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Please Help First time ever Building Gameing Comp.


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#1
Campos_12

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Alright, we'll im not much of a expert or genius at picking out parts to build from so if you can please help me. I have been looking at parts but not sure if compatible with another... My Money Budget on this is going to be atleast $3,000. I want this computer to be top of the line for the amount, I am willing to pay for so it would be kind of you guys to help me from scratch and recommend or think i should get "such and such". I hope this is not much to ask for if so I will go somewhere else.

But please I want Intel parts not AMD.

Thanks,
Campos_12
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#2
max-a-million

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hi mate. i have just upgraded computers myself so i think i can give you some help on the topic. if you are building a gamers machine and you have 3000+ to chuck around it might be worth considering a SLI setup. you cant go past a nvidia 9000 series graphics card, personally i think that two 9800gts card working in an SLI setup would go wonderfully.

in terms of a processor, the new Intel Q9450 is aweosme. its quad core, but the best thing is the 12mb of L2 cache. it operates at 2.66ghz which and is about 10-15% faster than the Q9600 quad core processor.

depending on whether you are going with a 32 or 64 bit os will change the amount of ram you can go with. if your going with a 64 bit system, i rekon 8gb would be the go. its probably not necessary at the moment, but in the near future it will be a necessity. however if you are going to go with a 32 bit of you will be forced to go with 4gb. i have just bought 4gb corsair xms2 ram, and it runs well at 800ghz. but you may have a bit more money and could consider going with 1066mhz ram.

anyway just a few thoughts. hope it helps a little bit.

max-a-million
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#3
Campos_12

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Hey thanks for the tips. I decided to try and look for parts and get some info on whats compatible and whats good.
( I Also want a all SLI build).

Computer Case: Not sure could use help, but if you find one please make sure it doesn't have a power supply with it.

MotherBoard:EVGA 132-CK-NF79-A1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 790i Ultra SLI DDR3 ATX Intel Motherboard

OS: Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate SP1 64-bit English 1pk DSP OEI DVD - OEM

Power Supply: Not to much of expert of this so please help.

Memory: 2 Kingston 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 333 (PC 2700) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory

Video Card: 2 EVGA 512-P3-N845-AR GeForce 8800GTS (G92) KO 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card (Overclocked 678)

Sound Card: Creative 53SB000003000 7.1 Channels 24-bit 192KHz PCI Interface Elite Pro Sound Card and HS-900 Headphone Bundle

Thats all i could do i know im still missing some parts but i hope you guys can help complete my list.
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#4
sandman01086

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you want far better RAM then that mate, i know this is an english site but this is the sort of thing you want to be looking for:
http://www.overclock.......&subcat=817

power supply go for a corsair TX 750W, should have enough juice to power SLi with a bit to spare

case is mainly down to personal preference, make sure it's either got a few fans, or enough space to put them in as SLi might crowd it and restrict airflow a tiny bit

Edited by sandman01086, 18 May 2008 - 04:42 PM.

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#5
max-a-million

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hi campos,

have a few comments on your system. 1. i would agree with sandman that you need way better RAM, i would suggest the Corsair 4GB (2x2gb) XMS2 RAM. it is quality and packs at a good rate of 800mhz. whatever you do dont get 333mHz ram, you need at least 800. also what the brand name is ram, can be important, as lower quality is more likely to die on you.

the PSU choice from sandman is also good, but i would also have a look at the antec website and check out their range of power supplies, as far as i am concerned they are the leaders in PSU.

the case, depending on what you are looking for again have a look at the antec website or the thermltake website, they have quality cases with super cooling.

watch the brand of your mobo and graphics as well, im not sure about that brand, i would be looking at something like gigabyte, leadtek, or asus for quality , especially if you have 3000+ to spend.

max-a-million
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#6
sandman01086

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BFG are my personal favouites for graphics cards, but ASUS and EVGA are also good.

kingston and corsair are good brands for RAM

that motherboard looks pretty good though mate, i hear that an nForce 790i chipset is the best for SLi

on your build I can't see a processor on there, forgetting tat could be pretty fatal :)
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#7
kamille316

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I just want to add that the motherboard you have selected (790i) supports DDR3 RAM and what everyone has suggested so far is DDR2 (they're not compatible). I suggest getting a different motherboard as DDR3 are still expensive and timings are not that great either. Take a look at this EVGA 750i board, this one supports SLI and DDR2 RAM.

