Building a new gaming system. Need a lil help

[Drazn]

Well I have decided I need to put my old rig out to pasture so I need some help with my current build. I am basically looking for a system that can run pretty much any game out there on the highest settings. If you guys have any suggestions or thoughts I would appreciate hearing them. Thanks.



Case:Cool Masters Stacker 830

CPU: E8400 or Q6600 <--- Need some real help with this one.

Mobo:Asus Striker Formula 2

PSU: True Power 1000W

Memory: Ballistix Tracer 2GB PC2-8500 (DDR2-1066) x2

Video Card: BFG 8800 GTS 512mb x 2 (Wondering if the GT model would suffice or should I wait for 9800)

Harddrive:Seagate Barracuda 750GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

 

[lunyone]

Okay here it goes. This will give you plenty of power for now and give you good GPU power for the $. If you want to add more GPU, I'd go with the 3870x2 instead of the 8800gts that I listed. It'll cost you about $125 or so more than the GPU listed below, but you can make that decision. I believe the SLI is overatted and thus don't really recommend those setups. There are alot of things that you have to buy to support SLI/Xfire and I believe it's wasted $, but that is just MHO.

CPU - $245!! Getting a G0 OEM CPU!!
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 G0 Stepping Kentsfield 2.40GHz 8MB L2 LGA 775 Processor OEM HH80562PH0568M SLACR
http://www.clubit.com/product_deta [...] o=A1938460

Mobo - $130 shipped! One of the better p35 boards available. Get a mobo that has all of the options that you need.
GIGABYTE GA-EP35-DS3R LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Dynamic Energy Saver Ultra Durable II Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813128086

GPU - $277 - $30 MIR = $307!! You can upgrade within 90 days using the "Step Up" program, if you want to get the latest GPU. Limited Lifetime Warranty!
EVGA 512-P3-N841-AR GeForce 8800GTS (G92) 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814130325

PSU - $120 - $20 MIR = $100!!! One of the best PSU's you can get in this price range. Has plenty of connections for your upgrade needs! Has 5 yr. warranty too!
CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX ATX12V / EPS12V 650W Power Supply 100 - 240 V UL, CE, CB, TUV, FCC, CCC - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817139005

Memory - $105 - $15 MIR = $90!! Cheap and fast CAS 4 DDR2. Allows you to upgrade to 8gb's later, if you like.
Patriot Viper 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820220293

HD - $100!! You'll enjoy the extra space. If you need more, just buy more now or just buy another HD later.
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822136073

DVD Burner - $29 shipped!! This is the retail version, so you can view/burn DVD's, because the software is included!
PHILIPS 2-Tone 20X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 20X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 24X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 20X DVD±R DVD Burner - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827248008

Case - $120 - $40 MIR = $80!!! One of the best cases in this price range. It cools well and is constructed well.
Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] %2bHundred

OS - $100. Probably the best Vista OS for the $.
Microsoft Windows Vista 64-Bit Home Premium for System Builders Single Pack DVD - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6832116204

CPU HSF - $23 shipped!! Better deal than the one you listed
Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro CPU Fan For Intel CPU
http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=FAN-AC7PRO

Total ~$1249 - $105 = $1144!! You can obviously find better deals if you go hunting for them, but these are from reputable online vendors, so take that into consideration. Newegg seems to have the best customer service, but doesn't always have a good price on things, so shop around before you purchase. You can decide if any of these will work for you or not, I just wanted to show you what/where you could save some $ on and not really hurt too mucy performance on a single GPU solution.

 

[akhilles]

If you're dead set on tri SLI, the 780i is the only option. If you read the latest benchmarks on tri SLI, SLI is the best bang. Almost 100% speed bump in some games. Tri not so much.

 

[Drazn]

What is a better option than SLI? Im looking to run any game out there at the highest settings. You have any suggestions?

 

[rajhardia]

The fastest card out there is a ATi Radeon 3870X2 card!
You could consider that and its a whole lot cheaper, though 9800GX2 will be available soon for higher price!

 

[Drazn]

Can you crossfire that card...since its already X2 I wasnt sure if you were able to do it.

 

[lunyone]

Can you crossfire that card...since its already X2 I wasnt sure if you were able to do it.

Yes you can. You'll need a Xfire ready board, but not sure if the drivers are out for them to be Xfire'd or not.

 

[Drazn]

What other options are available to me if I stick with Nvida. I was looking at the EVGA or Asus 780I Nvidia chip sets but I hear that chipset has issues.

 

[lunyone]

Not too many, since Intel has their x38/x48 chipsets supporting AMD GPU's. Personally I'd stick with a single card solution and go with the 3870x2 or the upcoming nVidia offering. I think Xfire/SLI are over-rated, but that is MHO.
* You'll save $ on the PSU
* You'll save $ on the GPU(s)
* You can take that $ saved on the previous comments and upgrade your GPU in 12-18 mo. from now and probably be faster than a current SLI/Xfire situation.

 

[akhilles]

FYI, the latest word is that the 9800GX2 won't work (desktop ok; games will crash) on X48 due to a "bug" which I speculate is a scheme to force people to buy nvidia-chipset boards. The card is supposed to be released this week. No ideas whether any other new cards will have the "bug".

The superbug is Intel. They have Crossfire & SLI support (only Skulltrail $600US).

BTW, the 9800gx2 isn't faster than HD3870X2 in all top games. It seems to suffer in AA. It is only DX10.0. HD3870X2 is DX10.1. & cheaper to boot. $450-500 vs $600-700 US.

Every chipset has issues. They can be fixed by bioses or revisions. If you're talking about overclocking, you can overclock anything if you know how. The noobs are complaining they can't take 780i too far. If you check out evga forums, some of them regulars have no problem o/cing Wolfies to 4ghz & beyond.