Help me build a gaming PC

[lotkrotan]

You see these all the time, mine is no different. I know I want DX10 support, and it'd be nice to be able to play games that come out within the next year or so... I've been working my ass off (2 doubles in a row next week :-/) and been pulling in about $350 a week after taxes/bills, so I think that I can start planning my parts.

I have a monitor (19 inch westinghouse that supports DVI and resolutions up to 1440x900) so that doesn't need to be put into the cost.

I hear a lot about processors, I am 100% I want a duo core processor from Intel, but I have no idea about speeds. Also, what's the benefits of Quad Cores?

for GPU, I want something that will handle games like Unreal 3 when it comes out. So I'm guessing that means the 8800 series? I have no idea personally, I've never built a PC.

I also need to know how much RAM is good for a gaming PC, and what brands to trust.

Is a PPU like the Aegia card really necessary? I know I can download full versions of games for free if I get the card, but will it help in other games?

Cooling is a major issue, because I have no idea about any of it. I can probaly deal with a lot of fan noise, and I will admit, liquid cooling sounds cool, but seems expensive and just feels unsafe.

I think that covers everything, I don't need a super flashy case, a DVD RW drive is all I need (screw BR/HD DVD for now), and I don't need a super awesome surround sound system for my PC, standard speakers (maybe a 2.1 system) will be fine.

Any advice on gaming mice? I know that all I have is a $15 walmart mouse XD

thanks for all your help, I am aware of sites like eBay and Newegg, so I can do some price research, but are there any sites that will allow you to choose parts, have them installed, and have a warranty? I figure I can get at least $2,000 by the end of summer for this PC, maybe more, so price will be the least of my worries for now.

[Jenga]

On July 22nd, Intel is cutting costs on their CPUs. The Quad Core is getting reduced to about $266, while the E6600 and the other dual-cores will be in the $140-200 range. Quad-cores are EXTREMELY fast. I'd say they're worth it. However, PC games are just now starting to support multiple cores, so it's up to you.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130038
This 8800 GTS is a great DX10 card. Can run most DX9 games flawlessly. Don't bother with the 640 version.

Corsair and Kingston are pretty good RAM makers. This good one is $80 after rebate.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145590
By the way, it all depends on what your motherboard can support. Can it support 800mhz RAM?

That Physics card really isn't necessary.

Dunno about cooling. Just buy one of those fans. This one seems good from the reviews.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118223

[501105]

I would suggest the same as the person above me except 2 things.

The foxconn 8800gts oc is the same price as the evga one but a bit faster because of a higher overlock.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814186020

And secondly I would say get an e6750, this new intel cpu will come out this month and will be cheaper then the e6600 but it is slightly faster making it a great deal.

[lotkrotan]

so, I need to find a mother board with at least 2 sockets for RAM that supports 800 mHz?

I want this to be a beast, something that will last me through crysis

[lotkrotan]

I was browsing motherboards on newegg, and I have no idea what to look for. Any suggestions there?

[Jenga]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128046

[TheVinster]

Good luck on your PC, I wish I had a job so I could afford new stuff. I hate going to my friend's house, he plays his 360 on his monitor via VGA cables, and his monitor is HD as well as wide-screen, it looks fantastic. I'm jealous.

[Mr.Bubblez]

just letting you know, 1440x900 really isnt that great for a monitor.

[MultiVaC]

Remember that if you want DX10 you need Vista. And gaming on Vista needs about 2GB of RAM.

Don't forget to make sure you power supply is adequate, especially if you get a really crazy video card like the 8800 GTX.

After Intel's price drops a quad core would be reasonable. It would be good for future games that will take full advatage of it..

