So yeah, I’m finally getting around to building a new gaming rig.
I’m going to need just about everything other than cd-rom/hdd’s/keyboard/mouse/monitor(iffy)/speakers.
Price is not much of an issue, just keep the recommendations resonable, but I really don’t wanna drop more than $1200ish on this.
Can anyone tell me what would be the pros/cons of running two mid-level PCIE vid cards as opposed to one high end one?
Thanks a bunch guys.
DFI Lanparty Ultra-D motherboard. You can modify the Northbridge to make it a SLI board for cheaper, if you ever wish to do so later on.
AMD Opteron 165 Dual Core Socket 939 Processor (Double cache of x2 CPUs FTW)
2GB Dual Channel Memory. There are good and bad. Find some links, PM me… i’ll tell you yes/no 
Video Card… hmmm… with that price range, you can probably go X850 for around $200, or something a little nicer for around $300 (maybe a 7800 of some type). Make sure its a 256-bit video card, at least 256MB GDDR3 RAM, PCI-E x16, more than 12 pipelines is always nice.
People primarily run two high-end video cards if they’re gonna go SLI. The price vs. performance isn’t there, so you’ll get more performance from a $300 video card than you would with, say, two $200 ones running SLI.
I’d steer clear of the SLI with a budget of only $1200. Get a decent $200-$300 card.
I’ll help you every step of the way in deciding parts if you wish. I build computers, do research and consulting as a living. I’d be glad to help out. Plus, I think I’ve built over 150 machines since January
^ sounds good. about what i did. i held off on dual core for now and got a microATX motherboard. i held off on SLI but paid the $5 extra to get the SLI version of my video card just incase.
as far as brands, i got a decent eVGA geforce video card and Corsair XMS RAM. i was limited in motherboards due to the microATX form factor i wanted so that was kind of hit or miss.
If you decide to go single core, you can get an Opteron 144 or 146. The 146 overclocks a lot better, but the 144 is no slouch either. Just a little price difference.
Hit me with a PM if you want me to come up with a complete parts list for you on what I’d build, and tell you how much it will cost.
Do you need an LCD screen? Case?
Yeah that would def. be nice. I think I might go dual core, as my bro (also a tech guy) wouldn’t let me do otherwise. :biglaugh:
Im gonna defiantely have to do some research and reading, the post I made was more of a thought process than anything else.
Thanks for the input guys.
ok, sence when is a computer a “rig”
is this need speek to make you feel like your not playing with a big calculator, and really doing something hardcore?
i have nothing useful to add to this thread… unless of coarse you really want to be hard core and put a homemade turbo on your “rig”. then i could probably help out.
Hmmm, never heard it called a “rig” before? Pull a nitroicanspell/type/usetheenglishfuckinglanguageforshit much? Wait, nevermind, you used puncuation, at least.
EDIT HUGE NERD CORNER, that is all.
thats a pre cup of coffee post. there is no spellcheck on posts before 9 am
DFI LanParty UT nF4 Ultra-D Socket 939 nForce4 Ultra Motherboard - $112.99
SAPPHIRE Radeon X1800XT 512MB GDDR3 PCI-e x16 Video Card – Retail - $309.00
AMD Opteron 165 Denmark 1GHz HT Socket 939 Dual-Core CPU – Retail - $325.99
G.SKILL Extreme Series 2GB (2 X 1GB) DDR500 (PC4000) Dual Channel Memory - $159.00
These four components are your primary system components. With this setup, you will be able to run any game made today at full graphics.
Total: $906.98
Shipping to 14221: $20.50
Grand Total: $927.48
Now, you do not NEED these components to make a gaming rig, but this would be the absolute best setup.
You will also need the correct hard drive, which would be a SATA 3.0GB/S 16mb cache drive ($88)
This makes sure that the hard drive is not the bottleneck in your system, even though it will be regardless. But, if you are still running a normal hard drive with a ribbon cable, you will surely not be experiencing the full system capabilities.
You will also need a 24-pin ATX power supply which is more than 350 watts. You probably have a 20 pin power supply now, which will not work. ($50)
Most Important: You will need a new monitor, unless your current monitor has a DVI input. Most, if not all high-end cards do not have a Digital to Analog onboard, so only have DVI outputs. The X1800XT only has DVI. You probably have a 15 pin VGA connection to your monitor. Its usually blue/bluck and it’s a trapezoid shape. DVI is a white rectangle. A decent 19” Gaming LCD is around $250 nowadays.
I’m just throwing out ideas. This is always a work in progress and is totally up to you on final decisions of cost vs. performance, and what you are willing to build. Everyone wants the best of the best, but you don’t necessarily NEED it.
I still have my AMD Athlon XP 2800+ with 1GB RAM and a Geforce 6600GT AGP Video Card, and I am able to play all of the recent games. Sure, I cant put Oblivions graphics up to best, but… it doesn’t matter to me.
I can price out a lesser system for you if you wish. Or tell you components you will need.
Let me know your thoughts so far, seeing the costs of it coming together as it is.
Actually, that looks REAL solid. Thanks a bunch Clean.
I will NOT need xp, floppy or a new drive, but I’m tossing around the idea of getting a new case. Not necessary, but meh, what the hell.
Regardless of the other stuff you listed, it all comes down to about $1200, which is fine by me.
I’m just gonna run this list by my brother, to get his input on it, but other than that I should be all set now.
Once again, thanks.
If you need help on deciding a nice LCD, give me a PM, I’ll get you a couple to choose from (Or one… )
Any other info/help, just PM me. If you need direct links to Newegg.com for the parts I listed/recommend, also… PM me.
There are slight variations to components that you may not realize and buy a lesser quality item.
flatscreen CRT 19" samsung FTW and cheaper than any LCD
Treat yourself and get this…
http://accessories.gateway.com/AccessoryStore/PC+Accessories_316441/Monitors_316684/LCD+Q1_Flat+Panel_Q1+Monitors_316694/20_D1_21+inch+LCD_381955/1534243_ProdDetail.htm
I dream about that LCD on occasion.
MMM Gateway, I had a Gateway computer once, I still dont think I’ve recovered.
great monitor… … i think it’s 499 at bbuy… i could be wrong.
and it’s one of the few monitors that;s vista compliant… HDCP