I am brand new to the forums but from what I have looked at the people on here are very helpful. My situation is that I am graduating from OSU in May and my Mom and Grandpa are giving me money to build/buy/order a computer as a graduation gift. Fresh out of college I have no debt because I went on a football scholarship so I feel very lucky. I am moving back home to Michigan to start a job and I want to build a great computer. I wasted way too much money on an alienware laptop a few years ago so I figured I would come here and get pro advice. Here goes what I am looking for in a computer.
Gaming: I am a WoW addict and have been playing since 2004. I am also looking forward to Starcraft 2 and maybe get into some FPS action like CS:Zero or anything else that looks fun. The computer will mainly be for gaming but I also want something that won't be outdated in 2 years. I know technology is always improving but I figure $3,000 should build a nice rig for now.
Music/Storage/DJ: My big hobby is that I am a DJ so I have a lot of MP3s. I use an external controller to run a program off my current laptop to make mixes and do music things. This isn't the main reason for the computer but I do have a lot of songs.
Work/etc... I don't know If work will require me to do things from home or take things home but the rig will be more than able to handle it.
Ok so now to the big question. With having $3,000 to spend and never building a computer before, would it be in my best interest to go with a site like ibuypower or cyberpowerpc.com to build the computer for me? I'm OCD when it comes to stuff but with no experience with building a rig I really don't want to mess anything up. Suggestions here would be greatly appreciated.
On to what I was looking at...
CPU: I've head the Intel Core i7 Processor 920 (4x 2.66GHz/8MB L3 Cache) is a very good processor so that is what I will most likely go with. I am really interested in OC'n this but for now I will go with the stock speed and maybe do that in the future. I heard the 940 really isn't worth the extra money.
Motherboard: I'm really open to suggestions here. I have Heard the Asus P6T is good but what about MSI and EVGA?
Case: I don't need anything really flashy but I do want something that is going to be efficient in the cooling department. I looked at the Zalman GS1000 Full Tower Gaming Case because it looks very clean but what would you guys recommend? I've heard that aluminum is better for a case but any suggestions here would be greatly appreciated.
Processor Cooling: The Coolermaster V8 CPU Cooling Fan System has seemed to have good reviews and I really don't want to mess with liquid cooling.
Video Card(s): Here is what I have been asking myself, "Do I really need 2 cards in SLI, or just have 1 card that is powerful enough?" I have been looking at the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 285 1GB but what about the GTX 295? If that is not enough then what would you guys recommend for 2 cards in SLI?
Ram: Would 6 GB [2 GB X3] DDR3-1600 Triple Memory Module be enough or should I go with more? Also should I go for DDR3-1866?
Sound Card: Is something like the Creative Lab Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio good enough for this category?
Hard Drive: I don't need that much room to store things but for the gaming drive I was looking at the WD Velociraptor WD3000GLFS 300GB. For the normal data storage something around like 500GB should be more than enough.
Power Source: I guess this would depend on if I go with 2 cards or just one. Anything from 900-1000 watts should be enough though right?
Optical Drive(s) Here I am mainly just looking for something to burn DVDs and CDs. I don't know if this is a very important part of the overall computer but I'm a newb so enlighten me with any advice. Something like the LG 22X Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Drive?
Network Card: Intel Pro 10/100/1000 Network Card?
Monitor: I will be buying this with the $ left over from the rig and out of my pocket. I think something 24"-26" should be more than enough. I was thinking something like the ASUS 26" Widescreen VW266H TFT LCD Monitor 1920x1200 /w HDCP?
Mouse/Keyboard: I love the feel of my friends Razer DeathAdder so that is most likely the mouse I am going with. I also like the look and the specs on the Razer Lycosa Gaming Keyboard but any other suggestions here would be appreciated.
Meter Display: I don't know if this is needed but I would like a way to keep track of my fan speeds and temps. I was thinking the NZXT Sentry LX Aluminum Fan Control, Clock, and Temperature LCD Display?
OS: I have heard bad things about Vista but I don't know If I really want to go with XP. Would Windows Vista Ultimate be a good choice here? Also 64bit I assume would be the choice? I have never really been told what is the difference between XP and Vista and 32 bit versus 64 bit? I know that sounds bad but again I am a newb and I want to learn as much as possible.
I already have my own speakers and headset so that category is taken care of.
