[Madmartagen]

I know there might be a couple of threads about this, but its my turn now. Im looking to build a nice gaming rig and wanted some opinions.

I got about $1500 to spend, but im willing to go around $200 more if it makes the performance better.

I dont know whether to go with two Gforce 6600 GTs or an ATI card. I have a Radeon 9800 Pro now, but its not gonna run Doom3 or HL2. Some friends of mine swear by the Nvidia cards.

Im going with 1G of corsair XMS low latency Ram and i already picked my CD/DVD drives, speakers and Sound card.

I havent a clue as to what mobo or processor i should use. Im leaning towards an AMD but i could go for an Intel, i really dont know how to shop for a mobo and cpu.

im not gonna go for a water cooling system now, but if anyone can recommend some good case and cpu fans, i would appreciate it.

thx for the help, and im open to all kinds of advice.

[Jin-Roh]

Originally Posted by Madmartagen

... but if anyone can recommend some good case and cpu fans, i would appreciate it.

Same, I don't know anything about good fans or cases. oOo:

[Bullitt]

Lian Li cases

[Sniped Ur Azz]

Well, I know your not "leaning" towards intel, or Nvidia...but if you ever wanna go that way, I got a pretty good one I built on http://www.newegg.com Its not that bad at all. Of course you can always find something better. After I reply, look for Akuma's post to help out, he seems pretty knowledgeable, especially in the AMD, ATI fields. Ok here yah go:

[code:b5479]RAIDMAX SAMURAI ATX-901WBP Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 450W Power Supply (buying new PSU)

-

ABIT Fatal1ty AA8XE Socket T (LGA 775) Intel 925XE ATX Intel Motherboard (supports 1066FSB)

-

Intel Pentium 4 3.6 GHz 800MHz FSB LGA 775 Processor Model 1MB L2 Cache

-

CORSAIR 1GB (2 x 512MB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 533 (PC2 4200)

-

BFG Tech Geforce 6800 256MB DDR PCI-Express Video Card
(Core = 350 MHz / RAM = 600 MHz)

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(2 x HDD's) Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 SATA NCQ ST380017AS 80GB 7200 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive

-

SONY MPF920 Black 1.44MB 3.5" Internal Floppy Drive

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Rosewill RD-162 Black IDE DVD Burner (DVD-R +- / DVD-RW +-) (Double Layer)

-

All (shipping + tax) for: $1,433.28[/code:b5479]


There's my beast ROFL...I am either going to spend a lil bit more money and get the 6800GT or 2 gigs of memory...what u guys think?

[Miscguy]

1 Gig will work well, so go with a GT, or Ultra.

Also, MAD, you say you have some parts preselected, so how much do they subtract from the overall price your willing to pay. IE you say you want to spend 1500, so do your pre-selected parts cost 500, leaving us 1000 to work with?

[Akuma]

Damn lazy people, research your own computer parts. annoy: happy:



[url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103534:2c285]Athlon 64 3200+ Venice[/url:2c285]
[url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131517:2c285]Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe[/url:2c285]
2x [url=http://www2.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820218405:2c285]TwinMOS DDR400 512MB (Winbond UTT)[/url:2c285] OCs insanely high with tight timings
[url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814131414:2c285]Radeon X800XL[/url:2c285] or [url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130215:2c285]eVGA 6800GT[/url:2c285]
[url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822148039:2c285]Seagate 120GB SATA[/url:2c285]
[url=http://www.frozencpu.com/cpu-tri-12.html?id=5c7xVq3B:2c285]Thermalright XP-120 CPU Cooler[/url:2c285]
[url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811119035:2c285]Cooler Master Praetorian case[/url:2c285]
[url=http://www.frozencpu.com/fan-109.html:2c285]Silverstone 120mm Fan with controller[/url:2c285]

Approx: $1000 depending on which video card you get.




Notes: 2x 6600GTs in SLI is complete waste of money. A single 6800GT is cheaper and performs better.

I know you said you wanted Corsair XMS, but I'm not sure if you bought it yet. If not, I HIGHLY recommend you get the RAM I linked. I have Corsair XMS currently and I will be selling it and getting that RAM once I get some extra cash.

I didn't get the CPU cooler or the 120mm fan for the cooler at newegg because their prices absolutely blow on Thermalright and other cooling products for some reason.

[Old Reliable]

i'm selling an antec SX835II....nice case but you should prolly replace the PS

[Akuma]

Oh yeah I fogot to throw in a PSU...


OCZ PowerSteam 520w... Too lazy to link it.

[Forte]

I was working for my pc until our air conditioner broke. now no summer vacation or gaming pc for me loney: .