Is there a great need for a sound card? Do you have speakers that supports surround sound? If not, I suggest sticking with the onboard sound as this has gotten better now, try it first so you don't waste your money on something you didn't even need.

For video card, EVGA and XFX are the best manufacturer (imo) based on the warranty they offer. If you are sticking with the video card you selected, I suggest having a better airflow on your case as 2 OC'd video cards creates more heat (maybe change the fan speed of both video card, ensure you check temperature).

Imo, Corsair and PC Power & Cooling are a much better brand than Antec. If you read around the forum, you will notice that most people suggest Corsair. I am not saying Antec is a bad brand but just saying that Corsair is better. If you're tight in budget, go with Antec as they're usually cheaper.

Another thing is the OS, if you can get the Ultimate as cheap as $100, then go for it. However, I suggest going with Home Premium because the added features in Ultimate does not justify its cost. Here's the site for the comparison of different Vista OS. Home Premium is the way to go.

For RAM, there's quite a few good brands out there like Mushkin, G.Skill, Patriot or Corsair. Find one that requires a lower voltage but tighter timings (i.e. 2.0V and 4-4-4-12).

Hope that helps,
Kamille

EDIT: I forgot to mention that if you want to go 4GB or more for RAM, you should get a 64-bit OS (XP or Vista), 32-bit would only see ~3.5GB or RAM. 4GB of RAM should be sufficient and I suggest going with 2x2GB.

Edited by kamille316, 20 May 2008 - 11:16 AM.

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#8
Campos_12

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Would anyone be willing to make a complete list for me? I'm not really any good at picking good parts.
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#9
kamille316

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$3000 is quite a lot of money, are you intending to use this computer for a long time? There's really no such thing as future proofing because technology just changes so quickly. I suggest saving some of that money and when the time comes where a new hardware has been released, you can upgrade that hardware only.
An example, there was a video card that was release around November 2007 which is about the best one at that time, and now 4-5 months later, that video card has been replaced by a better one with the same price as the November card. And new generations of video cards are coming out again.

Anyways, will you be needing a keyboard, mouse and monitor? Here's what I suggest then:


Update
EVGA 123-YW-E175-A1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 750i FTW SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Model #: 123-YW-E175-A1
Item #: N82E16813188026

Return Policy: Limited Non-Refundable 30-Day Return Policy

In Stock
$199.99 -$10.00 Instant $189.99

Update
XFX PVT88GYDD4 GeForce 8800GTS (G92) 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
Model #: PVT88GYDD4
Item #: N82E16814150267

Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

In Stock
Mail-in Rebate
$249.99 $249.99

Update
CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply - Retail
Model #: CMPSU-750TX
Item #: N82E16817139006

Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

In Stock
Mail-in Rebate
$179.99 -$50.00 Instant $129.99

Update
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80570E8400 - Retail
Model #: BX80570E8400
Item #: N82E16819115037

Return Policy: Processors (CPUs) Return Policy

In Stock
$194.99 $194.99

Update
mushkin 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model 996599 - Retail
Model #: 996599
Item #: N82E16820146785

Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

In Stock
Mail-in Rebate
$139.99 $139.99

Update
Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3500320AS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
Model #: ST3500320AS
Item #: N82E16822148288

Return Policy: Limited 30-Day Return Policy

In Stock
$94.99 $94.99

Update
Pioneer 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model DVR-215DBK - OEM
Model #: DVR-215DBK
Item #: N82E16827129020

Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

In Stock
$30.99 $30.99

Update
Microsoft Windows Vista 64-Bit Home Premium for System Builders Single Pack DVD - OEM
Model #: 66I-00788
Item #: N82E16832116204

Return Policy: Software Return Policy

In Stock
$109.99 -$15.00 Instant $94.99
Subtotal: $1,125.92

You can get a better processor, a larger size hard drive (or more hard drives :) ) or go with 2 9800GTX if you really want to spend all that money.
Computer case is a personal preference, find one that you like and make sure its big enough for SLI (if you intend to do SLI).

