Starting to research building my first computer

[VaultDwellnChick]

I've never built one before but i want a gaming computer and the general consensus is that building it yourself is going to give you more bang for your buck...plus i can brag about it if it works

I was reading a couple sites that say for intel, the best cpu is intel 2 quad processor. I don't know how updated that is because a lot of new computers i've looked at have i7. Is i7 the new better CPU?

I haven't decided between AMD and Intel yet. Have a lot of research to do.

I want to play fallout and Elder scrolls type games on it on max settings. So any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[VaultDwellnChick]

I guess my biggest question is if i should build the computer around the CPU or find the best Video card i want and build it around that instead...

 

[InsaneJester17]

Core 2 quad is not intel's best chip. I would say an i7-930 is the best intel chip to get right now without spending way to much. Personally, I like AMD and you should consider either the x4 955 or maybe the new x6 processors. I just think AMD is a better value for slightly lower performance.

How much are you looking to spend? I think it's much better to plan your build around what processor you want, since any graphics card will fit as long as the slot is right. But if you plan to run more than one graphics card you will want to check that the motherboard you decide to get is either Crossfire ready (ATI) or SLI ready (nVidia).

Edit:
This is an interesting read. Intel's i7-930 compared to AMD's new x6 1090t.
ARTICLE

 

[CalcProgrammer1]

I would say the i7 930, it's the chip I'm going with for my new build.
Newegg.com - Intel Core i7-930 Bloomfield 2.8GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Desktop Processor

This chip is Socket LGA 1366, so you'll need a Socket LGA 1366 motherboard. There are a lot of these around but you must balance price and features. I was looking at an ASUS board but then found this Gigabyte for cheaper. This board is ready for the future with USB3.0 ports and SATA3 ports for high speed devices. It also has PCI Express slots for new graphics cards.
Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD3R LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

As for graphics you could go with cutting edge or an older model. ATi and nVidia (the two leaders in graphics cards) both have released fairly new products, the ATi Radeon HD 5000 series and the nVidia GeForce GTX 400 series. They are pretty close in performance and it comes down to price and features. I originally wanted a GTX470 but then after reading some other threads here convinced myself that the RadeonHD 5870 was a better choice, so that's what I'm going with.


I would build around the CPU. These days almost all graphics cards use the PCI Express interface, and all new motherboards (both Intel and AMD) support this interface. If you find a processor you like, then find a suitable motherboard and as long as it has a PCI Express x16 slot you can stick in a new graphics card (if it has more than one PCI Express x16 and supports CrossFire/SLI you can use multiple graphics cards together).

 

[ZorrosRage]

overall AMD vs Intel gives you extremely similar performance. In games there is almost no difference. Price wise a amd phenom x4 or an i5 will prob be your best option.

Intel
an i5 750 is $200 2.66 quad
i7 920 2.66 quad (8core with HT) $279

AMD
a AMD Phenom II X4 955 3.2 Black Edition is $160
AMD Phenom II X6 1055T Thuban 2.8 $209