[redrain85]

I hear a lot about processors, I am 100% I want a duo core processor from Intel, but I have no idea about speeds. Also, what's the benefits of Quad Cores?
If you want quad core (and you'll definitely want it for Crysis), then wait until after July 22nd when Intel is supposed to drop the prices on all their processors. Just buy the least expensive quad and you'll be set.

for GPU, I want something that will handle games like Unreal 3 when it comes out. So I'm guessing that means the 8800 series? I have no idea personally, I've never built a PC.
Right now, the 8800GTS seems to be the best pick. The 8800GTX is a bit faster, but also quite a bit more expensive.

I also need to know how much RAM is good for a gaming PC, and what brands to trust.
Get 2GB for sure. Having 4GB might be nice, but then you really need to be running the 64-bit version of Vista to take advantage of it properly.

For brands, almost any brand is fine. I personally like Corsair, but others like OCZ, Mushkin, and even Patriot are good.

Is a PPU like the Aegia card really necessary? I know I can download full versions of games for free if I get the card, but will it help in other games?
No, an Aegia card would be pretty useless and a waste of money. Very few games are being written to use it.

Cooling is a major issue, because I have no idea about any of it. I can probaly deal with a lot of fan noise, and I will admit, liquid cooling sounds cool, but seems expensive and just feels unsafe.
Liquid cooling is nice, but adds to the expense of building your rig. Air cooling should still suffice.

Any advice on gaming mice? I know that all I have is a $15 walmart mouse XD
Get a Logitech MX518 or G5 mouse. They're a couple of the best around.

are there any sites that will allow you to choose parts, have them installed, and have a warranty?
Not really. Places like Newegg just sell you the parts. It's up to you to put them together. Other than places like Dell that sell pre-built systems, the only places that put components together for you are local small computer shops.

[Jenga]

By the way, for now I'd just stick with XP. Vista has some issues currently, and I hear the 64-bit version is even worse.

[lotkrotan]

just letting you know, 1440x900 really isnt that great for a monitor.

I know, but my priority right now is the PC itself, I have a adequate monitor, that can be upgraded easily.

So, I see some combo deals on newegg for video cards, I get the card and the power supply, I get the RAM, I get the mother board, I get a case, I get the sound card (I don't need anything fancy), I get a hard drive (good brand recommendations? Also, what's good RPM and whatever specs I need to know for a HDD?), and I piece it all together, install some windows, and I'm all set?

The only problem with XP is that I'd have to get a pirated copy, as no retailers still sell copies... I had been using Vista with my laptop and liked it (minus lack of support for some software I enjoyed).

I was thinking about perhaps two HDDs, with one booting XP, and one booting vista, is that a very complicated process? (I have a friend that does XP for gaming and Linux for everything else)

Sounds like I should stick with 2gb of ram, as I don't really want/need a 64-bit OS.

So from what I've gathered:

intel based motherboard that allows at least 800 mhz for RAM speed (the one linked was great)
Crosair or other ram 2 GB
8800 GTS card
wait for price drop on Quad
pick my own mouse/audio card/case/keyboard
get a hard drive (or 2)
Get XP and wait for SP1 vista, or just jump right into vista (both will have me purchasing vista at some point)

am I missing anything? Also, about cooling, how can I tell what tempatures are good/bad for my components, and how would I go about adding more cooling?

[Mr.Bubblez]

quadcore is pointless right now, its a huge waste of money for a gaming rig.

the other specs you listed are pretty good. tbh, i havent followed things that much since I built my computer late last year, so who knows, my advice might be wrong. Right now I have an ASUS P5B which I really love. Its a fantastic motherboard for overclocking if thats what you want.

[Mr.Bubblez]

for harddrives seagate is the best brand with the best warranty. if you want speed buy two and Raid 0 em.

[Mr.Bubblez]

again sorry for the triple post... :(

cooling should not be a huge problem as long as you add some case fans. personally i like to add a fan for active cooling on my RAM. its very easy to do with some rubber bands and zipties.

[lotkrotan]

I'm not sure how to overclock, is it a hard process?

People keep talking about the intel drop, does that effect all processors? If so, I may go with the 2.6 Core 2 (that is the fastest core 2 they have that isn't overkill right?)

