Building a High-End Gaming Machine (grad ...

Hi guys, I'm graduating from my Master's program in early July and just landed a great job in the Information Security industry. As a treat to myself, I figured I would build a gaming PC with all of the bells and whistles. I'm looking to get the kind of performance that would allow for me to play games such as crysis and Supreme Commander at max settings (and I do mean MAX settings with FPS >= 60). I know this will cost me a little more than 2k, but I'm reasonably sure that it'll be less than 3k.I'm perfectly capable of building my rig, but I'd be lying if I'd say I'm in the know about performance these days. The rig in my sig runs games like C%26C 3 at the minimum settings (get's way too slow if I up the effects), so I haven't even had a chance to try something like Supreme Commander yet (looks great!). I have a 22 inch LCD monitor, but here is a list of the parts I will need in order to assmble this beast:

• CPU
• OS: I have copies of XP Pro, but I guess I could go with Vista if need be.
• Video Card: DX10 please (I'd like to go with lots of RAM for textures and plenty of speed... maybe a dual card setup?)
• RAM: I'd like to go with at least 4 gigs... but I don't know what brand and type would be best.
• Mobo: Again, I'm looking at getting the best performance, but something robust would be great as well (SLI/Crossfire)
• HDD: I'd like something that has very quick seek times, but with enough capacity to hold lots of media (Movies/Games)
• Sound Card: Can I just get away with using the integrated stuff on the mobo?
• Physics Card: Would I actually benefit from this? I don't know of any games that utilize this technology yet.
• Case: Doesn't have to look great, but durability and ease of installation would be nice (USB ports and such on the front-end)
• Power Supply: Again, I'm so out of the loop, that I don't know what's quality and what's crap these days (not to mention, I'm not sure what these cards require either).
• Cooling devices: I'm sure I'll need more than what comes as stock... although, I may be wrong here.

If you guys have any extra suggestions, they'd be much welcomed. I'm looking forward to putting this thing together and joining the rest of pc gamers out there. I'd appreciate links to the products you refer me to.
Building a High-End Gaming Machine (grad ...
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Building a High-End Gaming Machine (grad ...
Here you go:[url=http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16811129021]Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case[/url][url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131181]ASUS P5K3 DELUXE/WIFI-AP LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard [/url][url=http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16814130072]EVGA 768-P2-N831-AR GeForce 8800GTX 768MB 384-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card [/url][url=http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16817341010]OCZ StealthXStream OCZ600SXS 600W Power Supply[/url][url=http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16819115017]Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600[/url][url=http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16820231122]G.SKILL 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800[/url][url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822144244]Maxtor Ultra 16 L01F500 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s[/url][url=http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16827131049]Sony 18X DVD[/url]The total cost: Just under $2000Edit:[url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116142]Vista Home Premium[/url]So add $100 for that Vista...Notes: With the extra money you can buy an extra 8800GTX if you wish, I wouldn't recommend it... Also the motherboard I chose out is DDR3 ready meaning its quite future proof. It supports DDR3 1333Mhz, DDR2 1066, DDR2 800... Also if you wait until July 22, the Q6600 CPU i picked out will drop price from $500 to $266... Also investing some money in cooling wouldn't be bad. IMO, Physics cards aren't necessary especially with a highend GPU such as the 8800GTX.. Also looking into extra cooling would be good. You could get watercooling and cool everything, or buy aftermarket coolers for your CPU, GPU etc. That case comes with quite a few big fans for good airflow. Also, i think 4gb of RAM is overkill, but if thatsa what you want...Enjoy..
This place is ok for what your asking, but hardforum is better. Anyway, yeah, if you have a 22 inch lcd setup (1680x1050 or 1900x1200) then you might want a dual card setup, but I would buy a great sli mother board and buy one great card and wait and see if you need another for the games listed. Could save yourself some money. Do not get a card with less than 640mb of video memory, more if possible. Like an 8800GTX. As for os, you need vista for dx10. If dx10 doesnt really matter that much, then stick with your current os. I think that there is a video comparing dx10 and dx9 with crysis on youtube and floating around the web.You can get visa cheaper by buying the oem version that newegg sells. As for getting 4 gigs right now, wait and save some money and just go with 2 gigs of really fast ram. If you need more upgrade later.Powersupply, I cant really be of much help, hardopc is better but dont go with anything that is less than 600+ watts for your system. Does p.c noise bother you, if not than just stick with stock cooling. If it does, look at silentpcreview.com. Tons of info+reviews of diferent coolers. I know nothing about water cooling and if you want to spend top dollar on parts than overclocking wont be necessecary. CPU: Right now intel core duos are the top of the heap, but amd and intel are both coming out the newer chips soon so its always changing.
As for hardrives, just search newegg and see whats available. Maybe two hardrives? One fast one for os and programs and slower one for movies or a raid 0. Soundcard. If you want your movies and games and music to sound good than a better soundcard than onboard audio is a good idea. However, you dont need one if you have crappy speakers. (but, side note, get some decent speakers/headphones too if you really want your p.c to be sweet. I used to be hardcore into audio before my left ear started acting up and it just adds to the experience of movies and games so much. Even some decent headphones like Senn hd 280s go for like $75. )Physics card: I would say wait and see. Maybe it would be a good idea or might just be a waste of money.For case, make sure that you have lots of room and its a big case. Good airflow and plenty of spaces for fans are a must. I would go for a full size tower case. Most cases come with front usb and other connectors.What I've written are just some basic ideas. Go to hardforum and post this thread. The people there are far more knowledgeable than me. And do your research. Browse computer parts retailers like tigerdirect or newegg and see whats available. Find something that you like and google that part.Dont forget about part warrenties!!Good luck.
Thanks guys. Are there and quad core CPUs out yet?

