Best Gaming Rig: Need Help Deciding

SolloT

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Mar 7, 2009
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Hi People, I was thinking of buying a Custom Built PC, mostly for hardcore gaming. I did my research, and I just wanted to confirm it with the community if this machine that I'm thinking of would kick-ass and play any game like Crysis, Flight Simulator X, Bioshock or WoW.

Here are the Specs that I'm thinking of buying:

- Q9650 Quad Processor or i7 Core Processor

- 2 Terra byte HD (2000gb)

- nVidia GTX 295/280/260 Graphics Card

- 27" LCD Monitor

- 4GB Ram DDR2

- A good quality case

-"IMPORTANT"-Motherboard that Good. No details.

-Windows XP

I just need help with the selection. I'm going to ask a couple of questions, and I'm hoping back for answers.

*Should I buy the Q9650 or the i7 Core Processor? Which one is better?
*I was thinking of Buying 4gb of ram, because I'm going to be using XP. Should I buy DDR2 OR DDR3?
*What type of Graphics Card Should I buy? Price is not much of a Big Deal, anything under 700 or around there. But I do want a Very Good GPU, So I can play Crysis, or FSX without Lag or bad FRAMERATE.

Thanks for the answers People.

Cheers
 

sassan

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Mar 7, 2009
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With staying within bounds of your $700 budget this is what I came up with. It's a decent build for that $$$. The case runs 3x120mm fans, is vented and has plenty of room for that vid card. I went with a low profile heatsink and it's a decent one for the price. It uses scews and not push pins and is a safe bet for a mild overclock. The cpu is even better if you push it up to 3.16GHz @ 1333 fsb (9.5 x 333). It's a nice mild overclock for that cpu. :) The vid card is a decent one at that price and will run the games you want ...not Crysis on high maybe, but it will be playable. Hopefully you get your hands on Vista 64 so you can try out the DX10. The psu is modular, so no problem with cramping that case with a lot of unneeded cables.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119104 $49.99
COOLER MASTER Centurion 534 RC-534-SKN2-GP Black / Silver Aluminum & Mesh bezel / SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835150070 $4.99
MASSCOOL FD12025S1L3/4 120mm Case Fan - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341022 $79.99 Free Shipping*
OCZ Fatal1ty OCZ550FTY 550W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Modular Active PFC Power Supply - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128380 $79.99
GIGABYTE GA-EP43-UD3L LGA 775 Intel P43 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115206 $119.99 Free Shipping*
Intel Core 2 Duo E7400 Wolfdale 2.8GHz 3MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231209 $44.99 Free Shipping*
G.SKILL PI Black 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136152 $22.99 Free Shipping*
LG Black 22X (CAV) DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 22X (CAV) DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 22X DVD±R DVD Burner - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102810 $164.99 ($149.99 after $15.00 Mail-In Rebate) Free Shipping*
SAPPHIRE 100259L Radeon HD 4870 512MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319 $79.99 Free Shipping*
Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835101026 $29.99 Free Shipping*
ASUS V72 92mm Sleeve CPU Cooler - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186020 $6.99
ARCTIC COOLING MX-2 Thermal Compound - Retail

Total: $684.89 (not including shipping and rebates)
 

Helloworld_98

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Feb 9, 2009
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Yeah you're not getting I7 or q9650 for $700 budget.

The best you're gonna get is Why_Me's build except based on a AMD 720 BE with a $40 cooler.

If it's £700 though, you could just about get a AM3 build with ddr3 and maybe a 4870 1GB toxic.
 


I took it for granted he was a yank, until I got a reply email and it said UK/Ireland forum. :??: lol

I would have used overclockers UK for this build had I known he was a Brit.
 

xthekidx

Splendid
Dec 24, 2008
3,871
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I think he was saying $700 for the GPU, not the entire system...

What size of monitor will you be playing on? That has a large effect on the GPU you need to run at the resolution your monitor has. Bigger monitor needs more GPU power to render all those pixels. If you can afford $700, then get 2 GTX 285's in SLI on an X58 mobo. My favorite mobo for the i7 is the P6T Deluxe V2.

On the OS, you should really go with a 64bit so you can get the most performance for your money, XP is only available in XP Pro, otherwise you should get vista (especially for gaming since it supports DX10, DX9 on XP looks bland in comparison IMO)
 

computersss

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Dec 9, 2008
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guys i am assuming he meant that he wants only the GPU under 700$ not the whole built because anyone who is going to build a pc would atleast know that he won't get theses parts for 700$ and because he said money isn't an issue,anyway i would use overclockers UK
 

jpdykes

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I sort of agree with ^.

With a 27" screen in the budget I would be heading in the direction of the new i7 stuff. As suggested by xthekidx.

I would agree with a fast hdd for windows though.

Jeremy
 

xthekidx

Splendid
Dec 24, 2008
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So here is what I think you should do:
i7-920
P6T Deluxe v2
OCZ Platinum 6gb DDR3-1600mhz
2x GTX 285's in SLI or GTX 295
2x 1tb WD Caviar Black HDD
Samsung or LG DVD Drive
Vista home premium 64bit
Corsair 850tx PSU
Cooler Master Haf 932 Or Storm Sniper Case for excellent cooling and lots of room
Coolermaster V8 CPU Cooler
MX-2 Thermal Grease

That will be an awesome gaming system, and seems to fit the bill of what you are looking for. It doesn't sound like price is too big of an issue for you, but nevertheless those are probably best parts for the price looking at the performance you are looking for. Those parts are all top tier quality parts and that system will run any game out there for some time to come, you will not be disapointed with that rig.
 

Helloworld_98

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if money is no limit then you might as well get a water cooled system with GTX 285's in sli since the x58 chipset doesn't allow any more than 32 lanes at a time and they perform better than the gtx 295.
 

boulard83

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Oct 20, 2008
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i desagree with KID. get a GTX285 they are better.

SLI GTX285 beat a GTX295. 3SLI GTX285 beat a quadGTX295. GTX285 are just BETTER.

Buy a nice I7 rig, with decent cooling, and a GOOD PSU. Corsair 850 for SLI.
 

xthekidx

Splendid
Dec 24, 2008
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That is what I said...the GTX 295 I suggested was just a cheaper alternative to 285 SLI