[Mr.Bubblez]

ok man its really late right now, im going to bed. but tomorrow ill take 10 min and rummage around pricegrabber for ya.

[501105]

Well basically the new models will be introduced and the lower ones like the e6600 will get a lower price at first but will be taken out of stock pretty soon.

[redrain85]

I get a hard drive (good brand recommendations? Also, what's good RPM and whatever specs I need to know for a HDD?)
Both Western Digital and Seagate are good. And 7200 RPM is fine.

I was thinking about perhaps two HDDs, with one booting XP, and one booting vista, is that a very complicated process?
No, it's pretty easy to boot from multiple OSes.

quadcore is pointless right now, its a huge waste of money for a gaming rig.
I know, but he said he wanted to build a rig that could handle Crysis without having to upgrade again. Crysis is about the only game that will really need quad core.

Also, once the price drop hits, the cheapest quad won't be that much more than the most expensive dual core. Something like $80 difference if I remember right.

[borgdrone89]

On July 22nd, Intel is cutting costs on their CPUs. The Quad Core is getting reduced to about $266, while the E6600 and the other dual-cores will be in the $140-200 range. Quad-cores are EXTREMELY fast. I'd say they're worth it. However, PC games are just now starting to support multiple cores, so it's up to you.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130038
This 8800 GTS is a great DX10 card. Can run most DX9 games flawlessly. Don't bother with the 640 version.
yeah, the GTS is splendid bang for your buck, i hear. you may even want to go crossfire (or whatever the 2 cards in dual is called)

Corsair and Kingston are pretty good RAM makers. This good one is $80 after rebate.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145590
By the way, it all depends on what your motherboard can support. Can it support 800mhz RAM?
corsair, kingston, OCZ are good brands, so is A-DATA (i have it, and a hardware-savvy friend says A-DATA is a good brand)

That Physics card really isn't necessary.
i think i read somewhere that DX10 cards have inbuilt physics capabilities? cant remember
Dunno about cooling. Just buy one of those fans. This one seems good from the reviews.
yeah, just buy a case with strategically placed fan ports, and try to make sure they are for big (120 mm if possible) fans, as this reduces noise.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118223

the bolded text in this quote is what i have added.

[borgdrone89]

By the way, for now I'd just stick with XP. Vista has some issues currently, and I hear the 64-bit version is even worse. not many issues in the 32-bit vista (i have it). there are a few incompatibilites with some older programs (older versions of irfanview, for example, will not install), but apart from that, vista is better IMO.

[lotkrotan]

thanks for all the help guys, looks like I'm gonna be busting my ass at work in order to get the money for all this :) I look forward to get into PC gaming past Warcraft and The Sims :P

[Bioshock_FTW!]

Hey lotkrotan let me know if you have any unanswered questions. I didn't really chime in but it seemed like a lot of response to your question and I wanted to make sure you're not confused about anything :)

[lotkrotan]

this is the motherboard I'm looking at http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131182

it doesn't seem half bad, it supports 1066 DDR2 RAM (which I plan on getting) and has built in Wi-Fi, among other things. Just making sure this is a good choice.

[Bioshock_FTW!]

That's a great board.

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=144199&highlight=ASUS+P5K+DELUXE

[Mr.Bubblez]

i pretty much agree with what everyone is saying. However, I think you should buy a cheap CPU. Why? Because you can always upgrade later and sell the old CPU at a small loss.

[lotkrotan]

I don't really want to wait to upgrade the CPU, as I have school coming in the fall, and want to get all the big purchases out of the way before I need to buy books and stuff.

http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16820145043

that's the RAM I'm looking at, is it possible to get another of this stick later on and have 4 gb ram with no problems?

I have also found a monitor I may wish to splurge on...

http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16824001234

it's bigger and with better resolution than my current monitor.

After I find all the parts I want/need, I'll post them all here and make sure everything checks out.

