Thinking of building, need advice

teh_J0kerer · 09-27-2007, 06:44 PM

Hi all,

Im thinking about building my first desktop in order to save money. To be honest the idea makes me quite nervous since I don't know much at all about computers, other than how to play games on them. I'd like to get a rather top of the line PC for gaming.

Theres a million choices of parts out there, and I have no clue what matters, whats worth paying for, etc..

Id like to have a system that can play everything out there on top settings, and which will still be kicking ass for quite some time. I'll set a budget of $2000..

If anyone could point me to a build that would help alot, since I basically have no idea what I should be getting.

Also, how much money would I actually save by building it myself?
How much risk is there in building it? Could I screw it up and be out 2 grand?

In figuring out what parts to use, could I basically go to a website that sells powerful gaming PCs and copy one of theirs, but put it together myself?

Thanks for any help!

holdenssx · 09-27-2007, 06:46 PM

Well do you need a keyboard, mouse, monitor, operating system etc.?

teh_J0kerer · 09-27-2007, 06:55 PM

Well, I guess I should get vista for DX10 effects once Im spending the dough right?

Probably don't need the keyboard mouse and monitor.

teh_J0kerer · 09-28-2007, 04:18 AM

bump..

Cupcakke · 09-28-2007, 07:54 AM

Intel is coming out with new quad cores shortly and with 2k as your budget you could easily afford them. They putting up some staggering numbers, YORKSFIELD breaks world record

If you cannot wait, or dont care to, definitely get
CPU- Q6600
GPU- 8800GTX (x2 if you want)
Mobo-depends if you want to SLI that(680i), if not Gigabyte P35-DS3L works charms.
RAM- 2 Gigs, Corsair XMS2, Crucial, OCZ, XMS2 is only 60$ off of newegg with MIR.
HDD- Seagate Barracuda 320gb
Case-entirely up to you, make sure you get something with good ventilation and cooling, Antec 900 is a popular choice.
PSU- Corsair 620HX (50A on 3 12v rails) or something with 600+ watts and 40+ Amps on 12v rails

Go ahead and buy an aftermarket HSF(heatsinkfan) for your CPU also. (Zalman)

It will save you a lot of money, the only way to get these type of computers is through companies that rape your money. 500+$ for them putting it together. Computer Forums helps and have many great tutorials on how to help build your computer without any hiccups. There are also many instructional videos/webpages on the internet with step by step instructions. Check out the 101 pages on the forums and you will learn a hell of a lot about what you are trying to do.

Hope it helps, its late, im tired.

ThatGuy16 · 09-28-2007, 08:06 AM

agree with cupcakke, look into the Corsair 520w (42a, i think), 620w (50a), or a OCZ GameXStream 700w (50a). And if you get vista get none less than home premium 64bit OEM

teh_J0kerer · 09-28-2007, 03:47 PM

I appreciate the advice guys.

Here's a couple Qs:

-Is there any reason to wait for release of a new high end graphics card? It seems like the 8800GTX has been out for a long time.

-Ive read in some places that buying 2 8800GTXs is a waste of money at this time. Is that true? If I decide to go with one, should I still have the SLI option available on my mobo in case I want to make use of it later? (that is, should I expect to need a second graphics card to keep my pc able to run games a few years from now on top settings?)

-does anyone get blue ray players/burners for their PCs?

-whats the single most common error that n00b pc builders make which causes permanent damage?

Thanks!

andy faith · 09-28-2007, 04:24 PM

I don't think you would need 2 8800GTX's. I don't think the extra GPU power would make any difference to your gameplay. If you want to futureproof it the get SLi then you can buy another one later if you want to. imo blu-ray is too expensive, I'm quite happy with DVD's. shorting out the motherboard by it touching the case somehow after you've screwed it in.

09-27-2007, 06:44 PM	#1 (permalink)
teh_J0kerer New Member Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 13	Thinking of building, need advice Hi all, Im thinking about building my first desktop in order to save money. To be honest the idea makes me quite nervous since I don't know much at all about computers, other than how to play games on them. I'd like to get a rather top of the line PC for gaming. Theres a million choices of parts out there, and I have no clue what matters, whats worth paying for, etc.. Id like to have a system that can play everything out there on top settings, and which will still be kicking ass for quite some time. I'll set a budget of $2000.. If anyone could point me to a build that would help alot, since I basically have no idea what I should be getting. Also, how much money would I actually save by building it myself? How much risk is there in building it? Could I screw it up and be out 2 grand? In figuring out what parts to use, could I basically go to a website that sells powerful gaming PCs and copy one of theirs, but put it together myself? Thanks for any help!

