New Gaming PC

[Mugee25]

Hi. I'm looking to get a custom PC from cyberpowerpc.com. This is my first real custom PC so I need a little help. Could you help me pick one from each of the following category? I want a good gaming system but I don't want to go crazy and spend too much ($1000 ish w/o monitor)

The Case:
a. NZXT Zero Aluminum Full Tower 420W Case
b. CoolerMaster Praetorian 730 RC-730 Aluminum Tower 420W Case
c. X-Blade 3 Gaming Med-Tower 450 Watt w/ Window
d. NZXT Nemesis Elite Aluminium Mid-Tower Case 420W W/Window, Temp.Display & Fan Control
e. ZXT Nemesis Metal Mid-Tower Case 400W W/ side-panel Window
f. CyberPower X-Titan Tower 420Watt Case with 8 Open Bays & Side Window
g. CoolerMaster Stacker 830 Tower 420W Case W/ Side-panel Window

Power Supply:
a. NZXT PF-500 500Watt Power Supply
b. Thermaltake ToughPower 750 Watt Power Supply - Quad SLI Ready

CPU:
a. (Sckt775)Intel® Core? 2 Duo E6400 CPU @ 2.13GHz 1066FSB 2x1MB L2 Cache EM64T
b. (Sckt775)Intel® Core? 2 Duo E6300 CPU @ 1.86GHz 1066FSB 2x1MB L2 Cache EM64T
c. (Sckt775)Intel® Core? 2 Duo X6800 Extreme Edition @ 2.93GHz 1066FSB 2x2MB L2 Cache EM64T

Motherboard:
a. (Quad-Core Supports) MSI P965 Neo-F P965 Chipset LGA775 Supports Core 2 Duo CPU FSB1066 DDR2/800 Mainboard w/GbLAN,USB2.0,&7.1Audio
b. Asus P5N-SLI nForce 570 SLI Chipset LGA775 Supports Core 2 Duo CPU FSB1066 DDR2 Mainboard w/GbLAN,USB2.0,&5.1Audio
c.(Quad-Core Supports) Asus P5N32-SLI Premium/WiFi-AP nForce 590 SLI Intel Chipset LGA775 FSB1066 DDR2 Mainboard w/Dual GbLAN,USB2.0,IEEE1394, 7.1Audio,&WiFi
d. MSI 975X Platinum I975X CrossFire Chipset LGA775 Supports Core 2 Duo CPU FSB1066 DDR2/800 Mainboard w/GbLAN,USB2.0,IEEE1394,&7.1Audio.

Graphics Card (something good that will last for a while):
a. NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT 512MB 16X PCI EXPRESS VIDEO CARD
b. NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GS 512MB PCI Express x16 Video Card
c. NVIDIA GeForce 7900 GT 256MB 16X PCI Express Video Card

Thanks for the help. Any other helpful suggestions/comments are welcome!

 

[BladeVenom]

If it's for gaming the most important thing is a good video card. An X1950 Pro would probably be my first choice. If you want Nvidia, I would go for a 7900GS or 7900GT depending on how much you want to spend.

You didn't metion memory. I would get 1GB minimum, preferably 2GB.

Are you going to ever overclock? If yes, I would stick with the less expensive CPUs like the E6300, or E6400, if not get the E6600. I wouldn't get anything more expensive unless you have a lot to spend. Top of the line CPUs aren't worth the extra cost.

You might want to spend time reading the motherboard reviews here, and check out the CPU and Graphic charts at Tomshardware. Do you overclock, do you need firewire, are you going to overclock, etc. In general though I would get an Asus before an MSI board.

Power supply depends on what other components you get. I don't know what brand power supply comes with each case, so you might want to choose a case and components first and then decide what you need as far as power goes.

 

[Mugee25]

Thanks. I was planning on going with 2GB RAM. I found a thread which said it is better to go with a MB that supports quad-core-- for upgrading purposes. So the Asus sounds good. I've never really though about overclocking. I'm pretty new to this stuff and have been going with the crappy Dells and HPs so I never really thought about that. This is my first real gaming system. I guess I have a lot more homework to do before I get started on this endeavor.

 

[JAG87]

Originally posted by: Mugee25
Hi. I'm looking to get a custom PC from cyberpowerpc.com. This is my first real custom PC so I need a little help. Could you help me pick one from each of the following category? I want a good gaming system but I don't want to go crazy and spend too much ($1000 ish w/o monitor)

why even consider the x6800 then...


The Case:
g. CoolerMaster Stacker 830 Tower 420W Case W/ Side-panel Window

Power Supply:
c. Enermax, Zippy, PC&P, Fortron, 500W+ powersupply. Basically buy a good one.

CPU:
a. (Sckt775)Intel® Core? 2 Duo E6400 CPU @ 2.13GHz 1066FSB 2x1MB L2 Cache EM64T

Motherboard:
e. any 680i board. evga 680i or asus p5n32-e are best.

Graphics Card (something good that will last for a while):
d. GeForce 8800 GTS



a little more than 1000, but at least your not wasting your money. this is very future proof (eg vista, dx10).


edit
you also need 2GB of DDR2-800 ram. dont splurge on low latency ram. 5-5-5 is fine.
this will allow you to set 400 FSB, run 1:1 FSB:RAM, and run your cpu at 3.2 GHz. easy as pie.

 

[JEDIYoda]

Originally posted by: BladeVenom
If it's for gaming the most important thing is a good video card. An X1950 Pro would probably be my first choice. If you want Nvidia, I would go for a 7900GS or 7900GT depending on how much you want to spend.

You didn't metion memory. I would get 1GB minimum, preferably 2GB.

Are you going to ever overclock? If yes, I would stick with the less expensive CPUs like the E6300, or E6400, if not get the E6600. I wouldn't get anything more expensive unless you have a lot to spend. Top of the line CPUs aren't worth the extra cost.

You might want to spend time reading the motherboard reviews here, and check out the CPU and Graphic charts at Tomshardware. Do you overclock, do you need firewire, are you going to overclock, etc. In general though I would get an Asus before an MSI board. -- I have ONLY used ASUS motherboards you just cannot go wrong with ASUS motherboards.....I have thought about using Gigabyte or even an ABIT motherboard but ASUS is what I have used in all my riggs!

Power supply depends on what other components you get. I don't know what brand power supply comes with each case, so you might want to choose a case and components first and then decide what you need as far as power goes.

Usually it is best to get a Case and then the power supply seperately!! Good Luck!

 

[UMfanatic]

I would go with an E6400 they are easily overclocked and the E6300 is not worth it, you will need a good aftermarket cooler something like an artic 7 pro or a Thermaltake Tuniq Tower, as for ram Buffalo firestiks are good for overclocking, or patriot, as for a video card get an 8800GTS they will take you into the future or if you can afford it get the GTX it is faster than two X1950s, a good motherboard is the EVGA 122-CK-NF68 680 SLi, if you do not go the SLi route go with a Giga-Byte GA-965G-DS3 or DS4, a good powersupply is the Enermax Liberty 500w or a PCP&C Silencer 750w or the 750 quad, as for case getting something with good airflow, and if you are deciding on HDDs go with a Seagate Barracuda

 

[BladeVenom]

680i motherboards and 8800 video cards may be great, but they don't fit into his budget.

 

[Roguestar]

They certainly don't. I think a board like the Asus P5B-Deluxe would be a much better bet for him. Within a reasonable budget the x1950 pro is probably the best bang-for-buck there is. Buffalo Firestix as mentioned above are very good lately, cheap and still using Micron D9 memory chips.

 

[Mugee25]

Thanks folks. This is my first build. I'm forgoing an Xbox 360 so I can get back into PC gaming. I don't know if i'm going over or under on the build. I just want decent gaming system that will last for a couple of years (gaming for a few hours each week). Any other suggestions or advice?