Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - Bulding new PC, ~$4000, component questions, etc

Looften · 07-27-2006, 06:49 AM

Ok, well, it's new computer time once again. In the past I have had Dells or other brand name pc's, and previously had an Alienware. I'll admit that I was dissapointed with the Alienware; it did not seem as polished as should be expected for the price. So this time I have decided to build my own. This is the first time that I've build my own pc, but I have changed out and replaced most of the components of various pc's, so I don't think I'll have any particular problems.

The main concern I have is getting the right parts. It is one thing to assemble components, but a whole different story to make sure I have the right components to begin with.

My price range is roughly $4000, although lower is always better. That said, $4000 is about the cost of a top of the line system without entering the range of being more powerful than most applications can take advantage of.

I made a list of components a few months ago, but with the whole Conroe, Opteron Italy's I'll be more or less making a new list.

By the way, this system is more or less purely for efficient, fast gaming.

Here is a list of what would seem like an applicable, well performing system:

Case: $220
Lian Li V COOL PC-V1200B plus Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811112090
Seems to be a nice, roomy, well made case with good air flow. It's a bit hard to tell it's actual size from pictures, how do mid towers like this compare to full towers?

Power Supply: $160
GameXStream OCZ700GXSSLI ATX12V 700W Power Supply 100 - 240V
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817341002
I hear good things about this one, and plenty of power.

Processor: $600-1000
I was going to get an Athlon duel core, etc deal, but that was months ago. It seems that the intel conroe chips are coming out now and are reportively very good.
Am I correct in thinking that this:
Intel® Core™2 Extreme Processor X6800 is the cream of the crop?
I notice that the X6800, rated at 2.93 ghz is going for about $1000, while the X6700 at 2.67 ghz for $600. I really want to make a killer system, and I'd really hate to skimp on the processor, but I have to wonder if this is a raw deal. Can I get any input on this from those following it more closely?

Motherboard: $200
ASUS P5N32-SLI Deluxe
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131564
This seems to be the appropriate motherboard for a future Conroe rig. This one also has SLI support, which is handy since I'm planning on an Nvidia card.
It seems that there is not much choice when picking an SLI conroe ready motherboard. Should I stick with this one? Or do I have other options? Should I just settle on a better performing, non SLI board considering that I may never even set up an sli system?

Memory: $470
Chttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145035ORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM Unbuffered DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel
Ok ok, this is a lot to spend on ram, more than I was planning on, but... but cas3, ohh. Would this be appropriate for my motherboard though?

Optical Drive: $106
PLEXTOR PX-755SA
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827249006
I'll pretty much be shelling out an extra $50 for an optical drive that connects via SATA, but I don't really want to bother with IDE or the such if I don't need to. Plus this comes with a very nice software bundle.

Hard Drives: $520
Western Digital Raptor WD1500ADFD x2 in Raid 0
Yeah, that'll be fast.

But, with plenty of sata2 slots in the motherboard, it almost seems a shame to be using sata1 drives, but seeing as there are no 10k rpm sata2 drives there is not much choice. It seems everybody agrees that 10k rpm sata1s in raid will beat 7200 rpm sata2 drives in raid. I could also go for the 74 gig raptors to save some cash. Is there any real dissadvantages in not using the slower rpm sata2 drives? Oh... and I have never done a RAID setup, so... that'll be fun.

Sound Card: $200
Creative SOUND BLASTER X-Fi Fatal1ty
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16829102189
Good audio is always appreciated.

Video Cards: $600
Geforce 7950GX2
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814150160
Excellent card, performance tests have put it roughly equal to sli 7900's. While quad sli isn't coming together quite so well, I've read of many doing it already with the beta drivers. One will do quite well for now, but it's nice to have the option in the future. What I don't know is what manufacturer to go with. XFX has one overclocked a tiny bit right out of the box, but from what I hear they can be overclocked quite well, so any that I buy will probably be boosted eventually. I also hear that eVGA is a good brand.

Speakers: $86
Creative Inspire P7800 90 Watts 7.1 Speaker
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16836116153
I happen to see that these inexpensive 7.1 speakers have gotten excellent reviews on newegg.

Monitor: $640
NEC 20WMGX2-BK
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824002320
Higher end lcd display. Native 1680x1050 resolution, 6ms response time, and unbeatable brightness and contrast. This will be my first lcd, so I'd like it to work well.

How will my proposed system do in terms of heat? It seems to be a roomy case with plenty of fans, but if necessary I can add additional cooling components. That's about it for components as far as I can think. I'm putting a lot of money into my first build, so while I've done a lot of research, I'm still counting on the more experienced community to give me a confirmation. Thanks much in advanced for all the help, I'll be checking in occasionally.

