How can I make this Gaming RiG better than it is?

[Antikaratekid]

Take the Challenge: Improve my RIG!

Hey, I am kinda switching to PC gaming after playing consoles for a while. This place seems full of awesome people, so I'll need your brainpower! Basically everything I have so far is almost $1500 ( I didnt list my Hard drive and some stuff). I would like to keep it under 1500.

THis is a link to my wishlist.
Newegg.com - Once You Know, You Newegg

Quite honestly I am scared I will purchase the wrong parts for a 1600 X 1050 gaming rig. I am looking forward to games like DOW 2 which uses the COmpany of Heroes engine. Based on this I would like to be able to max out without a hitch company of heroes, witcher, stuff like that. NOT playing crysis though :laughing:.

What do you think about this parts? Are they compatible?

I am expecially worried if my sound card will work with the speakers and if my motherboard is any good.

Your help is intensely appreciated and I will be refreshing this page often!

1. Case: Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower

Newegg.com - Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Computer Cases

2. MOTHERBOARD: GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3R LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard

Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3R LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards

3. CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz LGA 775 Quad-Core

Newegg.com - Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz 2 x 4MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops

4. GPU: XFX GX260NADBF GeForce GTX 260 Black Edition Core 216 896MB 448-bit GDDR3

Newegg.com - XFX GX260NADBF GeForce GTX 260 Black Edition Core 216 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

5. MEMORY: G.SKILL PI Black 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)

Newegg.com - G.SKILL PI Black 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory

6. SPEAKERS: ALTEC LANSING FX3022 25 Watts RMS 2.0 Expressionist BASS Speaker

Newegg.com - ALTEC LANSING FX3022 25 Watts RMS 2.0 Expressionist BASS Speaker - Speakers

7. SOUND CARD: ASUS Xonar DX 7.1 Channels PCI Express Interface Sound Card

Newegg.com - ASUS Xonar DX 7.1 Channels PCI Express Interface Sound Card - Sound Cards

8. POWER SUPPLY: CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX 550W ATX12V V2.2 SLI Ready

Newegg.com - CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX 550W ATX12V V2.2 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Power Supplies

 

[jester070993]

none of your links work

 

[Antikaratekid]

none of your links work

Very sorry. Here you go!

 

[spigen]

I would probably go with this instead of the q6600
Newegg.com - Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Wolfdale 3.16GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops

better clock speed, runs cooler than quads.

and you might want to look into getting a nvidia board which allows SLI

Newegg.com - XFX MB-N780-ISH9 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 780i SLI Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards

and I would get a Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi sound card.

and this power supply is much better
Newegg.com - CORSAIR CMPSU-620HX 620W ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V 2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply - Power Supplies

 

[Evolv]

I would get this Evga GTX 260 instead:
Newegg.com - EVGA 896-P3-1265-AR GeForce GTX 260 Gore 216 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

You can easily overclock it to the Black Edition speeds and it still comes with Far Cry 2. And it comes with a lifetime warranty, can't beat that.

 

[Antikaratekid]

I would probably go with this instead of the q6600
Newegg.com - Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Wolfdale 3.16GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops

better clock speed, runs cooler than quads.

and you might want to look into getting a nvidia board which allows SLI

Newegg.com - XFX MB-N780-ISH9 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 780i SLI Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards

and I would get a Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi sound card.

and this power supply is much better
Newegg.com - CORSAIR CMPSU-620HX 620W ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V 2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply - Power Supplies

Thanks alot for your help.

I heard some bad things about Creative, is that better than Asus. I was also under the impression that Quad was the way to go for future games.

1 more thing. If I plan on staying at 1600 x1050, isnt SLI overkill?

I would get this Evga GTX 260 instead:
Newegg.com - EVGA 896-P3-1265-AR GeForce GTX 260 Gore 216 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

You can easily overclock it to the Black Edition speeds and it still comes with Far Cry 2. And it comes with a lifetime warranty, can't beat that.

Hmm overclock huh. I am a techno noob so is it that hard? And afterwards is it going to be the exact same as the BLack edition?

 

[veg1992]

Performance wise it would be equal

 

[Evolv]

It's easy to overclock video cards. Just use Rivatuner:
RivaTuner v2.21 download from Guru3D.com

 

[overlord20]

I would change the q6600 to a E8500 or Q9550 depending on your budget. Both of them are faster than the Q6600 and will overclock higher. The recent batches of the Q6600 tend to have bad vids and as a result can't overclock very high.

Newegg.com - Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Wolfdale 3.16GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops

Newegg.com - Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 Yorkfield 2.83GHz 12MB L2 Cache LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops

this should explain for the most part..

 

[Valdeam]

That looks like it's going to be one fun rig. You gotta post up some pics when you're done building it. Any case mods?