New Gaming Rig

[kING4000]

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.

For all kind of uses, but still a gaming rig

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread
$1500.00

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.
canada, ontario........ any other cheaper place?

4. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc, etc, etc, you get the picture.

intel, nvidia

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.

well, got a 500gig HD, sata II

6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads.

no, fan of this forum

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.
slight overclock, enough to make me happy, but not to burn it...u all know what i mean

8. WHEN do you plan to build it?
within this weekend if possible, or sooner

9. ANY notes on the side?

I want to use nvidia 280 for graphics and have 4gig of memory, which is better? DDR2 or DDR3?

10. SPECIAL comments?
Thanks guys

 

[Dashock]

This look like a good base for new rigs outline nice work.

 

[Dwayne]

The popular build lately has been:

MB - P5Q Pro NCIX.com - Buy ASUS P5Q Pro ATX LGA775 P45 DDR2 2PCI-E16 Crossfire 3PCI-E1 2PCI SATA2 Sound GBLAN eSATA Motherboard - P5Q Pro In Canada. ($157)
CPU - E8400 NCIX - Intel E8400, Core 2 Due E8400 Wolfdale Dual-Core Processor ($207)
HSF - OCZ Vendetta 2 NCIX.com - Buy OCZ Vendetta 2 Triple Heatpipe CPU Heatsink AM2 LGA775 S939 S940 S754 120MM Fan 800-1500RPM 20-32DBA - OCZTVEND2 In Canada. ($40)
RAM - Mushkin XP PC2-8500 NCIX.com - Buy Mushkin XP PC2-8500 4GB 2X2GB DDR2-1066 CL5-5-5-15 240PIN Dual Channel Memory Kit - 996599 In Canada. ($120)
Case - Coolermaster CM690 NCIX.com - Buy Coolermaster CM 690 Mid Tower Black ATX Case 5X5.25 5X3.5INT No PS Front USB Sound Firewire & eSATA - RC-690-KKN1 In Canada. ($80)
Video - NVidia 280 GTX NCIX.com - Buy EVGA E-GEFORCE GTX 280 Superclocked 621MHZ 1024MB 2.268GHZ GDDR3 Dual DVI-I HDCP HDTV Out Video Card - 01G-P3-1282-AR In Canada. ($420)
Optical - Samsung SH-203 NCIX.com - Buy Samsung SH-S203N Black SATA DVD+RW 20X8X16 DVD-RW 20X6X16 DL18X/12X Lightscribe DVD Writer OEM W/ SW - SH-S203N/BEBN In Canada. ($35)
PSU - Corsair TX750 (or modular HX620) NCIX.com - Buy Corsair TX750W 750W ATX 12V 60A 24PIN ATX Power Supply Active PFC 120MM Fan - CMPSU-750TX In Canada. ($124)
OS HD - Seagate 500 GB 7200.11 NCIX.com - Buy Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 3.5IN 500GB SATA2 8.5MS 7200RPM 32MB Cache NCQ Hard Drive OEM - ST3500320AS In Canada. ($90)
OS - your choice... Vista 64 for me. NCIX.com - Buy Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium Edition 64BIT DVD OEM - 66I-00788 In Canada. ($133.66)

Total $1406.66 - You can add a sound card and knock off the Hard drive.

 

[kING4000]

Thank you for ur suggestions Dwayne.... I know this is 2 sudden, but i was able to pull another 500 toward my build, so now my budget is $2000. I 4got 2 mention earlier, i need a new monitor 22", kb and mouse. I do have a list of components as of now, i will post them in another 30 min or so

@Dashock Thank you, thank you unk:. I only added #9 and 10 :biggrin:

Does anyone know the tax rate for NCIX and DirectCanada? and which place is better?

 

[magictorch]

Looks very good. Now that you've raised another $500 I would maybe go for dell WFP 24inch monitor if you can from a local bestbuy.

 

[tfran]

If you have an extra $500...

Personally, apart from maybe upgrading to Mushkin Ascents, no upgrade beyond what Dwayne suggested are worth the upgrade. You can go from an E8400 to an E8600 or Q9550 but neither offer performance gains anywhere near the premium price.

The only thing I can think of is maybe an SLI board if you plan on maybe getting a 2nd 280 in the future. Don't know enough about them to give reccomendations.

22" monitor -> Samsung and Acer are pretty good and you can get them for as little as $200 in some places
Mouse -> MX518 ~$40
Keyboard -> G15? I don't really see the point of "gaming keyboards" but that seems to be the general consensus. I think you can get them for around $60.

 

[enaberif]

If you have an extra $500...

Personally, apart from maybe upgrading to Mushkin Ascents, no upgrade beyond what Dwayne suggested are worth the upgrade. You can go from an E8400 to an E8600 or Q9550 but neither offer performance gains anywhere near the premium price.

The only thing I can think of is maybe an SLI board if you plan on maybe getting a 2nd 280 in the future. Don't know enough about them to give reccomendations.

22" monitor -> Samsung and Acer are pretty good and you can get them for as little as $200 in some places
Mouse -> MX518 ~$40
Keyboard -> G15? I don't really see the point of "gaming keyboards" but that seems to be the general consensus. I think you can get them for around $60.

Nope stay with the 8400 for gaming. E8600 offers no real difference in performance for a higher price tag.

 

[kING4000]

k, thanks all........... this is my list so far..... Now it is all your job to make it lean in terms of price, without compromising 2much in performance...

Case - Coolermaster Cosmos S Black
Motherboard - Asus P5E3 Premium
CPU - Intel Core 2 Duo E8500
Memory - OCZ Platinum OCZ3P16004GK
Hard Drive - Segate 500 GB
PSU - Corsair TX750W
Video - BFG GeForce GTX 280
Audio - Sound Blaster X-FI Titanium FATAL1TY
Optical Drive - LG GBW-H20L Black
CPU Cooling - OCZ Vendetta 2
Keyboard - Logitech Wave
Mouse - Logitech MX Revolution
Monitor - Samsung Syncmaster 2253BW

 

[enaberif]

k, thanks all........... this is my list so far..... Now it is all your job to make it lean in terms of price, without compromising 2much in performance...

Case
Coolermaster Cosmos S black Motherboard
Asus P5E3 Premium CPU
Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Memory
OCZ Platinum OCZ3P16004GK Hard Drive
Segate 500 GB PSU
Corsair TX750W Video
BFG GeForce GTX 280 Audio
Sound Blaster X-FI Titanium FATAL1TY Optical Drive
LG GBW-H20L Black CPU Cooling


AIR OCZ Vendetta 2 Keyboard
Logitech Wave Mouse
Logitech MX Revolution Monitor
Samsung Syncmaster 2253BW

Don't bother with that board and ram combo.

Stick with something like the P5Q Pro or of the such.

Oh and switch that ugly XFi for a Asus Xonar.

 

[kING4000]

The reason i wanted to get the P5E3 is cuz of teh X48 chipset, i was thinking if adding another 280 video when its price drops below 100. but that will be an sli setup, now what do i do? i am changing the list as we speak, changed my audio to Asus xonar and cpu to e8400. more advice on the mb plz