Some doubts with gaming build

[Arkz]

Well, first of all hi ^^ im new here and im kinda confused about all the processors, i read sometimes that C2D are better than quads but then there are the extreme and i7 series so im kinda dizzy =(..

So well, since im from venezuela, all i can do is buy the parts on Amazon (stupid government) and well.. The prices here are insane! I mean, the 260GTX graphic card is on 2.000BsF wich is around 1.000 bucks! wich i find retard since i see the prices on amazon and its so dumb, i don't get how people buy those parts for such a price.. So all i can do is blackmarket the pc parts and get em here then (woot, avoid taxes FTW!!).. Anyway >_< to the point..

I was planning to get a Core2Duo or Extreme processor wich im going to list, in order to my price range, u know, price-perfomance =

The core2duo is this one: I think its good.. is it?

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 3.0 GHz 6M L2 Cache 1333MHz FSB LGA775 Dual-Core Processor

Core2extreme could be this one: (?)

Intel Core 2 Extreme X6800 2.93GHz / 4MB Cache / 1066MHz FSB / Conroe Core / OEM / Socket 775 / Processor

For graphics i was planning a 260gtx, a 9800 or a 8800 ultra, but, i've read so many stuff, 8800 is faster, but 9800 is better =S Geez.. but then again 260 seems good.

Im noob about motherboards, i know the basics only, not the compatibility with the processors and such (still researching and learning, takes time..), neither i know a lot about cooling fans, nor power supplys that wud be best for it and etc..

So, at best it cud be around like:

Processor: >> Core2duo/Extreme processor

Graphics: >> 9800 GTX or 260GTX (What's the diff between XFX and BFG or EVGA?)

Wanted a 640 gb 7200 rpm hdd SATA drive like umm.. Western Digital WD6400AAKS WD Caviar SE16 SATA Internal Hard Drive, 640 GB, 3 Gb/s, 16 MB Cache, 7200 RPM << this one..

Ram: CORSAIR XMS2 4GB ( 2 X 2GB ) PC2-6400 800MHz 240-pin DDR2 CL5 Dual Channel Desktop Memory Kit - TWIN2X4096-6400C5

My idea is to get a cool desktop, wich will last some years atleast, i bought mine round 3 years ago xD its a crappy P4 with 1.5gigs on ram and a 256mb AGP 8x board xD suuuucks.. atleast i cud play F.E.A.R or farcry at mid/hi res ^^' anyway..

The HD i need it to be around 640GB (for me thats a lot :S or well, its enough for me.. i just have a 80gb now..) because i work with big (Very big..) projects on photoshop and well, i need lots of space..

So is any of those combinations good? Could i get some affordable price for a nice pc that will last lets say atleast 3 more years.. (Please take in mind that 1$ here is 5bsF)

Sorry for such a long post, is just that im too confused and i dunno what else to do T_T..

In conclusion: Best wud be a the E8400(or better if i get a quad?), with a 260gtx, as well the 4 gigs of corsair ram and the WD 640 HD.. What motherboard would be good for that? It will last for a while? How can i prevent overheating, what cooling fans can i buy (saw big thyphoon for the processor if im not wrong, freaking big btw.. is it good?).. And, well, i think u guys will get the point =S..

*Insert ur suggestion here*

Please dont go with 5000$ pc's/parts T_T.. i can barely afford 2000$ wich is 10 millions here (3 months food <.<) and i wanna get good stuff so i get a nice outcome of those 3 months w/o eating hehe ^^'..

And again sorry for the long post T_T..

Thx in advance (if someone helps =)!

And this is my first try to get a Gaming pc, did i do it good? =(

Arkz.

 

[k.jacko]

E8400 (do not go extreme, total waste of money)
4Gb Ram
GT260 (or 280 if you can afford it)

 

[adweston]

Grab one of the Seagate Perpendicular Recording 3G drives. WD Caviar SEs have a nasty reputation for being garbage.

If you're stuck on WD, the RE3 is a good, reliable drive.

 

[k.jacko]

motherboards?
Personally, i'd go Asus or Gigabyte, both great quality brands and great for overclocking.

