My thoughts on a New High End Gaming Rig.

[DeepSeaDoc]

I have put allot of time and Effort into the researching of this. My goal was to stay under 3k. This system will stand the test of time for sure. It is High End gamers Dream System. Before I buy it I would love your Input so please write away! Oh, this is my first post...Hello All!!

Cooler Master Stacker 830 Evolution ATX Full Tower- Ok I chose this case for a number of reasons. Great reviews, BIG, great ventilation and looks good. $259

XFX LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 780i SLI Motherboard- It was the best SLI motherboard I could find period. I really like the DFI MB but no SLI so this is the one. $249

Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Wolfdale 3.16Ghz LGA 775- This was an easy choice came down between this and E8400. I choice this one cuz I am running DDR2 not DDR3 so no need for Quad and had 3k budget. $269

ZALMAN 9700 LED 110mm 2 Ball CPU cooler- Ok I went back and forth, back and forth on this pick. I was originally going to go with yes you guessed it. The Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme with Scythe S-Flex 120mm fans. But after more research and the crazy size and a you tube video, I switched to this Zalman. It has amazing reviews and way better price. $59

Scythe S-FLEX 120mm Case Fan- I chose 3 of these for my case fans. They are just amazing quiet fans. My case will be COLD!!! $44

XFX GeForce 9800 GTX Black Edition 512MB- Ok this wasn't as easy to decide one. So many to chose from. The reason I chose this card is the stats on it were amazing. Supports true 1920x1200 resolution and c'mon it's the black Edition. Only got one but that is what make upgrading a blast. I will get another. $319

Mushkin 4GB (2x2GB) DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) memory- Again it came down between this and OCZ and this one edge in reviews. Same Price.
$279

Seagate 750 GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0 32MB Catche- I am not really all that clear on RAID but my plan is to run 3 hard drives. This one will be my main. $159

Seagate Barracuda 250GB 7200 RPM 32MB Catche- I got 2 of these, again I am not real savvy on RAID but I noticed allot of people either went with 2 or 3 total HD. $159

XIGMATEK 750W Power Supply- It came down to this one PC Power & Cooling and ABS one. I chose this one because it had Modulated Cabling and Price. Great Reviews as well. It's the sleeper pick. Had numerous people running Duel 9800's in SLI mode with no prob. $129

Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Professional- I chose this one because of my OP system I will be running. This was meant for 64bit OP system. Only had 2 reviews on it. It's fairly new. But the reviews were great 100%. $149

SAMSUNG 20X DVD/R Burner w/ LightScribe- This will be my All in one Optical Drive Choice. It's just better than the rest. $30

Microsoft Windows Vista 64-Bit Ultimate- Had no choice its here and its here to stay. If you want to have a Gaming System that will stand the test of time your decision is already made. $169

NEC Display Solutions 24'' 5ms HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor- I researched this like crazy. Back and forth. I went with this monitor for one its had GREAT Reviews the best. The Price. It was a must to have a monitor that would max out my Bad Arse Vid Card with 1920x1200. This is the one for me hands down. $439

Ok that does it. Here is my end result. Don't believe I left anything out my final price was 2,724.82. Well under budget. Again this is a High End gaming solution under 3k. The only thing I was not 100% on was the whole raid thing. Maybe Just 2 hardrives would be the right choice??

I would like to think Newegg, Sharky Extreme, Tom's Hardware and google lol. That is what I used for my research.

Thanks,

DeepSeaDoc

 

[DeepSeaDoc]

Man I just got thru looking at my post its like a **** thesis paper lol. Here is a condesed version of it.

Cooler Master Stacker 830 Evolution ATX Full Tower
XFX LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 780i SLI Motherboard
Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Wolfdale 3.16Ghz LGA 775
ZALMAN 9700 LED 110mm 2 Ball CPU cooler
Scythe S-FLEX 120mm Case Fan x3
XFX GeForce 9800 GTX Black Edition 512MB
Mushkin 4GB (2x2GB) DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500)
Seagate 750 GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0 32MB Catche
Seagate Barracuda 250GB 7200 RPM 32MB Catche Raid 0 I think?
XIGMATEK 750W Power Supply
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Professional
SAMSUNG 20X DVD/R Burner w/ LightScribe
Microsoft Windows Vista 64-Bit Ultimate
NEC Display Solutions 24'' 5ms HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor
Total= $2,724

Thanks,

DeepSeaDoc

 

[Dainius]

not too bad but on the mobo I would get the EVGA 750i FTW same specs as the 780 and cheaper... I have one and have no regrets whatsoever... On the video card might want to wait another few weeks as the newer line of nvidia cards will be coming out.

 

[Prototype]

Case: Newegg.com - GIGABYTE 3D Aurora 570 GZ-FA1CA-ASB Black 1.0 mm Aluminum body ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Computer Cases
MOBO: If your going to SLI, get Newegg.com - EVGA 123-YW-E175-A1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 750i FTW SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards. If your going to Crossfire, get Newegg.com - DFI LANPARTY DK X38-T2R LGA 775 Intel X38 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards. If your going to use 1 card, get Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-EP35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards.
CPU: If you want a 45nm Dual Core, get E7200 or E8200. If you want a Quad Core, get Q6600.
CPU Cooler: Newegg.com - XIGMATEK HDT-S1284 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler - CPU Fans & Heatsinks or Newegg.com - XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler - CPU Fans & Heatsinks
GPU: Newegg.com - ECS N8800GTS-512MX GeForce 8800GTS (G92) 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards
Memory: Newegg.com - mushkin 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory
HDD: Why u need RAID i think a 750GB will be fine
PSU: Newegg.com - PC Power & Cooling S61EPS 610W Continuous @ 40°C EPS12V Power Supply 100 - 240 V UL, cUL, CE, CB, TUV - Power Supplies or Newegg.com - CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply 100 - 240 V UL, CE, CB, TUV, FCC, CCC - Power Supplies
Sound Card: If you need it, on-board is fine
DVD Burner: Newegg.com - LITE-ON Black 20X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 20X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 20X DVD±R DVD Burner - CD / DVD Burners
OS: Newegg.com - Microsoft Windows Vista 64-Bit Home Premium for System Builders Single Pack DVD - Operating Systems
Monitor: Newegg.com - SCEPTRE X24WG-1080P Black 24" 2ms Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 4000:1 Built in Speakers - LCD Monitors

 

[alexsabree]

Get quad core if you have the money. If you can wait for the new cards to come out. If you are not going to SLi or crossfire, don't bother buying a motherboard that has that option.

 

[maroon1]

E8400 has only 0.16GHz lower clock than E8500, but it is around $80 cheaper

Get either E8400 or Q6600

And for the same price of E8500 you could get Q9300 or Q6700

 

[Prototype]

The E8200 is the same as the E8400 except the multiplier.

 

[35g700]

In the long run a quad core will do you more good. the Q6600 is $200 (w/o heatsink) and it is highly overclockable. Also I think you may be spending a little bit to much on RAM...

 

[thirdshiftdj]

another vote for a quad