New Gaming + OC Rig; Budget: 3,000$ (?)

[SilverPages]

Hey everyone,
I'm a pretty heavy gamer and I've had a history of computers and upgrades through my "career" and usually what I was doing with my computers was buying a high end rig that was sufficient for the near future and just upgrading a part or two when it was needed rather then going on an all-out ultra high end rig.

I was thinking about doing this again but I i discovered that I have a need in 2 computers and actually my current rig is kind of hard to upgrade.

Current Rig:
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 FX-55 San Diego 2.6@3.12GHz 1MB L2 Cache Socket 939
Motherboard: DFI Lanparty nF4 Socket 939 nForce4 SLI ATX
Memory: G.SKILL HZ 2x1GB DDR 500@477
Video Card: BFG Technologies Geforce 7800 GTX OC 512MB 256bit PCI-E GDDR3 VIVO; Core- 460@510; Memory- 1300@1405
Hard Drive: Samsung SpinPoint P 200GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s
PSU: OCZ PowerStream ATX/BTX EPS12V 520W (SLI Certified)
Case: Antec Performance P180 Silver ATX Mid-Tower (Modified for 2 Additional 120mm Grills)

Additional Cooling:
CPU: Zalman CNPS7700-Al/Cu 120mm Fan+ Heatsink
Video Card: Arctic Cooling Accelero X1 Fan + Heatsink
Northbridge: Zalman NB47J Aluminum Heatsinks
Memory: Vantec Iceberg DDR-A1C Heatsinks

So as you see there isn't much room to maneuver as the processor and the motherboard are of an old socket, the memory is 'only' DDR and the PSU isn't much of beauty either.

To be honest, I can say that I can easily stretch the budget up to around 3,000$, probably even more but I don't see myself doing that while still remaining within the borders of reason and not building my self an "ULTRA HIGH END" machine.

As I mentioned before, I'm planning on using this computer mostly for gaming and some overclocking. Because this computer is completely new, I'll need to buy everything including a monitor, mouse, pad, keyboard, everything.

Planned Rig:
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 2.13GHz 2M sharing L2 Cache LGA 775 (http://http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819115004) 217.00$
Motherboard: ASUS P5B Deluxe/WiFi-AP Socket T (LGA 775) Intel P965 Express ATX (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131028) 196.99$
Memory: Super Talent 2x1GB DDR2 800 4-4-3-8 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820609026) 277.99$
Video Card: eVGA GeForce 8800GTS 640MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI-E HDCP (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130071) 429.99$
DVD Burner: Pioneer 2M Cache DVD Burner (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827129002) 32.99$
Hard Drive(s): 2x Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 (Perpendicular Recording Technology) 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822148140) 2x 94.99$ RAID0 or RAID1
PSU: Silverstone ATX 12V 2.2 & EPS 12V 750W (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817256006) 199.99$
Case:
1) Lian Li V PC-V2100A PLUS Silver Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811112093) $309.99
2) Lian Li PC-201A Silver Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811112108) $279.99
3) Silverstone TJ07 Black (Window) ATX Mid Tower Computer Case (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811163067) $329.99
4) Cooler Master Stacker 830 Silver Aluminum ATX Full Tower (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811119103) $239.99

Editional Cooling:
CPU: Tuniq Tower 120 P4 & K8 CPU Cooler (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835154001) $54.99

Sub Total: up to 1929.91$ (Considering I'll take the most expensive case)

Other Equipment:
Mouse:
1) Razer Copperhead Anarchy Red 2000 dpi Gaming Mouse (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16826153106) $58.99
2) Logitech G5 Laser 6 Buttons 1x Wheel USB Laser Mouse (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16826104191) $45.99
Pad:
1) Razer Mantis Speed Mouse Pad (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817114324) 24.99$
2) Steelpad S&S Professional Gaming Mouse Pad (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16800996401) $40.00
3) Icemat 2nd Edition BLACK Mouse Pad (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817114203) 34.99$
Keyboard:
1) Logitech G15 Gaming Keyboard (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16823126179) 71.99$
2) Saitek Eclipse II USB Standard Keyboard (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16823175001) 54.99$
3) Razer Tarantula Gaming Keyboard (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16823114001) 99.99$

Sub Total: up to 197.98$

Easy math and we're on 2127.89$.
This leaves quite a Budget for a monitor, here I really don't have any idea what to get but I want an LCD monitor ranging in size from 20" up to 24", I don't want less and I don't need more.
The only thing I know about this is that the monitor needs to have a relatively low response time (8ms or less) to prevent ghosting during fast action in games.

