First system build

[jackcoke]

My computer which is four years old has just crapped out. I am tired of replacing parts and have been saving money for a new one for awhile. I have 3500 dollars to spend and was going to buy a prebuilt one but decided it is stupid and a waste of money. I only use the computer for gaming and was wondering if anyone had some suggestions on where to start. Thanks for anyhelp.

 

[g-paw]

Suggest a P35 mobo, something like these
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16813131180
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128050

With $3500 you could get an Intel Quad Core or Dual Core
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115029
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115017

Would suggest you research the Intel Quad Core and Dual Core as well as video cards on sites like tomshardware anandtech, and extremetech as well as other legit tech sites. Even with a monitor and speakers you can put together really nice system for around $2000 or less unless you're into serious oveclocking with a water cooled system. You can get a lot of good recommendations on this forum put with the kind of money you can spend, I'd do a lot of research before making several thousand dollar investment in anything.

 

[aadamszc]

I haven't really looked into super-expensive systems all too much, but I'll try to lend some advice.

I mean, it really depends on how frivolous you want to be. You could SLI two 8800 Ultras, but that would cost roughly $1000 in it's self.

I agree with g-paw on the mobo and cpu; however, you could wait a little bit('till 1st Quarter 2008) and go for one of those new fangled peryn's(spelling). For your GPU, you could go for an 8800 Ultra, 2900, or wait until ~mid November to see the new cards that are coming out.

On a high-end system you will obviously want a tier 1 or 2 psu, with significant wattage. It really depends what you are putting in it though.

The case is really personal preference, but you have to make sure that you have adequate cooling/airflow for that beast that you are making. You could probably get away with a fairly pricey one.

Then there are a bunch of frivolous accessories that you could add.
-Sound Card
-Super Huge Hard drives/Raid
-Huge LCD which is what you would want with a expensive video card.

I don't know, I just needed something to do for like 10 minutes and this sounded like a good idea. =\

Hope I helped.
-Adam

 

[aevm]

My computer which is four years old has just crapped out. I am tired of replacing parts and have been saving money for a new one for awhile. I have 3500 dollars to spend and was going to buy a prebuilt one but decided it is stupid and a waste of money. I only use the computer for gaming and was wondering if anyone had some suggestions on where to start. Thanks for anyhelp.

Let me try a starting list. (Prices are very approximate.)

30" monitor $1200
eVGA 680 A1 SLI motherboard, with two 8800 GTX cards $1200
PC Power & Cooling 750W Quad $200
Q6600 $300
Silverstone TJ09 case with 3 additional SFF21E fans $350
WD7500AAKS 750 GB disk $200
LG GSA-H62N DVD-RW $30
etc. etc.

 

[jackcoke]

Thanks for the lists. I just wanted a starting point. Everytime I start researching one part I get led to two different parts and it seems like I am getting lead into 500 directions.

 

[g-paw]

Thanks for the lists. I just wanted a starting point. Everytime I start researching one part I get led to two different parts and it seems like I am getting lead into 500 directions.

Your faced with a common problem, too many choices, compounded by the fact that your budget is not really limiting, good in the sense you can get pretty much whatever you want but bad in the sense it doesn't "force' you to chose something based on price, an enviable dilemma. The consensus seems to be go with Intel and a P35 mobo. Whether to go with Quad or Dual core, your best bet is to read good tech articles comparing them on sites like this, extremetech, and anandtech including reviews of prebuilt high end gaming system, not to buy vs build but the comparative information. As for the brand of mobo, you can't really go wrong with Gigabyte or ASUS. Again read professional reviews of the various P35 mobo to see which stands out for you. Be clear on what you will do, if overclocking one board may stand out or if using RAID another, if not doing either, then these won't be factors in your decision. Same with video cards. Choosing a case, if you're looking at good ones, really is a personal choice, which appeals to you. Given the suggestions you've gotten here and some more research it would be really tough to go wrong regardless of what you ultimately chose. Don't agonize over your decisions, it takes all the fun out of it. Once you decide, don't look back, it's second guessing that usually causes regrets. Good luck

 

[systemlord]

Well if you haven't made up your mind on weather to go SLI, then at least get the 680i so later if you want to go SLI the option is there. Let it be said that not all games work well with SLI, GRAW 1 & 2 to name a few. Games right now don't depend on quad cores, so a E6750 Core 2 Duo will do fine.

A monitor of 22-24" should be enough for just about anyone. I to like the SilverStone TJ09 for the last case you'll buy, I'm getting one in Q1. For a HDD the Raptor 150GB in raid 0 are very quick & responsive. A great PSU would be the Galaxy 1000W from Enermax should last you two or three more PC builds. Like others have said do lots of research before buying because we could tell you all day whats good. Good luck on your new build!

 

[aevm]

OK, let me try another list. Just because the OP can afford to spend $3500 that doesn't mean he should spend it all.

24" monitor $500
GA-P35-DS3R $130
BFG 8800 GTX OC2 $550
PC Power & Cooling 610W (or Corsair 620HX) $130
Q6600 $300 //or E6750 for $200
Silverstone TJ09 case with 3 additional SFF21E fans $350
WD7500AAKS 750 GB disk $200
LG GSA-H62N DVD-RW $30
RAM 2 GB DDR2-800 $70
Total about $2300.