[Madmartagen]

Originally Posted by Forte

I was working for my pc until our air conditioner broke. now no summer vacation or gaming pc for me loney: .

ouch.

My budget keeps moving up now that my car is paid off, so technically i dont really need to set a limit, its just that i dont wanna blow a wad of cash on accessories like speakers, lights, and wireless stuff. I should have been more specific, so ill say that i need a mobo, ram, cpu, video card and tower. I also wanted to know what you guys thought of PCI Express vs a regular AGP video card. I also have some kind of general idea on how to match a processor to a mobo, but not a well planned decison making process. i know some mobos are compatible or works best with certain processors, so i also wanted to know a good mobo + CPU combination. I was basing my choice of the Corsari XMS Ram on referral of a friend, but I know you guys mod and make PCs more often, so i want to look at that TwinMOs Ram link you gave me. Its very low priced compared to the Corsair, and i dont wanna say that cheaper ram is cheaper quality, but how would the two sticks compare to one another? My friend was telling me to get the two 6600GTs if i wanted to get a full blown rig, but i t doesnt make sense to me in having two video cards. is there a reason why people would prefer to have two6600s rather than a single 6800? you say the latter is cheaper and has higher performance,but he is saying the opposite. im comparing the specs online and im not too technically saavy. if two 128 video cards are combined, would it make it essentially as good as a single 256mb card?

i was also thinking about going with this monitor
http://www.viewsonic.com/products/deskt ... es/vp171s/

i heard LCDs dont make great displays if youre playing some fast paced games with a high pixel rate. my friend told me to make sure that i have a 500:1 ratio and that this monitors 1280x1024 res and so he suggested this display. i dont wanna blow $400 on a screen thats just gonna smear colors all over the place, so again, what do you guys think?

thx for replying to this thread guys, im going to look at those suggestions, but im also hoping you guys can answer some of my questions.

[newt.]

[img]http://www.bluesmoke.net/case_gallery/images/entry24a.jpg[/img]

[Akuma]

Originally Posted by Madmartagen

ouch.

My budget keeps moving up now that my car is paid off, so technically i dont really need to set a limit, its just that i dont wanna blow a wad of cash on accessories like speakers, lights, and wireless stuff. I should have been more specific, so ill say that i need a mobo, ram, cpu, video card and tower. I also wanted to know what you guys thought of PCI Express vs a regular AGP video card. I also have some kind of general idea on how to match a processor to a mobo, but not a well planned decison making process. i know some mobos are compatible or works best with certain processors, so i also wanted to know a good mobo + CPU combination. I was basing my choice of the Corsari XMS Ram on referral of a friend, but I know you guys mod and make PCs more often, so i want to look at that TwinMOs Ram link you gave me. Its very low priced compared to the Corsair, and i dont wanna say that cheaper ram is cheaper quality, but how would the two sticks compare to one another? My friend was telling me to get the two 6600GTs if i wanted to get a full blown rig, but i t doesnt make sense to me in having two video cards. is there a reason why people would prefer to have two6600s rather than a single 6800? you say the latter is cheaper and has higher performance,but he is saying the opposite. im comparing the specs online and im not too technically saavy. if two 128 video cards are combined, would it make it essentially as good as a single 256mb card?

i was also thinking about going with this monitor
http://www.viewsonic.com/products/deskt ... es/vp171s/

i heard LCDs dont make great displays if youre playing some fast paced games with a high pixel rate. my friend told me to make sure that i have a 500:1 ratio and that this monitors 1280x1024 res and so he suggested this display. i dont wanna blow $400 on a screen thats just gonna smear colors all over the place, so again, what do you guys think?

thx for replying to this thread guys, im going to look at those suggestions, but im also hoping you guys can answer some of my questions.

Go PCI-Express because AGP is deadend hardware. Next gen won't have any AGP cards.

The TwinMOS I linked absolutely destroys Corsair XMS. Corsair has really lost there edge in terms of performance and overclockability. Mine won't OC even 20mhz.

I don't why anyone would want two 6600GTs over a 6800GT. Two 6600GTs used to be cheaper than a 6800GT by quite a bit, but now it's just stupid. And no, two 128MB cards don't equal a 265MB card. That's why SLIed 6600GT get destroyed by a 6800GT at high res and AA/AF.

As for the monitors, LCDs have come a long away. They can now match a CRT in almost every aspect. I'll be picking up a Dell 2005FPW 20" Widescreen LCD in a few days. As for that monitor, you could get a Dell 2001FP for $100 more. Dell LCDs are the excellent and have incredible value.