If you have any ideas/advice about the parts, I would like to hear it.

A long post but I tried to make it as simple and easy to understand as possible.

I would be glad to receive any help I could get,
Thanks in advance.

*Edited for a few typos

[lookmomnobrains]

whit that buged you sould get a e6600 i think..

[SilverPages]

I knew this would come, but I could probably OC the E6400 almost as much as I could with the E6600 and the extra 2MB Cache wouldn't make a noticable difference in the near future so I think that taking the E6400 right now and in about a year or so exchange for a good 45nm/65nm quad core CPU would be a smart option.

[badhabit]

You could consider getting a Xeon 3050 instead of the E6400.

[egandt]

Lian Li V PC-V2100A PLUS Silver Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case $309.99
I have one on a Core 2 Duo system and the heat is a major issue, I had 2 add an extra fan at the top and also on the side to get it cool enough to use, I'd stay away from it if I was you (for 300 dollars I should not need to mod the case at all).

As for a DVD Burner, spend an extra 10 dollars and get an SATA version

Silverstone ATX 12V 2.2 & EPS 12V 750W, a good power supply I have one, but I find it to noisy, personally.

ERIC

[NickS]

I'd go with a Lian Li case if I were you. As for the pad, I highly recommend the Steelpad S&S. I've had one for a few months and I love it.

For a mouse, if you look in the Xtreme News section for the Mouse Review in there, that'd change your mind about mice.

For the mouse, the MX500, or the Microsoft IME3.0 would be your best bet.

They're both great.

Good luck w/the build!

[kemo]

Dont buy that super talent memory pick any thing you like from the list in my sig
Edit: get the PSU from directron.com
http://www.directron.com/sstst75zf.html

[SilverPages]

You could consider getting a Xeon 3050 instead of the E6400.

I said already that the computer is mostly for gaming soI don't think a Xeon would be a good choice, especialy with their low Price/Performance rating.


Lian Li V PC-V2100A PLUS Silver Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case $309.99
I have one on a Core 2 Duo system and the heat is a major issue, I had 2 add an extra fan at the top and also on the side to get it cool enough to use, I'd stay away from it if I was you (for 300 dollars I should not need to mod the case at all).



About the Lian-Li V2001A, I gotta tell you I heard about this issue too, actually I heard this about the 201A also and I really don't have any problems modding but right now I like the Stacker 830 the most.

But I don't know if it's worth getting right now as I saw there's already a Stacker 831 (http://www.coolermaster.com/index.php?LT=english&Language_s=2&url_place=product&ftype=&p_serial=RC-831&other_title=0) and a Stacker 832 (http://www.coolermaster.com/index.php?LT=english&Language_s=2&url_place=product&ftype=&p_serial=RC-832&other_title=0)which supposedly have fixed some "issues" which were present at the 830.

I can't seem to find it on NewEgg or any of the places I usually buy my stuff from so would be nice if someone could redirect me to a place where I could get it.

About the TJ07, so far I got the impression that it's far to expensive for its true value.

As for a DVD Burner, spend an extra 10 dollars and get an SATA version

Silverstone ATX 12V 2.2 & EPS 12V 750W, a good power supply I have one, but I find it to noisy, personally.

I did think about getting a SATA drive but the only one I could find was the Plextor and it costs around 90$ which is too much to pay for a drive which offers practically no advantage over the Pioneer except for a more "comfortable" cable.

About the Sliverstone, I actually heard it's one of the most quiet and stable PSUs. (Even more so then the PC P&C 750W)

[SilverPages]

I'd go with a Lian Li case if I were you. As for the pad, I highly recommend the Steelpad S&S. I've had one for a few months and I love it.

For a mouse, if you look in the Xtreme News section for the Mouse Review in there, that'd change your mind about mice.

For the mouse, the MX500, or the Microsoft IME3.0 would be your best bet.

They're both great.

Good luck w/the build!

Would like to hear why you would go with the Lian Li, over the other cases and which Lian Li you are refering to exactly.

