Setting up a gaming PC

Shikyo

Shikyo

Shikyo

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Joined
11 Sep 2008
Posts
144
Hey guys, first post on the forums :D

I decided to put together a gaming machine because my old AMD is dying, but after reading various reviews and forums I must admit I am quite confused. I have decided to go for a Nvidia graphic card this time, all because I use Linux as well and so far it worked better that way.

So here is what I have come up with so far:

Case: THERMALTAKE VG7000BWS SOPRANO RS 101 BLACK WINDOW (Middle Tower)
- Should I be concerned that this is a middle tower? I really don’t know if it’s ok for cooling/air flow/space.
PSU: OCZ NVIDIA SLI-READY GAME XSTREAM 700W
CPU: Q9550 2.83 or E8600 3.33?
- I have read that dual cores are better for gaming at the time being, but overall, I would prefer the quad core for applications and stuff, could use some help here. Will I need an aftermarket cooler for those? The case as far as I know can take 2x 12cm fans on the side, one of those helping with the CPU air intake.
Mobo: ASUS P5NT WS (NFORCE 680I LT SLI).
- To be honest I have no idea about motherboards, but this looks ok to me, maybe I’m wrong. :confused:
RAM: CORSAIR XMS2 DHX DDR2 (2X2GB) PC2-6400 (800MHZ) CL5
GFX: GIGABYTE GTX260 896MB
- I’m afraid I can’t afford the GTX280, or 2x GTX260. :rolleyes:
HD: 500GB – (WD, 16MB, 8.9MS) or (Seagate, 32MB, 4.16MS)?
- For some reason I really like WD’s, maybe because none of mine are broken so far hehe, have no idea if seagate’s are good.
Monitor: LG 20'' (1680X1050, 5MS)
- Would I have severe problems playing on max resolution with new and future games?

Also, I was thinking to go for Vista Ultimate 32bit, but I read everywhere around saying not to... Is it going to be that bad? I had Vista since SP1 came out and didn't have any kind of problems yet, apart from the fact that my computer is 3 years old and it goes a “bit” slow.
Let me know if something is not quite right, would like to set up a proper pc this time!

Sorry for the non-existent knowledge on computers and thank you in advance! :)
 
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one thing i would say is get Vista 64Bit as you will only see 3Gb of ram with vista 32Bit and not your full 4Gb
 
Some comments, only from personal experience and I'm biased.... :D

Case, I went for the Antec 1200 (here)and will never look back, fantastic case, excellent airflow and loads of space, others swear by the 300 and I have seen loads of good reviews about that case.

PSU, I went for the Corsair 650 (here) and again, am very impressed, plenty of connectors, quiet and efficient, it gets a lot of praise around here.

CPU, I went for the 8600, again on the 'better gaming' recommendations.

Mobo/Ram/HD/GFX etc I'm not too up on, I went for the ASUS P5Q, GEIL 8500, a Seagate 320GB and an ATi 4870. Others will have a much better idea of the best config/£ in these areas.

Unless you really need it, 64bit professional should do you fine, all the bells and whistles you pay more for in Ultimate can be gotten elsewhere.
 
Extra 10fps for your games for the same price (£170) if you switch to an 4870 ati gfx....

Personally get a slight lower CPU and a better mobo (p45 chipset) and o/c the bad boy.
 
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Thank you for your input, it's all very helpful! :)
I would like to ask a question though, RAM-wise. Is it better to go for low timings, or for high clocks? For example, I am quite interested in those two ram kits, what would you think it's better?

-GEIL GB24GB6400C4QC DDR2 (4X1GB) BLACK DRAGON PC6400 800MHZ QUAD CHANNEL KIT (4-4-4-12) ~£80
or
-CORSAIR XMS2 DHX DDR2 4GB (2X2GB) PC2-8500 (1066MHZ) DUAL CHANNEL KIT (5-5-5-15) ~£100
 
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Pretty sure there's no need for PC-8500 so I would go with the black dragons. Very nice RAM, I have some myself :)

By the way go for 2x2gb sticks.
 
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I see, thanks. So having that last thing solved the setup finally changed to:

Corsair 750W CMPSU-750TXEU
Intel Core 2 Quad 9550 (I suppose that's better than a Q6600, isn't it?)
ASUS P5Q PRO
GEIL DDR2 (2X2GB) BLACK DRAGON PC6400
Sapphire 4870
WD 640GB WD6400AAKS
LG W2042S-PF 20'' TFT

All that for about £880.. It's not too bad, is it. At least I think it's going to last for a while! (Hopefully......) :rolleyes:
 
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