Need Gaming Rig Suggestions: Budget<$2600

[Dfox]

I have been looking at Alienware for gaming computers, and find that they make very good gaming computers. Problem is that I think they overprice their things. I am looking for a gaming rig for $2600 or less. I would like to play the newest games and be able to do media work. Newegg scouring hasn't helped me because I'm not sure what I am looking for.

These things I want: (Based off on the things I liked from Alienware, please suggest something better if it is possible)
-i7 processor
-Nvidia GTX 200 Series Video Cards - Don't know which one to choose, I would like dual cards
-Liquid Cooling
-1TB of Hard Disk Space - Don't know if multiple drives or a single drive is better
-Blu-Ray
-21"-24" Monitor
-Wireless Capabilities (WiFi and Bluetooth)

Things I'm Not Sure About:
-RAM (I'm not sure how much I need, I'm thinking of 8-12GB. Is it that necessary?
-Power Supply (How many watts do I need)
-Vista or XP (Vista has the Win7 Coupon-Unsure)
-Sound Card
-Killer Xeno Pro?
-Case

What else would I need to build a gaming computer? Is there something I'm missing?
Hope you guys can help me!

Thank you,
Dfox

[EXreaction]

That is a very high budget and I would suggest you try and give some specifics of what kind of media work you are doing, how much gaming work you do, etc. Otherwise you'll just get a bunch of people finding parts you really don't need, like an SLI setup with multiple graphics cards (usually a huge waste of money).

For storage, you may be best off with an SSD for the main drive and using two 1TB drives in raid 1 for the data storage (raid 1 duplicates the data between them so if one dies you still have all your data left).

Why do you need Wifi and Bluetooth? Are you going to be connecting it to a wired network? Even if you are going with a wireless network, why bluetooth?

6 or 12GB is good for ram. I'd go with 6GB now and if you ever need more you can buy 6GB more (it should be cheaper the longer you wait).

No reason to get XP on that system.

Kinda sounds to me like you just want the most bad ass system around and am not too worried about what is in it. If that's all we can throw a list together for that purpose and get near your budget, but I wouldn't suggest that.

[KarmaKiller]

^Not only that, but when you say liquid cooling, what all do you want to cool? Is noise an issue? Why do you even want a water setup? Are you gonna be overclocking? Do you plan on mounting everything inside the case, or is a external radiator ok? How much of your budget are you willing to devote to just cooling?

There are lots of things to consider IMO.

[Dfox]

I would be doing heavy gaming and some video editing and photoshop stuff.
The computer will be connected to the internet through WiFi.
I would prefer dual graphics cards but you are the experts. So 2x 260's or 1 295?
I want a really good graphics card
And blue ray drive to watch blu ray

I really want a badass computer.

[Dfox]

^Not only that, but when you say liquid cooling, what all do you want to cool? Is noise an issue? Why do you even want a water setup? Are you gonna be overclocking? Do you plan on mounting everything inside the case, or is a external radiator ok? How much of your budget are you willing to devote to just cooling?

There are lots of things to consider IMO.

I want to cool everything? Is that possible? Yes, noise is an issue. I plan on overclocking and plan on mounting everything in the case

[Aaron_8015]

I want to cool everything? Is that possible? Yes, noise is an issue. I plan on overclocking and plan on mounting everything in the case

Getting liquid cooling on everything can take a large portion of your budget. There is no real point in liquid cooling your gpu's just cpu (even still a good aircooler will be enough.

Gaming Build Help!

The first build in this thread came to just under $1700. So you can add extra gpu, cpu cooler, blu-ray etc....

[EXreaction]

I don't think you'll be able to get an in-case liquid cooling system that will be able to handle your cpu and gpus. I really don't think liquid cooling will give you any benefits over a good air cooler.

[KarmaKiller]

Well everything can be a bit of a PITA.. I say this because to properly cool your CPU + 2 GPU's, your most likely looking at a dual loop setup. Which involves 2x Radiators, 2x pumps, 2x reservoirs, which can take up a WHOLE LOT of room, especially if you want the whole system to be internal. But there are many cases that will fit a setup like that, so it's not necessarily a problem, unless you wanted a smaller case.

Also something else I should point out, waterblocks can be pretty pricey, and especially when your talking about as many blocks as you'd need to cool the whole system.

I can start on a list, see what I can come up with.
I also sent you a PM.

[KarmaKiller]

Getting liquid cooling on everything can take a large portion of your budget. There is no real point in liquid cooling your gpu's just cpu (even still a good aircooler will be enough.

Gaming Build Help!

The first build in this thread came to just under $1700. So you can add extra gpu or mabye cpu cooler....

If you wanna OC the hell out of it, then water cooling the GPU's does help. And especially with noise. You know those stock fans are loud.

I don't think you'll be able to get an in-case liquid cooling system that will be able to handle your cpu and gpus. I really don't think liquid cooling will give you any benefits over a good air cooler.

Sure there is. Again, if you really wanna OC, then water cooling is the way to go. And there are lots of cases where you can fit dual loops, I've built plenty of systems like this. Of course it takes *the right* case, but it's very doable.


EDIT:
Sorry for the double post..

[Aaron_8015]

If you wanna OC the hell out of it, then water cooling the GPU's does help. And especially with noise. You know those stock fans are loud.

Yes they can get loud, but thats why I wear headphones.

Is noise an issue with the OP? Will you be overclocking?

[KarmaKiller]

Is noise an issue with the OP? Will you be overclocking?