The mouse... I know all these things about the mouse, the MX500 isn't anything special, the MX518 and the IME3.0 (which are practically the same thing) are great mouses, but I wasn't interested in all of the mouse tech for quite a while so I thought there would be better mouses.
I'm not really going to buy a mouse before trying it and I gotta tell you that I have the MX518 right now and sometimes its relatively low DPI does make minor problems, unlike most people like to think that it's only the shape of the mouse that matters.


Dont buy that super talent memory pick any thing you like from the list in my sig
Edit: get the PSU from directron.com
http://www.directron.com/sstst75zf.html

What's wrong with the ST? I thought it was D9GMH and I heard in allot of places that it's the perfect low budget+gaming+overclocking memory.

About the memory from your list,
I was thinking to get the Crucial Ballistix DDR1000 CAS5 but I thought it would offer no advantage over the ST...
Correct me if I'm wrong.

[kemo]

The new ones not D9GMH here (http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=124992)
the st used to be in my list but not any more

[tcG]

Don't listen to these jokers about the E6600... chances are you'll get higher clocks out of your E6400 anyways.

E6600 + X1950Pro < E6400 + 8800GTS :rolleyes:


Change the PSU to this (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817703005).

[StealthyFish]

with 3000 dollars, I'd do a setup that'd look like this:

E6400 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819115004 - 217
Abit AW9D-max - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813127011 - 210
VapoChill Lightspeed XE Phase - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811999088 - 740
LianLi PC-65 Vapochill ready - http://www.pcextreme.com/catalog/sku/cas-195.html - 200
Buffalo Firestix 2gb kit DDR2 800 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820150054 - 245
Keep PSU, hard drives, CD/DVD drive, video card

Any 40 dollar keyboard and 40 dollar mouse

that should come out to an estimated cost of $2544.95 with the a 40 dollar mouse and 40 dollar keyboard, etc...

[phi|os]

A E6400 is fine, and no need to get a Xeon 3050 (it's exactly the same as the 6400 stealthy, so no need to worry about gaming...think opteron equivalent for intel, except...these xeon chips haven't really proven themselves to perform better).

I think you should wait a few more weeks, cause intel is slashin their prices, and you should never rush on these things...http://xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=127042

And, I would suggest this motherboard --> http://xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=127050

^^It just came out and should be in stores at any moment. The P5B is good, but I think you would pat yourself on the back if you went with a more mature version of the P965 chipset.

Supertalent is good, G.Skill is good, this is more of what your taste is. Too bad 10th Anniversary RAM isn't for sell anymore. DDR2533 RAM that OC's to 1066 easily!! I got 4GB ($220 a set). I know there are a bunch of people in XS forum and DFI-Street forum that are willing to sell at good prices if you're interested. Don't forget, there is no shame in getting used parts. Everyone here, for the most part, goes through hardware like a hair style, so you know the parts in most cases aren't abused.

Your choice in GPU, PSU, DVD, and HDD's are very good. You could go sata for the DVD, but this is a preference, it won't really affect you. If you really are going with the P5B, get a sound card. Actually, you MUST get a sound card, because the onboard audio is SHIII-TEE. It will give you some headaches.

And I'd like to give ya a vote for that Silverstone Case. It looks VERY nice, and looks like it can bring in a lot of air from the outside too. It looks tempting to me, but I'm very happy with my Thermaltake armor, especially with the new side panel door with the huge fan!

I have a G5 and MX518 mouse, and have been comparing them steadily recently. The MX is slighty more sensitive, but the G5 aethestically wins me over. I wish these two could have :banana::banana::banana::banana:in kids already. It really depends on what sensitivity and rez you are using. I game @ 1920x1200, but I use low sensitivity when I game, so it doesn't matter how fast my mouse gets across the screen, but more of how accurate the mouse is and how sensitive it is in a closed portion on the screen. The MX518 wins here, but not really by a noticable margin.

The Saitek keyboard is awesome, and has a great price. If you want feature rich keyboard, that has more to offer than you will probably use, go for the G15. The G15 IMO looks to be a good one for RTS's and RPG's, cause all of the possible hotkeys.

I use a mantis pad, and it's awesome. But it's huge, so this is up to you if you want it or not. The surface is great, it's like a regular mouse pad, except thicker, and WAY bigger, with a silky surface.

