Scythe X10

Ok I'm planning my first build, it will be dedicated to GAMING only. I already have a decent prebuilt but to play games I would need to upgrade the PSU and the GPU. I backed out basically because of the poor cooling and the MOBO is not the greatest so I plan on keeping this for everything BUT gaming such as Multimedia, converting video/photo editing ETC.

I have exactly $1,500 dedicated to building a PC and I'm clueless which parts to choose to be the best gaming rig, hence why I am here. I've put together computers for people in the past with their bought parts but never ordered any.

So My question to you guys, Which would make the best gaming rig for $1,500 and can only order from newegg.

Parts I'm sure of include the Antec 900 case and a Intel CPU such as the Core i7 920 assuming this is the best CPU for the money in terms of gaming.
Thanks

Also would I be hoping too high that the build you guys recommend would last 3+ years running the latest games smoothly without any upgrades?

Scythe X10

Antec 900 case

CPU - Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz

GPU - EGVA GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 SSC Edition 896MB * Link (Question 1)

MOBO - EVGA 132-BL-E758-A1 LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard * link(Question 2)

RAM - CORSAIR DOMINATOR 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 * Link (Question 3)

PSU - CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W * link (Question 4)

HDD - Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM

DVD Drive - Samsung SH-S223Q

Q1:EGVA best brand to choose? Can I do better for GPU?
Q2:EGVA best brand to choose? Can I do better for MOBO?
Q3:Clueless about which ram to choose, Good choice?
Q4:Adequate PSU? Or should I opt for another?

Total: $1,434.91

Anything you guys would change? I came up with this in around 5-10 minutes so..

Thanks in advance


Edit - I have to go for now, Chances are I'll get a Raptor HDD ( 160GB 10k RPM) Since all that would be on that computer would be game installs. But I hope to hear your guys opinions on these parts I listed, Would you change anything? If so what?

Again, Thanks.

linderman

Personally I am not impressed with I7 systems at this time .............. the ONLY real affordable cpu is the 920 .............. and the I7 motherboards are very overpriced..........

I dont like boards over $200.00 ............. just cant justify what youi are getting for the extra $100.00 in spending ?????????

same with quad core cpu's .................games dont make good use of quads and they wont for another 3 years anyway ............ especially not that game titles are getting side tracked making their games compatible for gaming consoles :(

so ........... why pay $300.00 for a quad core cpu when two cores will be sleeping almost all the time ? E8500 makes more sense .............. game away with two cores running at 4.0ghz !


soooooooo ................... My choice is all your parts except E8500 & GA-EP45-DQ6 motherboard

and this ram


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145214

linderman

I would probably bump up to the Corsair 850 to give future head room

antec 900 is a great case

cpu cooler would be either Thermalright Ultra 120 exteme or Tuniq 120

linderman

not as glamorous as talking about the new I7 .............. but you wont suffer all the bugs popping up with the new I7 set-ups either ............which are getting fixed verrrrrrry sloooowly


the I7 is not getting the rave attention the computing world thought it would because it barely beats the core 2D with a P45 motherboard and costs less money .............. the prices dropping are a direct reflection of that

but they are about as low as they will get ...............

Scythe X10

Would you suggest me waiting a bit for prices to go down/bugs to be ironed out? By no means am I in a rush for a gaming rig. Currently I game on my Xbox 360 but I want to take a dive into PC gaming as the limitations of consoles finally got to me. So would it be better if I held off maybe a couple of months or would it even make a difference? To be honest I want a quad core build mainly for future proofing, I'm the kind of person to spend more now and not kick myself in the *** later. But your advice makes a huge impact so I will highly consider your recommendation, as long as I won't be kicking my own *** in the near future.

connor-53

I just bought this, Price was about $1100.


http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...&sku=TSD-750AS

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...L12-1182%20OEM

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...&sku=T925-1182

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...0&sku=C13-6104

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...=CP1-DUO-Q9400

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...&sku=G452-0004

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...9&sku=B52-0287

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...&sku=C283-2032

That build was approved by Linder :)

connor-53

Wait for the CPU fan

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...2431&CatId=493

Get that one instead. The snap on ones are shitty.

linderman

if you can or want to wait until about september things should be improved for the I7 systems somewhat by then; or atleast there will be enough of them on the market to start getting a feel for which system specs are working ............ right now that concensus is no where near there ......................


other than that .............. the system Connor has above is certainly a really good rig ............. and if you can spend the cash ............ bump up the cpu to the Q9650

Scythe X10

Yeah I'll hold off on the build.

I have a question, Two builds.. one i7 (920) build and one Q9650 build each with their equal boards and ram ETC ( for instance the build I listed vs Connors build) how much of a difference in FPS ON AVERAGE will they have? In other words, How many FPS would my build have in games like COD4/5 or Crysis and how many would Connors have? I see there is a 400 dollar savings with Connor but what performance difference would I be seeing?

To be honest I want a rig that will run any game at 60+ FPS stable, and be future proofed that's all I'm asking.

wrench97

Here's as close an answer as you can get because there are a lot of variables> http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/d...x1050,818.html

Check a couple of different benchmarks in there you'll see some surprising results, Like the photoshop cs3 benchmark.