For a case, I picked out a Full Size ATX Tower, that should do the trick right?

I picked out a cheap Turtle Beach (have a nice gaming headset from them) PCI sound card, that should be fine right?

Is a 500w Power Supply sufficient? or should I go higher? Also is a surge protector necessary? I may want to invest in a new one.

Well, I believe that this rig is at about 2,200 right now with everything I have in it (2 HDD, I decided to go with the 8800gtx, mouse, keyboard, speaker system, monitor, 2 g RAM at 1066, motherboard I linked, Power Supply, and case.) and all I need to add is the processor post price drop. I will get a lot of money back from rebates from this, but I also need to add price for XP (and someday) Vista.

again thanks for all the help.

[redrain85]

is it possible to get another of this stick later on and have 4 gb ram with no problems?
Yes, as long as you're willing to switch to 64-bit Vista when you upgrade the RAM. Running 4GB on XP and 32-bit Vista is somewhat problematic.

For a case, I picked out a Full Size ATX Tower, that should do the trick right?
I'd go for a mid-tower, but that's my personal preference. A full size tower seems overkill these days.

I picked out a cheap Turtle Beach (have a nice gaming headset from them) PCI sound card, that should be fine right?
I'd personally stay away from Turtle Beach sound cards. The make nice cards (or at least, they used to) but their driver support is poor.

Probably the best pick right now (if you're willing to pay for it) is the Auzentech X-Fi Prelude. This is the card I plan to buy when I upgrade in a couple of months.

http://www.auzentech.com/site/products/x-fi_prelude.php

Is a 500w Power Supply sufficient? or should I go higher? Also is a surge protector necessary? I may want to invest in a new one.
I would say no. I think 700W is a good choice. Should be able to handle anything you throw at it.

[redrain85]

Oops, I missed the part about the surge protector. Definitely get a good one. In fact, get a UPS if you can afford it. Those things are lifesavers when there's a blackout. I can't count how many time I've been able to shut down my PC safely thanks to my UPS, whenever the power goes out.

[lurchibald]

Oops, I missed the part about the surge protector. Definitely get a good one. In fact, get a UPS if you can afford it. Those things are lifesavers when there's a blackout. I can't count how many time I've been able to shut down my PC safely thanks to my UPS, whenever the power goes out.

get one that has its own warranty some usually cover $40,000 worth of items

[v.dog]

As for cases, shop around I picked up a second hand ATX server case for $NZ15.

[lotkrotan]

Yes, as long as you're willing to switch to 64-bit Vista when you upgrade the RAM. Running 4GB on XP and 32-bit Vista is somewhat problematic.

is that something they plan on fixing? Like, in a service pack or something, because I really don't want to get 64 bit vista, more resources taken up for the OS...


I'd go for a mid-tower, but that's my personal preference. A full size tower seems overkill these days.

alright, I was reading that the GTX is huge, that wouldn't need a full size case? I will probably just end up looking up some dimensions for mid size cases to see if everything can fit.


I'd personally stay away from Turtle Beach sound cards. The make nice cards (or at least, they used to) but their driver support is poor.

Probably the best pick right now (if you're willing to pay for it) is the Auzentech X-Fi Prelude. This is the card I plan to buy when I upgrade in a couple of months.

I don't need/want a 7.1 card, I just need a decent 5.1 with a good frequency range. I only plan on using a 2.1 system on the card.


I would say no. I think 700W is a good choice. Should be able to handle anything you throw at it.

ok thanks :) I'll link my final wishlist when this is all said and done.

[Bioshock_FTW!]

that's the RAM I'm looking at, is it possible to get another of this stick later on and have 4 gb ram with no problems?

Yes. So long as you buy 2x 1GB each time and don't have an odd number of dual-channel sticks, you'll be fine.

