For a Gamer Friend w/ a budget of $1100

[Franklinwallbrown]

This is the build I have given to my friend. I am a little worried about the MB, but I figured it was an ASUS, so...He isn't going to OC it. It is all going to be stock. Is it good for running SC3?

https://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion/Wishlist/PublicWishDetail.asp?WishListNumber=4726789&WishListTitle=ASD

[blkhogan]

If it were mine. Change the motherboard, up the psu to about 600w, cpu change to 5000+ (overclock it and save $50), drop the raptor and get a new segate with the 32mb cache and the case is ok i guess.

Mother board
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131234

PSU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005

CPU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103194

Hard Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148294

-Hogan

[Franklinwallbrown]

Wherefore? He can't OC. I checked on the PSU calculator and he only needed a 299w PSU, but I bumped him up to a 450w. & the Raptor is fast and he only games, so...

What is wrong with the MB?

[blkhogan]

The 6400+ is good also, just putting the 5000+ out there for you to see. Will overclock close to the speed of the 6400+ and is $50 cheaper.

-Hogan

[blkhogan]

Nothing wrong with the motherboard. Just looking at what I might do if it were my gaming system. Just sugestions :)

-Hogan

[CrAsHnBuRnXp]

Killer NIC is a waste IMHO. It might be good if he's on dialup but other than that, id scratch it.

Intel?

[Franklinwallbrown]

I'd go Intel, but he doesn't know how to OC.

[CrAsHnBuRnXp]

So? You can still build a faster intel at stock speeds than an AMD at stock speeds. Overclocking has nothing to do with it.

[DanishDevil]

You're building it for him?

If so, get the 5000+BE, but not a new one. They OC like crap I've heard. Grab one off ebay that's used from a few months ago or something. I would say buy mine, but it sold a few hours ago :p

Just set up his voltages and multiplier in his BIOS and you'll never have to worry about it again, as long as you give him some decent cooling.

[Franklinwallbrown]

No, he's in NY.

[blkhogan]

I would say get it done there where he lives, or are you building it and sending it to him? If he gets it done close to where he lives he will have tech support that he can goto if he has problems. If he is not into building his own or does not have the know how, it might be in his best interest to have it done by a builder.

-Hogan

[Franklinwallbrown]

Yeah

[GameSinewPCs]

Where in NY does your friend live?

[Franklinwallbrown]

Nyc, Ny

[dark2099]

Quick question, does he already have a graphics card since I didn't see one listed in your mock build.

[kenkickr]

I do not see a video card in your list. If he is not going to have a video card why not go with a motherboard that utilizies the 780G chipset since I see a note he plays games. The 780G integrated graphics will kill the 6100 and not suck as much power as the 6100.

[Franklinwallbrown]

It is supposed to have a GTS.

[GameSinewPCs]

Originally there was an 8800GTS in his list, though I'm not sure what happened to it. The 780G chipset is a great onboard solution, especially for Home-Theatre applications. I do not recommend it for gaming.

Edit: (for clarification)The 780G is currently (by far) the most powerful onboard graphics solution on the market. I simply cannot recommend any IGPs for gaming at this time as they are all far too weak for graphically intensive games and even low settings.

[kenkickr]

I was just saying for a little more go with a 780G chipset over the old 6100 since the 780G is greatly superior.

[farlex85]

Thats a pretty high budget, certainly enough to get a much faster system than that, even on stock. Get a wolfdale: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115037

And since he isn't overclocking perhaps this mb: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188024

Not the best ocer, but will give him the option of getting an extra gts in the future. Shouldn't need a sound card really unless he is doing more than 7.1. He probably won't notice the difference, I would spend that money on better proc.

And pick up one of these for storage: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148140

And maybe this psu to allow for sli in the future: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171014

And if he's a gamer, I would go w/ vista for dx10. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116204
cheaper than that xp.

[DaMulta]

I would find away to use a X2 or GX2 in that machine.

[farlex85]

I would find away to use a X2 or GX2 in that machine.

Eh, I dont know maybe. From what I've been seeing here lately 2 3870s perform about on par w/ an x2 for less money. Although there haven't really been comparisons yet, I have a feeling the same would be true w/ the 2 gts.

Plus, one gts is plenty for today's standards unless your gaming at ultra resolutions. And if he gets that board he can get a second gts in the future, and pay far less than for a gx2. Throwing out that much money for a dual video card, to me at least, seems just silly, and won't get you much but the biggest e-penis for a while. Better to get the best w/o going overboard, and leave yourself open to changing in the future.

[DaMulta]

Lets see what I can build

[Franklinwallbrown]

x2? gx2?

[DaMulta]

http://img.techpowerup.org/080324/zfsafasfasf.jpg

[farlex85]

Well, maybe we should clarify some things, does he already have a monitor? And if so, what is its resolution?