07-27-2006, 06:49 AM	#1 (permalink)
Looften Crazy	Bulding new PC, ~$4000, component questions, etc Ok, well, it's new computer time once again. In the past I have had Dells or other brand name pc's, and previously had an Alienware. I'll admit that I was dissapointed with the Alienware; it did not seem as polished as should be expected for the price. So this time I have decided to build my own. This is the first time that I've build my own pc, but I have changed out and replaced most of the components of various pc's, so I don't think I'll have any particular problems. The main concern I have is getting the right parts. It is one thing to assemble components, but a whole different story to make sure I have the right components to begin with. My price range is roughly $4000, although lower is always better. That said, $4000 is about the cost of a top of the line system without entering the range of being more powerful than most applications can take advantage of. I made a list of components a few months ago, but with the whole Conroe, Opteron Italy's I'll be more or less making a new list. By the way, this system is more or less purely for efficient, fast gaming. Here is a list of what would seem like an applicable, well performing system: Case: $220 Lian Li V COOL PC-V1200B plus Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811112090 Seems to be a nice, roomy, well made case with good air flow. It's a bit hard to tell it's actual size from pictures, how do mid towers like this compare to full towers? Power Supply: $160 GameXStream OCZ700GXSSLI ATX12V 700W Power Supply 100 - 240V http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817341002 I hear good things about this one, and plenty of power. Processor: $600-1000 I was going to get an Athlon duel core, etc deal, but that was months ago. It seems that the intel conroe chips are coming out now and are reportively very good. Am I correct in thinking that this: Intel® Core™2 Extreme Processor X6800 is the cream of the crop? I notice that the X6800, rated at 2.93 ghz is going for about $1000, while the X6700 at 2.67 ghz for $600. I really want to make a killer system, and I'd really hate to skimp on the processor, but I have to wonder if this is a raw deal. Can I get any input on this from those following it more closely? Motherboard: $200 ASUS P5N32-SLI Deluxe http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131564 This seems to be the appropriate motherboard for a future Conroe rig. This one also has SLI support, which is handy since I'm planning on an Nvidia card. It seems that there is not much choice when picking an SLI conroe ready motherboard. Should I stick with this one? Or do I have other options? Should I just settle on a better performing, non SLI board considering that I may never even set up an sli system? Memory: $470 Chttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145035ORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM Unbuffered DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Ok ok, this is a lot to spend on ram, more than I was planning on, but... but cas3, ohh. Would this be appropriate for my motherboard though? Optical Drive: $106 PLEXTOR PX-755SA http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827249006 I'll pretty much be shelling out an extra $50 for an optical drive that connects via SATA, but I don't really want to bother with IDE or the such if I don't need to. Plus this comes with a very nice software bundle. Hard Drives: $520 Western Digital Raptor WD1500ADFD x2 in Raid 0 Yeah, that'll be fast. But, with plenty of sata2 slots in the motherboard, it almost seems a shame to be using sata1 drives, but seeing as there are no 10k rpm sata2 drives there is not much choice. It seems everybody agrees that 10k rpm sata1s in raid will beat 7200 rpm sata2 drives in raid. I could also go for the 74 gig raptors to save some cash. Is there any real dissadvantages in not using the slower rpm sata2 drives? Oh... and I have never done a RAID setup, so... that'll be fun. Sound Card: $200 Creative SOUND BLASTER X-Fi Fatal1ty http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16829102189 Good audio is always appreciated. Video Cards: $600 Geforce 7950GX2 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814150160 Excellent card, performance tests have put it roughly equal to sli 7900's. While quad sli isn't coming together quite so well, I've read of many doing it already with the beta drivers. One will do quite well for now, but it's nice to have the option in the future. What I don't know is what manufacturer to go with. XFX has one overclocked a tiny bit right out of the box, but from what I hear they can be overclocked quite well, so any that I buy will probably be boosted eventually. I also hear that eVGA is a good brand. Speakers: $86 Creative Inspire P7800 90 Watts 7.1 Speaker http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16836116153 I happen to see that these inexpensive 7.1 speakers have gotten excellent reviews on newegg. Monitor: $640 NEC 20WMGX2-BK http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824002320 Higher end lcd display. Native 1680x1050 resolution, 6ms response time, and unbeatable brightness and contrast. This will be my first lcd, so I'd like it to work well. How will my proposed system do in terms of heat? It seems to be a roomy case with plenty of fans, but if necessary I can add additional cooling components. That's about it for components as far as I can think. I'm putting a lot of money into my first build, so while I've done a lot of research, I'm still counting on the more experienced community to give me a confirmation. Thanks much in advanced for all the help, I'll be checking in occasionally.