Building a $2000 gaming computer, Need help/suggestions

H

Holman

New Member
LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model LH-20A1L-05 - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106073


NZXT TEMPEST Crafted Series CS-NT-TEM-B Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146047


(THREE) HITACHI Deskstar P7K500 HDP725032GLA360 (0A35411) 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168221452131


Acer AL2216Wbd Black 22" 5ms Widescreen LCD Monitor with HDCP support - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009094


SAPPHIRE 100251SR Radeon HD 4870 X2 2GB 512-bit (256-bit x 2) GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102768


HT OMEGA STRIKER 7.1 Channels PCI Interface Sound Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829271001


CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply 100 - 240 V UL, CE, CB, TUV, FCC, CCC - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006


Logitech X-540 70 watts 5.1 Speaker - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16836121006


Logitech G11 Silver & Black USB Standard Gaming Keyboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823126009


Logitech MX518 2-Tone 8 Buttons 1 x Wheel USB + PS/2 Wired Optical 1600 dpi Gaming-Grade Mouse - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826104178


Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835100007


Rosewill RTK-002 Anti-Static Wrist Strap - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16899261005


OCZ Platinum 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ2P10664GK - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227298


XTRAC RIPPER XL Optical Mouse pad - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817114182


(TWO) LOGISYS Computer CLK15BL 15" Blue Deluxe Sound Activated Cold Cathode Light Kit - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16800888073


LOGISYS Computer CLK12BL2 12" DUAL COLD CATHODE KIT - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811994001


MSI P45 Platinum LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130179


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


Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit English for System Builders 1pk DSP OEI DVD - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116488


ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186134

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Alright, I hope I did not leave anything out of that o_O. Please make any suggestions/comments/anything else I could do to improve this before I purchase this. The price for all of this including shipping is $2,098.27. I would like to keep it around this price too, I already went a little over what I aimed for, but its not to big of a deal as long as I don't add anything else. Anyways, I would like to keep the 4870x2 graphics card, thats what this whole build was about for me. I also need a monitor, mouse, keyboard, and speakers included in this, thats why they are listed. I'm pretty much getting a whole new build, since the computer I have now, is no where even near compared to this, and I haven't gotten a new computer in quite some time.
Also, it would be nice, if someone could tell me what kind of cables i would need for a raid 0 configuration for my three hardrives. And/or how to set up the three hard drives in a raid 0 set-up.
~Thanks to everyone who makes a suggestion/comment! :D
 
Last edited:
concorde

concorde

New Member
I'm not a gamer but I can help out with RAID. RAID is Redundant Array of Independent Disks.

RAID 0: You have different parts of data on different disks. For example, a Microsoft Word document would be on multiple disks, so when you open it up, it would be much faster because one disk doesn't have to read the whole file, two (or in your case, three) do the job. However, if one disk fails, you are in trouble. (Really reconsider!!!)

RAID 1: This is called mirroring or "carboning" although carbon is irrelevant to this :p - This really isn't for performance but instead for reliability. Everything saved on one disk will be on the other. If one disk crashes, the contents on the other disk will be exactly the same of the other disk.

RAID 2: Not really used anymore and quite expensive (can cost more than your whole machine) - however, there's really high performance. Mainframe computers and large file servers (we're talking servers that serve a HUGE company, like Boeing or Microsoft with thousands of employees) would be the only benefit. In simple, this is similar to RAID 0, just more complicated. There's RAID 3, 4 and 5, which is just MOTS with some alterations and are not as common.

With RAID, you might be using SATA, SCSI or, more rare, IDE. You need a RAID card (cost $30 - $300, commonly about $60). I'm not very clear on how to configure RAID in a MS WIndows install, but I'm sure you can do it during the installation. You mentioned that you want RAID 0 - reconsider this - if one disk fails, the system is compromised.RAID was originally a Unix/Sun Solaris technology but, like in your case, it's becoming a Microsoft technolgoy as well.
 
concorde

concorde

New Member
I'm not a gamer but I can help out with RAID. RAID is Redundant Array of Independent Disks.

RAID 0: You have different parts of data on different disks. For example, a Microsoft Word document would be on multiple disks, so when you open it up, it would be much faster because one disk doesn't have to read the whole file, two (or in your case, three) do the job. However, if one disk fails, you are in trouble. (Really reconsider!!!)

RAID 1: This is called mirroring or "carboning" although carbon is irrelevant to this :p - This really isn't for performance but instead for reliability. Everything saved on one disk will be on the other. If one disk crashes, the contents on the other disk will be exactly the same of the other disk.

RAID 2: Not really used anymore and quite expensive (can cost more than your whole machine) - however, there's really high performance. Mainframe computers and large file servers (we're talking servers that serve a HUGE company, like Boeing or Microsoft with thousands of employees) would be the only benefit. In simple, this is similar to RAID 0, just more complicated. There's RAID 3, 4 and 5, which is just MOTS with some alterations and are not as common.

With RAID, you might be using SATA, SCSI or, more rare, IDE. You need a RAID card (cost $30 - $300, commonly about $60). I'm not very clear on how to configure RAID in a MS WIndows install, but I'm sure you can do it during the installation. You mentioned that you want RAID 0 - reconsider this - if one disk fails, the system is compromised.RAID was originally a Unix/Sun Solaris technology but, like in your case, it's becoming a Microsoft technolgoy as well.
 
H

Holman

New Member
alright thanks concorde, i will definitely take that into consideration, and also to help me choose which set-up i will be doing, thanks. But i'm still not sure if i should get some sata, or sata 2 cables, for my hard drives. Will i need only one if i do go raid 0, or would i still need 3. I'm not too familiar with hard drives, i have never really worked with them. I am still open to suggestions on my gaming build.
~thanks, any help is appreciated
 
cohen

cohen

New Member
Out of that, the list looks good, but go for a better CPU, go for a quad core.

Like a Q9550 or at least the Q6600. They are good for gaming and can overclock high as well.
 
concorde

concorde

New Member
You'll want SATA II (3.0 GB/s) - this transfers data at 3 GBs a second. SATA I transfers at about 1.5 (half of SATA II) and there's really no cost difference. Go with SATA II, hands down.

With RAID, you want multiple disks. You probably won't need three disks but two would do. If you are on the side of performance, go with RAID O*. If you are at the other end of the spectrum (for reliablity), you'll want RAID 1.

*Remember with RAID 0 one file is spread across multiple disks, so that when that file is seeked, it is loaded faster than if it was on one disk. Because of this, if a drive fails in the setup, the whole system is compromised. However, with RAID 1, there is not a lot of performance gains BUT it is the opposite if a disk in the setup fails: you can keep going and you won't have to worry. (Hint: buy Seagate, don't bump your computer, have plenty of fans and buy a good solid power supply and a surge suppressor and you won't have to worry about setting up a RAID 1 system, but still back up:p)
 
Mitch?

Mitch?

banned
looks okay, but, i'd reprioritize. (sorry for the lack of linking, just text, my link button isn't working)
1) you don't need the both sets of cathodes. a set of 2x cold cathodes is fine, you're case will have blue fans anyway...
2)CPU - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115018
quad core, only 10 more, can overclock to 3ghz anyway...
3)HDD's - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148134
-optional - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136033
cheaper to get the 750gb, and seagate > hitachi
 
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