If you got time help me build a gaming computer

isapiens · Post by **isapiens** » 08 May 2010, 16:01

I don't need the following:

Hard Drive
CD Drive
Wireless Card

So I need to purchase the rest. I want a awesome gaming computer that i always wanted since i was a kid. Something that will run everything on max settings.

I am not sure what I am doing so please feel free to help me out. I am trying to buy two video cards for SLI. Is it worth it?

I am sure i am missing something. I want to keep the price range around 2000 bones.

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Post by **bad_brain** » 08 May 2010, 16:47

hm, imo SLI is overrated...at least as long as you can't say "I don't care about the price". so it's better to get 1 really good g-card instead of 2 "pretty good" ones. additionally 2 g-cards cause more noise, the additional heat makes it also harder to realize a silent general system cooling.

but with 2000 bucks I can surely set up a really nice system for you, give me a day and I'll post my suggestions...

Post by **bad_brain** » 08 May 2010, 18:03

P.S. if you want to get another case make sure it's a big tower too, that way you can be sure the CPU cooler fits into it.

P.P.S. I know you said you don't need HDDs, but if you have 160 bucks left take 2 of these SATA3 ones for a RAID:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6822136544

visser · Post by **visser** » 08 May 2010, 18:20

I would highly recomend going with what bad brain picked out. Unless you dont like the CPU and you know you have a reason for I7 I would go with waht bad brain had all laid out. Ive spent close to the last couple of months building my own computer myself so I know what boat your in lol

I would also take a look into getting an eyefinity setup my friend:

the Gcard that BB has picked out will support it. Dont get a fermi. Get either the 5850 or the 5870. you will be a lot happier in the end!

best of luck mate!

isapiens · Post by **isapiens** » 08 May 2010, 20:58

Appreciate it a lot BB.
Thanks for the comment visser.

I had no particular reason picking i7. I guess they just have a really good marketing department lol. The total came out much less that 2000$ so thats great news.

I am gona pull the trigger on this deal in next couple of days.

Do you guys get any of these extended warranties they have? I have never purchased that stuff....

cheers

Post by **Lundis** » 09 May 2010, 02:22

If you're willing to pay a bit more you can get a six-core Phenom: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819103849

Post by **bad_brain** » 09 May 2010, 05:14

hm, what's the default warranty runtime in the USA isapiens?

here they raised it from 6 months to 2 years a while ago, but even when it was 6 months I never got such an "extended warranty" deal. my experience has shown that hardware usually breaks in the first few weeks...if not it runs fine for years. of course you have to maintain your system well, clean it from dust regularly and parts that use heat-conductive paste, like the CPU and the g-card, need special maintenance after 2 years by applying new paste (after removing the old one of course).

also make sure the case airflow is good, as the CPU heatsink Noctua is the brand to go:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductLi ... ame=Noctua

Post by **floodhound2** » 09 May 2010, 14:14

If you want a fast computer I would rethink the hard drive. My secret to making all my custom computers run fast is to run the slowest part (hard drive) the fastest. Run the hard drives in RAID. This means that you'll have to purchase another one or get 2 new hard drives all together.

Statically the extended warranty is a bad investment - by the time the part fails the new part is better and cheaper.

That said i never get any warranty of any kind.

- Why do you need two graphics cards? Are you running over 3 LCD's?

Post by **lilrofl** » 09 May 2010, 14:46

I went with a Phenom 955 BE chip over the I7, and I also went with the Noctua cooler (NH-U12P - SE) and a cooler master Sniper case to fit it all in. I only have 1 graphics card (sapphire 5770) and I love it, I have the option to crossfire, and the cards are cheap enough now that I could afford it... but why bother, like previously stated crossfire/SLI is loud, it's hot and it's expensive... and the benefits are not terribly noticeable if all your doing is playing games.

isapiens · Post by **isapiens** » 09 May 2010, 15:26

Thanks for the suggestions everybody, It seems all of you agreed with most of BB's suggestions.

Purchase has been made!!!

isapiens · Post by **isapiens** » 23 May 2010, 12:34

Just an update:

I successfully build my PC. This was the first time for me so it was a lot of fun.

One issue i noticed was that the video card took some effort to install. It was so large that it could hardly fit. On top of that, the power supply connections for the card were on its side, making it even longer. I had to plug it in first than squeeze it into the slot.

Otherwise everything is awesome. BB the CPU cooler is ridiculous lol! And everything is so quite! My older computer was so much louder. So far running all my games on max. Childhood dream come true guys!

Thank you!

Post by **lilrofl** » 24 May 2010, 12:47

Awesome, glad it worked out well for you!!

and yeah, graphics cards are so big these days you almost have to pick a card, then a case to fit it in before continuing on a perspective build lol.

Post by **bad_brain** » 24 May 2010, 15:22

great to hear your new system is up and running!

and yeah, especially high performance g-cards can be really large nowadays, that's one reason why I picked a big tower case in the list...the other reason was the CPU cooler.
apropos CPU cooler...awesome device, eh?

there are just very few companies I would advertise for, but one is definitely Noctua....REALLY silent, awesome cooling performance, outstanding manufacturing quality, the mounting system rocks, and even the Noctua thermal grease that comes with the cooler is one of the best on the market, if you buy it as separate item it's about 20 bucks.

I'm sure you will have loads of fun with the new system...

P.S. get familiar with the mainboard, especially the way you can update the BIOS (initiate it from Windows) is really cool, and with the DualBIOS it's totally safe too.

P.P.S. the default voltage for DDR3 RAM modules is 1.5V (if I remember it right), the ones you have need 1.65V for max. performance, so check the RAM voltage setting in the mainboard BIOS and increase it if needed...