Scythe X10

Those are interesting numbers. To me it looks like the Q9650 and the i7 920 are about equal, They both out perform each other on certain things. But I need clarification on something.

How important are the mobo and the ram? I understand CPU and GPU are the prime factors and can account for most of the performance in gaming but does the quality of the mobo and the speed of the ram come into play as much?

What I'm trying get at is this, Should I be mainly concerned on quality GPU/CPU and less concerned about MOBO/RAM?

With a i7 920 OR a Q9650 and a Nvidia GTX 260 core 216 combo give me 60+fps for most games? I just want to be assured that I get a rig that would give me a stable 60FPS in most games..

Edit - I'm probably coming off as an idiot, If I am, sorry.
But I've never really dealt with PC gaming before, I'm just used to consoles where you put in COD4 and get a stable 60.. I'm just worried I'll spend 1000-1500 rig and get unstable Frames on games ETC.. Am I just being paranoid? or will a ~1200 dollar build run games at a nice framerate constantly..?

linderman

YES a $1200.00 build will run games at a very steady frame rate; I would "expect" at least 60fps in any intensive game ............... like crysis / COD 4 or 5


mother and ram are all very important aspects of a gaming system ............

think of those things like a sports team .................. any one of them being weak or marginal leaves the whole team vunerable ........ same with a computer system

I still think ............ for the money and the problems encountered ..............I7 systems need to reduce costs to get attractive; and of course fix the bugs currently plaguing those systems ................

Scythe X10

Thanks Linderman, All I wanted to hear.

Planning a build is annoying if you don't know what's good, Would you mind explaining a couple of things to me?

Usually when people are building a computer they always say things like ASUS boards are the best, but then GIGABYTE boards come into play and it seems everyone LOVES those..

Would you mind linking me to the best board/ram for these three builds, it's the only three I currently plan on going with -

Q9650, Nvidia GTX 260 (216)

Core i7 920, Nvidia GTX 260 (216)

C2D E8600, Nvidia GTX260 (216)

Remember my items above in the second post I'm still keeping in, so keep in mind the 1500 limit.

Also is the GTX 260 my best choice for a GPU in this price range?
I hope I'm not a bother but I want to make the right choice you know
Thanks

linderman

the Q9650 & E8600 ( i dont really reccomend the E8600 even though I am running one now; it not worth the extra money when compared to the E8500)

Asus boards I like are..............P5Q-E & P5Q-Deluxe

Gigabyte boards I like are .............. GA-EP45-UD3L GA-EP45-DQ6 GA-EP45-DS4P


gigabyte and asus are tied for the crown of KING ............IMHO, and I think you will find most review sites will hint to the same

as for I7 board ................ like I have said in numerous posts .............. they arent enough of them on the streets to see a clear favorite yet and there are still plenty of kinks that need to be worked out ............. therefore .......no I7 board from me ....... sorry

as for video .............. either the 260 or the ATI 4870 are more than plenty of muscle

above that is overkill IMHO

Scythe X10

Build 1

Antec 900

Q9650 CPU

EGVA GeForce GTX 260 Core 216

Corsair 850TX

4GB Corsair dominator DDR2 1066 Dual Chan

GIGABYTE GA-EP45 DQ6

Artic silver 5 TC

Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM

Vista Prem 64bit

Thermaltake 120 cooler (CL-P0369)

$1,307.21

Build 2

Antec 900

Core i7 920

EGVA GeForce GTX 260 Core 216

Corsair 850TX

6GB DDR3 SDRAM 1600 Triple Chan

EVGA 132-BL-E758-A1 LGA 1366 Intel X58

Artic silver 5 TC

Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM

Vista Prem 64bit

COOLER MASTER V8 RR-UV8-XBU1-GP 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler

$1,491.14

Alright those are my two final choices.. Let me get this straight..

Both of them will run most games at a stable 60FPS+, correct?
The i7 build is superior, more expensive.. possibly more buggy?
The Q9650 build is inferior, less expensive, not very buggy..?
Am I correct on those assumptions?

Any idea of the performance between the two? I can deal with the 200 dollar loss as long as I know it's performing atleast a little better..

This is the deciding one right here so your input matters heavily ANY component you would change personally? like the ram or the mobo?

Thanks for dealing with me

Edit, are these i7 bugs really that bad? would you care to explain the bugs i would be experience if i went with the i7 build?

linderman

I question the "superiority" of the I7 ..................... maybe because its the newest release available right now ?

I would advise you stick with either an Asus or Gigabyte motherboard ....... then if you have troubles at least there is a whole slew of users and dedicated forums that are staffed by the motherboard support people .......... many of them are reviewers and advanced users that get thrown free demo boards for helping customers on these type of sites ............ I dont believe EVGA has that ?

linderman

the majority of problems I have seen are memory related .............. so do your home work ............... pick a motherboard ............ then ask them for which model ram to get !

Scythe X10

Thanks alot for your guys help, specially Linderman. I'll probably hold off and do a bit more research before I take the dive. Again, thanks alot.

linderman

the motherboard "insiders" I call them , know things they dont discuss in public ........ they will walk you around the quick sand without you even knowing you dodged it !