This pretty much sums up what I am looking for. I built this computer on Ibuypower and it came out to around $3,000 but I don't know how much I would be saving by going through NewEgg and building it myself or by building it through cyberpowerpc.com. I would greatly appreciate any help and advice given to a gaming nerd who has the cash to make a great gaming rig. Thank you all for any help you can give me.
Gaming: I am a WoW addict and have been playing since 2004. I am also looking forward to Starcraft 2 and maybe get into some FPS action like CS:Zero or anything else that looks fun. The computer will mainly be for gaming but I also want something that won't be outdated in 2 years. I know technology is always improving but I figure $3,000 should build a nice rig for now.
Music/Storage/DJ: My big hobby is that I am a DJ so I have a lot of MP3s. I use an external controller to run a program off my current laptop to make mixes and do music things. This isn't the main reason for the computer but I do have a lot of songs.
Work/etc... I don't know If work will require me to do things from home or take things home but the rig will be more than able to handle it.
Ok so now to the big question. With having $3,000 to spend and never building a computer before, would it be in my best interest to go with a site like ibuypower or cyberpowerpc.com to build the computer for me? I'm OCD when it comes to stuff but with no experience with building a rig I really don't want to mess anything up. Suggestions here would be greatly appreciated.
On to what I was looking at...
CPU: I've head the Intel Core i7 Processor 920 (4x 2.66GHz/8MB L3 Cache) is a very good processor so that is what I will most likely go with. I am really interested in OC'n this but for now I will go with the stock speed and maybe do that in the future. I heard the 940 really isn't worth the extra money.
Motherboard: I'm really open to suggestions here. I have Heard the Asus P6T is good but what about MSI and EVGA?
Case: I don't need anything really flashy but I do want something that is going to be efficient in the cooling department. I looked at the Zalman GS1000 Full Tower Gaming Case because it looks very clean but what would you guys recommend? I've heard that aluminum is better for a case but any suggestions here would be greatly appreciated.
Processor Cooling: The Coolermaster V8 CPU Cooling Fan System has seemed to have good reviews and I really don't want to mess with liquid cooling.
Video Card(s): Here is what I have been asking myself, "Do I really need 2 cards in SLI, or just have 1 card that is powerful enough?" I have been looking at the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 285 1GB but what about the GTX 295? If that is not enough then what would you guys recommend for 2 cards in SLI?
Ram: Would 6 GB [2 GB X3] DDR3-1600 Triple Memory Module be enough or should I go with more? Also should I go for DDR3-1866?
Sound Card: Is something like the Creative Lab Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio good enough for this category?
Hard Drive: I don't need that much room to store things but for the gaming drive I was looking at the WD Velociraptor WD3000GLFS 300GB. For the normal data storage something around like 500GB should be more than enough.
Power Source: I guess this would depend on if I go with 2 cards or just one. Anything from 900-1000 watts should be enough though right?
Optical Drive(s) Here I am mainly just looking for something to burn DVDs and CDs. I don't know if this is a very important part of the overall computer but I'm a newb so enlighten me with any advice. Something like the LG 22X Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Drive?
Network Card: Intel Pro 10/100/1000 Network Card?
Monitor: I will be buying this with the $ left over from the rig and out of my pocket. I think something 24"-26" should be more than enough. I was thinking something like the ASUS 26" Widescreen VW266H TFT LCD Monitor 1920x1200 /w HDCP?
Mouse/Keyboard: I love the feel of my friends Razer DeathAdder so that is most likely the mouse I am going with. I also like the look and the specs on the Razer Lycosa Gaming Keyboard but any other suggestions here would be appreciated.
Meter Display: I don't know if this is needed but I would like a way to keep track of my fan speeds and temps. I was thinking the NZXT Sentry LX Aluminum Fan Control, Clock, and Temperature LCD Display?
OS: I have heard bad things about Vista but I don't know If I really want to go with XP. Would Windows Vista Ultimate be a good choice here? Also 64bit I assume would be the choice? I have never really been told what is the difference between XP and Vista and 32 bit versus 64 bit? I know that sounds bad but again I am a newb and I want to learn as much as possible.
I already have my own speakers and headset so that category is taken care of.
This pretty much sums up what I am looking for. I built this computer on Ibuypower and it came out to around $3,000 but I don't know how much I would be saving by going through NewEgg and building it myself or by building it through cyberpowerpc.com. I would greatly appreciate any help and advice given to a gaming nerd who has the cash to make a great gaming rig. Thank you all for any help you can give me.
