Building a Gaming PC

[Hockey25]

I'm trying to piece together a good gaming PC on a $2000 or so budget. Should include everything (i.e. monitor, keyboard, mouse, OS, Office Home and Student Ed, etc.)

This is what I've come up with so far. Please offer any suggestions:

Case: Antec 900. But really liking new Lexa Blackline. Wish it was available in Blue LED in U.S.

Mobo: Asus P5k deluxe/wifi-ap ATX Intel

Processor: Intel Core2 Quad Core Q6600 2.4GHz

Hard Drive: Maxtor 500GB ATA 16mb buffer

PSU: Antec TruePower Trio 650W

Video: NVIDIA GeForce 8800GTX (I have a Sapphire Radeon X800GT 256MB that I bought a while back in my current computer; Would this be sufficient to use to save money or should I go ahead and get an upgrade?)

Memory: 4gb 800Mhz

Optical Drive: Lite-on 20x DVD+/-RW Burner

Monitor: 22" Wide Screen HP w2207 Glossy

Sound: Creative Sound blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer PCI

Op sys: Windows Vista Home premium

Thanks for your help.

 

[saltynay]

hdd: maxtor was bought out by seagate a while back they have now become seagates crud drives i.e. the drives which don't pass quality testing. either get a a seagate barracuda 7200.10 or a samsung spinpoint. you may also be better off by buying to smaller drives one for the OS and one for storage. I would reccomend a 100gb samsung spinpoint for OS use and a 500gb seagate barracuda for storage.

psu: completely over the top you should look for one around 450-550 I would go with the corsair HX

video: you will see a marked improvement by going with a 8800gtx and as you are going with vista you will also be able to play DX10 games. your current card is miles behind the 8800 series in terms of performance

RAM: you have to give brand name and series name as each brand is different and some sticks are crud. 800mhz otherwise known as ddr2 6400 is the right ram speed to choose. 4gb of ram can only be used with a 64bit operating system so you would need home premium 64 bit . 4gb is the sweet spot for vista in terms of gaming anymore is a waste and although 2gb is popular it does limit you slightly.

sound: you don't actually have to have a soundcard onboard is normally good enough sound quality for most people but it does give you an improvement in quality obviously

OS: as said previously you would need the 64bit version. most people here don't like vista and will recommend xp its upto you though home premium is the right one for a gaming machine. home basic is just crud and business is obviously business orientated

 

[Hockey25]

I think I may be over my budget on my build especially with those changes. Can I get a build that would be within my budget. If it's over by $100 or $200 that's ok.

Thanks

 

[veg1992]

hdd: maxtor was bought out by seagate a while back they have now become seagates crud drives i.e. the drives which don't pass quality testing. either get a a seagate barracuda 7200.10 or a samsung spinpoint. you may also be better off by buying to smaller drives one for the OS and one for storage. I would reccomend a 100gb samsung spinpoint for OS use and a 500gb seagate barracuda for storage.

psu: completely over the top you should look for one around 450-550 I would go with the corsair HX

video: you will see a marked improvement by going with a 8800gtx and as you are going with vista you will also be able to play DX10 games. your current card is miles behind the 8800 series in terms of performance

RAM: you have to give brand name and series name as each brand is different and some sticks are crud. 800mhz otherwise known as ddr2 6400 is the right ram speed to choose. 4gb of ram can only be used with a 64bit operating system so you would need home premium 64 bit . 4gb is the sweet spot for vista in terms of gaming anymore is a waste and although 2gb is popular it does limit you slightly.

sound: you don't actually have to have a soundcard onboard is normally good enough sound quality for most people but it does give you an improvement in quality obviously

OS: as said previously you would need the 64bit version. most people here don't like vista and will recommend xp its upto you though home premium is the right one for a gaming machine. home basic is just crud and business is obviously business orientated

man...my remarks!! lol jk, but seriosuly if u reuse that x800gt, don't expect to max out any games at all especially with that 22 inch monitor u have on ur wanted list

 

[TheOtis]

Awesome choice on the quad!! That thing multitasks like a dream, I love it.

DEFINETLY get a new video card.

That was a great card a couple years ago, but I'd suggest that 8800GTX. That card is leaps and bounds better.

 

[Hockey25]

How about the rest of the build? Are any of my components pricier than I need? Can some adjustments be made so I can fit within my budget? Any feedback on the rest of my build?

Definately going with the 8800GTX.

 

[techman321]

i honestly don't think you need 4gigs of ram..You could also save money by getting an 8800gts, as the resolution is probably fine to max out games that are out TODAY. If you want to max out everything for games coming out in future, i would recommend getting the 9800 series. Let's hope it doesn't get delayed, but if it comes on arrival, then it will be one heck of a card. A Q6600 isn't very futureproof because the next series of processors (wolfdales and yorkfields) will demolish it. So I would get an E6750 right now, and then maybe upgrade a bit later to the newer quads.

 

[TheOtis]

Oh man. So $2,000 budget? That's a great price point dude.

Let me configure one and post it on here for you.

 

[veg1992]

saltynay gave some good suggestions :

- ditch sound unless ur a phile
- get better ram, and 2gb of it
- get a corsair 520
- no maxtor!!!

 

[veg1992]

i honestly don't think you need 4gigs of ram..You could also save money by getting an 8800gts, as the resolution is probably fine to max out games that are out TODAY. If you want to max out everything for games coming out in future, i would recommend getting the 9800 series. Let's hope it doesn't get delayed, but if it comes on arrival, then it will be one heck of a card. A Q6600 isn't very futureproof because the next series of processors (wolfdales and yorkfields) will demolish it. So I would get an E6750 right now, and then maybe upgrade a bit later to the newer quads.

ya i agree, but i think his build is urgent which is why i'm not recommending those