I personally believe the 24" monitor is a bit of overkill for that price, but if you wanna splurge, more power to ya :)
I only say that because 22" 1680x1050 is up to $250 cheaper and I can't imagine the difference being that significant between that price difference; but like I said, that's just me :)


For a case, I picked out a Full Size ATX Tower, that should do the trick right?


If you want good airflow, yes.


I picked out a cheap Turtle Beach (have a nice gaming headset from them) PCI sound card, that should be fine right?

Like redrain said, these guys make some amazing hardware but the driver support is just not there these days. Turtle beach caters to sound engineers more so than to gamers.
I say stick with Creative; either the X-Fi or Audigy4


Is a 500w Power Supply sufficient? or should I go higher? Also is a surge protector necessary? I may want to invest in a new one.

Some may beg to disagree on this but I think 500 will be fine. If you ever plan on going SLI though, you'll definitely need an upgrade.


but I also need to add price for XP (and someday) Vista.

PM me if you're interested in a copy of XP Pro 64 bit that hasn't been activated. A friend of mine just bought XP Pro 64 but decided at the last minute he wanted to go with Vista. It'll be cheaper than retail. If not, no worries :)

[redrain85]

is that something they plan on fixing? Like, in a service pack or something, because I really don't want to get 64 bit vista, more resources taken up for the OS...
Nope. If you want more than 2GB, you're going to have to switch to Vista 64-bit. Running 4GB on XP and 32-bit Vista is an immense headache.

alright, I was reading that the GTX is huge, that wouldn't need a full size case?
A GTX will fit in a mid-tower. But again, this choice is a matter of personal preference really. I personally just don't like having such a huge case.

Bioshock_FTW! gave some good advice too, I agree with what he said so I won't repeat the same things.

[Bioshock_FTW!]

Going back to redrain's response to this, i forgot to answer about it:


alright, I was reading that the GTX is huge, that wouldn't need a full size case? I will probably just end up looking up some dimensions for mid size cases to see if everything can fit.


It definitely fits in a mid-size ATX case, but the problem is (depending on the case), it severely restricts airflow. I strongly suggest Lian Li for cases. Their full size cases are genuinely beautiful. If I had my choice, I'd get one of these (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112062)

[lotkrotan]

I personally believe the 24" monitor is a bit of overkill for that price, but if you wanna splurge, more power to ya :)
I only say that because 22" 1680x1050 is up to $250 cheaper and I can't imagine the difference being that significant between that price difference; but like I said, that's just me :)

I looked into 19-22" monitors, but none supported 1920x1200, and I decided if I was going to upgrade my monitor, I wanted to support 1080p for my 360. I actually found a 28" that will double as my TV and has HDMI and other ports for only $150 more. It comes with a DVI to HDMI cable, and I can use HDMI for my 360. It's kinda funny, my "PC Monitor" will be bigger than my TV. My only worry about the monitor is that it's contrast ratio is 800:1 instead of 1000:1, but I'm not too worried, because my current TV is even less, and it still looks great. Reviews have been positive as well.


If you want good airflow, yes.

Alright good, the case I picked out has some fans built in, and I'd rather not have to worry about installing more, as that just adds to the price.


Like redrain said, these guys make some amazing hardware but the driver support is just not there these days. Turtle beach caters to sound engineers more so than to gamers.
I say stick with Creative; either the X-Fi or Audigy4

ok off to newegg to fix that :)


PM me if you're interested in a copy of XP Pro 64 bit that hasn't been activated. A friend of mine just bought XP Pro 64 but decided at the last minute he wanted to go with Vista. It'll be cheaper than retail. If not, no worries :)

I think I'm all set, if/when I get the extra RAM, It would be a while down the road, and hopefully by then I won't need XP. I actually may just go with 64 bit vista from the start, but would there be any way for me to dual boot xp without having to manual disconnect the RAM? although I'm splurging, I do want to save money :P

[lotkrotan]

one more quick question, should I get 2 1g RAM sticks, or 1 2g?

