Gaming Pc $3000 limit! Plz Help!

[Guttzu]

I know a lot of people like the TF09. I don't know too much about the TJ10 though. I personally think Lian-Li makes a little better cases but there is nothing wrong with silverstone. They make some nice cases too.

I will put up another another build as soon as I get home. I'm on break in class right now but I will be home in about 2 hours. I'll put up several great cases and you can pick whatever one you like.

Did you mean the TJ09? Newegg.com - SILVERSTONE TJ09-BW Black Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Computer Cases There is a cool video a customer did that shows the insides of the case... the only problem is he said some cable management is a problem and it only comes with 2 fans... Do the Lian-Li cases come with full fans or would it be cheaper to just go with the TJ09 and buy additional fans for it?

Again, thanks for all your help man...I really appreciate all the help people are giving on here... I told my Mom about building one and she said, "Ohhh that should be fun...." lol!

 

[Pinscher]

Ya sorry I meant the TJ09.

Here is a new list for you. It has pretty much all of the same components as before but I will provide a few options for cases and some other stuff.

CPU & Mobo - These are on a combo deal right now but they might not be by the time you buy. Either way, they are awesome. The EVGA is a great board and it overclocks easily and well.

Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, Digital Cameras and more!

GFX - Best single card out. Great company. One reason I strongly recommend EVGA is because they have excellent customer support which can come in handy for a guy who is new to system building like you. They certainly helped me out a lot when I put together my first build.

Newegg.com - EVGA 01G-P3-1285-AR GeForce GTX 285 SC Edition 1GB 512-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

RAM - I am a fanboy of G.Skill just because I have nothing but good experiences with them. All the ram I have had from them overclocks like a champ. This is a nice kit but I will put in another OCZ set that is also really good and a little cheaper if you want that.

Newegg.com - G.SKILL Trident 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2000 (PC3 16000) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory

Newegg.com - OCZ Platinum 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory

PSU - Like I said PC Power & Cooling is the best and 750w is more than enough.

Newegg.com - PC Power & Cooling S75QB 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI NVIDIA SLI Certified (Dual 8800 GTX and below) CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply compatible with core i7 - Power Supplies

Hard Drives - So there are several ways you can go here. You can go with an SSD as your main drive (or maybe 2 in RAID 0 for super speed). I personally have 2 150GB Western Digital Raptors (they don't sell them anymore but this is the newer version Newegg.com - Western Digital VelociRaptor WD1500HLFS 150GB 10000 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive (bare drive) - Internal Hard Drives) in Raid 0 as my main drive with OS and games, it is pretty quick but I would personally love to have an SSD, and a Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - Internal Hard Drives for everything else.

To clear that up:

Option 1 Main: 2x Newegg.com - Western Digital VelociRaptor WD1500HLFS 150GB 10000 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive (bare drive) - Internal Hard Drives
+
Storage: Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - Internal Hard Drives

Option 2 Main: 1 or 2 of these Newegg.com - OCZ Apex Series OCZSSD2-1APX120G 2.5" 120GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid state disk (SSD) - Solid State Disks
+
Storage: Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - Internal Hard Drives

Option 3 Main: 2x Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Black WD5001AALS 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - Internal Hard Drives (these drives are close to the speed of velociraptors and quite a bit cheaper with more space)
+
Storage: Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - Internal Hard Drives

All of these options will provide you with a quick computer.

Case I will show you a few cases that I know are good quality.

Lian Li -

Newegg.com - LIAN LI PC-P80 Black Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Computer Cases

Newegg.com - LIAN LI PC-A20B Black Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Computer Cases - this is the one I really want. It has lots of room and its compartmentalized. You will probably think it is ugly but keep in mind you could always mod your case. There are some people on here that could help you with that. I have never done it so I couldn't help you there.

Newegg.com - LIAN LI PC-A7110B Black Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Computer Cases

Newegg.com - LIAN LI PC-B71 Black Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Computer Cases - You might like the look of this one a little better, i don't really know what you like though.

Silverstone -

Newegg.com - SILVERSTONE TJ09-BW Black Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Computer Cases - I don't really like this one but a lot of people say its a great case, especially for watercooling.

Newegg.com - SILVERSTONE SST-TJ07-B Black 4.0mm ~ 8.0mm uni-body aluminum outer frame, 2.0mm aluminum body ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Computer Cases - I like this one better than the TJ09 because it is bigger. I like big cases if you haven't noticed. They are much easier to work in.

That is all I felt like looking for but if you don't like those, look around newegg and pick some you like and post them up.

Optical - Newegg.com - LG Black 6X BD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM 40X CD-ROM SATA Internal Blu-ray/HD DVD-ROM & 16X DVD±R DVD Burner Model GGC-H20L - Blu-Ray Drives why not go blu-ray

Sound Card Newegg.com - ASUS Xonar D2X 7.1 Channels 24-bit 192KHz PCI Express Interface Sound Card - Sound Cards

OS Newegg.com - Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit for System Builders - Operating Systems

Fans You might as well pick up your own fans.

120mm: Newegg.com - Scythe S-FLEX SFF21F 120mm Case Fan - Case Fans

Fan Controller Newegg.com - ZALMAN MFC2 Muti Fan Controller - Controller Panels

I think thats everything. Wow that a long post lol

 

[Guttzu]

Thanks for all the help sir... what would be the fastest combo for HDDs? 120gb SSD and the 1TB WD Caviar? Also what is the best Heatsink you can get for the CPU?

Also...what would be the best gaming mouse/keyboard?