And to end this novel, I'd recommend a 24" monitor. I have an Acer, and it's spectacular. I game everyday, and I don't experience any ghosting at all. And they are selling for a great at newegg. 24" is a beautiful thing, plus you are going to have a beefy GFX card, so you need a monitor that will let you take advantage of it.

Phew, alright man, good luck in your decisions.

[jt710]

make sure your monitor has low response time of course

my semi-expert gaming opinion is definitely an mx518 series over the razer and the g5, the g5 only has one side button- and that just kills me.

If you have an extra couple hundred bucks, why not just go balls-to-the-walls with your memory, some pc8000 or better? Why not toss in an extra TB of storage? oh, and a 150GB Raptor for OS + Games.

[justin_c]

LOL:
"Everyone here, for the most part, goes through hardware like a hair style, so you know the parts in most cases aren't abused."
don't get copperhead, it has jitter problems. go for the habu.
no tarantula, buggy drivers. g15 FTW.
benq 241w after they release the 1:1 pixel mapping fix.
e6400 is fine, + p5b.
more gskill hz is good. or 8888c4df if you really want to waste money.
i am personally going to get the gskill 8000zx when they come in stock.

[nn_step]

better value idea,
double your memory.
Add an 8800GTX
An I-Ram
and leave the rest alone since it doesn't really matter

[topaimz]

better value idea,
double your memory.
Add an 8800GTX
An I-Ram
and leave the rest alone since it doesn't really matter

Dude are you implying that he should stay with his s939 rig,
and just upgrade it? Because I-Ram only works with DDR.

Anyways, if you are, I'm almost at par with you.

I think you should just upgrade the s939 setup and wait out another
2 years or so till PCIe 2.0, DDR3, AM3, etc. comes out.
A highend dual core cpu, 4 GBs of ram, better PSU and a new gen
graphics card will hold that s939 no problem.

On top of that, you should just get a budget C2D computer with
a good mobo, e6400 and everything else value parts, just incase :rolleyes:

I think that would all fit in ~ $2,500 budget.
(s939 upgrading at around $1,000 and a budget/value C2D rig at $1,500)

[LordofDoom]

NNstep pretty much has it right, but the I-ram is quite overpriced.

[SilverPages]

*Hey, sorry I didn't reply in the last couple of days, couldn't load the forums for some reason.*

Anyway, I don't want to get a 8800GTX because a 8800GTS would be more then enough for me in the meanwhile, actually from what I understood it's a better overclocker and gives a better bang for you buck.
I'm going to switch the 8800GTS for something better in about a year or so, same with the processor.

I thought about the monitor and I think I won't be getting it right now.
Right now I'm using a 20" LCD with my old rig and I have an old 19" CRT lying somewhere in the house, I'll just use it with the old rig for now and use the LCD with my new one.

About the memory, I think I'll be getting the Crucial Technology Ballistix (D9GMH) DDR1000 CAS5, it will probably be more then enough. I don't think it will give me any trouble even with a heavy duty OC.

Looking at the cases, I can't say I like any of them in particular except the Stacker 830 but I feel it would be a waste to get the 830 while there's 831/832 present.
Does anyone know where I can get one? (Doesn't matter what color) :stick:

Right now I'm in a little Dilemma, I don't if I should stick with the 2x 320GB Seagate RAID 0 or get 2x 150GB Raptors in RAID 0... I'm not sure if the money is worth it, actually I'm not even sure how big of a difference there will be between the two setups and I am sacrificing more then half of the HD space in sake of increased performance. :cool:

About the mouse, I went to a computer parts store next to my apartment and he let me try the G5 and the Copperhead... I gotta tell you the G5 is very comfortable but I can't really imagine myself playing with it, it's more of a office mouse in my opinion. (The lack of a side button is annoying also) However, the Copperhead is very nice but the symmetric design is rather annoying. I think I'll just get a second hand MX518 from someone I know and wait for the Razer DeathAdder, which looks kind of interesting in my opinion.

I've been thinking about the motherboard, especialy about the P5B/DLX and that Commando board, and I realized that if I want to upgrade to a quad core CPU then I'm going to need a quad core complient mobo and the only true quad core motherboard out there is the 680i. :fact:
From what I saw so far the eVGA version would be the best choice and it only costs 50$ more then the P5B DLX and it would probably save me the trouble of buying a new motherboard.
What do you guys think about this?