[Bioshock_FTW!]

2x 1 GB

each 1GB module is single channel, so two together is a 2 GB dual channel "kit"

1 2 GB stick would be single-channel technically. Needs to be an even number of modules to use dual channel.

[lotkrotan]

so it's been about half a year, here's the finished product. I found a mobo with on board 5.1 sound, so that saved me from getting a sound card.

I just remembered I never posted a finished pick of my gaming rig:

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y127/teh_rawkerz/PICT1091.jpg

Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 @ 3.0 GHz
2 Gigs DDR2 800 RAM
GeForce 8800GT superclocked
Viewsonic 1680x1050 monitor
2 72kRPM 320g HDD
and finally Turtle Beach X-52 5.1 Surround Sound Headset

Now just to get a successful dualboot with XP...

[FreshLaundryX]

I used to build rigs, but now-a-days I want someone else to configure jumpers (do they even have these on MOBOs anymore?) and BIOS settings for me so I can make sure it's done right and I can blame someone else when something goes wrong. Gimmie a frikkin warranty!

I am in the market right now.
Where's the best place to get a gaming rig? I'm thinking 2k-3k?
Or should I pay one of you nerds to do it for me?

[japester]

Congrats, lotkrotan. I built my first rig last January and had an absolute blast. It's a great feeling, isn't it? :D

It does look like you could tweak your cable management, though. No use getting a nice windowed case and posting pics on the web if it looks like something exploded in there. LOL. Better cabling means better airflow which means longer life for your components!

Enjoy that rig!

[matches81]

Nice rig, but I agree with japester about the cable management. Other than that... well... I don't like those windowed cases with all that glowing stuff in there, but that's just me.

[Shagrat]

2 72kRPM 320g HDD

Hey dude, having this speed, the outer borders of the cylinders would move 1728 km/h. (1080 m/h)

Which means you'd have supersonic hard drive.

[Xerxes III]

I know of a great mouse with a fan built in under the palm part you can turn on/off for those intense frag sessions to keep your hand from getting sweaty.. It has L/R buttons, wheel with cherry switch underneath(3rd button), and a lit up wheel.

This is what I have: http://cgi.ebay.com/COOL-FAN-ERGONOMIC-OPTICAL-COMPUTER-LAPTOP-MOUSE-USB_W0QQitemZ140199366880QQihZ004QQcategoryZ23156Q QssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

"After a long stretch of using your mouse, have you ever lifted up your palm and felt that clammy feeling that only a sweating palm could provide? If so, then Frisby M58F-0 may have a cure for your woes, the Cool Fan Mouse, it can really help alleviate the curse of SPS (Sweaty Palm Syndrome)

The mouse has 800dpi optical sensor for faster movements

As shown in the image below, the mouse designed ergonomically for ease of use for both right and left handed users. On the right side of the mouse just below the buttons, there is an On/Off switch to give the user the option of running the fan or not.

At the top, both side of the mouse there are several holes where the air from the fan escapes to cool your palm."

Peace

[Xerxes III]

I just remembered I never posted a finished pick of my gaming rig:

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y127/teh_rawkerz/PICT1091.jpg



Well spin my nipplenutz and call me Shirley... a couple of twist ties would fix that mess right up.. tie 'em to the slots inside the case.

[Ric]

Well spin my nipplenutz and call me Shirley... a couple of twist ties would fix that mess right up.. tie 'em to the slots inside the case.


Nice. But -- there's always a but -- in two words: Cable Management.


You got the fans and the case sorted but air needs somewhere to move. The trick with air cooling is to generate a negative pressure sucking air out, in order to help that process the case needs to be as free from obstruction as possible. Cable ties and patience are what you need the most for your rig.

Take it apart again and rebuild, but this time plan the rebuild and how the cables will be routed. See if you can double up on power cables and SATA leads. Also if you can spend a little more cash get yourself a modular PSU, then you won't have all those spare cables shoved into a 5.5 bay.

