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Old January 8th, 2009, 01:51 AM   Digg it!   #1 (permalink)
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building a gaming computer, input please!!

i've done a lot of research on the topic of building a gaming pc and so i put a list together. wanted to know what you guys think before i do anything. do you guys think this setup coulde handle new games coming out in 2009? i dont know much about this stuff so any input would be welcomed thanx


case:
Xion II Black ATX Mid-Tower Case with Clear Side Front USB and Audio Ports and 450-Watt Power Supply
Amazon.com: Xion II Black ATX Mid-Tower Case with Clear Side Front USB and Audio Ports and 450-Watt Power Supply: Electronics

powersupply:
comes with case

monitor: Dell UltraSharp 2009W 20" Monitor (5ms response time)
Dell 20" Widescreen Flat Panel Monitor

motherboard: ASUS M3A79-T Deluxe - Motherboard - ATX - AMD 790FX - Socket AM2+ - UDMA133, Serial ATA-300 (RAID), eSATA - Gigabit Ethernet - FireWire - HD Audio (8-channel)
Amazon.com: ASUS M3A79-T Deluxe - Motherboard - ATX - AMD 790FX - Socket AM2+ - UDMA133, Serial ATA-300 (RAID), eSATA - Gigabit Ethernet - FireWire - HD Audio (8-channel): Electronics

processor: AMD Phenom X4 9950 Black Edition. 125W Power, Socket AM2+, 4MB Cache, 2600 MHz.
Amazon.com: AMD Phenom X4 9950 Black Edition. 125W Power, Socket AM2+, 4MB Cache, 2600 MHz.: Electronics

CPU cooler:
comes with processor

video card: EVGA 01G-P3-N972-TR GeForce 9800 GT 1GB DDR3 PCI-Express 2.0 Graphics Card (x2)
Amazon.com: EVGA 01G-P3-N972-TR GeForce 9800 GT 1GB DDR3 PCI-Express 2.0 Graphics Card: Electronics

audio card:
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer Sound Card (70SB073A00000)
Amazon.com: Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer Sound Card (70SB073A00000): Electronics

memory: PNY OPTIMA 4GB (2x2GB) Dual Channel Kit DDR2 667 MHz PC2-5300 Desktop DIMM Memory Modules MD4096KD2-667
Amazon.com: PNY OPTIMA 4GB (2x2GB) Dual Channel Kit DDR2 667 MHz PC2-5300 Desktop DIMM Memory Modules MD4096KD2-667: Electronics

hard drive:
HP PV943UT SmartBuy 500GB SATA 3GB/S NCQ Hard Drive
Amazon.com: HP PV943UT SmartBuy 500GB SATA 3GB/S NCQ Hard Drive: Electronics

optical drive:
Samsung SH-S202N 20x DVD??RW DL IDE Drive with LightScribe (Black)
Amazon.com: Samsung SH-S202N 20x DVD??RW DL IDE Drive with LightScribe (Black): Electronics

OS: windows vista
Amazon.com: Windows Vista Home Premium with SP1 Upgrade: Software

Im not to worried about the speaker system, gaming controler, mouse or keyboard cause i know i can figure that part out.

Last edited by superman61290 : January 8th, 2009 at 10:10 AM.
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Old January 8th, 2009, 12:07 PM     #2 (permalink)
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You'll want to get a different PSU, as the ones that come with cases are terrible.

What made you decide to go with AMD? What is your total budget?
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Old January 8th, 2009, 12:09 PM     #3 (permalink)
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Order from newegg. Much better. We need a budget too as the guy above stated. A 9800GT, while fast enough to play most newer games on med-high, is not really gonna handle some of the newer games too well. You may want to step up a notch or two there if you want it to last the year.
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Old January 8th, 2009, 12:45 PM     #4 (permalink)
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Originally Posted by Webster_xs View Post
You'll want to get a different PSU, as the ones that come with cases are terrible.

What made you decide to go with AMD? What is your total budget?

thanx for responding

right now with everything from amazon and the monitor from dell the total comes to about $1550. i was hoping to keep it in that range.

I figured the 450W psu that comes with the case was kind of low but i didn't know for sure. could you suggest a better psu?
(im assuming the psu should be in the range of 750W correct?)

i chose AMD because i have a history with there products but i've never had a gaming computer so i really don't know if it will suffice. what do you guys think? if not could you suggest anything better that will keep me in the same price range?

Also what do you think about my video card(s)? can the 2 handle the graphics of the up-and-coming games in 2009 with a more than adequate performance? (im not expecting the best)
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Old January 8th, 2009, 12:48 PM     #5 (permalink)
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Originally Posted by pullmyfoot View Post
Order from newegg. Much better. We need a budget too as the guy above stated. A 9800GT, while fast enough to play most newer games on med-high, is not really gonna handle some of the newer games too well. You may want to step up a notch or two there if you want it to last the year.


could you suggest a good card with a reasonable price that will handle the load better?
thanx
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Old January 8th, 2009, 12:57 PM     #6 (permalink)
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thanx for responding

right now with everything from amazon and the monitor from dell the total comes to about $1550. i was hoping to keep it in that range.

