My first homebuilt gaming rig

[dietdewhead]

Hey guys! First time poster, long time reader!

After debating buying a pre-made system (Dell, Alien, Falcon) I've decided to build my own gaming computer. I've been scouring the forums and have come up with what I feel is an alright blue print. But, being as this is my first home-built, I thought it would be prudent to run it by the pros here to see if I'm missing something!

I don't really have a budget. I was figuring under $2,500, but that's a *soft* figure. This build would run like $1500 to 1800ish I believe depending on the case and hard drive choices.

Without further delay, here goes!

Motherboard:
ASUS RAMPAGE FORMULA LGA 775 Intel X48 ATX Intel
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131284

Processor:
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 Yorkfield 2.66GHz 12MG L2 Cache LGA 775 95W Quad-core Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115042

Power Supply:
Not 100% what to pick here?? I saw this one in another post. Please let me know if you have a better idea.

CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Suppl
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006

RAM:
Mushkin 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146731

UPDATE: Will be using 8 GB of this RAM instead:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231194

CPU Cooler:
XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler with retention bracket
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233003
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233019

Video:
Dual Radeon HD 4870 512MG 256-bit GDDR5 (Crossfired)
Does it matter what brand on this?? I see a few different choices on Newegg.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102748

Hard Drive:
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM
Would it be a *huge* difference between this and the Velociraptor drive?? I would be willing to grab 2 of the 350 V-Raptors if there's a huge speed difference. So far from what I've read, it doesn't sound like there's a *huge* difference. Thoughts on this would be great!
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136218

CD/DVD Burner:
LITE-ON Black 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 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA DVD Burner
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106057


Case:

I'm having the hardest time deciding on a case. In the running are the Antec 900 and 1200 as well as the Tempest the Cool Masters and that brushed aluminum Lian Li (very sexy case). The more I read about the cases the further I get from making a choice. Any thoughts here would be AMAZING! (even if it's a case I haven't mentioned) Also, should I replace the case fans with aftermarket right away??

Thank you very much in advance!

 

[dirtmountain]

The corsair 750TX is a good choice
I like the Coolermaster 690, but i'm an old geezer and don't want the window or the lights on the Antec 900.

Looks good, be aware if you get 2 graphic cards with a rebate you'll only be eligible to get 1 rebate..................... Unless you get one sent to a neighbor or a family memeber. Not that i'd advise you to do anything unethical or illegal of course.

 

[shadowthor]

looks good, i have somewhat of a similar setup, just different ram, cpu cooler and psu.

 

[mexpedip]

Case - Antec 1200 but I am biased.

HDD - The VR gets amazing reviews but I know I am too cheap to buy one. My Seagate 7200.11 (comparable to your WD) does a great job and I could buy 3 for less then 1 VR.

Other then that it looks like you have done a great job reading the forums before posting your picks. Whatever your final decisions you will be very happy.

 

[dietdewhead]

The corsair 750TX is a good choice
I like the Coolermaster 690, but i'm an old geezer and don't want the window or the lights on the Antec 900.

Looks good, be aware if you get 2 graphic cards with a rebate you'll only be eligible to get 1 rebate..................... Unless you get one sent to a neighbor or a family memeber. Not that i'd advise you to do anything unethical or illegal of course.

I'm not really worried about the rebates, but thanks for the tip! I usually forget to send them in or enclose the right stuff (I'm kind of scatterbrained some days).


My newest question:

On another forum I saw a guy that had a mesh jacket around all his wires and it looked AMAZING. Something like this:

These were obtained from the muderMod 0001 worklog at: http://murdermod-one.million-dollar-pc.com/

Anyone know where to get this stuff? I looked on newegg, but didn't have much luck. I'm wondering if it would end up being a major hassle to sheath everything (very awesome looking no doubt).

 

[m-triple]

nice build, i have a very similar build to you except im using a 250GB seagate do the 32MB cache, i suggest the antec 300 case, its cheap and not too flashy unless you're into that stuff


and corsair 750w should do

 

[darckeen]

your getting all premium parts with one notable exception, the ram, might wanna get something rated at a higher speed to get the most from yer rampage.

