Building a Lan Party Rig

[Dynamic Sang]

Hi folks

Signed up like 5 minutes ago
Glad to be a part of great forum community

I will just briefly tell you about my history with gaming computers =]

Last year around Christmas...
I felt like it was about time that I got a new computer
so I searched on google.. and ordered one from this place called Cyberpower
and they sent me a broken computer... took about 3 weeks to get my money back -_-
(never buying anything from them AGAIN)
so I decide to my first gaming rig about a year ago..
Did research and read the guides/suggestions for about a month by MYSELF
and finally built my current gaming computer
I must say i did a pretty **** good job for my first computer =]
and i'm happy that it has run fine without a hick for one whole year..


but I feel kind of stupid now for not joining a forum like this..
I think it wouldve helped me out a lot >.>

Anyways I built my comp
and lost interest in the whole computer rig stuff (because i was quite exhausted after building one lol)
but, decided that my current comp is too big and bulky for my likes
so I decided to build a new computer for Lan Parties

I am an avid gamer (really into Counter strike... been in few leagues, current team in CEVO
league.. I also play Starcraft! because I'm South Korean how typical isn't it?)
and I kind of got into the lan parties with my friends..

I found out that my 600bux HP laptop can't do jack when it comes to gaming
and my gaming computer is too fat for me to carry it around T_T
so yea I decided I would build a rig for Lan Parties

I put up a posting on craigslist selling my fatass gaming rig for 800 bux..
I am quite bemused by the PRICE DROPS ON VIDEO CARDS AND CPUS!!
(bought 4870 for $240 and now it costs only $140 wtf.. rly?)

anyways I want to build a new comp anyway with a budget of about $600 - 700
and this time I really want some professional help/opinions on this because
I think I will stick with this one for a while... =]

so i have quite a few questions and I will be more than happy if you answer!

1. Since my budget is kind of tight... i need to maximize the performance for the price
I've only picked the case for my comp right now
and its the Thermaltake VF1000BWS case
Newegg.com - Thermaltake VF1000BWS Black Aluminum Front Panel/ SECC Chassis MicroATX Desktop Computer Case - Computer Cases

I think this is the best Lanparty case for around 100 bucks
It is still quite expensive for me i think... so If you know any better case
or better price for this case please let me know..

I'm also selling my comp so I'm starting from scratch..
Even though budgets tight.. I want to go for the intel
I used AMD on my last rig, but I want to use intel for the future (some feedback on this plz)
oh and is it possible for you to post the links and names of all the most recommendable parts for my new rig?

2. i7 vs core2quad vs AMD
I really want to go for the i7, but my budget is tight
and ppl say that the i7 performance isn't that amazing compared to core2quad
I also know that AMD has some of their new stuff out so feedback on this please..

3. I've only worked on midATX towers and FullATX towers..
is microATX hard to work on? is it hard for cable managment?

4. I kind of need some specific opinions/recommendations on the video card
the only ones that comes up to my mind for a cheap price are 9800gt, 8800gt or 4850
and I believe there are new alternatives for these but i'm not quite sure..


Misc Questions

5. Erm............................... is craigslist a good place to sell my comp?

6. Good internet providers? I'm used to the 100mbps internet in s.korea that's like available anywhere and i'm really frustrated over the 1.5mbps i get right now from Qwest..
do you know any good providers that are fast and are in Utah.. (i moved to us like only 2 years ago)

7. Any good suggestions or things for external wire management... there's like 50 cables from printer, monitor, computer, mouse etc.. and they are pretty **** ugly on my desk and it is getting on my OCD nerves!!!!!!!!



I would be really grateful for your kind and detailed feedback =] thx

 

[Muffin Man]

welcome.

