Building a Gaming PC

[Unspoken]

Hey, I'm new to this whole thing about building your own PC, and I need some help building my next gaming machine. In the past, I've always bought Dell XPS machines. But the idea of bigger bang for your buck is appealing, so I'll try to make my own desktop PC this time around.

Now, my budget is around $2500.00. This includes keyboard and mouse, but no monitor. I'll use this PC with my plasma TV. The plan is to get the best performance out of my budget. I won't be overclocking; and I prefer a single better video card than two inferior cards on SLI. I've been doing some research, but I have a lot of questions still. Here's some of the components I've been looking at:

Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 Conroe 2.66GHz 4M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor - BX80557E6700
Motherboard: eVGA nForce 680i SLI Motherboard 122-CK-NF68-A1
Video Card:eVGA e-GeForce 8800 GTX 768 MB PCI-Express Graphics Card
Power Supply Unit: Thermaltake W0117RU ToughPower 750W Black PFC Power Supply with Active PFC Dual Fan
Sound Card: Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer Sound Card ( 70SB073A00000 )

What I need to know is which memory should I get. Remember, I don't plan on overclocking, so I would prefer a bigger amount of memory rather than better overclocking memory. I also need to know which cooling system is best for my budget range, and some specifications on it. For example, I don't know if a case comes with a fan cooling system or not. It still confuses me. Another thing I'm currently debating is if I should get Vista now, or later down the road. If I get it later, I would still need to buy a new XP for this PC. That means more money spent. On the other hand, they say some games don't play on Vista.

Thanks.

 

[roy92]

for your RAM, 2gig will be able to do the job and either one with 667 or 800 frequency should be enough, no need for the high-end RAM with frequencies in the thousands, because your not overclocking.
cooling, get a fan from Zalman in the family of the 9700LED. They're cheap and they offer great cooling.
VISTA or XP? Stick to XP, I've had a couple of games that didn't work with VISTA, but did with XP, so now i've dual-booted (quad-booted: Ubuntu and Fedora :P ) Xp and VISTa. Your building a games pc, what's the point if you can't play any games with it?:chk:

hope these help and good luck with the build.

 

[kazgirl]

Hi Unspoken,

I'd have to agree with Roy32 on the hardware aspect, 2Gb RAM will be plenty...for now anyway....and the CPU cooler he's suggested is a really good choice to....and as suggested by Roy32, I would opt for the DDR2-800 RAM.

As to case cooling then this will depend on the case you are getting and how much you intend to spend, and how quiet you want the PC to be, most good cases will come with at least a basic fan set up, usually 1 front intake fan, and one rear exhaust fan, but again depending on the case you choose to buy and how much you will want to spend, some may come with side mounted fans as well....

However....more fans = more noise,........ larger fans will reduce the amount of the noise some, and you can get some fans that are designed to run more quietly than others as well.

Fans are relatively cheap to replace, so if after buying your case you find the fans included are too noisy you can then look at replacing the standard fans with something which might be a little quieter without reducing your cooling capability, cooling will only really be a big issue if you wanted to overclock, but as you don't intend to OC, I wouldn't be overly concerned about it, other than maybe from the noise side of things and that is a personal thing as to how much noise from the system you wil be prepared to put up with....remember your going to have a fan on that 8800GTX as well.

Like anything in life its a bit of give and take on this point, you can go for more noise with better cooling or less noise with lesser cooling.


VISTA or XP...???

Where it comes to the OS to install, I differ in my opinion here, personally I would say that if you have to pay for an OS, you may as well get Vista now,..!!!

As this is a gaming PC and one which you will probably want to be able to play new release games on as well......over the next year or 2 we are going to start to see more and more DirectX10 games coming out, and you will NEED Vista to run them, if however you already have a lot of older games that you would prefer to be able to play then Roy32 is right, better to stick to XP for the time being.

Though driver support is improving all the time for Vista, so by the time you are ready to finally power up your new build the Vista Driver support issue may be moot.

My own view here though is why bother building or upgrading a PC just to play older games that any older PC is capable of playing anyway, surely the whole point of upgrading is not only to improve performance, but also to improve compatability with new releases.....

So I would say go for Vista.....

I have to say I have Vista installed and have had no problems playing older DirectX9 games ..........so far at least.........though as Roy32 says..... quite correctly,..... there are some older games that have problems with Vista and being older games it's unclear whether the game manufacturers will bother to provde Vista support for them,.

I would expect any major release games to have continued driver support, so it will only be a matter of time before any issues for these will be fixed anyway......

Hope this helps some...

Thx

Kaz
-x-

 

[roy92]

the 9700LED is a very very very very quiet fan if you compare it to its size (its humungous).

I agree there are pros and cons to getting vista and staying with xp. You could either get DX9 and play the best of games now, or get DX10 and benefit from the graphics of future games that harness the power of DX10 like Crysis, but then again, like all technology, DX10 has a long way from maturity.

If possible... GET BOTH!:chk: :chk: :chk: :chk:

 

[kazgirl]

Hiya Roy,

Just a couple of things,

DX10 has a long way from maturity.

