Help with my gaming PC? Thanks!

[g3kk0]

Originally Posted by solidsteve

my mistake

i would have to agree with the Q6600 aswell sure its not a new 45nm chip but for $10 you can't go wrong, what else woul you use $10 on

A burger. A really big burger. Juicy one with cheese. Yummmm....

lol, thanks for the help guys. I'll check your suggestions out. This is great, thanks for all of your help so far!
I'll hang around, this forum looks pretty cool.

[surgeVel]

Ah, yes, forgot about the latest deal on the q6600. I've never actually used the ACF7 before, but have heard lots of great things. I didn't know it already had an MX-2 paste on it. Personally I use Xigmatek 120mm Rifle with the MX-2 compound. Also, I think he said he would need an OS, so if that be the case you can get Windows Vista (32bit or 64bit) Home Premium for $99 on NewEgg.com as well.

[solidsteve]

Originally Posted by surgeVel

Ah, yes, forgot about the latest deal on the q6600. I've never actually used the ACF7 before, but have heard lots of great things. I didn't know it already had an MX-2 paste on it. Personally I use Xigmatek 120mm Rifle with the MX-2 compound. Also, I think he said he would need an OS, so if that be the case you can get Windows Vista (32bit or 64bit) Home Premium for $99 on NewEgg.com as well.

now thats something we all forgot

[vernong1992]

Well I assumed that he already has one (actually everybody does when they post their builds, but that should be enough then)

also ya, the AF7 does come with the MX-1/2 thermal pad depending on when it was made

[Dakaggo]

In terms of reasoning for spending so much on a system just divide up the costs into how much you would spend for a video game console and how much you would spend on a PC. I mean if you spend $800 then you can think of it as spending $400 on a game console (which is pretty good) and $400 on a PC, which is a fantastic price. Its kind of idealistic but it helps if you're trying to decide why you should spend an extra $200-400 on a computer than on a game console.

I think any of the builds listed here would work well really. Also, if in a few months you're not happy with the graphics you can always upgrade as well.

[g3kk0]

Good logic, Dakaggo. I didn't think of it that way.

Does everyone really think I should go with Intel? I haven't had too many problems with AMD... Seems this new cpu is pretty hot though.

(By the way, I'll be able to purchase everything in a week and a half or so.)

[vernong1992]

Actually once you update your rig, in the long run really Consoles cost more, because after that you just need to upgrade your Video Cards if it feels outdated, and you're back on track, and Quad-Cores won't be bottlenecks for a long time.

but AMD is pretty good, but Intel is better at this time, and its killing AMD right now (particularly the q6600 dominating all the Phenoms so far, but the Phenom 9850 is close, but seeing as you can get a dominating q6600 for $190 , I'd take that over a Phenom anyday) unless you already have a good AM2 system, and just need to upgrade the CPU, GPU and possibly your power supply

EDIT: I mentioned this Xigmatech Rifle here

Newegg.com - XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler - CPU Fans & Heatsinks

thats a great CPU Cooler, and gives the Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme a huge run for its money for half the price

[g3kk0]

Ok, thanks for the help guys. I think I've just about figured out what I want to buy. Does this build look ok so far? Would you change anything?

Case
RAIDMAX Sagitta 2 ATX-928WB Black SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Memory
OCZ SLI-Ready Edition 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory

PSU
CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX ATX12V V2.2 550W Power Supply 90 - 264 V UL, CUL, CE, CB, FCC Class B, TUV, CCC, C-tick

Motherboard
GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX All Solid Capacitor Intel Motherboard

CPU
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz 2 x 4MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor

Video Card
PNY VCG96512GXPB GeForce 9600GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card

Hard drive
Western Digital Caviar SE WD1600AAJS 160GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

CD/DVD drive
LITE-ON Black 20X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 20X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA DVD Burner

Cooling paste-$6

Which CPU cooler should I go with??
XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler
Or ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler?

So far that's approximately $832 including shipping and rebates. For any of the parts I picked, could I pay 10-40 more dollars and get a better part for the money?


What about that case I picked? I like the LED's and the look, but I noticed it has 3 fans. Is that too many fans for my build? Does it matter?

What about over-clocking? Should I attempt to OC my computer after I build it? Is it easy to OC? Or does it risk killing my PC?

[surgeVel]

The more fans, the better the airflow, and the better the performance at higher clock speeds. Go with the Xigmatec Rifle CPU cooler, and with it you should be able to overclock pretty easily with the DS3L. I have used that board once and if you have any questions about overclocking, I could help you out. Also, do you need an operating system or not?

You will be very pleased with your 9600GT. If you want to spend a tad more, go with the MSI 9600GT with the core clock of 700MHz. It's preoverclocked and it worked amazingly well for me. You'll be stunned just how well Call of Duty 4 and Counterstrike will look.

[g3kk0]

Go with this one instead?
MSI N9600GT 512M OC GeForce 9600GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card?
Ok, I don't mind paying a little more for it.

Oh yeah, I forgot, I do need an OS. Which OS should I purchase for the best gaming? XP Prof/Home or Vista? And what about 32 or 64 bit? I'm slightly confused about the different bit sizes...

Thanks for offering your help with overclocking. I'm sure I'll need a little help.

Edit: Another question (I'm almost done. lol).
What settings can I expect to run CoD4 or CS on smoothly? What resolution, I mean.