lookingforanswers
09-20-2008, 02:18 PM
Hello all – great site! I’ve been reading everyone’s different builds and it kinda makes my head spin. It seems like there are a ton of great ways to build a high-end PC, so I’ll give some insight into some stuff I want and hopefully I can get a little feedback, thanks!
Wants: I want something that I won’t have to do a complete overhaul for at least 3-4 years. I do a pretty good amount of gaming, so it has to be at least on the cutting edge to be really good now and at least adequate for some time going forward. I also do a lot of photo editing, so having some speedy memory would be critical. I could spend up to $2000, but I’d like to keep it well beneath that if possible (My current components come out to around $1200 or so, so I could upgrade more, if necessary).
Don’t want: I don’t care about overclocking and I don’t want to deal with heat issues. I’d like to build my PC and for the most part, leave it in the box. I don’t want to have to worry about cooling so, if I need to get extra fans and such, let me know. Considering what I’ve pulled out down here, am I going for overkill by the board if I doubt I’ll overclock?
I've read through the site extensively but I still have some questions and I'll apply them to each component:
Case:
There are a million out there and I can't find any extensive explanation on mid range versus full cases. It seems that everyone on here does a mid range, but are these always sufficient in size? Here's the one I thought was reasonably priced that looked good:
APEVIA X-TELSTAR-JR G-Type X-TSJGT-BK Black SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Case ($75) (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811144209&Tpk=Apevia%20X-TSJGT-BK%20X-Telstar%20Jr.)
Power Supply
I think 550W should be enough, but will it be if I get another high end video card with SLI down the road? There is a Corsair 750W PSU for 50 bucks more but I don't know if that is worth the cash.
Power Supply $85 (http://www.compusa.com/applications/searchtools/item-Details.asp?EdpNo=3436149&sku=C13-2501&srkey=Corsair%20VX550W)
Motherboard
Again, another aspect that really confuses me. I really like the NVIDIA chipset boards, but again I don't know how much I really need. This seems like it might be enough:
ASUS P5N-D LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 750i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard 750i board ($150) (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131232)
But, I really like this:
EVGA 132-CK-NF78-A1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 780i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard ($240) (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188024)
I was looking at the 790i – is it really worth the extra 100 bucks to support DDR3 memory? (EVGA 132-YW-E179-A1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 790i SLI FTW ATX Intel Motherboard - $300)
Video Card
One thing I think I'm pretty sure I want:
EVGA 512-P3-N873-AR GeForce 9800 GTX+ 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 $200 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130376)
Only question: Does this work with the boards I brought up above? I see it says "GDDR3" but some of those boards say that the memory is only DDR2? Someone else built a high-end system that seemed to have these clashing ideas, so maybe they are different?
RAM
Pretty straightforward, here's what I picked (lining these up with the 780i borard):
Corsair DHX XMS2 Dominator Dual Channel 2048MB PC8500 DDR2 1066Mhz Memory (2 x 1024MB) ($85) (http://www.compusa.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2458327&CatId=2261)
Processor
I looked at the Quad 6600, but this has a higher bus speed:
Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 Processor ($239) (http://www.compusa.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4089662)
Do I need anything better than this?
Hard Drive
Every hard drive I look up online says it's OEM, hence without the cables. That really worries me as I'm not sure exactly what I'll need if I buy an OEM version. If I do go that route I like this one:
Western Digital Caviar SE16 750GB Hard Drive - 7200, 16MB, SATA-300, OEM (http://www.compusa.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3203230)
DVD-RW
Lite-ON IHAS220-08 SuperAllwrite SATA 20x DVD Burner with Lightscribe ($34) (http://www.compusa.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3970769)
Operating System
Looks like Vista 64-bit is the way to go for gaming going forward. But, like the HD, OEM versions scare me. Should I be worried?
Windows Vista Home Prem 64-bit DSP OEM DVD with Service Pack 1 ($110) (http://www.compusa.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3746812)
Miscellaneous
Am I missing anything? I already have a monitor, speakers, keyboard and mouse. Do I need any additional cooling solutions? Do I need anything additionally to connect to my home network?
