Hi All! First-time building an ultimate gaming pc...

[C2G]

Hi guys. I've been browsing this forum for a few weeks now and it seems like a very close community, obviously laden with a great group of people who really know computer hardware. I'm 21, nearly have a college degree, but am pretty clueless when it comes to the intricacies of computers. But hey, that's why you guys are here.

SO, I have around a $1500 budget, already purchased a great mouse and keyboard, and can go above or below that budget. What I want out of this "project" is an absolute monster gaming pc that can simply crush every game thrown at it, highest graphics and everything. I already have a PC and MAC laptop, so won't need much function out of this machine except gaming and video editing (if it allows it - NOT a necessity though).

So what do I do? Most people and forums I've visited push me towards the build-your-own route, but there's a couple issues there. One, I don't know computer hardware (very little at least). I would absolutely be willing to learn, but I'm afraid I'd spend a lot of money on hardware and not be able to get the thing compatible and working. So that's obviously a concern. Also, I've heard the gap in price between build-your-own and already built systems has narrowed, especially on sites like tigerdirect.com and newegg.com, so I've been browsing on there for computers.

I've found several that interest me, but, due to my lack of knowledge in computer hardware, I'm not sure exactly what I need. Here are some pre-built models I found, could you guys tell me what seems best-suited for my needs and what I should be looking for? Obviously, cpu and graphic cards are huge for gaming setups, but I also want to be sort of future-oriented, as I plan to continually customize the thing.

Here are some I've found so far:
1) $1,259.99 CyberpowerPC Gamer Ultra 9264 AMD Gaming PC - AMD Phenom X4 9850 Quad Core, 4GB PC 6400, 500GB SATA2, DVDRW, DVD-ROM, GTX 260 896MB, Asus M2N SLI, 800W, Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications ... dy=QA#tabs

2) $1,549.99Ultra eXo Aluminum SLI BTO Gaming PC - XFX nForce 780i 3-Way SLI Motherboard / Intel Socket 775 / Windows Vista / NVIDIA Graphics / Build-To-Order / FREE* Lost Planet PC Game
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications ... CatId=2627

3) $1,499.99 CybertronPC Vortex Gaming System - Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300 2.50GHz, MSI P7N SLI FI, 4GB DDR2-800, 250GB SATA II, DVDRW, Dual 9800GTX-SLI, Gigabit LAN, 600W, Vista Home Premium 64-bit
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications ... dy=QA#tabs

4) 1,129.99 Gateway FX6710-01 Core 2 Quad Q9400(2.66GHz) 6GB DDR2 720GB ATI Radeon HD 4850 Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6883113080

5) 1,109.99 CyberpowerPC Gamer Infinity 7517 Core 2 Quad Q9400(2.66GHz) 4GB DDR2 500GB NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GTX+ Windows Vista Home Premium 64-Bit - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6883229052

6) $1900 dell (off dell website - is this worth it?)
http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/ ... ZCF1&s=dhs
SYSTEM COLOR Red Bezel Chassis edit
PROCESSOR Intel® Core™2 Q9400 (6MB,2.66GHz, 1333FSB) edit
WARRANTY AND SERVICE 1Yr Ltd Hardware Warranty, InHome Service after Remote Diagnosis edit
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium Service Pack 1 edit
MEMORY 4GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 800MHz - 4 DIMMs edit
HARD DRIVE 500GB - 7200RPM, SATA 3.0Gb/s, 16MB Cache edit
OPTICAL DRIVE Single Drive: 16X CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) w/double layer write capability edit
MONITORS No Monitor edit
VIDEO CARD nVidia GeForce GTX 280 – 1024MB edit
SOUND CARD Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio edit
SPEAKERS Dell A525 30 Watt 2.1 Stereo Speakers with Subwoofer edit


Thank you for all your help guys! Glad to finally be a part of the community. If you think I should build (which I think would be fun), maybe point me in the right direction towards picking out my parts. Thanks again!

[vicaphit]

We have faith in you! You should build your own. I built my own PC in April on a low budget, and I can still max out most games. You will save a ton of money building your own.

I will edit this post with some parts with a $1500 budget.

Antec 900: $109.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6811129021
Corsair 620HX: $149.99 + $30 MIR http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817139002
EVGA x58: $299.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813188039
3GB OCZ DDR3 1333: $114.99 + $30 MIR http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductLi ... 2010666%29
Intel Core i7 920: $299.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819115202
WD 1TB Caviar Black: $119.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6822136284
EVGA 260 (216 cores): $259.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814130400
LITE-ON DVD burner: $23.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6827106263
Vista Home Premium x64: $99.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6832116488
Total before rebates: $1,478.91

Some of these would have to be tweaked if you want to save in certain areas like the motherboard or case. People around here love configuring systems, so give it a few hours and you may have many more replies with different builds.

[C2G]

We have faith in you! You should build your own. I built my own PC in April on a low budget, and I can still max out most games. You will save a ton of money building your own.

I will edit this post with some parts with a $1500 budget.

Thanks vicaphit! Yeah, I'd love to build my own, is it really that complicated?

And am eagerly awaiting seeing those parts . Thanks again

[vicaphit]

It isn't hard at all as long as you know all of your parts are compatible, and you don't get any dead parts.