 

[klepto12]

I would go with this man

CPU-Intel Core i7 940 Nehalem 2.93GHz = $569.99

motherboard-ASUS P6T Deluxe LGA 1366 Intel X58 = $289.99

Memory-Patriot Viper 3GB (3 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 = $137.99

Videocard-EVGA 896-P3-1267-AR GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 = $249.99

case-Antec Nine Hundred = $109.99

PSU-ThermalTake / Toughpower / 850-Watt = $209.99

CPU heatsink = Vigor Monsoon III LT Dual 120mm = $59.99

HDD-Western Digital Caviar Green WD10EACS 1TB = $104.99

and just grab some dvd burners of your choice man

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

The above system is out of the OP's budget methinks and some of the part choices are not the best. I wouldn't recommend it.

@Arkz, all the parts you've chosen are great, but I would recommend a Q6600 for you if you can get one, since you say you use PhotoShop a lot and that CPU is a champ for those kinds of apps. Also, you could get a 1TB drive to store your stuff, although the 6400AAKS is a fantastic choice too. In addition, the HD 4870 can be had for $200 or so and is a better card compared to the GTX 260. But if you can't find a good deal on the ATI card, the GTX 260 is fine. As for RAM, that is a nice kit you've chosen, but look around if you can find a cheaper deal on other equally-good kits from G.SKILL, Crucial, OCZ, Kingston and Patriot.

The only things I see a problem with are the PSU and motherboard. What kind of PSU are you going to run all this on? What motherboard do you plan to get? I recommend the GA-G31M-ES2L and GA-EP43-DS3L as great boards, with the G31-based board being the more cost-effective option. For a PSU, I recommend the Corsair 550VX as the best choice for your kind of system.

 

[klepto12]

lol tell me how the system i recommend is not that great and he said he had about a $2000 budget so thats what i built and for your information the gtx260 216 is alot better than the ati card you said to get but ohh well the q6600 is old and not worth buying imo because of that.

 

[Arkz]

Wewt awesome i got replies ^^ Thx a lot!!

So far we got:

E8400
4gb ram
9800GTX nor 260GTX or Radeon

Altho i dunno what motherboard is good for those specs, that's was one of the answers im looking for, and PSU is? D: Power supply unit (noob <.<)..

for HD, could be this one? >>
Western Digital WD3000GLFS 10K 3.5-Inch 300GB SATA Velociraptor Hard Drive

Looks good, 10k rpm and 300gb @_@

@Rage_3k
Well motherboard mm.. i dunno xD but Amazon offers those in a combo, goes like GA-EP43-DS3L + Core 2 duo E8400 + the xms rams for 312$ .. thats a nice price..

Also i can get one of those Usb thingys that u plug and u have 1TB (dun remember the name) and i get some more space, w/o getting it into my HD ^^..

For some odd reason, a friend told me not to buy the case from Amazon or foreign countries, bc they see the case, they go with the ROFLTAXES Army.. So ill get a case here, saw one that can have 5 coolers running (only in the case, w/o including the proc one..)

But well, i got some builds, now its time to go to pc hardware stores with em' hehe.. The Q6600 comes to my country in january <.< Guess what? Venezuela sucks.. I tried to catch the Q6600, but in some forums i read that the E8400 OC'd by a little can do as much as the Q6600, but well, just need to read a bit more hehe!

Thx a lot for ur help guys!

Build:

Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 3.0 GHz 6M L2 Cache 1333MHz FSB LGA775 Dual-Core Processor / Maybe go with Q6600

Ram: CORSAIR XMS2 4GB ( 2 X 2GB ) PC2-6400 800MHz 240-pin DDR2 CL5 Dual Channel Desktop Memory Kit - TWIN2X4096-6400C5

GPU: Radeon HD4870 / Geforce 260GTX

HD: WD 10k rpm 300gb SATA velociraptor hard drive

PSU: *dunno *

Motherboard: GA-G31M-ES2L and GA-EP43-DS3 (?) Do those apply for both processors and will they do their work fine?

Cooling: Big typhoon cooler for the procesor, case cooling wud be around 6 fans lewl, and the big typh is cheap here (Thanks god <.<)

Is that good enufff? And for the case bleh xD i dont care, if all the components fit in the thing, i'll be supah happy hehe!

