1st time build - Gaming Rig

[luigi336]

Hey everyone. I am wanting to build a gaming pc for the firt time and wanted to know how the set up looked. I am tired of using my dell xps (although it has lasted an amazing 5 years playing games) and want something that can reallly allow me to fully enjoy all the new games today. Below is what I plan on building. Although some of the technology isn't the very latest such as the ddr2 ram I am not looking to break tghe bank for brand new stuff. I figured buying a little bit behind the technology curve would allow me to get the most for my money. Please let me know what you guys think, if there is something I need or don't need, I am spending too much or to little on etc. Thanks in advance for all the help!


Coolermaster CM 690 Case
Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Computer Cases

Lite-On DVD Burner
Lite-ON IHAS220-08 SuperAllwrite SATA 20x DVD Burner with Lightscribe (Retail) - 20x DVD±R Burn, 8x DVD+RW, 6x DVD-RW, 8x DVD±R DL, 12x DVD-RAM, 48x32x CD-RRW, Software, Black at TigerDirect.com

Q9550 2.83Ghz Quad Processor
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 Processor BX80569Q9550 - 2.83GHz, 12MB Cache, 1333MHz FSB, Yorkfield, Quad-Core, Retail, Socket 775, Processor with Fan at TigerDirect.com

Velociraptor 150GB 10k RPM hard drive (plan on adding on other cheap hard drives later for movie and music storage but wanted a quick one for game and system files.)
WD VelociRaptor 150GB SATA HD 10K16MBSATA-3 WD1500HLFS at TigerDirect.com

4 Gigs of Corsair DDR2 RAM (will upgrade to 8 Gigs shortly after)
Corsair Dual Channel XMS2 4096MB PC8500 DDR2 1066MHz Memory (2 x 2048MB) TWIN2X4096-8500C5DF at TigerDirect.com

Samsung 20" Widescreen 2ms, 1000:1, 1680x1050
Samsung 2053BW 20" Widescreen LCD Monitor - 2ms, 1000:1, 1680x1050 (WSXGA+), Black at TigerDirect.com

EVGA nForce 780i FTW motherboard
EVGA nforce 780i SLI FTW Motherboard A1 Version - NVIDIA nForce 780i SLI, Socket 775, ATX, Audio, PCI Express 2.0, Dual Gigabit LAN, SPDIF, USB 2.0, Firewire, Serial ATA, RAID 132-YW-E178-A1 at TigerDirect.com

Ultra X3 1000 watt p/s
Ultra X3 ULT40064 1000-Watt Power Supply - ATX, SATA-Ready, PCI-E Ready, Energy Efficient, Modular at TigerDirect.com

EVGA GTX 260 Superclocked edition SLI Card
Ultra X3 ULT40064 1000-Watt Power Supply - ATX, SATA-Ready, PCI-E Ready, Energy Efficient, Modular at TigerDirect.com

Windows Home Premium Verson of 64 Bit Vista

I do have plans to go sli in the near future, either 2 or 3 depending on how my money situation looks. Please let me know if there are any flaws in my system or anything I should reconsider.

 

[stalin90]

those raptor drives are a waste of money, just get one of these, its pretty much the fastest 7200 Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - Internal Hard Drives

u dont need 8gb, its overkill, maybe in a year or 2 the new standard will be 8gb but it pretty much just switched over to 4
i would also get this ram instead:Newegg.com - OCZ Reaper HPC 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory

also ultra psu's are very un reliable i would get this one:
Corsair TX 750W ATX 12V Power Supply - CMPSU-750TX - Buy.com


but a major thin i would change in ur build would be to change ur board to a p45 and get a 4870

 

[alvoss]

Do what the above poster recommended for the HD/Memory/PSU.

For your motherboard you are going to want a P45 or x48 chipset as they are much better. I would go with a P45 as its cheaper and just as good. Asus and Biostar make good motherboards.

If your just going to be gaming go for a dual core processor as you'll see better performance and it is cheaper. Go for either the Intel Wolfdale 3.16ghz or 3.3ghz depending on how much you want to spend.

For the videocard go for the HD4870. It is better than the GTX260 for gaming.

With the extra money you saved either put it in your pocket, or get a bigger monitor. Although, if you go for a 24" monitor you may want to consider the 4870X2.

 

[luigi336]

I appreciate the responses so far. That is the type of advice I need! Something that will save me some cash. I have been absent in the technology world since I bought my laptop 5 years ago so the advice definitely helps.

I do have one question though. That 750w power supply. Will it be able to handle it if I get 2 4870 cards along with adding more fans and other components. i plan on workin on this computer a bit and want to make sure i will have enough power. I was getting the 1k watt p/s because i know gtx's are power hogs and especially 2 or 3 you would need it. Also the corsaid p/s work with Crossfire?

Also a 4870 with 512 mb outperforms a 260 at like 850 mb?

hey is that buy.com a reliable site or did ya just use it to look up the power supply. It is like $30 cheaper than new egg

 

[veg1992]

Please don't double post, edit next time..

Buy.com is a reliable site (I found that deal like a couple of months back and its still going... )

RAM amount doesn't mean crap if the performance is as good, which the HD 4870 has more than the GTX 260 (Check Graphics Card Rankings and the Common n00b Myths [in our forum stickies])

Yes the PSU is enough and will work

 

[luigi336]

okay so I have revised my build.

cm690 case
ocz reaper 4 gig ram that was recommended
MSI p45 platinum mobo
arctic freezer 7 cpu cooler
corsair tx 750w P/S
samsung spinpoint f 7200 500gig HD
E8400 Core Duo
Visiontek 4870 512 mb
liteon sata dvd burner

I got this monitor too
Samsung 2253LW 21.6" Widescreen Glossy LCD Monitor - 2ms, 1000:1, 1680x1050 (WSXGA+), Black at TigerDirect.com

The only thing that confused me was that on another site it was advertised as 2ms (5ms gtg). What does this mean?

So would I be better off going with this p45 over say a 750i ftw that has two x16 lanes for sli, whereas the p45 platinum only has two x8 lanes in SLI?

Also I am aware that the 4870 is better performance wise against the gtx 260 in many cases. How about with the (get ready for a long annoying name) EVGA gtx 260 core 216 superclocked edition. it is prob only $20 more expensive than the 4870 and its performance has been placed very closely to a gtx 280. Any feedback?

This set up is great btw. You all have saved me $600 so far! I appreciate the help!

 

[stalin90]

first off a p45 cant sli it can crossfire, and yes 2 8x 2.0 lanes will be good for anything besides quadfire
also i would get this mobo instead: Newegg.com - BIOSTAR TPower I45 LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards

and i would still get a 4870.

and change ur cpu cooler to this:
Newegg.com - XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler - CPU Fans & Heatsinks and get this along w/ it :Newegg.com - XIGMATEK ACK-I7751 Retention Bracket - CPU Fans & Heatsinks

 

[luigi336]

thanks again. Not sure if ya seen my comment about the monitor I was looking at in my previous post. not sure what it was all about but just dont wanna get screwed on it.

 

[stalin90]

thanks again. Not sure if ya seen my comment about the monitor I was looking at in my previous post. not sure what it was all about but just dont wanna get screwed on it.

yea i saw it but im not good w/ monitors

 

[luigi336]

so how is this ocz ram for overclocking. I know Iread the e8400's awesome and that mobo ya showed me was good to. Wonderin how the 4870 and ocz ram ocs