Go to www.newegg.com and you can buy all the parts you want. Post them all here and we can give suggestions.

[C2G]

It isn't hard at all as long as you know all of your parts are compatible, and you don't get any dead parts.

Go to http://www.newegg.com and you can buy all the parts you want. Post them all here and we can give suggestions.

OK, cool. So far I got:

[vicaphit]

The motherboard you choose will not be compatible with the Processor.

Intel Core i7s are the top of the line right now, so you will pay a bit more for the motherboard, but check out the reviews on the main page and you can see the difference.

[martini161]

Gigabyte X58 motherboard:: $300
intel 920 core i7 $300
Asus 4870 w/ better heatsink than reference board x2 for crossfire $380
Mushkin triple channel memory $130
Samsung DVD burner $23
Vigor CPU cooler $60
Antec p182 $110 (chosing a case is really a matter of personal preference and i happen to think this is a very nice looking case)
500gb HD $70
PCP&C 750w100
Total:$1473 for a system that will tare apart anything you throw at it

[C2G]

Hahaha, as you can see, I know very little about how the hardcore components match up... kind of pathetic really, considering how long I've been using computers.

OK then, I'm basically scratching all the stuff I was looking at, because I really liked all your suggestions. Going to add all that stuff to a newegg.com cart, check the price, and we'll tweak from there.

Do you have any personal experience with any of those suggestions? like must-buys?

Thanks so much

[vicaphit]

Get a triple channel memory kit instead of dual channel if you are going with an intel i7. You can probably get away with not buying an aftermarket heat sink fan if you do not plan on overclocking the CPU.

The Asus 4870 crossfire that Martini posted is better than the nVidia 260 I posted. Go with the motherboard he posted to utilize crossfire though.

Make sure you post all of your parts so someone can look them over for compatibility.

[C2G]

OK, cool.

So I'm looking at:

Antec 900: $109.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6811129021
Corsair 620HX: $149.99 + $30 MIR http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817139002
EVGA x58: $299.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813188039
3GB OCZ DDR3 1333: $114.99 + $30 MIR http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductLi ... 2010666%29
Intel Core i7 920: $299.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819115202
WD 1TB Caviar Black: $119.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6822136284
Asus 4870 w/ better heatsink than reference board x2 for crossfire $380
Samsung DVD burner $23
Vista Home Premium x64: $99.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6832116488

Is this good? Compatible? Beast?

Should I consider the PCP&C 750w100 power supply (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817703009) rather than the Corsair 620HX?

And should I buy a cooling system?

[martini161]

yeah, the PCP&C is better and cheaper. if you dont plan on overclocking than the heatsink that comes with the procesor is fine. this memory kit will be better:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820220362

[C2G]

Alright. My possibly final product. How do I ensure that they all are compatible? Anything else I should splurge on? What should I look for in a monitor?

Antec 900: $109.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6811129021
PCP&C 750w100 power supply (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817703009
GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD5 LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813128362
Patriot Viper 3GB (3 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model PVT33G1600LLK - Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820220362
Intel Core i7 920: $299.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819115202
WD 1TB Caviar Black: $119.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6822136284
Asus 4870 w/ better heatsink than reference board x2 for crossfire $380 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814121290
Samsung DVD burner $23
Vista Home Premium x64: $99.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6832116488

Total: $1,447.91

[vicaphit]

Will that ram run at 1600 without overclocking? I think the EVGA board said 1333 (1600 overclocked).

Well, we are pretty much right at your budget. How much would you be willing to spend on the monitor?

You could get a 22" monitor for under $200. Or you could get a 22" with 1900x1080 for just over $200 like this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6824236051 $209.99

If you wanted to go with a better brand, there is Samsung:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6824001268 $249.99 + $20 MIR

[C2G]

Will that ram run at 1600 without overclocking? I think the EVGA board said 1333 (1600 overclocked).

I have...no idea. How do I find that out?

[vicaphit]

That question was for Martini. See above for monitors.

I have a 19" (1600x1050 resolution) and it is fine for me. It all depends on how big you want to go, and how much you want to spend.

[C2G]

Will that ram run at 1600 without overclocking? I think the EVGA board said 1333 (1600 overclocked).

Well, we are pretty much right at your budget. How much would you be willing to spend on the monitor?

You could get a 22" monitor for under $200. Or you could get a 22" with 1900x1080 for just over $200 like this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6824236051 $209.99

If you wanted to go with a better brand, there is Samsung:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6824001268 $249.99 + $20 MIR

The reviews seem to be about the same for each, so I have no problem going for the lesser-known brand. So I added that. And I've heard a lot about overclocking -- what is it and how do I do it? And would you recommend it?

[martini161]

yeah but hes going with the gigabyte x58 board

[vicaphit]

Oops, didn't notice the board change there.

[Sparky]

If you've never built one before, you may find this helpful. Pretty good article.

Good luck and be sure to keep everybody posted on you progress. PIctures are a plus!

http://www.legitreviews.com/article/316/1/

[vicaphit]

I haven't read that article before! Nice read. I like the part about the stickers making the computer go faster.

It is funny, my college computer was just like the e-Machine they had sitting in the picture at the end. I wanted to destroy that thing when I was ready to buy a new computer!