Need Help Building Gaming PC

[Solaxys]

Anyway, I have ~2000 bucks in budget for this.
I want to build a decent, high-end gaming pc, that will technically last me 2.5 years without needing any major upgrades.
I am not a computer-phile so I have no idea what the **** to do, or where to begin, or what to invest more money into... argh lol.
No idea what's the use of RAID is, or how and what to overclock to achieve what, and so on and so forth.

I am not really looking for a tutorial atm, already reading up on stuff.
All I need is "where to begin, or what to invest more money into" and perhaps some suggestions of parts...
Thanks =)

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iBUYPOWER Chimera LX2 Gaming PC - Intel Core i7 920, 12GB DDR3, 1TB HDD, (2) GTX260 SLI, DVDRW, 800W, Vista Home Premium 64 in Canada at TigerDirect.ca
^^ is that computer any good?

 

[baron5]

That computer is really a rip off, the motherboard is not very good and its most likely that the ddr1333 ram is not at good timings. You can make a much better build for less than that. You definitely want to go with a core i7 and a gtx 285 at this time. Something like this would be great;

Newegg.ca - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, Digital Cameras and more!
Newegg.ca - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, Digital Cameras and more!
Newegg.ca - EVGA 01G-P3-1180-AR GeForce GTX 285 1GB 512-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards
Newegg.ca - CORSAIR CMPSU-850HX 850W ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 2.91 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply - Power Supplies
Newegg.ca - Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST31000528AS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - Internal Hard Drives
Newegg.ca - COOLER MASTER HAF 932 RC-932-KKN1-GP Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Computer Cases

This is just an example, you could get SLI gtx 285's for under 2000 shipped, this comes to1894 without a dvd drive (no good ones on newegg atm). Really i would just go with a corsair 750tx and one gtx285, that would last your 2.5 years at low settings i would say, and you will always have the option of upgrading if you want to along the way. Unless your gaming at a high resolution, 1920x1200 or higher you wont really need sli gtx 285's, it owuld be better to just upgrade your graphics card in a year or so and it will last longer.

 

[Solaxys]

Well I was looking stuff up, and this seems like I can work with:

Processor:
Intel Core i7 920 Processor BX80601920 - 2.66GHz, LGA 1366, 4.8GT/s QPI, 8MB L3 Cache, Quad-Core, HyperThreading, Bloomfield, Retail
Intel Core i7 920 Processor BX80601920 - 2.66GHz, LGA 1366, 4.8GTs QPI, 8MB L3 Cache, Quad-Core, HyperThreading, Bloomfield, Retail in Canada at TigerDirect.ca

Motherboard:
EVGA E760 CLASSIFIED "Overclocker's Pick" 3-Way SLI (x8) + PhysX 1366 Intel X58 EATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Newegg.com - EVGA E760 CLASSIFIED "Overclocker's Pick" 3-Way SLI (x8) + PhysX 1366 Intel X58 EATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards

GPU(s):
EVGA GeForce GTX 280 Video Card - 1GB GDDR3, PCI Express 2.0, (Dual Link) Dual DVI, HDTV, Dual VGA Support [x2]
EVGA GeForce GTX 280 Video Card - 1GB GDDR3, PCI Express 2.0, (Dual Link) Dual DVI, HDTV, Dual VGA Support 01G-P3-1280-TR in Canada at TigerDirect.ca

[so SLI-linked]

Memory (RAM):
OCZ Gold Tri Channel 12GB PC10666 DDR3 Memory - 1333MHz, 12288MB (6 x 2048MB), CL9
OCZ Gold Tri Channel 12GB PC10666 DDR3 Memory - 1333MHz, 12288MB (6 x 2048MB), CL9 OCZ3G1333LV12GS in Canada at TigerDirect.ca

Power Supply:
KINGWIN Mach 1 ABT-1000MA1S 1000W ATX / BTX SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply - Retail
Newegg.com - KINGWIN Mach 1 ABT-1000MA1S 1000W ATX / BTX SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply - Power Supplies

Hard Drive: (?)
Fan(s): (?)
Cooling System: (?)
Sound Card: (?)
Computer Case: (?)
Networking: (?)
Monitor: (?)
Keyboard/Mouse: (?)
Accessories: (?)
Burner/Reader: (?)

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So ya, I need all those question marks filled
I can stretch the 2k a bit - closer to 3k
But I am not sure if what I put up is an overkill lol, and if it's going to last.
I know the cost is already nearing 2k, but what do you guys suggest.

As I said, I generally need it for 2 - 2.5 years, without major problems really.
Or Should I drop to a lower:

Intel i7 920 (same as above)
ASUS P6T LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
2 times ATI Radeon HD 4870 (SAPPHIRE Vapor-X Radeon HD 4870 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card – Retail)
OCZ 12GB (same as above)
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F1 HD103UJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM
Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer PCI OEM Sound Card - Refurbished
(TigDir)
CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX 850W ATX12V 2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply
and whatever other stuff come out to.