I figured the 450W psu that comes with the case was kind of low but i didn't know for sure. could you suggest a better psu?
(im assuming the psu should be in the range of 750W correct?)

i chose AMD because i have a history with there products but i've never had a gaming computer so i really don't know if it will suffice. what do you guys think? if not could you suggest anything better that will keep me in the same price range?

Also what do you think about my video card(s)? can the 2 handle the graphics of the up-and-coming games in 2009 with a more than adequate performance? (im not expecting the best)

It's not that 450W is too low(well it is, but that's not the point), but the general quality of included PSUs is terrible.

I would either wait until AMDs new chips come out (should be a few weeks) or go with Intel for your proc. It's not that the AMD chip in question can't do the job, it's that you can get better performance for a similar price with Intel.

Yes, your graphics cards could probably handle 2009 games, but again for that price, you could get better performance with something else, like the ATi 4850s.
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Old January 8th, 2009, 01:09 PM     #7 (permalink)
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Since you picked AMD in the first place (and being bias to them), I'm gonna go with an AMD CPU. Their New Phenom IIs are really putting them back into being competitive with Intel. Don't worry about the CPU not having any reviews. Its brand new (in today). And I can assure you its quality stuff. And it beats the crap out of the older model of the Phenom you chose.

Just so you know, AM3 is coming out soon (your board has an AM2+ socket). However, you still have quite a bit upgradability with this board because all the new AM3 CPUs will be able to run in AM2+ sockets. In any case, if you don't happen to be extremely demanding on your hardware this should last you a good 2 years at least.

CPU ($275):Newegg.com - AMD Phenom II X4 940 3.0GHz 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM2+ 125W Quad-Core Black Edition Processor - Processors - Desktops
Mobo ($189): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131339
Ram ($56): Newegg.com - OCZ SLI-Ready Edition 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory
Graphics ($245): Newegg.com - SAPPHIRE 100259-1GL Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards
PSU ($105): Newegg.com - PC Power & Cooling S61EPS 610W Continuous @ 40°C EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Power Supplies
Hard Drive ($80): Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - Internal Hard Drives
DVD Drive ($26): Newegg.com - SAMSUNG Black 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 22X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 22X DVD Burner - CD / DVD Burners

Case is personal preference, but may I recommend this one? IM its one of the best you can get on the market. Its quality, good cooling and looks good too . Can't go wrong there.

Case ($100): Newegg.com - Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Computer Cases

May I recommend this monitor instead? Its gonna beat the crap outta the Dell. Dell's monitor quality has been slowly detororiating.

Monitor ($310): Newegg.com - LG L227WTG-PF Black 22" 2ms Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 10000:1DCR with HDCP Support - LCD Monitors

The total for that is below $1400 before tax and shipping. You can probably find about a hundred or so worth of rebates in there, maybe even more - I didn't really check. But you may not get all of them.

If you're comfortable with spending a little more on a graphics card then may I suggest this baby. Its pretty much the top performing card on the market right now.

Newegg.com - ASUS EAH4870X2/HTDI/2G/A Radeon HD 4870 X2 2GB 512-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

Last edited by pullmyfoot : January 8th, 2009 at 11:46 PM.
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Old January 8th, 2009, 01:13 PM     #8 (permalink)
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It's not that 450W is too low(well it is, but that's not the point), but the general quality of included PSUs is terrible.

I would either wait until AMDs new chips come out (should be a few weeks) or go with Intel for your proc. It's not that the AMD chip in question can't do the job, it's that you can get better performance for a similar price with Intel.

Yes, your graphics cards could probably handle 2009 games, but again for that price, you could get better performance with something else, like the ATi 4850s.

how about a Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Dual-Core Processor, 3.16 GHz, 6M L2 Cache, 1333MHz FSB, LGA775
and a
Diamond Viper 3870X2PE31G ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2 PCIE 1GB GDDR3 Dual GPU Engine Graphics Card
(this one card would be replacing both 9800 GTs)

between the two upgrades it would only cost about $110. what do you think?

Last edited by superman61290 : January 8th, 2009 at 01:17 PM.
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Old January 8th, 2009, 01:24 PM     #9 (permalink)
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Check out my build. Its much more powerful than the one you put out and its within the budget on newegg. The 4870 I picked out for you makes the 3870X2 look like a whimp

Last edited by pullmyfoot : January 8th, 2009 at 01:27 PM.
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Old January 8th, 2009, 01:39 PM     #10 (permalink)
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Check out my build. Its much more powerful than the one you put out and its within the budget on newegg. The 4870 I picked out for you makes the 3870X2 look like a whimp

how does the Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Dual-Core Processor, 3.16 GHz, 6M L2 Cache, 1333MHz FSB, LGA775 compared to the proc. you chose for me?
(i don't have my heart set on AMD)
and you didn't list a sound card i take it the one i origianlly chose is good enough?
also the hard drive i think is out of stock so how is the Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM?
thanxs for all your help

Last edited by superman61290 : January 8th, 2009 at 01:44 PM.
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