First timer, building a gaming PC

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kariohki

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I've been planning to do this for a few months as a birthday/christmas gift to myself, and since all the holiday sales are going on or approaching, I might as well get ready to buy everything. I've done some research and it's rather overwhelming, all the different brands and models and having to get compatible items :umm: My experience with looking for computers off the shelf has been "is the HD big enough to fit all my stuff?"

So I'm looking to build a gaming computer that can run Final Fantasy XIV. Not that I play it, but I'm using that as a baseline since the computer I'm on now can't even run the benchmark. Heck this thing lags with 2D Steam games. I'd also like it be able to multitask well when not running those more powerful games, since I usually have at least a browser, a chat client or two, and Winamp/iTunes running.

My budget is between $1,500 and $2000. I'm going to have to buy Windows 7 along with whatever parts I get, and I might also get a new monitor (not sure on that since I'm very picky with monitors and I dislike widescreen).

If you need any other information, go ahead and ask, though I'm not sure if I'll be able to answer if it's too technical :p Thanks!
 
If your budget is that, then I would let the Intel guys in here to spec ya a rig. You're in for a real treat based on what it sounds like your current rig is.

If I had that to spend, it would be an i7 920 CPU with an X58 mobo and a GTX295 or so..
 
Awesome :D Yeah, this computer I have now was a quick replacement for one that had something get fried during a storm -- runs fine, but couldn't connect to the internet, so I just replaced it with the new year's model of the same thing. Then a storm took out my mom's computer two weeks later...though she just got a $200 thing that barely runs Vista.

Probably should have posted this in the other computer building section, I didn't see that area until after I made the thread and couldn't find my post again, kept looking in the wrong area :p
 
That is a huge budget, which is great because that makes it quite easy to build you a good rig, so here is what I got for you.

CPU: Newegg.com - Intel Core i7-950 Bloomfield 3.06GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor BX80601950

Mobo: Newegg.com - EVGA 131-GT-E767-TR LGA 1366 Intel X58 SLI 3 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

PSU: Newegg.com - CORSAIR HX Series CMPSU-1000HX 1000W ATX12V 2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply (This for SLI)
Newegg.com - CORSAIR HX Series CMPSU-850HX 850W ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 2.91 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply (This if you aren't)

RAM: Newegg.com - G.SKILL PI Series 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL7T-6GBPI

GPU: Newegg.com - EVGA 01G-P3-1372-TR GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) Superclocked 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card (x2 for SLI)
Newegg.com - EVGA 012-P3-1470-AR GeForce GTX 470 (Fermi) 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card (If you aren't using SLI + DX11)

Case: Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER HAF 932 Black RC-932-KWN3 Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case with Side window (Hands down on this case...friend has it, it's great.)

Case Fans: Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER Megaflow 200 R4-LUS-07AR-GP 200mm Red LED Case Fan (1 of those)
Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER SickleFlow 120 R4-L2R-20AR-R1 120mm Silent operation Red LED case fan (2-3 of these.)

Fan Control: (Not necessary) Newegg.com - ZALMAN MFC1-Combo 5 Channel Fan Controller

DVD Drive: Newegg.com - ASUS Black 18X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM SATA DVD-ROM Drive Model DVD-E818A7T/BLK/B/GEN - CD / DVD Drives

HDD: Newegg.com - HITACHI Deskstar H3IK10003272SP (0S02860) 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive

So that is what I came up with. May be a bit more than what you should really get but it is a great system. The total comes to $1392.87. That is if you don't get the 1000W PSU and the SLI GTX 465's. If you went with those few things it would put you over $1500.
Hope I helped a little bit. Remember to use good cable management. Oh and don't go with ATI (just my opinion)
 
Awesome, thanks for the great list. I'll probably go with the lower PSU and not do the SLI thing with the GPU.
By 'cable management' do you mean tying them out of the way and such in the case? I know it's recommended by all the build tutorials to do stuff like that.
Speaking of those things, they recommend getting one of those grounding bracelets so you don't shock your parts. Should I pick one of those up? Also, just curious really, but what would your recommendation on a good monitor be, if the only requirement was that it needs built in speakers?
 
To start yes cable management I mean using zip ties and trying to keep things out of the way. Look in the high performance section in a week or so and I will post pictures of mine because I am rebuilding it.
As far as a grounding bracelet, never even knew they had em'. I have never had a problem just keep your hands or hand on the case.
For the monitor, I will let another member give you those details. Don't know too much on monitors. I do know Spectre's are good or however you spell it.
 
Updating because I ordered most of the parts today! Missing the RAM and one of the fans since they were out of stock at Newegg.
 
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