 

[dietdewhead]

your getting all premium parts with one notable exception, the ram, might wanna get something rated at a higher speed to get the most from yer rampage.

Any good ideas for a RAM pick? I was under the impression that the Muskin sticks were pretty nice cause they were rated at 1.8V and could be over-clocked easily? I really don't know much about RAM at all though, so please correct me if I'm wrong. Again, price is not really an issue. What would you go with?

 

[darckeen]

Something like this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231194

 

[darckeen]

or this if you want to stick with Mush

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146755

 

[dietdewhead]

Something like this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231194

Oh nice! Those are really sexy! I think I'll go with those instead of the ones I originally posted. Thanks for the link! I hadn't seen those on newegg yet

 

[dietdewhead]

Just saw your second reply. I haven't bought RAM in over 2 years. Which brand has a better reputation?

 

[darckeen]

The G.Skills are better, rated 5-5-5-15 1.8-1.9v @ 1100mhz. The low voltage would probably allow you to tighten the timings beyond the specs.

 

[metallbizkit]

Wouldn't the original RAM be better unless he's really doing some heavy overclocking? I mean bumping the processor up to 3.2ghz would get the FSB to 1600mhz to match the DDR2 800 correct? So wouldn't paying more for other RAM be pointless unless past that point? Also, the original RAM has nice timings and low voltage.

Maybe I'm missing something?

 

[darckeen]

The ram bus ratio has a minimum of 1:1 to the fsb, but it can be set higher then 1:1. So you could have a 400 fsb and your ram running at 600 with a 2:3 ratio. My point is why spend $300 a piece on mobo, CPU, GPUx2, then spend just $50 ram when it is just as crucial to the system performance as the rest of the premium components. If OC'ed extensively the ram would likely prove to be the bottle neck. Nothing against that mushkin ram, its good and should be capable of running at 500 fsb with looser timings and higher voltage, but if budget isn't an issue why leave it to chance?

 

[xeab]

If you were looking at the HD4870, TigerDirect now carries the new 4870 XOC http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-Details.asp?EdpNo=4008604&sku=D10-4872&srkey=4870%20xoc it costs $314.99 and the core clock can go all the way to 950mhz.

 

[dietdewhead]

If you were looking at the HD4870, TigerDirect now carries the new 4870 XOC http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-Details.asp?EdpNo=4008604&sku=D10-4872&srkey=4870%20xoc it costs $314.99 and the core clock can go all the way to 950mhz.

What's the difference between that one and the normal 4870?? I assume the XOC stands for factory overclocked??

Back to RAM. Yes, I see the point in picking better RAM. Money really isn't an issue for this build, so I've decided to pick up 8 gigs of RAM now instead of the original 4gigs because I'll be running Vista 64 bit.

 

[dietdewhead]

Saw some more reviews on the G Skill kits. They sound like a winner! I think I'll be using 4 sticks of those. Thanks much for the link darckeen!

I've never overclocked RAM before...what kind of timings should I be going for with those?? 4-4-4-12? At 2-2.1V? I've run mainly Dell computers up until this point, so my bios experience is limited at best. Anyone have a link to a guide on bios mods to overclock RAM?

Sorry to pepper you with questions...just hoping to get this all right from the get go.

 

[darckeen]

The asus rampage x48 is a very popular board, i'm sure you could find several dedicated threads on overclocking sites that will let you know how to go about getting the most from it and that ram. 8g sounds like overkill, 4g should be fine, but hey why not lol.

 

[darckeen]

Or look here, but register now as it takes a week or two to get posting rights.

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=185

 

[dietdewhead]

Or look here, but register now as it takes a week or two to get posting rights.

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=185

Thanks...great stuff there on OCing the RAM! Bookmarked for when I put it together!
Yeah, I figured, whats another 4 gigs lol.


Now I just need to figure out a case. I've ruled out the 900 and Tempest. Still looking at the 1200, Cosmos S, Thermaltake Armor + VH6000BWS, a couple Lian Li's and the Black Pearl. Having a hell of a time picking between them!