[QUOTE=''Ernesto_basic'']Thanks guys. Are there and quad core CPUs out yet?
[/QUOTE]There are quads yes, but they're priced at around $1000. This would consume about half of your budget and would no be the most practical thing to buy with $2000 alloted for a new PC.
If you can wait until Q3, I would suggest doing that, or at least going a little bit cheaper and upgrading then because intel is supposedly going to make 50% price cuts on their currents processors to counter the release of AMD's new chips. The 8900 series should be out by then too, which will definitely be the better value, it always is.
Well I'll be perfectly honest here and say that my budget is more along the lines of $4000. I can afford a great deal here, but I was just assuming that I could get top performance for less than $3000. Ultimately, the goal is to be able to play games such as crysis on full settings (although I'm aware that the specs aren't out yet). I'd also like a mobo that will allow for me to make upgrades for the next 3-5 years.

[QUOTE=''thebrantmeister'']If you can wait until Q3, I would suggest doing that, or at least going a little bit cheaper and upgrading then because intel is supposedly going to make 50% price cuts on their currents processors to counter the release of AMD's new chips. The 8900 series should be out by then too, which will definitely be the better value, it always is.[/QUOTE]8900 sereis will probably never come. I might be wrong. But i think that nvidia will release 8950GX2 watercooled, nothing else.They are working on 9series now. And to OT: you dont need 3000$ PC thesedays. For your 22'' LCD 8800GTS whit 640MB would be completely enough to max out all coming games in 2007 and many of them in 2008. Dont buy a PC over 2000$. Save your money for future upgrades, cause in next months DDR3 will come also real quad core processors from AMD, and new GPUS (nvidia 9 series, radeon R700). And i recommend you to not buy that mobo whit support for DDR3 and DDR2 ram. Mobos that supports 2 different types of RAM are most of the times, not crap, but they just arent that good as mobos whit full support for only one type of RAM, or anything else. If you can really spent 3000$ get yourself DDR3 only mobo and 2GB of DDR3 ram. DDR3 is slower these days caues of its high latency but that should improve in next year. There is NO need for 4GB unless you will be photo/video editing and that professional stuff. 2GB is more than enoug for today.
[QUOTE=''Ernesto_basic'']Well I'll be perfectly honest here and say that my budget is more along the lines of $4000. I can afford a great deal here, but I was just assuming that I could get top performance for less than $3000. Ultimately, the goal is to be able to play games such as crysis on full settings (although I'm aware that the specs aren't out yet). I'd also like a mobo that will allow for me to make upgrades for the next 3-5 years.
[/QUOTE]You want mobo to allow you upgrades for 5 years???You really cant get that kind of mobo. These days tecnology is developing so fast that even if you will spent 4000$ for a PC it will be outdated in 2009, or 2010.