1. this is another case you could look into. with the cost of shipping, it only ends up being like around $30 cheaper, but maybe you can find somewhere else that will offer it w/ free or reduced shipping costs.
Newegg.com - Thermaltake LANBOX Lite VF6000BNS Black SECC Gaming Cube Computer Case - Computer Cases

some real reviews on it if you want (not newegg bs reviews)
EXTREME Overclocking - Thermaltake LANBOX Lite VF6000BNS Review - Page: 7 - Tweaking PC Hardware To The Max
techPowerUp :: Thermaltake LANBOX Lite Review :: Page 5 / 5

2. really, with your budget, amd would still be the way to go. their price/performance ratio is hard to beat in the lower price point.

here are some cpus to look at
Newegg.com - AMD Athlon II X4 620 Propus 2.6GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops
Newegg.com - AMD Phenom II X2 545 Callisto 3.0GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 80W Dual-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops
Newegg.com - AMD Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition Callisto 3.1GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 80W Dual-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops
AMD HDX710WFGIBOX Phenom II X3 710 2.6Ghz Socket AM3 95W 2.60 GHz AM3 3 x 512KB Desktop Processor Retail at ZipZoomfly
Newegg.com - AMD Phenom II X3 720 Black Edition Heka 2.8GHz 3 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops
Newegg.com - AMD Phenom II X4 925 Deneb 2.8GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops
+ more quads at higher price points.

3. i have no personal exp. with m-atx cases, but because it is a smaller form factor, youre probably not going to achieve the same cable management you could with a full tower. i guess part of it would be looking into a decent case and then just trying to get creative with the cables yourself.

4. best price/performance cards are w/ ati. 4850 and 4870 or their dx11 counterparts (sort of) 5750 and 5770.

past those would be a 4890, 5850, 5870 and/or 5970 but that card is pretty much your entire budget lol.

so realistically, youre probably looking at a 4890 and below.

not really sure about the misc q's >.<

5. i have no idea.

6. i have fios, and its pretty ****ing fast (for me anyway), but not 100mbps fast, more like 20/5 +/-

7. hm... cable ties maybe? dont really know about this either.

one last thing though, why start from scratch? you would probably be able to save a good bit of money if you re-use a couple things from your current rig. optical drive and hdd could save like maybe 50-60+ (idk what you currently have). why not reuse your 4870? sure, its not the latest gen but its still a good gaming card. you could also reuse your current psu maybe? just some thoughts here.

 

[Dynamic Sang]

thx for the reply

The reason i am trying to sell my whole computer and start from scratch
is because I don't have any money right now
What i get from selling my original comp will be my budget for the lan party rig
and if i took out any of the components inside my comp right now
i dont think ppl will buy it =[
if it wasnt for that I would for sure use the parts i have right now such as wd 500gb hdrive
OCZ stealthXstream 700w psu, OCZ REAPER 4gb RAM and hd 4870


anyways
I looked up on newegg and gathered together some parts

OCZ Fatal1ty OCZ550FTY 550W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Modular Active PFC Power Supply - Retail

LG DVD Burner Black SATA Model GH22NS50 - OEM

Thermaltake VF1000BWS Black Aluminum Front Panel/ SECC Chassis MicroATX Desktop Computer Case - Retail

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM

SAPPHIRE 100284L Radeon HD 5750 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card - Retail

those up above were all separate parts
and I found this new deal thing on newegg called DIY PC COMBO thing
and i thought it was a pretty good deal
the combo includes these things and takes off 50 bux as combo discount

GIGABYTE GA-MA785GM-US2H AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 785G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
XFX HD-467X-ZDF2 Radeon HD 4670 1GB 128-bit DDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card - Retail
Western Digital Caviar Green WD5000AADS 500GB SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Hard Drive -Bare Drive
AMD Athlon II X2 240 Regor 2.8GHz Socket AM3 65W Dual-Core Processor Model ADX240OCK23GQ - OEM
G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-2GBNQ - Retail
ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro Rev.2 92mm Fluid Dynamic CPU Cooler - Retail

the only thing i dont like about the combo is that it includes a crappy 4670 card which i dont need

so here are some more questions

1. Can 4670 run the latest games on highest settings? should i get an extra card like 5750 instead?

2. can that Artic Cooler CPU fan fit in the microATX case?

 

[Muffin Man]

1. it really depends on things like the game and res. that youre playing on.

you could play games like l4d and mw2 with a 4670 on mostly high or close to max settings if youre monitor isnt huge. but with a game like crysis, youre going to have to turn down the quality to get playable fps.

