Help for new PC layout.

[Serani1]

Hey all, in the next few months I will be building a new pc, mainly for gaming, but I'd like to know everyones ideas as to what hardware to buy. Here are my constraints:

Around $1600-ish

Amd preferably over Intel

1 gb ram (dual channel)

No more than 120 gb for hd

Good cooling.

And whatever you think would be nice to spice it up. Keep in mind it is for gaming and good luck. Thanks.

 

[jac006]

OK... for the cpu... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103533
the mobo... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131540
then, for the ram... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820144513
the hd. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822154610
good cooling... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835118115
and the vid card. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814140053
so yeah... it comes around that price, yeah.

 

[Serani1]

Hahah you'll laugh I almost built the exact same layout when I had first started doing this. Besides for th ram and the chipset for the vid. But I found that the 6800gt's pull a lot from the cpu, still wise to get? Or are the x800's better? And how much of a difference, or how usefull would it be to get 2 gb rather 1 of ram?

 

[jac006]

Well, for me, the x800 performs well. Why? Because, one, the mobo was built for ati, so yeah. Two, I oc so I get better performance. The difference? well, the x800 uses less wattage but doesn't give exactly the same leve, unless you get the x850xl, which destroys a 6800ultra, but is nothing compared to a 7800. SO it's up to you...

 

[Serani1]

Mhm thank you and any suggestions for going 2 gb's of ram than 1?

 

[Serani1]

But, isn't SLI a waste unless I do duel vid cards?

 

[jac006]

Yeah... too true. You can just get one and get another one later... but... they'll have to be the same exact card, so it's best to get two at one time.

 

[Serani1]

Yea, I'm not a fan of SLI because if for games, you have to have a seperate profile for each game, for the cards to function properly. And I doubt you'd see the difference in the 2 vs 1 high end card.

 

[Serani1]

newegg:

(drive)SAMSUNG Black IDE Combo Drive Model TS-H492A/BEBN - $34.00

(case)COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW Black Aluminum/Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - $49.99

(hd)Western Digital Caviar SE WD1200JS 120GB 7200 RPM Serial ATA II Hard Drive - $80.00

(mobo)ASUS A8N-SLI Premium Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard - $165.00

(gfx card)PSAPPHIRE 100106-RD Radeon X850XT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - $389.00

(sound card)CREATIVE Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Value SB0400 8 (7.1) Channels PCI Interface Sound Card - $49.99

(cpu fan)ZALMAN CNPS7700-CU 120mm 2 Ball Cooling Fan - $47.99

(keyboard)Logitech Elite 967234-0403 Black USB + PS/2 Wired Standard Keyboard - $29.00

(ram)GeIL 1GB(2 x 512MB)184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered Dual Channel - $115.07

(cpu)AMD Athlon 64 3700+ San Diego 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Processor Model ADA3700BNBOX - $323.00

(mouse)Microsoft IntelliMouse Optical 1.1 White 5 Buttons 1x Wheel USB + PS/2 Optical Mouse - $25.99

(headphones)ZALMAN ZM-RS6F 3.5mm Connector Real Surround Sound Headphone -$49.49

(psu)Thermaltake Silent Purepower W0021 ATX 480W Power Supply -$70.00

(side fan)COOLER MASTER Modding Series TBF-B12-E1 120mm Two Ball Case Cooling Fan -$19.99

(fan acc.)GENERIC NET12 Fan Guard/Grill, chromed, for 120mm fans -$1.99

steelpad:

(mousepad)Steelpad QcK+ - $19.95


Sub-Total: $(newegg)1450.50(steelpad)19.95
Tax: $(newegg)134.17(steelpad)N/A
S&H: $(newegg)74.92 (steelpad)29.05

Total: $1708.59

Thats pretty much everything of the final design, including all the bells and whistles. A little more than what I had wanted to spend, but tell me what you think.

 

[jac006]

Yea, I'm not a fan of SLI because if for games, you have to have a seperate profile for each game, for the cards to function properly. And I doubt you'd see the difference in the 2 vs 1 high end card.

Well.... in the HIGH end... yes, you actually will see a difference. You will see a difference even in the single high ends... the 78000 the x850xl pe. yes... the 7800 will pwn. For sli... if you got two of those babies... yes.... totally. but of course....$$$$$$. A lot. Even two 6800gt's can outperform one single x850xt pe... duh. But for me... it's a single card. CHyup.