Thanks for any help! :wave:

[SilverPages]

Talking about the old rig now,
what do you think about me getting an AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ Toledo 2.2GHz 2x1MB L2 Cache Socket 939 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103546) to replace the single core FX-55 which frankly can give me problems from time to time when it comes to games that demand a good dual core processor.

And do you think getting another 7800GTX would be a good idea? I can get a second hand 7800GTX 512MB for 260$... Can't get the price to get lower though, it was 320$ at the start.

[phi|os]

Ok, I got a few ideas for yea. But these ideas really depend on why you are upgrading. I upgraded for the hell of it. You will see performance increase with conroe, but not by leaps and bounds. If you wanna futureproof your computer, just get a 8800gts/gtx and an Opteron 939 cpu for now(opty's are cheap as :banana::banana::banana::banana: now), and this should hold you over for awhile. Supposedly DX10 games are way more GPU bound, so if you decide to go Vista, your DX10 experience will rely mostly on what GFX card you have, and you CPU should cause much hassle. Yet I think this has always been the case, I may see DX10 take this a little further. Who knows. Anyways, you'd probably be better off spending on just those two components, and then wait till another year, and then upgrade on super crazy mad :banana::banana::banana::banana: that will suck again in few months after they are made. I wish I did this, but now I'm trapped in this never ending upgrade cycle:mad:

If you wanna play with new components, then go ahead and spend $3000 dollars, lol. And also, the P5B will play nice with quad core. The only true chipset that will be made FOR quad core is the bearlake chipset, which isn't out till spring, but it don't matter, because all the chipsets (965, 975, and Bearlake) have supports for these CPUs.

[biohead]

get an opty 165 or 170 then. way higher chance you'll get a nice stepping to run it 2.8~3.0ghz 24/7.

[SilverPages]

get an opty 165 or 170 then. way higher chance you'll get a nice stepping to run it 2.8~3.0ghz 24/7.

I know I might get a better stepping at an Opty, but the question is will I get better performance at games?

and phi|os, I think you're taking all of this :banana::banana::banana::banana: way to seriously, it's just a computer for god's sake...

[biohead]

I know I might get a better stepping at an Opty, but the question is will I get better performance at games?
better than what exactly?

[SilverPages]

better than what exactly?

Then an AMD Athlon X2 s939 or an FX DC of the same price.

[phi|os]

I know I might get a better stepping at an Opty, but the question is will I get better performance at games?

and phi|os, I think you're taking all of this :banana::banana::banana::banana: way to seriously, it's just a computer for god's sake...

:hump: really? lol. Opty, X2, FX, they are all the same core. FX has unlocked multi, X2 is just mainstream consumer CPU, and Opty is "server grade" CPU...different titles for the same stuff.

[SilverPages]

So why are some of them better for OC and why are the cost differentials present?

[Lurid]

If you're gaming on the computer, you might aswell stay with s939, and go to a dual core + 8800GTX. The Core Duo 2 isn't going to gain you really anything in the gaming world.

[SilverPages]

If you're gaming on the computer, you might aswell stay with s939, and go to a dual core + 8800GTX. The Core Duo 2 isn't going to gain you really anything in the gaming world.

Oh you're seriously wrong about this one... There's no s939 processor that won't bottleneck the 8800GTX. The only ones that are close to handling a 8800GTX in full power cost wayyy to much $$$.

The truth is, I'm not going to get a 8800GTX right now, for the simple reason that I think that the higher price isn't worth the performance gain which frankly' I'm not going to use in the immediate future.

In about a year more or less, I'll upgrade to a stronger DX10 card and what will happen then with my s939 mobo and processor and my 2GB (or more) of DDR memory?

I do want to upgrade my old s939 rig but I want to keep it as a secondary computer.

[SilverPages]

Can someone please tell me what's this memory all about?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820144059

Seems interesting...
(Kemo?)

[kemo]

That is the fastest advertised memory running at Cas4 so far and will make a hole in your pocket that stuff only for benchers not for regular users

If that kit can run at those speeds with P965 chipset then it is amazing otherwise (made for 680i) I am not interested

Any way I think jmax_oc will test it soon (2X512MB) under extreme voltages