Hey all, I'm new here to the Tech forums. I've been looking for a place where I can discuss and read about all the things I like, and I think I've found the place
Just a bit about me first: this will be my first computer I've built. I'm looking to build a gaming rig that will last some time. The last gaming desktop I got was back about five or so years ago, and things have changed since then. I've come across a few things I haven't heard of before, like dedicated PhysX cards. I'm a pretty hardcore gamer so I'd like to have a desktop to match my interests!
Alright, well here's my build. This is the first computer I've ever built from scratch. Let me know what you think - if I should make any changes, or if there are any compatibility issues, or anything at all really!
Case:
Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower
CPU:
Intel Core i7-960 Bloomfield 3.2GHz LGA 1366
Motherboard:
EVGA E760 Classified -- is this overkill? Should I look into something else? I plan to OC my system some, but I've never really ventured into this area yet.
Graphics Card:
Sapphire Radeon HD 5870
RAM:
Corsair Dominator 6GB (3 x 2GB)
Sound Card:
ASUS Xonar vs. Creative SB X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Professional vs. Creative SB X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Champion Series -- which to get here? Creative SB has been my choice in the past, but some friends have suggested the ASUS Xonar. Also, what's the difference there between the champion series and the professional series? I see almost nothing other than the front 3.5" attachment, but I could be missing something.
HDDs:
2x - Western Digital VelociRaptor 300GB 10000RPM
Western Digital RE3 1TB 7200RPM
Power Supply:
Corsair CMPSU-850TX 850W
Optical Drives:
2x - Sony Optiarc 24X DVD/CD R/RW
Monitor:
ASUS VW246H Black 24" 2ms(GTG) HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor - I currently have a 23" 1680x1050, so I figure this might be a bit of an upgrade.
Keyboard:
RAZER Lycosa
Mouse:
RAZER Lachesis Banshee
Headphones:
Sennheiser PC166
Software:
Windows 7 64bit Home Premium -- Would I want one of the other versions for gaming? I looked at the additional features of their other versions and I didn't see anything I'd want, but I could have overlooked something.
Symantec Norton AntiVirus 2010 -- I know a lot of people say anti-virus programs compromise performance. I read into Norton 2009 and 2010 and hear they have a "gaming" feature, where when a full-screen app is being run, most of Norton shuts off. What sort of software protection do I need?
Don't need Office as I already have a laptop for my college/business work
Some questions:
Power protection - my friend has a power protection unit to keep his unit on for a few minutes to save his work and shut down in case of power loss. Is this a necessary component for gaming, or mainly for people worried about losing data?
Cooling - will I need to look into additional cooling for my system? Will this be running too hot? Should I look into some liquid cooling units? Or will additional fans do the trick? CPU cooling, hard drive cooling, any of this?
Network card - I hear about this Killer Xeno Pro network card. I read an article saying that it's great for gaming, but if you attempt to run multiple things at once, it slows down quite a bit. Would my mobos network card be enough or should I look into another upgrade?
Any other advice would be greatly appreciated! Thank you all for your help!
Just a bit about me first: this will be my first computer I've built. I'm looking to build a gaming rig that will last some time. The last gaming desktop I got was back about five or so years ago, and things have changed since then. I've come across a few things I haven't heard of before, like dedicated PhysX cards. I'm a pretty hardcore gamer so I'd like to have a desktop to match my interests!
Alright, well here's my build. This is the first computer I've ever built from scratch. Let me know what you think - if I should make any changes, or if there are any compatibility issues, or anything at all really!
Case:
Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower
CPU:
Intel Core i7-960 Bloomfield 3.2GHz LGA 1366
Motherboard:
EVGA E760 Classified -- is this overkill? Should I look into something else? I plan to OC my system some, but I've never really ventured into this area yet.
Graphics Card:
Sapphire Radeon HD 5870
RAM:
Corsair Dominator 6GB (3 x 2GB)
Sound Card:
ASUS Xonar vs. Creative SB X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Professional vs. Creative SB X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Champion Series -- which to get here? Creative SB has been my choice in the past, but some friends have suggested the ASUS Xonar. Also, what's the difference there between the champion series and the professional series? I see almost nothing other than the front 3.5" attachment, but I could be missing something.
HDDs:
2x - Western Digital VelociRaptor 300GB 10000RPM
Western Digital RE3 1TB 7200RPM
Power Supply:
Corsair CMPSU-850TX 850W
Optical Drives:
2x - Sony Optiarc 24X DVD/CD R/RW
Monitor:
ASUS VW246H Black 24" 2ms(GTG) HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor - I currently have a 23" 1680x1050, so I figure this might be a bit of an upgrade.
Keyboard:
RAZER Lycosa
Mouse:
RAZER Lachesis Banshee
Headphones:
Sennheiser PC166
Software:
Windows 7 64bit Home Premium -- Would I want one of the other versions for gaming? I looked at the additional features of their other versions and I didn't see anything I'd want, but I could have overlooked something.
Symantec Norton AntiVirus 2010 -- I know a lot of people say anti-virus programs compromise performance. I read into Norton 2009 and 2010 and hear they have a "gaming" feature, where when a full-screen app is being run, most of Norton shuts off. What sort of software protection do I need?
Don't need Office as I already have a laptop for my college/business work
Some questions:
Power protection - my friend has a power protection unit to keep his unit on for a few minutes to save his work and shut down in case of power loss. Is this a necessary component for gaming, or mainly for people worried about losing data?
Cooling - will I need to look into additional cooling for my system? Will this be running too hot? Should I look into some liquid cooling units? Or will additional fans do the trick? CPU cooling, hard drive cooling, any of this?
Network card - I hear about this Killer Xeno Pro network card. I read an article saying that it's great for gaming, but if you attempt to run multiple things at once, it slows down quite a bit. Would my mobos network card be enough or should I look into another upgrade?
Any other advice would be greatly appreciated! Thank you all for your help!