Building a new rig...

Hey guys, so i'm putting together a new rig... and i have most of the parts pinned down, just a little iffy on a few...

Ok guys, i think this is what i'm going to roll with so far...

case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146047

video card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130319

monitor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001262

Or

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009094

I know the contrast ratio on the second isn't as good, but will it really make a difference?



hard drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136011

psu
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182030

I'm not sure if i need a power supply stronger than 550 Watts... what do you guys think?

ram
Not sure what ram to go with so far...

mobo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128082

or

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128337


I'm not sure which to go with, they are both relatively the same, except that the first one can support DDR3 memory, i'm not sure if that's worth the extra money...


cpu
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115037

heatsink and fan
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118003
this was suggested to me, don't know if there are any other better ones for the price...

op system
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116204

do i need to grab a mobo with a 1600mhz FSB if the processor is only at 1333?

thanks for the help

 

Hi,

What will you be using the rig for mainly?

 

Well graphics card is great. There is simply no better value for money than the new 512m 8800gt cards. EVGA are the best too imho.
However, the monitor I checked has a high resolution - if you want to play games on that resolution you might want to try a gfx card with more memory - like an EVGA 8800gts (640) or if you want to spend more the 8800gtx (768).

I would avoid the 9x series as they are just 8x in disguise and the 9800gx2 is very expensive.

Ram is very cheap now, so get a trusted brand - i just got some pc2-8500 (2g) and it was cheap - I went for Corsair, but OCZ and Crucial etc are all good.

I dont know too much about that mobo, but they are a good brand and I am sure its good.

One thing I would not recomennd is the PSU. Not because I know they are not good, it may be fine, but I have learned from PC building over the years that you should never cut costs with the PSU. Get a very highly regardrd psu. Look online at very detailed tech reviews. Customer reviews are not always good for PSUs because the usually look like they work fine...problems can come later and often its not cleare its the psu.

 

This rig will be used mainly for gaming.

I've been reading that games only use up to 512mb of video ram and anything higher than that really isn't used... so would that be necessary?

Question with the processor, it has 1333mhz fsb, but the mobo has 1600mhz fsb... would it bottleneck at 1333mhz because of the processor? Should i get a mobo that has 1333mhz instead?

What's the minimum amount of wattage do you think i'd need? I'll probably go look at a corsair or antec PSU...

 

well you probably dont need more than 600w, but i just got a 700w because good psu last so lon and when I got my Tagan and Antec ones in the past everyone said 450/480w is all you will ever need.

I look at it as some future proofing. If you want SLI, or lots of drives and overclocking, get more power. SOme new gfx cards like the 9800gx2 love power too.

Not sure about the cpu/mobo.

512 should be fine for most games. Higher the res the more memory required though. Some new games like CONAN eat memory though.

 

If you are mainly gaming, don't put too much towards the CPU, put it towards the graphics card.

The extra 266Mhz will cost you a lot extra for the CPU in comparison to the benefits. If, after a few years, you think the CPU is a little slow , you can upgrade the processor then, when the prices will be a LOT better.

Check the system requirements for the games you want to play. If the CPU you have chosen is only just acceptable, look at a faster one. I expect it should handle most games for a few (many) years to come.

I think you will find a decent graphics card will be more important for gaming.

Try putting the model of the graphics card/s you are interested in into a websearch, along the the term "review" and you should see them tested and compared.

Matt