Arkz~

 

[k.jacko]

gotta say i'm in between you both here chaps. Whilst klepto has come in under budget. I think the i7 aren't worth the money right now, and ddr3 hasn't come into fruition yet.
I'd probably go for a Q9550 and either 260 or 4870, both are good but the 260 does come out on top in most benchtests (slightly).

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

lol tell me how the system i recommend is not that great and he said he had about a $2000 budget so thats what i built and for your information the gtx260 216 is alot better than the ati card you said to get but ohh well the q6600 is old and not worth buying imo because of that.

The CPU and motherboard alone eat up half the budget along with the RAM. Plus the HD 4870 is a better choice at ~$200, and ATI's drivers are far better than NVIDIA's. The HDD is another weak point, with its dynamically-variable spindle speed. Lastly, there are better heatsink and PSU choices out there. The Xigmatek HDT-S1283 and Thermalright TRUE are two of the best LGA775 heatsinks on the market that can be had for cheaper than the Vigor Monsoon III, which is the only decent LGA1366 aftermarket HSF AFAIK. It's just a matter of time before the LGA775 HSFs are ported over to the new design. And a Corsair 550VX will provide more than sufficient power to the entire PC.

As for the Q6600 being old, as I pointed out, I recommend it solely for the OP's high usage of PhotoShop. And as far as I can see, it is the cheapest good-performing Core 2 Quad at the moment.

As for the budget, it has to also cover shipping. The OP does not live in the US, so price variations also have to be taken into account.

EDIT: Just saw your new post Arkz. Nice choices. For a PSU, try to find either the Corsair 550VX or the 650TX, whichever you can get cheaper. And yes, either processor will work fine with both mobos.

 

[klepto12]

lol ati drivers better than nvidias dont make me laugh

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

There's a new Catalyst driver set out every month, with improvements every time. NVIDIA only releases drivers when they feel upto it, and when they do, they only bother to fix issues with their current flagship cards at that time. I have used cards from both and found ATI's drivers to be far superior. For a case in point, NVIDIA's Vista drivers took ages to become serviceable, while AMD already had stable drivers out. Furthermore, NVIDIA's nView multi-display technology has only become viable now, in contrast to AMD's finely polished HydraVision suite.

"The way it's meant to be played" is just another way of saying "The way we want you to play it". Do your homework before posting here please.

 

[Arkz]

Dont fight, unite to make my gaming rig please =) j/k..

Well, so we got:

Processor: E8400 3.0 Ghz, LGA775, 1333Mhz FSB, 6M L2 Cache

Ram: CORSAIR XMS2 4GB ( 2 X 2GB ) PC2-6400 800MHz 240-pin DDR2 CL5 Dual Channel

HDD: Western Digital 500GB 3.5", SATA, 16MB Cache Bulk/OEM Hard Drive WD5000AAKS

those three up there sum 271$ (offer thingy..) Altho i wont buy it (the fact that is so cheap) -.-.. cant be that cheap or it can?

MotherBoard: GA-G31M-ES2L - 58.28$ (is that the price really?)

GPU: 260GTX - $219.99

PSU: Corsair 650w/750w (750w is 111$) TX series(difference of price is around 20$.. better the 750 rite?)

Cooling: Zalman CNPS9700LED Ultra Quiet Cpu Cooler - 55$.. is this any good XD? since i couldnt find the exact ones u guys gave me..

For board, nor general cooling what shud i get?

Total so far: 716$ O.O.. what the.. cant be that cheap :S Well, i guided with the amazon pack of processor+rams+HDD..

Looks good for me D:

Arkz.

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

It's not cheap, it's a little more expensive than if you were to get the parts separately in the States. If you don't mind getting the HDD separately, I'd recommend getting the CPU and RAM from these links instead:

• Intel® Core™ 2 Duo E8400 - BX80570E8400 - Box CPU - Socket LGA775 - $169.99
• 2GB DDR2 PC6400 DUAL BALLISTIX MEMORY / 2.V / CRUCIAL - $32.99

Don't bother if the combined price of the HDD and these two is the same as the combo though, since there's little point ordering them separately then. The mobo and PSU are fine, and yes, go with the 750W if you can spare the extra $20.