True words Roy, but then at 14 years old, so are you...:chk: and yet we still value your words and advice none the less...:)

In my experience it's better to see something through from development to maturity to get a better appreciation of that thing,....ask your parents..:chk:

getting vista and staying with xp

Yes just to emphasize, the above "staying with xp" this is why my advice would be to get Vista, the OP has said already

I would still need to buy a new XP for this PC. That means more money spent.

If in fact the OP already had XP I would say you were 100% right and that he'd be better holding off on Vista for a while...but as he has to spend money either way, then he'd be better off spending it on Vista right now...rather than having to spend even more money later....!!!!

If possible... GET BOTH!

Ah yes this is always the way that children think...;)...its what I refer to as I W S..... the IDEAL WORLD SYNDROME or otherwise known as I WILL SCREAM.... until I get it..... when my nephew starts a tantrum.....lol.

Money has to be earned by working hard, and some of that money has to pay for other things than the things that we want, I'm sure you'll come to learn this Roy and probably like most adults come to despise it.....;)

Not to mention when you see the tax that gets taken from your pay.....now that really pi**es you off.....:doh:

But hey getting back to the point, given Unspoken's choices I still think that getting Vista would be the better option....

Kaz
-x-

 

[roy92]

ouch kaz, im hurt :P, just for your info, im not any other kid, my dad's sick and I have to work. I know the preciousness of money and the work put into earning it, everything I have I work for it.

 

[roy92]

when I said get both, I thought it would be no problem for the OP, just look at the specs of his computer! He could just get the OEM versions for the OS.

 

[kazgirl]

Aww

I'm really sorry Roy.....thats not meant sarcastically either.....I also had to work at a young age as my parents got divorced while I was just 8 and my mother who I lived with was disabled....so I know its no fun at times.

The comments above about childrens ways...etc are generalisations as the majority of children (in my experience) act this way, not all though, as you prove, and it was presumptious of me to make the suggestion......

My bad....... as you are so obviously well clued up on PC and technology I took you for being one of these spoilt kids who has every toy they ask for from their usually wealthy, but neglectful fathers, who indulge the childs wishes to ease their own guilty conscience.

As it happens I also find myself in a situation where I am now myself disabled after fracturing my spine, which is why I have so much time and have been learning all I can about computers, as there's not much else I can do...... but hey thats enough of the sob stories...:)

Getting back to the OP's PC specs, ........we don't know what his circumstances are or how well off he may or may not be....

Take me for instance I would say that my PC specs are fairly high spec, yet I am on state welfare benefits only, and have pieced together my components bit at a time, and using e-bay and such to get things cheap where I could.....

OK I have got a laptop and another PC from a time before my accident......but building a PC for me became about having something to do, and to learn new skills following my disability....

The OP says he has a budget so when replying I took this into consideration....

But yes I have to agree with what you say, sounds like he's building a HTPC to use with the Plasma screen, all of which does sort of suggest that he can afford the option of both OS'es...:D

Its strange at times when replying to your posts, even though you are only 14, I must say that your posts often come across as coming from someone far older, and dare I say it.....mature....lol......you should be proud....!!!!

Now if that aint eating enough humble pie for you......then I don't know what more I can do.....!!!!...:D :D :D :D

 

[Unspoken]

Haha, thank you for your opinions and suggestions. It was quite entertaining to hear your conversation too. So from what you guys are saying, if the case comes with, say, three fans then that's enough? Well, that's a relief. I'm also wondering what are the benefits of liquid cooling. I live in a pretty crowded house and people usually don't want to hear too much noise during my late night gaming sessions :)

Also, I got a reinstall CD of Windows XP for one of my Dell PCs. Is it possible to use it on the new PC? Thanks!

 

[kazgirl]

Hi Unspoken,

Glad to be of help and to entertain...:D

I'm also wondering what are the benefits of liquid cooling. I live in a pretty crowded house and people usually don't want to hear too much noise during my late night gaming sessions

IMO if you are not overclocking then there's no gain to be had from water cooling...!!!

Most water cooling kits will have a radiator with fan(s) attached anyway so will only add to the fans you already have, unless you get a more expensive passive water cooling kit, such as the Zalman Reserator, the Reserator 2 looks really nice......Zalman Reserator2 Fanless Water Cooling System
which will have a much larger external radiator with no fan, instead dissipating heat using a larger surface area, rather than a smaller actively cooled (i.e.fan attached) radiator with a smaller surface area.

There would be more noise coming from your speakers than the PC whilst gaming anyway, unless you used headphones and the fan noise would not be enough to keep anyone awake infact I find it can sometimes have the opposite effect, i.e the constant drone of the fan can sometimes make you feel more sleepy....:chk:

I got a reinstall CD of Windows XP for one of my Dell PCs. Is it possible to use it on the new PC?

Not familiar with Dell, so not sure if the disc they will have provided will be a slipstreamed install disc needing some kind of Dell Reg Key or some other validation technique, or whether it's just a Recovery CD, but if it's a standard XP install Disc then you could use that....Having uninstalled XP from the original Dell PC of course....!!!.....dont want to be in breach of Licensing agreements do you....:chk:

Good Luck with it...!!!....PUMP UP THE VOLUME....:cool: