Building a Gamer Rig...Need Help Filling in the Blanks

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Obi Juan

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For my rigg i have already selected a few items and the rest is undecided. I will most likely be buying this rigg at the start of next month and i want to be prepared and not rush the build.

Any help or comments on the stuff i have selected would be great.

This Rigg is going to be mostly for Gaming and Watching Videos/Tv so please keep that in mind. I dont have a endless supplie of money so try and suggest items that are practical not just expensive and new. (i know that sounds funny after seeing i have selected some of those items myself but i have figure that what i have selected was the best for the cost)


Items Needed for my Pc



· Video Card - Geforce 7800GTX 256MB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814122224

· Sound Card - Creative Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS Platinum
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6829102163

· Mother Board – (????)

. Memory - At Least 2 Gigs 3 would be perfered (fast ram)

· Cpu – Athlon Dual Core (????)

· Case - Thermaltake (????)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6811133154

· Hard Drives - Western Digital Raptor WD740GD 74GB 10,000 RPM (2x set 0-Raid)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6822144160


Other Items Wanted

· TV Tuner – (I have no clue what to look for in a TV Tuner)

· DVD Burner/Player

· A Worthy Power Supply

· 7.1 Surround Speaker Setup


i dont know what i should be looking for in a motherboard and a cpu with the video card i have selected, any help would be great. (still looking up info myself so any help would be great)
 
Ok, I think we may need more of a budget.

Do you want a sli board? If not, the nforce 4ultra chipset is good, I like my chaintech vnf4ultra motherboard, it works well, and is about $85(a real deal).

A cheap sli board
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813128301

Do you plan to overclock at all?

Here's some ram (good price after rebate).
PQI 2x1gb kit w heatspreader
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820141227

Cpu, for dual core here are two of the better deals.

3800+
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103562

4400+ (has 1mb cache per core)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103546

I think for dvd burners, the nec 3520, benq 1620, and a few others all do well.
Looks for some dvd burner reviews, and check prices.

For psus,
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817101516
Tagan 480w u22 dual rail sli ready psu. $95

And enermax makes several good ones.
460w 24pin 1 pci-e power $80
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817103464
535w 24pin dual rails $95
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817103512
535w 24pin sli ready $120
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817103462
550w 24pin $130
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817103437

Hope this helps you out.
Vnf4ultra
 
You have no idea how much this helps me out =), This gives me a better starting point from what i had.

As for SLI i dont think i will have enough cash to go for 2 great video cards and afford the Hard Drives i wanted. So i went with 1 great video card and 2 awsome hard drives.

I Dont think i will be overclocking, but i will be using a Copper heat sink for the cpu and as for the Hard Drives i was gonna try that this http://www.bestbyteinc.com/prodinfo.asp?number=HSK-ZAL-HC1

What is a Good Case? All i really need is Usb up front along with headphine/mic jacks and i will be good (i figured a thermal just because of the space and fan options.
 
I just read a review of hard drive coolers and the one you listed was in it. It was ok, getting a 3 of 5 stars, but there were other ones that were better. For example, the Aerocool HB-101 model did a better job cooling and is also fanless(silent).
http://frozencpu.com/hdc-29.html
Also, if you don't mind some fans, the Coolermaster LHD-V07 "cooldrive lite" was the best rated in the review.
http://frozencpu.com/hdc-33.html?id=cciaGsvu

They both cost more though, so they may not fit your budget.

For cpu heatsinks the Zalman 7000 series and the Thermalright xp90 are two of the best. Though the stock cpu coolers aren't that bad that come with the amd cpus.
Zalman
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835118118

Thermalright(also requires separate fan)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835109122

For cases, it's mostly cosmetic preference, since there are many good cases out there. Just find one you like that has your requirements and looks good too, and hopefully you can afford it too.

Here are some I like, they are a little more expensive than the cheap cases, but don't use their psus if they have one, get an enermax like I listed before.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811133132
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811133143

Or a cheaper case can do the job too.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811133143
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811144151
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811190040

Also, for sli, you could get a sli motherboard now, but use only one card for now, and then it give you the option of adding a second identical card down the road if you would desire to do so.


