building a gaming computer

[glennxx1]

ive installed hard drives, memory, and cd roms, but thats about it, this will be my first from scratch build

its pretty much strictly going to be my gaming PC

there are some things i would like to learn up on, one being DDR 2 vs DDR 3, what is the diff? would i notice a diff between 3 gigs of ddr 2 and ddr 3?

at what point is memory not beneficial? is it 3 gigs or 4? (ram)


the second thing i know nothing about but ive been reading is this "sata" or (i know this is going to be wrong, a guy was telling me about it) "raid"? or something like that, he just said when you have two hard drives operating at the same speed (or something) its very beneficial? any idea on that? lol

thanks for any input, and non flames

 

[Respital]

ive installed hard drives, memory, and cd roms, but thats about it, this will be my first from scratch build

its pretty much strictly going to be my gaming PC

there are some things i would like to learn up on, one being DDR 2 vs DDR 3, what is the diff? would i notice a diff between 3 gigs of ddr 2 and ddr 3?

at what point is memory not beneficial? is it 3 gigs or 4? (ram)


the second thing i know nothing about but ive been reading is this "sata" or (i know this is going to be wrong, a guy was telling me about it) "raid"? or something like that, he just said when you have two hard drives operating at the same speed (or something) its very beneficial? any idea on that? lol

thanks for any input, and non flames

Hello and welcome to CF.
Right now the difference between DDR2 and DDR3 is extremely minimal.
No you would not notice a difference from 3GBs of DDR2 opposed to DDR3.

Memory is always beneficial.
Although no one needs more then 3Gbs of ram.
The people who have more then 3GBs of ram either have it to show off bragging rights or they do some heavy rendering.

Raid is beneficial from what i have heard and only works if you have two of the exact same hard drives working on one computer.
For more answers please read. http://www.computerforum.com/10889-raid-101-a.html

No problem.
Would you like me or any others from CF suggest a build for you?
If so please provide your maximum budget.
If you need a monitor mouse keyboard etc.
If you will be doing any overclocking.
What the computer will be primarily used for.

I hope this helps.

 

[funkysnair]

i have more than 3gig....

i personally got 4gig of ram for vista 64bit because as everyone knows vista uses alot of memory to run......

i would rather have an extra 1gig that never gets used than wish i had got that extra ram because my sytem is using alot with the newer programs coming out

 

[Respital]

i have more than 3gig....

i personally got 4gig of ram for vista 64bit because as everyone knows vista uses alot of memory to run......

i would rather have an extra 1gig that never gets used than wish i had got that extra ram because my sytem is using alot with the newer programs coming out

Yes exactly.
Sorry i forgot about vista.
But that would probably be the only other reason you would need more then 3Gb ram.

 

[glennxx1]

i read some of the raid 101, do you set it up to use both drives as one? i dont understand how you would know where to put what, but any how

i'd appreciate any help on the build i could get, i havnt set a budget, but i want to build a computer that is going to last me 3 years or so, ive been buying crappy computers and having to update every year and a half or so due to not being able to play at all, my current computer has 1 gig of ram, and a 512 nvidia 7 series card (7600? i cant remember, and dont feel like walking in there and looking)

i would like a top of the line processor, i do a lot of multi tasking, and running multiple programs at once...i am bad about hot boxing WoW and other programs

i probably wouldnt overclock for one reason...me being new to all of this.
i did a small amount of reading on it but it seems it shortens the life of your components if your circumstances arent just right

i want my video card to be a pretty high end, and able to put another one in later to run in "tandum" or w/e it is (my theory is on that i can have a bad ass card now, then when i start playing a game that im getting visual lag on i can just stick another one in there of what i already have (which will be cheaper by then)) and i can still be running real good

and wow, just noticed how long this post was getting =P ill end it here for now--thanks for the responses so far

glenn

 

[Respital]

i read some of the raid 101, do you set it up to use both drives as one? i dont understand how you would know where to put what, but any how

i'd appreciate any help on the build i could get, i havnt set a budget, but i want to build a computer that is going to last me 3 years or so, ive been buying crappy computers and having to update every year and a half or so due to not being able to play at all, my current computer has 1 gig of ram, and a 512 nvidia 7 series card (7600? i cant remember, and dont feel like walking in there and looking)

i would like a top of the line processor, i do a lot of multi tasking, and running multiple programs at once...i am bad about hot boxing WoW and other programs

i probably wouldnt overclock for one reason...me being new to all of this.
i did a small amount of reading on it but it seems it shortens the life of your components if your circumstances arent just right

i want my video card to be a pretty high end, and able to put another one in later to run in "tandum" or w/e it is (my theory is on that i can have a bad ass card now, then when i start playing a game that im getting visual lag on i can just stick another one in there of what i already have (which will be cheaper by then)) and i can still be running real good

and wow, just noticed how long this post was getting =P ill end it here for now--thanks for the responses so far

glenn

Sounds like...
The best bang for your buck build?
I would still appreciate if you could post a maximum budget just so CF members have a rough idea of how much they can spend on the build.

Yeah overclocking isn't that big of a gain and you are correct it does shorten the lifespan of your computer componets.

Do you live in the USA?
Most members here use newegg.com
Would you be comfortable using that site?
I'm sure if you asked anyone they would give positive feedback about their experience with newegg.

I'm guessing your willing to spend no more then lets say $1500 is that correct?
Does it sound reasonable?
Provide us with your budget and I or another member of CF would gladly post a build for you.

Hope this helps.

 

[glennxx1]

ya we'll say 1500 for a budget, gaming is the main use, and i want a really good processor.

I do live in the US and plan on using either tiger direct or new egg (which ever is cheaper)

 

[Respital]

ya we'll say 1500 for a budget, gaming is the main use, and i want a really good processor.

I do live in the US and plan on using either tiger direct or new egg (which ever is cheaper)

Okay i'll start working on a build.
Do you need a monitor mouse keyboard speakers and the whole thing?
Or just the tower?

 

[glennxx1]

just need a tower

 

[Respital]

Based on the information you have provided so far this is what i came
up with.

Case : Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
Link : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021
Price : $119.99

Power Supply : OCZ GameXStream OCZ700GXSSLI ATX12V 700W Power Supply 100 - 240 V - Retail
Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341002
Price:
$124.99
($89.99 after $35.00 Mail-In
Rebate pdf )

Motherboard : GIGABYTE GA-EP35C-DS3R LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Dynamic Energy Saver Ultra Durable II Intel Motherboard - Retail
Link : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128082
Price : $149.99

Cpu : Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail
Link : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115037
Price : $199.99

Ram : Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
Link : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146565
Price : $60.99 ($30.99 after $30.00 Mail-In Rebate pdf )

Video/Graphics Card : XFX PVT88PYDF4 GeForce 8800GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
Link : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150252
Price : $179.99

Hard Drive : Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250410AS 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
Link : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148262
Price : $64.99

DVD Burner : LG Black 20X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X 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 20X DVD Burner - OEM
Link : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136142
Price : $24.99

Total Without Rebates : $925.92
Total With Rebates : $860.92

Yeah it's not your $1500 budget but to me that seems like an awesome gaming computers and it's quite cheap with room to upgrade with 8 SATA ports and room for overclocking as well.

Hope this helps.

 

[glennxx1]

lol wow that was faster than i expected,

i have a question though, when you look at a processor how do you know if one is better than the other

for instance, lets say between

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115027

and

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115036

which would be better? and how would you know...i dont know if im reading this wrong but one would have 2x3.16 ghz and one would have 4x2.66 which the quad would be better right? or is GHz not what your looking at on a processor?

 

[Respital]

lol wow that was faster than i expected,

i have a question though, when you look at a processor how do you know if one is better than the other

for instance, lets say between

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115027

and

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115036

which would be better? and how would you know...i dont know if im reading this wrong but one would have 2x3.16 ghz and one would have 4x2.66 which the quad would be better right? or is GHz not what your looking at on a processor?

Well glennxx1, when your picking out a processor it's good to know what it's going to be used for. Like how you said your computer was for gaming i picked out the E8400 which is dual core because a quad core like the Q6700 wouldn't be used fully because most games don't take advantage of more then 2 cores. No Ghz is not all your looking for when you buy a processor. You look at key elements like the size of Cache and the manufacturing technology. For example a 45nm (Nano Meter) will run cooler then a 65nm. You also look at the FSB the higher the FSB the lower the multiplier, for example to get the FSB that they use on their specifications list you have to use a formula, my example will be the E6850 since i have it. To get the FSB which is 1333Mhz you take the Smaller Front Side Bus which in this case is 333Mhz and times it by the multiplier which in this case is 9 so the formula is Small FSB x Multiplier = Processor speed. (333)x(9)= 3000Mhz = 3Ghz. Overall since you said you were going to use your computer for gaming i chose a dual core which is a better bang for your buck compared to the quad core.

Hope this helps.

 

[glennxx1]

gotcha, im new to a lot of this lol, trying to figure it all out--how did you get the numbers you just used? ive seen where it says front side bus etc but where did you get your multiplier from?

also, how do you know if your motherboard is SLI compatable? i figure in the future if i want to go dual 8800's or dare i say 9800 gx2's lol that i will be able to?

 

[Respital]

gotcha, im new to a lot of this lol, trying to figure it all out--how did you get the numbers you just used? ive seen where it says front side bus etc but where did you get your multiplier from?

Some numbers like the Small FSB and the multiplier are gotten from programs such as CPU-Z (google it) they display specific information about your computer.
Although to get those numbers you have to have the processor or get them from someone who has the processor and gives you the numbers.

You said your new to this.
I suggest reading the sticking on each of the sub-forums.
They have guides such as Cpu101 Overclocking101 Etc.
Be sure to read the forum rules though!
Need help with anything else?

 

[chupacabra]

rofl at respital lameness, anyway it doesn't hurt to have 4 cores even if games doesn't fully use it now, plus the wolfdales are buggy their fans always run at 100% = freaking airplane.

1500 should get you far better than what he put you plus he missed some components

 

[Respital]

rofl at respital lameness, anyway it doesn't hurt to have 4 cores even if games doesn't fully use it now, plus the wolfdales are buggy their fans always run at 100% = freaking airplane.

1500 should get you far better than what he put you plus he missed some components

How am i lame?
What components did i miss?
Theres nothing wrong with not spending the whole budget... besides i just said $1500 as an amount.
The OP never said that they are actually willing to spend $1500...

 

[chupacabra]

How am i lame?
What components did i miss?
Theres nothing wrong with not spending the whole budget... besides i just said $1500 as an amount.
The OP never said that they are actually willing to spend $1500...

You not only forgot the power supply but also the OS and yes you're lame

 

[Respital]

You not only forgot the power supply but also the OS and yes you're lame

Ah check the post.
The Original poster never said they needed an OS... so why include one if they don't need it?
No i'm not lame.

To Original Poster: Do you need an operating system?

 

[just a noob]

i would suggest getting a q9450 intel processor, if your willing, you can overclock it to 3.0ghz on air, maybe even on stock voltage?(im not really sure) main reason why i say that processor is, it has a much larger l2 cache, and if you increase the fsb and core clock, you can get results of the stock qx9770(or is it q9770?) but, thats just my 2 cents

 

[Respital]

i would suggest getting a q9450 intel processor, if your willing, you can overclock it to 3.0ghz on air, maybe even on stock voltage?(im not really sure) main reason why i say that processor is, it has a much larger l2 cache, and if you increase the fsb and core clock, you can get results of the stock qx9770(or is it q9770?) but, thats just my 2 cents

I would have suggested the Q9450 like you said because of the larger cache and what not but currently newegg doesn't have any in stock... i'm not sure if anyone does.