09-28-2007, 08:06 AM	#6 (permalink)
ThatGuy16 Diamond Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: USA Posts: 5,105	agree with cupcakke, look into the Corsair 520w (42a, i think), 620w (50a), or a OCZ GameXStream 700w (50a). And if you get vista get none less than home premium 64bit OEM __________________ CPU: C2D E8400 @ 4Ghz 1.23v HSF: Apogee GTX MB: Gigabyte X38-DS4 Ram: 2x2GB G. Skill DDR2-1068 HDD: 320GB Seagate PSU: OCZ GameXStream 700w OS: Vista Home Premium 64bit GFX: HD3870 @ 837/1152 LCD: LG 22" L226WTQ My Old 3DMark06: 20008 =(

09-28-2007, 04:24 PM	#8 (permalink)
andy faith Gold Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Coventry Age: 19 Posts: 276	I don't think you would need 2 8800GTX's. I don't think the extra GPU power would make any difference to your gameplay. If you want to futureproof it the get SLi then you can buy another one later if you want to. imo blu-ray is too expensive, I'm quite happy with DVD's. shorting out the motherboard by it touching the case somehow after you've screwed it in. __________________ Main PC: Athlon XP 2400+, 1GB RAM, Geforce4 Ti 4200, Asrock K7S8X mobo, 2x40GB HDD. NEC DVDRW, Pioneer DVD\CDRW Backup PC: Athlon XP 2000+, 512MB RAM, 60GB HDD, Radeon 7500 Main Laptop: Inspiron 6400: Core 2 Duo 2.0GHz, 80GB SATA HDD, 2GB PC2-4200, DVD-RW, Radeon X1300 Backup laptop: Latitude D410, Pentium M 1.73GHz, 60GB HDD, 1GB RAM, DVD-ROM

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09-27-2007, 06:46 PM	#2 (permalink)
holdenssx Platinum Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Wheaton, IL Posts: 587	Well do you need a keyboard, mouse, monitor, operating system etc.?

09-27-2007, 06:55 PM	#3 (permalink)
teh_J0kerer New Member Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 13	Well, I guess I should get vista for DX10 effects once Im spending the dough right? Probably don't need the keyboard mouse and monitor.

09-28-2007, 04:18 AM	#4 (permalink)
teh_J0kerer New Member Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 13	bump..

09-28-2007, 07:54 AM	#5 (permalink)
Cupcakke Silver Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 115	Intel is coming out with new quad cores shortly and with 2k as your budget you could easily afford them. They putting up some staggering numbers, YORKSFIELD breaks world record If you cannot wait, or dont care to, definitely get CPU- Q6600 GPU- 8800GTX (x2 if you want) Mobo-depends if you want to SLI that(680i), if not Gigabyte P35-DS3L works charms. RAM- 2 Gigs, Corsair XMS2, Crucial, OCZ, XMS2 is only 60$ off of newegg with MIR. HDD- Seagate Barracuda 320gb Case-entirely up to you, make sure you get something with good ventilation and cooling, Antec 900 is a popular choice. PSU- Corsair 620HX (50A on 3 12v rails) or something with 600+ watts and 40+ Amps on 12v rails Go ahead and buy an aftermarket HSF(heatsinkfan) for your CPU also. (Zalman) It will save you a lot of money, the only way to get these type of computers is through companies that rape your money. 500+$ for them putting it together. Computer Forums helps and have many great tutorials on how to help build your computer without any hiccups. There are also many instructional videos/webpages on the internet with step by step instructions. Check out the 101 pages on the forums and you will learn a hell of a lot about what you are trying to do. Hope it helps, its late, im tired.

09-28-2007, 03:47 PM	#7 (permalink)
teh_J0kerer New Member Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 13	I appreciate the advice guys. Here's a couple Qs: -Is there any reason to wait for release of a new high end graphics card? It seems like the 8800GTX has been out for a long time. -Ive read in some places that buying 2 8800GTXs is a waste of money at this time. Is that true? If I decide to go with one, should I still have the SLI option available on my mobo in case I want to make use of it later? (that is, should I expect to need a second graphics card to keep my pc able to run games a few years from now on top settings?) -does anyone get blue ray players/burners for their PCs? -whats the single most common error that n00b pc builders make which causes permanent damage? Thanks!