 so far. That's without an OS, Modem, mouse, keyboard, mousepad, watercooling, or DVD drives. Not looking too good so far. How bad is the monitor I have? Will I really notice a difference. Enough to warrant paying $600+/- for a new monitor after buying one just a couple of months ago? I want a good set up, but that may be pushing it. Freeing up the money from the monitor would better allow for me to purchase fast DVD drives and water cooling and some more of the items left out as listed above. Wish I could increase my budget to about $4,000. Getting just the one 8800gtx instead of two 7900gtx's is going to save a bit. I will have to get that new card. How much is Vista going to cost? I think I heard that it would be around $400. Am I close? That' could put a hurt on my system. I may decide to just stick to XP pro. I can upgrade later if need be. Sorry for making such large posts. You guys are really doing me a favor by helping me decide on what I am going to build. The options are still open for the momen. I am keeping my mind open to any good ideas.
I had been looking at the 610. Would that not be enough for what I am making? I'm trying to stay well under $200 on the PSU if I could.
pcapex.com did a review on the 700, and it is quiet unlike their other ones. That is why i said that one. There is $250 RAM that will do just as well. What are you looking at for a mon that is 600???
I'm not looking at a specific monitor at the moment, but it seems that on New Egg, $600 may get me a decent one. I really don't know what to get though. I would like to stick with my old one if it will be able to play movies and games well. I know it wouldn't be the best one, but if it isn't that much of a difference, then it would save me some money to keep it. Take a look at my first post and you will see a link to the monitor that I have. Please let me know what you think.
This is what I am looking at now. The video cards are out of stock, but you get the idea. Not to mention that one new 8800gtx may be only slightly more than the two cards I am looking at, so I may go that route. I probably will so that I can be DirectX 10 compliant. I do need some recommendations for a mouse, keyboard, and mouse pad. Also, if anyone knows of a monitor for under $800 that will be good for movies and games, please drop me a link. Look at my previous post with the link to my current monitor. Is there any reason that that monitor shouldn't display a movie as well as a tv. When I try to watch movies on my current pc, it's very pixelated. I want it to look like what I see on tv. I'm hoping that with this new pc and my old monitor, it will be better. If not, what should I buy.
You could spend half on your monitor and still get a really nice one. If you're happy with your current monitor, then you will see a vast improvement with this one. That monitor was top dog in bit techs last widescreen monitor round-up. You don't REALLY need a RAID set-up for gaming. You would probably be better off spending 150 on a single, large capacity hard drive of decent speed/quality. Cutting costs on those two items will allow you to divert resources towards the 8800GTX and an Intel Quad Core set up. BOTH of which will provide an enormous benefit in gaming (especially when games start supporting multi-threading to take advantage of it), especially when compared to having a RAID set-up. As for Keyboard and Mouse, Logitech g15 for the keyboard and the logitech G5 Laser mouse. Both awesome. As for mouse pads...I got mine at Wal-Mart for 9 bucks. Has that nice little gel wrist pad. Works fine for me. That's my two cents.
Do you need 2 gpu's to run wide screen? Also, is SLI only needed if you are running bigger/wider monitors? With just a basic monitor, would SLI be an improvement on a single card.
You don't need SLI to run a widescreen monitor. The reason people suggest that is because larger widescreen resolutions demand a powerful videocard when gaming due to having so many more pixels to render. You're always going to see some kind of improvement with SLI versus single cards as long as the game supports SLI. On widescreen monitors, moreso, for reasons I already stated. As it stands, you're better off getting a single 8800GTX than any kind of SLI set up. Not only will it be faster, but it opens your path to DX 10, which will be increasingly more important as time goes on. There comes a point on monitors where getting a more powerful videocard is just wasted energy. Right now my 7900GT can already max out most games at my LCDs native resolution of 1280x1024 and still get decent frames. Getting SLI or a more powerful video card would be a waste since I am essentially being bottlenecked by how high I can set my resolutions because the monitor doesn't go higher than 1280x1024. Getting a card like a 8800GTX would be an example of wasted potential for me, since that card is designed for 1600x1200 and higher resolutions, and my monitor won't even get close to that res. The monitor I linked to you runs at a native res of 1680x1050, right in the territory where the 8800GTX should be able to run anything you throw at it at MAX.