[farlex85]

http://img.techpowerup.org/080324/zfsafasfasf.jpg

See, I don't know about that. I don't think 2 3850s will outperform a gts by that much, if at all, all while using more power, heat, and money. Plus that leaves him w/ a weaker proc. And again, no matter what people say about vista, if he is gaming, he is going to want it.

[DaMulta]

There are 3 of them in that list.

[farlex85]

Ah, indeed there are, well, 3 vc and no hdd, case, or memory (unless I am missing something).....

[DaMulta]

O shit LOL

[ktr]

Mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131232
CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115018
Mem: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231144
Gcard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814143119
Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119047
PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341010
HDD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148140
Optical: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106228
Cpu Cooler: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233001
OS: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116400

Total: $1,108.90 w/ $50 in MIR.

Should get you 13k+ in 3Dmarks06 stock.

[DaMulta]

http://img.techpowerup.org/080324/sdfgsgsgsgsdgsdg.jpg

[farlex85]

That one looks pretty good to me, although I would go w/ the wolfdale instead.. I will say it one more time and then I will leave it alone, VISTA DX10! Everybody may still be trashing it but there will come a day (not too long from now) when all is dx10 and you friend will be cursing you b/c you didn't tell him........:laugh:

[dccool879]

DX9 on Vista, for me, gets just barely less performance than XP. In all my benchmarking i've done, the difference is far from significant. So even if he doesn't want dx10 yet, vista is not a bad choice.

[farlex85]

This is true, I just didn't want to go into more detail and turn the thread against its purpose, so I'm using dx10 as my one argument. I, personally, have had better performance w/ vista, and to me at least it is far superior to xp, despite the hype (interesting how hype on this moves AWAY from the new product).:laugh:

[DaMulta]

I'd go with vista too, his fist build had that os on it.

on just a gaming machine it's better to go with slower cheaper ram, slower cheaper cpu with a higher end video card.

If your on a budget.

[Franklinwallbrown]

Thx guys

[BarbaricSoul]

I put this together on newegg, just for shits and giggles.


RAIDMAX xB ATX-528B Black SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case $19.98

ASUS P5N-D LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 750i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard $149.99

EVGA 512-P3-N801-AR GeForce 8800GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card $219.99

COOLER MASTER Real Power Pro RS-750-ACAA-A1 ATX12V/EPS12V 750W Power Supply $129.99

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor Model BX80562Q6600 $254.99

Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model BL2KIT12864AA804 $63.99

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM $99.99

LITE-ON Combo Black IDE Model DH-52C2P-08 $23.99

Pioneer 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black IDE Model DVR-115DBK - OEM $29.99

Logitech Z-4 40 watts 2.1 Speaker - Retail $69.99

Microsoft Windows XP Home With SP2B 1 Pack - OEM $85.99



Not a bad set up I think. $1148.88 total cost, without shipping of course

[BarbaricSoul]

And again, no matter what people say about vista, if he is gaming, he is going to want it.


Why? I mean seriously, I have both vista home premium and XP pro installed on my system(dual boot). I play CoD4, crysis, BF2 and 2142, plus a few other various games. I very rarely boot up vista, even for crysis. I'm seriously thinking of dumping vista when I replace this mobo/cpu. Yeah, I know you need vista for DX10, but honestly, I can do without that for another year. Crysis still looks sweet, even in DX9.

When I put this system together, I just had to have vista, so I went out and spent $160 on the home premium upgrade to have it, and now it seems I only use XP pro(which I get for free). That $160 would have been better spent on better hardware than vista.

[farlex85]

Why? I mean seriously, I have both vista home premium and XP pro installed on my system(dual boot). I play CoD4, crysis, BF2 and 2142, plus a few other various games. I very rarely boot up vista, even for crysis. I'm seriously thinking of dumping vista when I replace this mobo/cpu. Yeah, I know you need vista for DX10, but honestly, I can do without that for another year. Crysis still looks sweet, even in DX9.

When I put this system together, I just had to have vista, so I went out and spent $160 on the home premium upgrade to have it, and now it seems I only use XP pro(which I get for free). That $160 would have been better spent on better hardware than vista.

Well, I'm not gonna really go into it, its all been said before, and part is personal preference. What I will say that if history is a good indication of things to come, Vista and dx10 will be mandatory for anybody wanting to do some serious gaming in the near future (I'm guessing less than a year).

[Franklinwallbrown]

Why? I mean seriously, I have both vista home premium and XP pro installed on my system(dual boot). I play CoD4, crysis, BF2 and 2142, plus a few other various games. I very rarely boot up vista, even for crysis. I'm seriously thinking of dumping vista when I replace this mobo/cpu. Yeah, I know you need vista for DX10, but honestly, I can do without that for another year. Crysis still looks sweet, even in DX9.

When I put this system together, I just had to have vista, so I went out and spent $160 on the home premium upgrade to have it, and now it seems I only use XP pro(which I get for free). That $160 would have been better spent on better hardware than vista.

Tru!