I want to cool everything? Is that possible? Yes, noise is an issue. I plan on overclocking and plan on mounting everything in the case

[Aaron_8015]

Ahhh, missed it among all this double posting.

[Dfox]

So can anyone suggest a build for me please? I'm having trouble

[KarmaKiller]

My list:
Newegg.com - Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops
$279 (Or if you live by a MicroCenter, they have them for $200) Make sure it's a D0 stepping. Or on the box it'll say "SLBEJ" Those are know to be the better overclockers.

Newegg.com - Foxconn BloodRage LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards
$250

Newegg.com - CORSAIR DOMINATOR-GT 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2000 (PC3 16000) Desktop Memory Model CMG6GX3M3A2000C8 - Desktop Memory
$330.. Okay, these are insanely expensive, but they currently hold the WR for RAM overclocks.. soooo...
I would personally get these:
Newegg.com - CORSAIR DOMINATOR 8GB (4 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMD8GX3M4A1600C8 - Desktop Memory
Cheaper, and more capacity.

For hard drives, I still have a problem with the pricing of SSD. I personally would get a couple of these, and put them in RAID
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319

For GPU's, and if you really wanna have dual cards, then get 2 of these
Newegg.com - BFG Tech BFGEGTX2851024OCBE GeForce GTX 285 1GB 512-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards
Although one is enough to max out most any game you want. 2x of them are Crysis killers.(still depending on resolution though)

Newegg.com - CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX 850W ATX12V 2.2 &#47; EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply - Power Supplies
That's a smoking good deal on that PSU. Very good quality, and more then enough to run this rig.

Couple of these
Newegg.com - LITE-ON Black 24X DVD&#43;R 8X DVD&#43;RW 8X DVD&#43;R DL 22X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW SATA CD&#47;DVD Burner - Bulk - CD / DVD Burners

A case is a whole nother thing. Like I said before, your gonna need a large one to make sure you have ample room. Are you willing to do a little modding, or do you want one that's setup for dual loops at first?

Water parts is gonna be A LOT longer list.. so I'll see what you say about this one first.

[Dfox]

I like what you have chosen but I have a couple questions.
Which RAM set would run better? More capacity with lower speed or better speed with lower capacity?

What else do I need to build this computer? Is it worth it to get Blu-ray?
Do I REALLY need watercooling or is fans fine. Because if it is not necessary and if I can get better main components then I'll get fans.

[KarmaKiller]

Water cooling is never needed. It's often for the xtreme geek/overclocker. Air cooling will do the job just fine. But some GPU's have louder stock fans, so maybe just a good aftermarket air cooler would do you good there..

As far as getting better main components, other then the SSD, your pretty much at top of the line stuff already. You could spend more on a CPU, but with overclocking, your gonna hit 4Ghz already, so that's not really an issue. Although water cooling the NB really helps at higher clocks.

[Dfox]

So what good air cooler do you recommend?
I'm still wondering which one is better, the 6GB or 8GB

[KarmaKiller]

Really, there is no "real world" difference in between 1800mhz and 2000Mhz ram. As far as capacity, I doubt you'd ever use 6Gb's, let alone 8Gb's. So really it's a toss up. I probably would get the cheaper set, just because it's slightly cheaper. But something else to consider is you will be able to OC more with less DiMM's installed.. soo... lol

As far as good air coolers, I'd suggest one of these:
Prolimatech Megahalem for Intel Socket 775 /1366 Products Model: MEGAHALEM [MEGAHALEM] : Performance-PCs.com, ... sleeve it and they will come
(Pretty much known as the best air cooler out right now, but you'd have to buy fans for it)

Noctua NH-U12P SE1366 CPU Cooler Products Model: NH-U12P SE1366 [NH-U12P SE1366] : Performance-PCs.com, ... sleeve it and they will come
Great cooler that comes with 2x fans already.

Cooler Master RR-UV8-XBU1-GP V8 Heatpipe CPU Cooler for Intel LGA775/1366 and AMD AM2 Products Model: RR-UV8-XBU1-GP [RR-UV8-XBU1-GP] : Performance-PCs.com, ... sleeve it and they will come
What I'm currently using on my Quad. Not as good as the first 2, but it still performs very well, and looks good too.

Cooler Master RR-B2P-UV10-GP Hybrid PWM TEC CPU Cooler - AMD AM2, K8 & Intel LGA1366/775 Products Model: RR-B2P-UV10-GP [RR-B2P-UV10-GP] : Performance-PCs.com, ... sleeve it and they will come
This actually works very well, but lots don't like the price tag or the size.

Corsair Cooling™ Hydro Series H50 Liquid CPU Cooler Products Model: CWCH50 [CWCH50] : Performance-PCs.com, ... sleeve it and they will come
This performs slightly better then the best air coolers, mainly because it is a liquid cooling unit. But they have gotten very good reviews so far, and really considering it's not that bad price wise.

And I want to say, you can just water cool your CPU, to help with overclocking, and it won't take a big hit as far as space in your case.
Swiftech H20-220-APEX ULTIMA Complete Liquid Cool Kit Products Model: H20-220-APEX ULTIMA [H20-220-APEX ULTIMA] : Performance-PCs.com, ... sleeve it and they will come
Something like that would be easy to incorperate into your case, without any modding. Plus it will cool very well, and not be loud.

[Aaron_8015]

Well I would get the 6gb kit for two reasons....

1, Having four sticks will sacrifice (full) tri-channel

2, the mobo only has room for three.

[Dfox]

Solid States seem very expensive for their size. Are they really THAT good?
Why is it so expensive? how much faster is it than a regular 7200 rpm Hard drive?