nForcer227 wrote:1. Which is best for gaming and high-end 3d Renders (aka working with maya and so on) - PCI-Express Video cards or AGP 8x?
You're gonna want to stick with PCI-Express with video cards if at all possible. Not because they are faster than an equivalent AGP version (which they are
not), but because prettymuch all new video cards from here on out will only be made in PCI-Express versions. So if you are buying all new hardware now, you should definately take a PCI-Express offering.
As far as gaming performance, the 7800GTX is prettymuch top dog. If you really want the best of the best, the 512mb 7800GTX was just released, but it comes with a hefty pricetag and I don't think it is quite worth it yet for the price they are going for right now. ATI's X1800XT is another great card that is about on par with the 7800GTX. Both will run about any game you throw at it with full AA and AF.
As for high-end 3D rendering, the workstation graphics cards (nVidia Quadro or ATI FireGL) are going to be the best, but I don't think they will hold up as well in gaming. But I'm sure a 24 pixel pipeline card like the 7800GTX will be able to render some schtuff if you get what I'm sayin'...
nForcer227 wrote:2. Any Suggestion on cases for the motherboard im getting and good ventalation. Also if there is front usb ports thats a plus for me.
When considering cases, you have probably noticed that there literally probably a thousand choices. But since it is hard to recommend specific cases because of your preferences on looks and functionality, I'll just tell you what I look for in a case:
- 120mm fans!!! Preferably one in front and another in the back (or at least the option to add one of your own if the case does not come with a fan installed).
- Open, unobstructed, direct paths for air circulation. You don't want a case that tries to pull air in through a series of doors and small vents and openings that take several 90 degree turns. The whole cooling scheme of the case should make sense too. For example, a case with three 120mm intake fans and a single 80mm exhaust fan is not a sensible cooling scheme.
- Removeable trays and cages. It is very convient for upgrades and setup and cleaning to be able to remove the motherboard tray or the hard drive cage.
- This last point is somewhat subjective depending on your hobbies and likes/dislikes. But when I choose a case, I like to consider it's modding potential. If you are not into cutting up your brand new shiny case, then this isn't an issue for you. But if you are like me and love to tinker with different cooling schemes and customize the look and funtctionality of your case with a 35,000rpm dremel tool in hand, then coming up with a list of possible mods could be a good thing. That way when you start to narrow down your case choices, you can also judge them based on how well/easy you could complete your modding ideas on that particular case, or how easily you could adapt or modify your mod ideas to fit a case you like.
nForcer227 wrote:3. LCD monitors...I want one for gaming without the ghosting effect, Do i need something faster than 15ms-20ms?
Yes. I've read that some people will not buy anything with a response time slower than 8ms. But then I see others who cannot tell the difference between 8ms and 12ms. But I would say don't get anything slower than 12ms. But response time is not the end all specification for an LCD. You should also consider the contrast ratio which is basically how dark the darks are and how bright the brights can be. The higher the contrast ratio (usually expressed as 300:1 or 350:1), the better. A contrast ratio of at least 300:1 would be very good. Some even go as high as 600:1 or 700:1! The last
major specification to consider is the brightness. This isn't quite as critical as response time or contrast ratio, but can still affect how quality a monitor is. Most all LCD's are going to be bright enough, but one with at least 250 or 300cd/m should be good.
As far as your actual hardware choices, they look very good. You might also want to check out an AMD system as the Athlon 64's and X2's seem to be performing much better in games than even the more expensive intel Pentium 4 6XX series or Pentium D's. The AMD Athlon 64 3700 with the San Diego core (1mb L2 cache) is a very popular gaming processor as it comes with good price and performance.
And I'm not sure if you are considering jumping on the Dual Core bandwagon, but currently, games cannot efficiently utilize both cores on the dual core chips so there is really no performance increase from the dual core processors over the single cores. So purely from a gaming standpoint, single core chips are still the way to go. But from a multi-use/multitasking point of view, dual core processors can offer you much more than any single core processor can. So just decide how much you are willing to spend and what types of uses you will primarily be concerned with.
Oh, and one last thing. Your CPU cooler of choice is not one of my favorites as it is really big and bulky and just more than I would ever want hanging off of my motherboard. You should check out the Thermalright XP-90 for a good priced, good performing air cooling solution. For top end air, check out the Thermalright SI-120 or XP-120 or Thermaltake Big Typhoon.
I could go on forever about this stuff, so I'll let you take all that in and post back with any Q's you might have