As for a CPU cooler, I recommend [ame=http://www.amazon.com/OCZ-OCZTVEND2-Vendetta-CPU-Cooler/dp/B00168ZE7E/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1229376953&sr=8-1]this[/ame] one instead of the Zalman.

It should save you some money and get you better parts too. Good luck and I hope I helped!

 

[adweston]

Man, again.. Scrap the Caviar SE.. They're garbage. You were right on the money with that Velociraptor. A far superior drive in every way. Bear in mind that the MTBF of a Caviar SE is 60k hours.. That can be shortened dramatically in some cases. The MTBF of a Velociraptor or Caviar RE3 exceed 1.2M hours. You're talking the difference between a Focus and a Porsche.

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

The WD5000AAKS is an excellent drive. I own five and they've all performed superbly so far. Just because you've had a bad experience doesn't mean they're all bad. The Caviar Blue and Caviar Black series are both excellent and I wouldn't hesistate to recommend any drive from them.

 

[Arkz]

Well, still the Velociraptor owns in perfomance if im not wrong.. but im looking for more space.. and the price difference between the raptor and the 7200rpm drives is huge..

Well i guess i have finally got a good rig xD Thx all for the support! now.. to buy T_T..

Srsly thx a lot, u guys cleared my doubts!

I wuv you <3

Arkz~

 

[Arkz]

*Bump*

And im sorry for bumping >_<.. But i finally got how to bring the stuff, got the prices, had everything set, and if i need to do some changes, better do them now i have the chance >-<

Well, yeah.. i almost got all set, but, seems like u know actually a LOT, most of the people were complaining n stuff.. And i got kinda confused.. So i made some changes, kinda.. big changes somehow.. Just want to see if they're ok, and if u approve em hehe.. Well here they are.. and thx in advance guys, u helped me a lot, and i really appreciate that u took the time to read, recommend better pieces and all, really, i cant express how i feel about that ^^.. Its pretty rare to find people like you all in the internet

Now here is, i included the case, looks good, big enuff, and well, good for cooling:

Case: Antec Nine Hundred Steel ATX Ultimate Gamer PC Case (Black)

Motherboard: Asus P5E3 Deluxe WIFI AP N CH1-11 C2D LGA775 Intel X38 ICH9R FSB 1600

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400/3.0 GHz/6M L2/Cache 1333MHz FSB LGA775

RAM: CORSAIR DOMINATOR 4GB ( 2 X 2GB ) PC2-8500 1066MHz 240-pin DDR2

GPU: Nvidia Geforce 260GTX

PSU: CORSAIR 750w TX Series 80 Plus Certified Power Supply

CPU COOLER: OCZ OCZTVEND2 Vendetta 2 CPU Cooler

HDD: WD6400AAKS WD Caviar SE16 SATA 640 GB, 3 Gb/s, 16 MB Cache, 7200 RPM

Burner: Lite-On 20X Dual Layer DVD-RW Super All-Write (DH-20A4P-08)

Well, basically they are the same, just that i changed The ram (instead of 800mhz, they are 1066mhz), the Motherboard, instead of the very cheap GA, chose the Asus P5E3 Deluxe ^^' (no, i didnt see ur Beast.1 specs <.<.. >.>)..

Well, here are the questions..

The ram: i think that is very good, well, in my oppinion, dunno you, ure the pro hehe.. from 800mhz to 1066 is a big difference? Is it that good? And well, the price range isnt that big neither..

The motherboard: Well, that MB is kinda expensive, compared to the GA u mentioned, i mean wow.. from 60$ to 250$ hehe.. Is there any board, that can lets say.. Support my specs, at a reasonable price for my budget?

Dunno, in the range of 150'ish.. Some1 told me that asrock MoBo are cheapie and good but i dont know.. but im worried about the chipsets (again, someone told me that one of the most important things in a pc is the chipset [i really dont know lol])..

Of course, if the GA will do the job Fine, w/o any risk of getting pwnt by all the stuff im going to put in the rig.. It'll be fine then.. (i hope..)

As for GPU: I've seen various 260GTX, but just changes the XFX, MSI, or w/e.. and the price for an XFX is higher than the MSI in example..Is there any big diff in perfomance between those first letters? or they are just publishers or something?