Thanks for any help that can be provided. I really love this site and it's pushed me over the edge to finally building my own PC!
Wants: I want something that I won’t have to do a complete overhaul for at least 3-4 years. I do a pretty good amount of gaming, so it has to be at least on the cutting edge to be really good now and at least adequate for some time going forward. I also do a lot of photo editing, so having some speedy memory would be critical. I could spend up to $2000, but I’d like to keep it well beneath that if possible (My current components come out to around $1200 or so, so I could upgrade more, if necessary).
Don’t want: I don’t care about overclocking and I don’t want to deal with heat issues. I’d like to build my PC and for the most part, leave it in the box. I don’t want to have to worry about cooling so, if I need to get extra fans and such, let me know. Considering what I’ve pulled out down here, am I going for overkill by the board if I doubt I’ll overclock?
I've read through the site extensively but I still have some questions and I'll apply them to each component:
Case:
There are a million out there and I can't find any extensive explanation on mid range versus full cases. It seems that everyone on here does a mid range, but are these always sufficient in size? Here's the one I thought was reasonably priced that looked good:
APEVIA X-TELSTAR-JR G-Type X-TSJGT-BK Black SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Case ($75) (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811144209&Tpk=Apevia%20X-TSJGT-BK%20X-Telstar%20Jr.)
Power Supply
I think 550W should be enough, but will it be if I get another high end video card with SLI down the road? There is a Corsair 750W PSU for 50 bucks more but I don't know if that is worth the cash.
Power Supply $85 (http://www.compusa.com/applications/searchtools/item-Details.asp?EdpNo=3436149&sku=C13-2501&srkey=Corsair%20VX550W)
Motherboard
Again, another aspect that really confuses me. I really like the NVIDIA chipset boards, but again I don't know how much I really need. This seems like it might be enough:
ASUS P5N-D LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 750i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard 750i board ($150) (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131232)
But, I really like this:
EVGA 132-CK-NF78-A1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 780i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard ($240) (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188024)
I was looking at the 790i – is it really worth the extra 100 bucks to support DDR3 memory? (EVGA 132-YW-E179-A1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 790i SLI FTW ATX Intel Motherboard - $300)
Video Card
One thing I think I'm pretty sure I want:
EVGA 512-P3-N873-AR GeForce 9800 GTX+ 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 $200 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130376)
Only question: Does this work with the boards I brought up above? I see it says "GDDR3" but some of those boards say that the memory is only DDR2? Someone else built a high-end system that seemed to have these clashing ideas, so maybe they are different?
RAM
Pretty straightforward, here's what I picked (lining these up with the 780i borard):
Corsair DHX XMS2 Dominator Dual Channel 2048MB PC8500 DDR2 1066Mhz Memory (2 x 1024MB) ($85) (http://www.compusa.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2458327&CatId=2261)
Processor
I looked at the Quad 6600, but this has a higher bus speed:
Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 Processor ($239) (http://www.compusa.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4089662)
Do I need anything better than this?
Hard Drive
Every hard drive I look up online says it's OEM, hence without the cables. That really worries me as I'm not sure exactly what I'll need if I buy an OEM version. If I do go that route I like this one:
Western Digital Caviar SE16 750GB Hard Drive - 7200, 16MB, SATA-300, OEM (http://www.compusa.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3203230)
DVD-RW
Lite-ON IHAS220-08 SuperAllwrite SATA 20x DVD Burner with Lightscribe ($34) (http://www.compusa.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3970769)
Operating System
Looks like Vista 64-bit is the way to go for gaming going forward. But, like the HD, OEM versions scare me. Should I be worried?
Windows Vista Home Prem 64-bit DSP OEM DVD with Service Pack 1 ($110) (http://www.compusa.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3746812)
Miscellaneous
Am I missing anything? I already have a monitor, speakers, keyboard and mouse. Do I need any additional cooling solutions? Do I need anything additionally to connect to my home network?
Thanks for any help that can be provided. I really love this site and it's pushed me over the edge to finally building my own PC!