 

[myowngod]

Google man

SSD's are very fast... with your budget you could easily get a 120gb or larger.. and then a storage drive of your choice... best heatsink is going to depend on who you ask.. some say the TRUE, although I must say Xigmateks offerings are tasty for the money.. i'd get the Xigmatek Dark Knight with 2 med yate loons for a nice push/pull setup.. although water cooling could fit in the build budget too....

Best gaming mouse/keyboard is too subjective.. I like my G9, while some people hate it.. I got it on sale but wouldn't pay what it costs in stores for it... i use an eclipse keyboard which works just fine.. dont see a need for a fancy gaming keyboard as i'm no pro gamer... but with your budget.. get one that fits your hands and style best... no matter how much it costs lol

 

[Pinscher]

The fastest hard drive setup would be 2 SSDs in RAID 0. That would be super quick.

Mouse and keyboard is very subjective like myowngod said. I recommend going to your local computer store and just seeing which ones fit your hand/ style best. Just look for something with 2000dpi or higher. Logitech and Razer make the best mice. I use a Saitek Eclipse II keyboard which works fine for me. I would personally like a Logitech G11. I used it at my friend's and I really liked it.

The thermalright TRUE copper is an awesome cooler. It weighs a ton though lol.
Thermalright "Limited Edition" TRUE Copper Ultra-120 eXtreme CPU Heatsink (Socket LGA 775 / LGA 1366* / AM2 / Xeon*) - FrozenCPU.com

The xigmatek s-1284 is a great cooler and so is the noctua I posted.

 

[Guttzu]

Thank you all for the help...I 'm going to do a NewEgg "wishlist" to see how much all this will come to. Once I am done with the list feel free to add anything to it or make suggestions.

Also...does the SSD fit into a normal HDD slot and screw in or do you need some sort of a mounting bracket?

 

[saltynay]

Yeah you need something this but judging by the price you will be better off visiting your local computer store and getting one there its just a 2.52 to 3.5" internal bay adapter.

 

[Pinscher]

They are a smaller form factor than normal HDDs. They are the same size as floppy drives are. Your case might have a spot for them, you will have to check when you pick a case. If it doesn't, you can get converters for them for a couple bucks.

 

[saltynay]

They are 2.5" and all standard hdd bays are 3.5" the two aren't directly compatible without an adapter. This ones slightly cheaper but still a rip off for 2 pieces of cheap metal:
Newegg.com - OCZ OCZACSSDBRKT Solid State Drive 3.5" Adaptor Bracket - HDD Accessories

 

[Guttzu]

Ok so far I came up with this....

Case: Newegg.com - LIAN LI PC-A20B Black Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Computer Cases

OS: Newegg.com - Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit for System Builders - Operating Systems

CPU: Newegg.com - Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops

MB: Newegg.com - EVGA 132-BL-E758-A1 LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards

HDD: Main: Newegg.com - OCZ Apex Series OCZSSD2-1APX120G 2.5" 120GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid state disk (SSD) - Solid State Disks
Storage: Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - Internal Hard Drives

PSU: Newegg.com - PC Power & Cooling S75QB 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI NVIDIA SLI Certified (Dual 8800 GTX and below) CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply compatible with core i7 - Power Supplies

RAM: Newegg.com - G.SKILL Trident 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2000 (PC3 16000) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory or Newegg.com - OCZ Platinum 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory

Video Card: Newegg.com - EVGA 01G-P3-1285-AR GeForce GTX 285 SC Edition 1GB 512-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

Optical Drive: Newegg.com - LG Black 6X BD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM 40X CD-ROM SATA Internal Blu-ray/HD DVD-ROM & 16X DVD±R DVD Burner Model GGC-H20L - Blu-Ray Drives

Sound Card: Newegg.com - ASUS Xonar D2X 7.1 Channels 24-bit 192KHz PCI Express Interface Sound Card - Sound Cards (maybe)

Heat Sink and bracket: Newegg.com - XIGMATEK Dark Knight-S1283V 120mm Long Life Bearing CPU Cooler - CPU Fans & Heatsinks and Newegg.com - XIGMATEK ACK-I7363 CPU Cooler - CPU Fans & Heatsinks

Thermal Compound: Newegg.com - Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - Thermal Compound / Grease

Monitor: Newegg.com - ASUS VK266H Black 25.5" 2ms(GTG) HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor w/ Built in Speakers 300 cd/m2 1000:1 (ASCR 20000:1 ) w/ Component and SPDIF out Connector - LCD Monitors

Total with this setup on NewEgg with the G.SKILL RAM is $2,831.86 (without shipping)...

So here are my next questions on what to do.......

I was wondering if changing the HDD to a: Newegg.com - Western Digital VelociRaptor WD1500HLFS 150GB 10000 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive (bare drive) - Internal Hard Drives would effect performance by a lot? Maybe get a smaller monitor and keep the SSD?

Also I know Lian-Li cases are amazing but is there anything in the $200-$300 region that would still do a great job?

The monitor seems like it is amazing but with all the other components + adding in shipping I guess I am going to be close to $3,000. Is there anything cheaper but still good quality in the 22"-24" range?

Also is the sound card really needed? Could I get away with buying a less expensive one? Suggestions?

So a different Main HDD, Less expensive monitor and case and sound card..... also feel free to add in anything I forgot....maybe like a tool kit or what about a "grounding" wristband? I want to put together a complete list so when I go to order it I can swap things out easy as needed. This all added up very fast lol, I still want a great system but I need to stay below or at $3,000.

Thank you all for any suggestions and help you give me.....