HDD: umm.. well, i like that one tee hee ^^' It haves good space, but seeing all the critics it received (took me down btw, i was happy with it).. u sure it will not burn in 1 yr? D:..

Monitor: Well, what's a PC w/o a nice monitor? hehe.. I was thinking in a 17-19'' Cheap one (range of 100-130$'ish) What can u guys recommend me?

Ok now in general, to explain what's my problem really..

The point about the change rates from Bolivar fuerte to dollars are ugly (5bsf = 1$ << super influated..), but i got a Credit card, and what i want is to get for 500$ some pieces, then anothers for 500$ (now in december i have to spend the 1st 500$, and in january ask government for other 500$ so i can bring more stuff bc they set a limit of 500$ for internet buying PER YEAR =[)

So, my fear is that i bring all that stuff, and well.. it won't last, because new processors are coming, and i fear that my pc will last 1 yr if im lucky.. What i want is a pc that can last somehow atleast 2 yrs or 3! if its 4 yrs wow, i wud be very happy! (like my P4, was the BOOM long ago.. in a reign far far away.. srsly..)

Anyway, the idea is getting a PC, without it exploding or something bc i done it wrong, im so scared because of that >_<..

I want something that lasts for a while (2 yrs wud be great) Do you think this rig will?

As i said, im photoshopper, this processor i think will do the work (i run CS3 with this machine.. 256 ram.. so im kinda patient hehe..)

As well, im gamer, i dont care if i have to lower graphics, but with this rigs i think i can run games on high res and high specs (16x AA looks uber cool btw, i love it), as an example.. Run crysis with max res and stuff.. if the rig can do it, i think it can run most games on hi ress.. Am i right? or im just dreaming?

Dunno if u understand, but im ''kinda'' poor, and well that's all..
Hope u all can help me again..

And sorry for bothering you so much.. Again i really appreciated ur help, even my mom got convinced of bringing the stuff from outside, (A core2duo of 2.0ghz, 2 gb ram and 160gb hdd, with no grafx card costs 2500$ here.. and they suck.. so u cud imagine how yucky this country is) And all that was thx to you hehe reading ur posts and giving her a proof!

Thx again guys! I will do you a forum sig if i can finally get my hands on the rig ^^.. If not.. I'll do it too hehe!!

PD: The whole idea of this pc.. It lasts atleast 2 yrs or more.. Good pc - Reasonable price (for me sadly, kinda poor hehe), and can run games on hires/higrafx.

Arkz~

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

That's a great selection of parts, and you can go with a P5Q instead of the P5E3. It will be a lot cheaper and there will be no difference in performance. As for the video card, buy from either BFG, eVGA or XFX, since their warranty cover is the best. That's the reason their prices are slightly higher.

And if you're looking to stretch 3 years or more out of the machine, I recommend the Q6600 over the E8400.

I hope it all works out well for you. Good luck!

 

[Arkz]

Man, u kinda read my mind actually.. I just saw the P5Q

ASUS P5Q LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard

Looks good, and it's only for 140$ >_< wich is nice for my budget.. Now the problem wud be upgrading to Q6600.. dunno, my step-dad and mom are the ones with the money, actually my mom gave me my step-dad credit card xD funny thing..

but yeah i changed to the P5Q and it just got to 1000.5$ xD exactly the price i wanted, seems like i got a good machine for cheap price D:..

Btw.. Do that Antec case comes with all the fans? i think it comes with 4 fans or something, and its own psu for them.. dunno, maybe i read wrong (spanish native language = misunderstanding D=)

And well, those 3 years with q6600 means kinda like (for games) lowering the graphics haha!! Srsly.. with this machine i always played on low ^^ and i still.. i dont worry too much bout high def and all, but wud be cool ^^ I'll just check my step-dad wallet to see if i can get the q6600 instead of the e8400.

Jesus i learnt a lot from this topic.. Thx a lot Rage_3K.. If u want u can give me a render or something, and ill make u a sig ^^..

Thx to all!

Arkz~

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

Yes, it comes with its own fans, which are great BTW.

And you're welcome.