Looks nice though. I upgraded my hard disk to a 320 last week so you and I now have plenty of space for 08's games. Don't be embarrassed about on board sound as it's come a long way and generally gives good results. I did spend the extra on an extreme gamer creative card but that just a preference thing. I'm glad you bought the 8800 gt as they are excellent value, was it a 256 or a 512 mb card though? What ram did you go for? I always use Corsair as they're very reliable -- they do a nice modular PSU range now as well. Lastly does that psu pump enough juice for the HDDs and GPU/CPU? I would recommend a 450 watter at least.

Seriously though, those cables need sorting.

EDITED:

The mother board may be able to drive some of those fans. It depends if the fans have the correct 3 pin power cable though. The mother board will have 3 pin connectors labelled Cha 1 Cha 2 etc etc to denote case fans.

[lotkrotan]

Hey dude, having this speed, the outer borders of the cylinders would move 1728 km/h. (1080 m/h)

Which means you'd have supersonic hard drive.


haha nice catch, it's a 7200 RPM drive, not 72000.


Nice. But -- there's always a but -- in two words: Cable Management.


You got the fans and the case sorted but air needs somewhere to move. The trick with air cooling is to generate a negative pressure sucking air out, in order to help that process the case needs to be as free from obstruction as possible. Cable ties and patience are what you need the most for your rig.

Take it apart again and rebuild, but this time plan the rebuild and how the cables will be routed. See if you can double up on power cables and SATA leads. Also if you can spend a little more cash get yourself a modular PSU, then you won't have all those spare cables shoved into a 5.5 bay.

Looks nice though. I upgraded my hard disk to a 320 last week so you and I now have plenty of space for 08's games. Don't be embarrassed about on board sound as it's come a long way and generally gives good results. I did spend the extra on an extreme gamer creative card but that just a preference thing. I'm glad you bought the 8800 gt as they are excellent value, was it a 256 or a 512 mb card though? What ram did you go for? I always use Corsair as they're very reliable -- they do a nice modular PSU range now as well. Lastly does that psu pump enough juice for the HDDs and GPU/CPU? I would recommend a 450 watter at least.

Seriously though, those cables need sorting.

EDITED:

The mother board may be able to drive some of those fans. It depends if the fans have the correct 3 pin power cable though. The mother board will have 3 pin connectors labelled Cha 1 Cha 2 etc etc to denote case fans.


yea, I can control the fans by the mother board. They work pretty well.

The cables are a mess, mostly because I had a hell of time getting everything to work right when I first installed. It turned out to be a problem with the mobo, and I was so excited to finally get it running that I put it all together as fast as I could. I need to install a tuner/capture card later, so maybe I'll use that time to clean things up some.

I got Wintec RAM, my ex PC gamer, now linux nerd, friend suggested them. Haven't had any problems yet, both sticks worked fine.

I got the 512 8800GT. I can't find the exact listing on new egg anymore for some reason.

The onboard sound has been great with Crysis, Oblivion etc. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813130082

That's the board I got, and it has 7.1 HD audio. I only have a 5.1 set up, but it still sounds great.



Now for my list of future upgrades:

Bigger Power Supply. 550 is fine for now, but when I do my other upgrades, I'm gonna go for a 1k, hopefully with modular cables.

RAM. Get another 2 sticks of DDR2. It bugs me that with 2 gigs, vista is using 47% of my RAM at any given time.

GPU, get another 8800GT and run SLi

CPU. Replace the stock heatsink/fan, and start to overclock.


EDIT: not everything has been good though. When trying to install XP on a partition on the other hard drive, and then getting it to boot, it says "Operating System Failed" and ruins the boot for both XP and Vista, so I haven't gotten a Dual Boot going yet.

Also I get a random driver crashing error every now and then, mostly when playing games. It goes away for a while, then comes back. I only got it once I updated the drivers to the latest from nvidia...