[QUOTE=''domke13'']If you can really spent 3000$ get yourself DDR3 only mobo and 2GB of DDR3 ram. DDR3 is slower these days caues of its high latency but that should improve in next year. There is NO need for 4GB unless you will be photo/video editing and that professional stuff. 2GB is more than enoug for today.[/QUOTE]Why would he spend 1/6 of his budget on 2gb of DDR3?
DDR3 is a waste and doesn't offer much of a performance boost over DDR2, just like DDR2 didn't offer a measurable performance boost over DDR when it launched.
i'ld go for:Q6600 with third party coolerGigabyte P35 DS3 Motherboard (alows both DDR2 and DDR3)2gb DDR2 800mhz8800GTXCreative X-Fi Xtreme Gamer Fatal1ty2x 150gb raptors in RAID 0(might aswell splash out on the best as you shouldn't have to upgrade these in the future)DVD rewriter with lightscribe (you may not need it but there's no point limiting yourself)A Full tower case of some sort (it really comes down to what you like the look of)700W+ power supply (you won't need all of the power but it's best to be ready for upgrades)
[QUOTE=''LordEC911''][QUOTE=''domke13'']If you can really spent 3000$ get yourself DDR3 only mobo and 2GB of DDR3 ram. DDR3 is slower these days caues of its high latency but that should improve in next year. There is NO need for 4GB unless you will be photo/video editing and that professional stuff. 2GB is more than enoug for today.[/QUOTE]Why would he spend 1/6 of his budget on 2gb of DDR3?
DDR3 is a waste and doesn't offer much of a performance boost over DDR2, just like DDR2 didn't offer a measurable performance boost over DDR when it launched. [/QUOTE]Yeah. I alos wrote that in my post.''DDR3 is slower these days caues of its high latency but that should improve in next year.''I meant slower than DDR2.
So, I'll need:

• Vista for DX10? Does this also mean that I can expect to have to up my specs just to compensate for the resources being used?
• Motherboard: Should I go with a DDR3 RAM slot only? What about CPU socket? I'd like to be sure that I can put quad core CPUs and 2 video cards as well.
• 8800 GTX: Is this the card I should be looking at or should I wait until a superior card? If I should wait, how long will I be waiting?

[QUOTE=''Ernesto_basic'']So, I'll need:

• Vista for DX10? Does this also mean that I can expect to have to up my specs just to compensate for the resources being used?
• Motherboard: Should I go with a DDR3 RAM slot only? What about CPU socket? I'd like to be sure that I can put quad core CPUs and 2 video cards as well.
• 8800 GTX: Is this the card I should be looking at or should I wait until a superior card? If I should wait, how long will I be waiting?

[/QUOTE]If you will be getting PC now go for 8800GTX. If you want superiour card now get 8800GTX. If you want it in 6 moths get 9800 GTX or something similar from ATi. IF you want superiour card in 1 year and a half again wait and than get. It really depends on when you want to buy PC. There will alwys be something superiour coming out and hardware gets outdated pretty fast these days.ItisreallyharddecisionaboutRAM.Isayifyoucanspent4000$asyousad,goforit. DDR3 ram is slower than DDR2 ram these days, but if you want future proof go for it. In a year or two it will be faster than DDR2.And i really dont recommend you going for mobo which supports two types of RAM.Usually they just dont perform so well as mobos whit support for one RAM type.But i think that if you can spent 4000$ that really shouldnt be a problem.