FIrst system need some clarifying answers.

monkeymonk

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Mar 24, 2009
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Ok this is going to be my first gaming computer I have owned. I have spent SO many hours researching different information in preparation for this buy. I have even had to order computers then cancel them the next day because I find a cheaper place to buy from. I have ended up with two options buying from www.cyberpowerpc.com or building it myself. I want whatever is the cheapest and most convenient option. Here is what I am planning to buy from cyberpowerpc.com just want some last minute opinion.

CASE: Thermaltake M9 VI1000BWS Mid-Tower 420W Case w/ Side-panel Window

LED: 12in COLD CATHODE NEON LIGHT (BLUE COLOR)

Case Fan: Extra 3-Color Neon Light LED Case Fan 2 x Fans

POWERSUPPLY: 680 Watts Power Supplies (Hush Power Supply SLI/CrossFire Ready)

CPU: Intel® Core™ 2 Quad Q9400 @ 2.66GHz

CPU Heatsink and Fan: XtremeGear Ultra Heatpipe Cool Copper Heat sink CPU Cooling Fan 20dBA

MOTHERBOARD: Asus P5N-D nForce 750i SLI Chipset LGA775 FSB1333 DDR2 Mainboard

MEMORY: 4GB (2GBx2) PC6400 DDR2/800 Dual Channel Memory (Corsair or Major Brand)

VIDEO: NVIDIA GeForce 9500 GT 1GB 16X PCI Express (Major Brand Powered by NVIDIA)

VIDEO2: NVIDIA GeForce 9500 GT 1GB 16X PCI Express (Major Brand Powered by NVIDIA)

Hard drive: 500GB (500GBx2) SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache 7200RPM

CD: Sony 20X Double Layer Dual Format DVD+-R/+-RW + CD-R/RW Drive

SOUND: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO

SPEAKERS: 600Watts PMPO Subwoofer Stereo Speakers

NETWORK: ONBOARD 10/100 NETWORK CARD

KEYBOARD: Razer Lycosa Black USB Gaming Keyboard

MOUSE: XtremeGear Optical USB 3 Buttons Gaming Mouse

XWNC: Zonet USB Wireless 802.11g 54Mbps Network Adapter

FLASHMEDIA: INTERNAL 12in1 Flash Media Reader/Writer)


If you would like to see what the other options are for components you can go to the website and click on mega special III.

Here a few questions I have that are specific:

-Is that power supply going to be enough to run my whole computer even if I overclock a little bit?
-Is that cpu cooler going to be enough?
-Is there a motherboard for about that price that will work better?
-Should I get those two 1gb Video cards in SLI or should I get one 2GB GeForce 9600 and get a second one later on down the road?
-This is a bigger issue I am debating with, should I get one 500 GB or two 500 GB in raid? Is there much of a difference? If I should get raid then what one what are the differences?
Is the data split between the two HDs automatic?
-Should I get a wireless USB network card or a wireless PCI network card?
-Would it be cheaper to get this system or a similar system built myself?
-Any other sugestions?

Keep in mind I have a budget. My MAX is about $1000 I already have a monitor and my system above is $981 with no tax or shipping and handling. It also has a 3 year warranty.
I know this post is very long but I want to make sure this is the best deal I can get so that I will be satisfied. Any contribution is helpful and I need responses as soon as possible like 5 days until I decide to buy that system. :??:
 
I forgot to mention I am not doing anything extreme on this just playing a couple of windows of wow I just want this thing future proof and able to run anything I throw at it. My uncle has a 64 bit vista that he is going to give to me for free. So I have my OS already figured out unless i should get vista ultimate...should I?
 

I've never done it before but I would really enjoy to try I have spent a lot of time researching it. It looks easy enough, kinda like putting together some really expensive legos. I always have my uncle to ask get help from. I really only wan to do though if it is going to save me a good amount of money like $100 at least.
 
Well I'd prefer Intel just seems like a better brand. Your first 3 links worked but the rest did not work. Also the first two MOBO's say that they only have one PCIe x16 slot I would like at least two. So you are saying that you think it will be worthwhile to build my one computer? Even with all the shipping for the components? I'm getting tired so I'll check back tomorrow after school thnx for ur time. Its good to get some real advice. 😀
 
Those 600 watt speakers are not really 600 watts. you'd be better off going with a good 50 watt name brand, as well as a better known power supply like corsair, pc power & cooling or thermaltake. spend the money because it will be the one thing you take with you besides the case. Personally, I'd go for 750 if i was gonna future proof.
 
Build yourself, not that hard. Keep posting here, and you will get a lot of really good advice, and help to put it all together.
The system you have picked out is not exactly what I would pick for a gaming PC. First, I personally would not buy any board with an nVidia chipset. Intel and AMD chipset platforms are just more stable, less problems.
Second, a 9500GT is bottom of the barrel for a gaming card. Putting 2 of them in SLI is meaning now you have 2 bottom of barrel gaming cards instead of 1. A 9600GT is not much better. Be advised, for a gaming PC you can skimp a little on everything else to save money, do not skimp on the video card.
gkay09 has made suggestions that would be far, far, far, far better than what in you have in your first list for running games.
There is no reason to not buy the AMD rig. It WILL run anything you throw at it with right video card, and believe me, it is a much better choice than the Intel build you made in the first post.
 
So it seems that everyone thinks I should build it myself. *Sigh* looks like more research.
So Here is my new question: What exactly is the best computer build including tax and shipping that I can get for about $1000.
Here are my specifications:
-I want as big of a case as possible with as many fans as possible (bigger better)
The case needs to have a side window. About same price as Thermaltake M9 VI1000BWS.
-As many blue lights as possible
-None stock CPU fan
-Preferably Intel processor was looking at Q9400
-A motherboard that has space for at least 8 GB of ram and can support raid and has two PCIe x16 slots
-At least 500GB of space on 1 (2 If you recommend RAID) Hardrive(s)
-4GB of RAM
-One or two video cards (Eventually will get second one) at least 1GB of memory
-Some form of wireless connectivity either internal or external
-A power supply that will be able to handle everything and even a little bit of overclocking.

If the components I am looking for are too expensive for me then should I wait a month or maybe two months for prices to change?

Still would like to know about RAID levels and about vista ultimate vs normal 64 bit vista.
 
Looks like for pci express x16 you'll have to go with an x48 chipset if you want pcie revision 2.0, if you just want x16 (1.0) you can go with a board that has the 2nd slot at x8, on a 2.0 board because a pcie 2.0 slot at x8 is the same bandwidth as a revision 1.0 x 16 slot.

You could get a nice gigabyte board based on a p45 chipset then, loaded and fairly cheap.

Just go with a corsair ps and skip the hassle of multiple 12v rails and such. A 750 is usually 109 or so around the web.