[Funky Cow]

3.95 for the mouse with a fan? Damn that's cheap. I thought my little wireless getup was inexpensive, but wow.

1k power supply? You're really going for broke ain't ya.

[Xerxes III]

3.95 for the mouse with a fan? Damn that's cheap. I thought my little wireless getup was inexpensive, but wow.

1k power supply? You're really going for broke ain't ya.

It works great dude, at an excellent price. I just bought 2 more this morning on ebay for backups. I got tired of replacing cherry switches in mice when I can just buy another for 3 bucks.

[Ric]

haha nice catch, it's a 7200 RPM drive, not 72000.





yea, I can control the fans by the mother board. They work pretty well.

The cables are a mess, mostly because I had a hell of time getting everything to work right when I first installed. It turned out to be a problem with the mobo, and I was so excited to finally get it running that I put it all together as fast as I could. I need to install a tuner/capture card later, so maybe I'll use that time to clean things up some.

I got Wintec RAM, my ex PC gamer, now linux nerd, friend suggested them. Haven't had any problems yet, both sticks worked fine.

I got the 512 8800GT. I can't find the exact listing on new egg anymore for some reason.

The onboard sound has been great with Crysis, Oblivion etc. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813130082

That's the board I got, and it has 7.1 HD audio. I only have a 5.1 set up, but it still sounds great.



Now for my list of future upgrades:

Bigger Power Supply. 550 is fine for now, but when I do my other upgrades, I'm gonna go for a 1k, hopefully with modular cables.

RAM. Get another 2 sticks of DDR2. It bugs me that with 2 gigs, vista is using 47% of my RAM at any given time.

GPU, get another 8800GT and run SLi

CPU. Replace the stock heatsink/fan, and start to overclock.


EDIT: not everything has been good though. When trying to install XP on a partition on the other hard drive, and then getting it to boot, it says "Operating System Failed" and ruins the boot for both XP and Vista, so I haven't gotten a Dual Boot going yet.

Also I get a random driver crashing error every now and then, mostly when playing games. It goes away for a while, then comes back. I only got it once I updated the drivers to the latest from nvidia...

If that's your first build you did well, I'm an advocate of diving in at the deep end.

Ram:
K, if a Linux dude says it's ok: it probably is :cool:.

GPU:
Phew, I remember giving some bad advice to you about the GT series. I'm chuffed you ignored me! :o

Crysis:
You know you luv it! Play it, then play it again, then play it some more and then get the free DLC for it, or, seen as you're a PC player as well, make your own content for it!

7.1 HD Audio

You'll probably find that it only supports EAX 3.0 and below. That's not a problem though because MicroShaft dealt EAX a death blow with Vista. Effing DRM !!!!!

Ram:
Yeah Vista's a RAM *****: 4 gigs minimum. It's the function called pre-fetch; it thinks it knows so much about you and your PC use that it can pre-load all your favourite applications into RAM -- because you're about to use them ... right? Just have a little think about a PC knowing how you use it :eek:

GPU:
I wouldn't SLI (650 watt PSU if you do). Save the cash and buy a 9 series when they hit the market. In fact, now that you're a PC player too just get used to saving for upgrades, it is worth it though.

CPU:

The stock cooler looks good; it will need air flow to maximise its capability though. Get a high quality thermal paste and re-apply it. That should give you 10 degrees C off, if you live in the central states maybe have a look at heat sink lapping also.

Welcome to the world of a PC user. It can be stressful, but it will always render the best results.

Re Edits:

Yep. maintaining a pure system takes care and time: You seem the able sort though. I'll point you at Driver cleaner Pro which you should use before you change any GPU drivers:

http://downloads.guru3d.com/download.php?det=745

Also, that's a great PC users site: full stop.

Dual Boot:

Personally I find the necessity for this to be a little dubious. I just keep a well fragmented single hard disk and have equal performance to dual boot gamers.

Happy gaming!