Hope that helps you out.
 
Thats sounds like the kind of computer i would kill for. From my experience termaltake arent that great. I have a Damier v5000 and there is so many cables and lights to plug in and by the end of it all it looks really messy and crap.

If you have two choices a) spend days using cable ties
b) shop around for a new case (antec are great :D)

good luck!
 
The link doesn't seem to work.
I can't see your wish list, I guess it has to do with it being a secure site.

What's it's title, and what day did you post it, I might be able to look it up myself?

The vnf4ultra has 3 pci slots, so if you got a sound card and a tv tuner you still have one pci slot. The gigabyte sli board has two, so you'd have both slots full once you have the cards in.

Both also have pci-e x1 slots, so when they transition from making pci to the newer pci-e x1, you'll have some more slots open.
 
You didn't list a power supply, and I don't think you should use the aspire that comes with the case. First, it's a cheap brand psu(yes, it is pretty, but looks aren't everything), and second it probably isn't a 24pin main connector(new boards usually require this, although some boards can use either), and it also likely doesn't have any pci-e power connectors for your graphics card.

If you like that case style, you could get this instead.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811144103
And then get a quality enermax psu, probably this one.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817103462
I chose it since it's sli ready, and has the features you would need.
Then since you have a sli board, a sli capable card, and a sli capable power supply, you can easily get a second card later(same make/model), and nearly double your performance.


Another possibilty, there's a good deal now, if you get the evga 7800gtx you can get a free sli motherboard, so you'd save about $50 if you got that vs. what you're considering now.
Link.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130234
And here's the free board.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813188002
I don't know much about the board, but it's a good deal anyway.

Edit: apparrantly evga products have a lifetime warranty, so that's a big plus.
http://www.evga.com/support/lifetime/

Here's a review of the board.
http://www.nvnews.net/reviews/evga_nforce4_sli_edition_mainboard/index.shtml
 
I would recommend an Emermax any day of the week.

Also, in one of the news storys last month (I think theres a previous story option so you can find it), it said that if you buy an AMD 64X2 3800 and a high quality fan, with overclocking techniques you can push it up further than a top-of-the-line 4800 or an FX! This means that not only do you save a lot of money and get a good processor, but with the money saved, in about another couple of years , you can SLi another 7800 into the PC, overclock the processor, and have a system that'll still be admirable 2007/08!
 
New Setup Update

Ok this is my final setup, now i just need to look for the same items with better deals and what now but it looks like Newegg will treat me well and give me the best deal and customer support with this.


I just hope i can set this badboy up correctly :grinthumb
 
That look like a fantastic system that'll last quite a few years, even in 2 years it'll still probably be an excellent system.
Mailpup does have a point, what motherboard are you going to use.
 
I think he's using the motherboard that comes free with his 7800gtx, the evga sli board. I linked to a review of it above.
 
Yep i am using the motherboard that will come with the video card.

I ordered the items that had rebates about to expire and the rest iw ill get next week, i will tell you guys how it runs and what not.

btw: anyone know where i can get Windows Xp cheap?
 
ok i just got most of my stuff today

i just need a motherboard and video card

and that nvidia combo deal that i wanted isnt around anymore (they sold out in a day)

so i dont know what else i can order that will fill the place of that motherboard i was gonna get with the Geforce 7800 gtx.

any ideas? or should i just wait for that motherboard to be restocked?


BTW: i would also like some tips on selecting the correct version of XP that i will be needed... back when i got my first pc it was just 1 version of 2k to get now their is like 5+ diffrent version. so which is about right for what i will be doing with this pc?
 
i went with the asus a8n sli deluxe mobo. had no problems with it.

my cpu is a amd athlon 64 4400+ toledo, like the one you had on that site. really fast and have had not problems with it.

video card is a 7800GTX (i think its actually evga) awsome card. played bf2 on highest settings. no problems watsoever!

why go for a tv tuner card? if i were you i would just get a video card with VIVO. then you can do basically the same thing. try this one http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130248
 
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