2. if youre talking about the case you listed then no, most likely not.

take a look here, this is a review of that case.
Thermaltake LanBox VF1000BWS Review

if you look at the 5th pic down, through the side window you can see how little clearance you actually have because the psu has to be mounted over the cpu.

you would probably have a better chance of fitting a cooler like this one
Newegg.com - ZALMAN CNPS8700 2 Ball CPU Cooler - CPU Fans & Heatsinks

the parts you had listed are good. you could save on the psu by going with a corsair 400w
Newegg.com - CORSAIR CMPSU-400CX 400W ATX12V V2.2 80 PLUS Certified Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - Power Supplies
that would run a 5750 just fine.

i would avoid lg drives. a few members here have had issues with them so... just a heads up i guess.

but really, i think youre going to be taking a performance hit by starting from scratch because its still not certain how much youre going to get for your system. i would really just sell what you can and reuse the good parts that you already have while saving up some more money. but thats just me though

if youre set on starting from scratch, i would focus on selling your current rig first before planning ahead too much so you can see how much money youll actually have to work with.

 

[Whirlwind]

Welcome to the forums.

The guys here will help you build a sweet lan rig.

My son also plays in CEVO.....he has played CSS since the first day it was released.

Good luck with your lan rig and enjoy your stay.

If you just play the most popular lan party games....most are not too power hungry so a video card will not cost you an arm and a leg.

 

[Fat.Clown]

why not pull the HD 4870 from current computer to use in LAN party rig?

in fact.... why not salvage other stuff like hard drive, processor, power supply and dvd burner while you are at it

then just sell off other parts you don't need?

 

[aliasaid]

what are the exact specifications of your old rig?

 

[Dynamic Sang]

My Old Rig Configuration:

CPU: AMD athlon 64 X2 Black Edition 2.8ghz base clock (Currently overclocked to 3.2ghz)

RAM(Memory): OCZ Reaper 4gb

Harddrive: Western Digital Caviar 500gb (32mb cache, 7200RPM)

Videocard: Gigabyte ATI HD 4870

Power Supply: OCZ StealthXStream 700w ( Sufficient power for two Video cards)

MotherBoard: Foxconn A7DA - S

LG DVD/CD driver/burner with Lightscribe

Case: Raidmax Smilodon w/ Blue Lghts



So far the selling isn't going rly good...
so i really dont have any money T_T

any suggestions on selling my old rig?

I don't know I just want to start all over so I just want to sell the whole computer if I can



I also looked at some new parts on newegg....

LG DVD Burner - Bulk Black SATA Model GH24NS50 - OEM

LIAN LI PC-V351B Black Aluminum MicroATX Desktop Computer Case - Retail

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

CORSAIR CMPSU-400CX 400W ATX12V V2.2 80 PLUS Certified Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - Retail

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ - Retail

AMD Phenom II X4 945 Deneb 3.0GHz Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Processor Model HDX945WFGIBOX - Retail

GIGABYTE GA-MA785GM-US2H AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 785G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

SAPPHIRE Vapor-X 100284VXL Radeon HD 5750 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card - Retail



This will probably be the final setting If I AM EVER AM ABLE TO BUILD THIS NEW RIG >_>

and I've used LG drives, and i haven't really had any problems and they seeem nice... (cheapest too)

any opinions on that case? I fell in love with it first time i saw it...

 

[Dynamic Sang]

Oh and One more question.....

Do I have a better chance selling my whole computer?

or

Do I have a better chance selling parts by parts..

 

[aliasaid]

Your old computer is pretty good. Some nice parts there. The 4870 is better than the 5750. I think you lose more money by selling your whole computer, because when you sell your used item it has to be quite a bit cheaper than the current price. I know you like that thermaltake case, and it is nice, but you should try to pick a case that supports regular ATX motherboards.

Your current motherboard supports AM3 cpus (i believe..), so the best upgrade would be to buy a new quad core cpu and a small case of your choice that supports your motherboard, and sell your current CPU and case. You're gonna need money on top of that though.

If you sell your whole computer and buy new parts, you're gonna get a less powerful computer.