Hope that helps,
Kamille

Edited by kamille316, 21 May 2008 - 04:43 PM.

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#10
Campos_12

Campos_12

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$3000 is quite a lot of money, are you intending to use this computer for a long time? There's really no such thing as future proofing because technology just changes so quickly. I suggest saving some of that money and when the time comes where a new hardware has been released, you can upgrade that hardware only.
An example, there was a video card that was release around November 2007 which is about the best one at that time, and now 4-5 months later, that video card has been replaced by a better one with the same price as the November card. And new generations of video cards are coming out again.

Anyways, will you be needing a keyboard, mouse and monitor? Here's what I suggest then:


Update
EVGA 123-YW-E175-A1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 750i FTW SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Model #: 123-YW-E175-A1
Item #: N82E16813188026

Return Policy: Limited Non-Refundable 30-Day Return Policy

In Stock
$199.99 -$10.00 Instant $189.99

Update
XFX PVT88GYDD4 GeForce 8800GTS (G92) 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
Model #: PVT88GYDD4
Item #: N82E16814150267

Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

In Stock
Mail-in Rebate
$249.99 $249.99

Update
CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply - Retail
Model #: CMPSU-750TX
Item #: N82E16817139006

Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

In Stock
Mail-in Rebate
$179.99 -$50.00 Instant $129.99

Update
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80570E8400 - Retail
Model #: BX80570E8400
Item #: N82E16819115037

Return Policy: Processors (CPUs) Return Policy

In Stock
$194.99 $194.99

Update
mushkin 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model 996599 - Retail
Model #: 996599
Item #: N82E16820146785

Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

In Stock
Mail-in Rebate
$139.99 $139.99

Update
Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3500320AS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
Model #: ST3500320AS
Item #: N82E16822148288

Return Policy: Limited 30-Day Return Policy

In Stock
$94.99 $94.99

Update
Pioneer 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model DVR-215DBK - OEM
Model #: DVR-215DBK
Item #: N82E16827129020

Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

In Stock
$30.99 $30.99

Update
Microsoft Windows Vista 64-Bit Home Premium for System Builders Single Pack DVD - OEM
Model #: 66I-00788
Item #: N82E16832116204

Return Policy: Software Return Policy

In Stock
$109.99 -$15.00 Instant $94.99
Subtotal: $1,125.92

You can get a better processor, a larger size hard drive (or more hard drives :) ) or go with 2 9800GTX if you really want to spend all that money.
Computer case is a personal preference, find one that you like and make sure its big enough for SLI (if you intend to do SLI).

Hope that helps,
Kamille


Hey, Thanks for a list. Now are you sure this is all good for that amount of money? and yes I would be interested in a new keyboard and mouse ill look for the monitors myself because im going dual. What do you think would be the best processor? one of the newest ones or one of the lower versions?
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#11
kamille316

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Hey, Thanks for a list. Now are you sure this is all good for that amount of money? and yes I would be interested in a new keyboard and mouse ill look for the monitors myself because im going dual. What do you think would be the best processor? one of the newest ones or one of the lower versions?

The 45-nm ones are the best especially for overclocking, you can get either of the processors below.
Dual Core - Intel E8500
Quad Core - Intel Q9450

For the video card, if you really want the best, you can get either of the ones below (can be SLI'd as well)
9800GTX Black Edition (this one is OC'd)
9800GX2 (this is also OC'd but the 9800GX2 is the best one in the market right now)
or you could wait this June for the next generation video cards.

Kamille
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