===

Monitor = HDTV, more or less - maybe I'll get a dual monitor too (this one is outside the 2k cost budget)

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Summary:
- Is that overkill?
- Any way I can fill those spots [with the (?) up there] relatively cheaply (maybe not the cooling system - I want a decent one - as I said want it to last for 2 - 2.5 years without major problems; I can upgrade some parts across these 2 years, but my money will be seriously packed and don't want to stretch it)
- I am more or less interested in a decent cooling system, case, networking adapters, and the burner from this site members - rest I can figure out myself.

[TY - and please do suggest any replacements that would provide similar performance yet are cheaper/quieter/smoother - any other nice adjective to the ear ]

Pricing:
The first build with the SLI GTX 280 (896 MB) = 1841.92 bucks (but parts are still missing )
The second build with the ATI Radeon HD 4870 Crossfire (2 GB) = 1677.92 (relatively the same, but I have the soundcard + hard drive also picked out) so really, if compared with the first build = 1477.92
~400 bucks difference

... ya lol.
But as I said, I don't mind stretching the 2k a bit so I can keep the computer generally stable for 2 - 2.5 years.


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ok that ends my long rant, go ahead - shower this noob with knowledge =)

 

[philbar71]

Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-EX58-EXTREME LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards

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

Newegg.com - OCZ Flex EX 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1866 (PC3 15000) Desktop Memory Model OCZ3FXE1866LV6GK - Desktop Memory

Newegg.com - XFX GX285XZWFF GeForce GTX 285 1GB 512-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

Newegg.com - CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX 850W ATX12V 2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply - Power Supplies

Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - Internal Hard Drives

Newegg.com - SAMSUNG Black 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 22X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 22X DVD±R DVD Burner LightScribe Support - CD / DVD Burners

total is $1526 leaves plenty of room left over for a case of choice and you can add a second GTX 285 later on down the road.

 

[Muffin Man]

philbar

Newegg.com - OCZ Flex EX 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1866 (PC3 15000) Desktop Memory Model OCZ3FXE1866LV6GK - Desktop Memory

$360 ram??, thats seem a tad ridiculous. or is there something special that i am not reading? plus he's in canada so it would cost even more.

i would say, go with baron's build. but this seems to be a re-occurring trend that ive seen a couple times here, spending more money now, won't make your pc be "up to date" longer. technology advances too fast, and the best you can do is make a few upgrades when you need to further down the line.

 

[philbar71]

^ look at the timings at the MHZ speed. plus he has 2k to spend, why not go with nice stuff?

 

[Solaxys]

philbar

Newegg.com - OCZ Flex EX 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1866 (PC3 15000) Desktop Memory Model OCZ3FXE1866LV6GK - Desktop Memory

$360 ram??, thats seem a tad ridiculous. or is there something special that i am not reading? plus he's in canada so it would cost even more.

i would say, go with baron's build. but this seems to be a re-occurring trend that ive seen a couple times here, spending more money now, won't make your pc be "up to date" longer. technology advances too fast, and the best you can do is make a few upgrades when you need to further down the line.

Lol, I never said I wanted it "up to date".
I wanted a decent computer that'll last me 2-years or so and keep up relatively with the games coming out - and then I'll start updating piece by piece as time goes by.

As I said, I am just starting university, and things are gonna get tight for the next two years (after that I have co-op so I can spend to my heart's liking )

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P.s. I have a budget of 5k - but I am thinking of splitting it between this and a macbook pro 13".
Though I want to include the HDTV/Dual monitor in the budget of 5k. - Thus the 2k allocation for this computer.

Btw, for the build "I" suggested with the SLI GTX 280 - does this case work? (1000 W power system btw)

Cooler Master HAF 932 Full Tower Black Case
Cooler Master HAF 932 Full Tower Black Case RC-932-KKN1-GP in Canada at TigerDirect.ca

--- Ty for the help.

[I might bump up to SLI GTX 285 - depends how the money flows in the end]

 

[Thresh25]

^ look at the timings at the MHZ speed. plus he has 2k to spend, why not go with nice stuff?

Those timings are good but the reason its 360 bucks is cuz its for watercooling. He isn't doing that so it's a complete waste of money..

 

[baron5]

That case will work but the build i mentioned is much better, if you want the most out of your 2g then thats the way to go. alternatively put in a gigabyte UD5 instead of the ud4p and drop to one gtx 285. You don't need 12gb of ram and its better to get ddr3 1600 because ddr3 at 1333 reasonable timings is not worth the cash. Also i have never heard of kingwin so their power supplies are probably not very good, stick to wat we are telling you.

You dont need a soundcard unless you really value gaming surround sound and want clear music, TBH the onboard HD sound is more then enough for most people.
For a cooling system you would want to get the sunbeam core contact cpu cooler
Newegg.com - Sunbeam CR-CCTF 120 mm Core-Contact Freezer CPU Cooler W/TX-2 - CPU Fans & Heatsinks
I7 mounting bracket - Newegg.com - Sunbeam CR-LGA1366 LGA 1366 Core I7 Socket Retention Bracket Set - CPU Fans & Heatsinks
fans will be supplied with the case and there is no need to get more/change them.

 

[Apokalipse]

^ look at the timings at the MHZ speed. plus he has 2k to spend, why not go with nice stuff?

The money would be better spent elsewhere