# Building a Mid-Range Gaming Computer



## AncientToaster (May 1, 2008)

Hi,

Been wanting a gaming computer for a few years, a feeling that was piqued recently after watching my friend play HL2 (yeah, it's a few years old, but still awesome). Now I'm looking into buying a gaming desktop to complement my MacBook.

Here's what I'm looking for:

Budget's between $700 to $900.

Will be multitasking quite a bit, want to be gaming quite a bit (obviously). Might overclock, but not too excessively (since I don't really understand it XD). Looking at maybe 160gb hard drive to start with, can always upgrade it later if the need arises. 

As far as OS, I'm not sure whether I want Vista or XP, don't really care that much. One thing I'm curious about is where to buy your OS. The Extreme Tech article on an $800 Gaming PC (http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,2270998,00.asp) mentions getting Vista Home Premium for $110, but I don't see where you can get it for that price.

No idea about getting a case. Don't care _too_ much what it looks like, although a mid-90s style beige box isn't what I'm looking for. 

I don't have any components I can use, except for a monitor, keyboard, and mouse. Live in the USA

Thanks very much!


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## AncientToaster (May 1, 2008)

Been reading up on this a bit more, given it a bit more thought.

I'm thinking I want a power supply/mother board combo that gives a fair amount of room to upgrade later. I figure I can always upgrade the graphics card(s), but it'd be a big pain (not to mention annoying waste of money) to have to upgrade those.

Sorry for the new post, instead of an edit to the previous one. Couldn't figure out how to edit posts here.


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## blackduck30 (Sep 7, 2004)

Have a look through this and mix and match


*ASUS P5K-E LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail $140*

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131225

or 

*GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX All Solid Capacitor Intel Motherboard - Retail $90
*
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128059


*GIGABYTE GA-EP35-DS3R LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Dynamic Energy Saver Ultra Durable II Intel Motherboard - Retail $130
*
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128086


* ASUS P5K SE LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail $93*

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131189



*Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail $200
*
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115037


* Intel Core 2 Duo E8200 Wolfdale 2.66GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail $185*

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115038


*Intel Core 2 Duo E6550 Conroe 2.33GHz 4M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail $160*

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115030


* EVGA 512-P3-N801-AR GeForce 8800GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail $160 ( after rebate )
*
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130318



* MSI NX8800GTS 320M OC GeForce 8800GTS 320MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail $140*

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127328



* CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail $33 ( after rebate )*

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145034


* Seagate Barracuda ES.2 ST3250310NS 250GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM $80
*
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148309

or

* Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250410AS 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM $65*

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148262



* CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX ATX12V / EPS12V 750W Power Supply 100 - 240 V UL, CE, CB, TUV, FCC, CCC - Retail $120 ( after rebate )
*
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006


* Thermaltake WingRS VG1000BNS Black SECC ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail $20 ( after rebate )*

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133048


* Antec Three Hundred Black ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail $70*

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129042


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## AncientToaster (May 1, 2008)

Wow, that's alot to mull over! Thanks!

Can you/anyone recommend a good motherboard with two graphics card slots that's compatible with the 8800GT listed above? Also, would the power supply above be able to support two of those graphics cards?

Thanks!


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## blackduck30 (Sep 7, 2004)

well trying to keep in the budget range have a look at this

*ASUS P5N-D LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 750i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail $150*

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131232


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## AncientToaster (May 1, 2008)

Hmm. The reviews on that say it doesn't really use both of the cards to their full potential. Is that true?

Been looking at this (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813127030). Is it compatible/a good choice?

EDIT: Looking over it, I see that it is not. How much would I expect to pay if I just said hang the budget and went for a really nice motherboard (speaking of which, would this qualify as a nice one? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188026)?

Thanks so much for all your help & patience.


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## blackduck30 (Sep 7, 2004)

Well the first one you were looking at is only 1X16 and 1X4
As far as I can see on the ASUS web site the board I listed has 2X16. As far as i know both X16 slots work @ PCI-E 2 X16

If you are considering SLI I would really bump your power supply up to 850W if you want to use 2X8800Gt cards

*SILVERSTONE OP850 ATX 12V 2.2 & EPS12V 850W Power Supply 100 - 240 V CE, cUL, TUV, FCC - Retail $200 ( after rebate )*

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817256024


*Thermaltake Toughpower W0172RU ATX12V / EPS12V 850W Power Supply 100 - 240 V CB, CE, FCC, TUV, cUL - Retail $170 ( after rebate )*

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153062


* PC Power & Cooling PPCT860 ATX12V / EPS12V 860W Power Supply 100 - 240 V UL, cUL, CE, TUV, RoHS - Retail $250
*
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703013

*Edit:

Ok looking further into it, the ASUS site does not say that that in SLI both slots run at 8X

I am pretty sure that you will need a 780i chipset for two 16X at full speed*


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## blackduck30 (Sep 7, 2004)

A good 780i board is in the range of 250 to $300


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## AncientToaster (May 1, 2008)

Okay, after weighing the options here's what I've come up with so far:

CASE: Apevia X-Plorer ($65) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811144107
PSU: Corsair 750W ($120) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006
MOBO: Asus P5N ($158) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131232
CPU: Intel 2.66ghz Dual Core ($185) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115038
RAM: Corsair 2x1GB ($34) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145034
HDD: Seagate 7200rpm 250GB ($65) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148262
GPU: GeForce 8800GT ($160) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130318
OS: Vista Basic ($90)

As you've no doubt noticed, this bears a certain resemblance to Blackduck30's original list. XD 

Couple of questions: 

1) Would it be possible to add/upgrade things like graphics card, CPU, etc with this power supply/case? 
2) Are all these parts compatible?
3) What sort of performance will this build get?
4) What's the best place to get a monitor that will take advantage of this (while still being inexpensive)
5) What's a good, cheap DVD drive?

Thanks so much! I think I'm nearly done with this selection process. You've been a great help Blackduck30, couldn't have done any of it without you!


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## blackduck30 (Sep 7, 2004)

There is no reason you can not upgrade your Video card to a decent 98XX series with that power supply, It will only struggle if you want to SLI as you are doubling the video power requirements.
You should also be able to upgrade your CPU as well.
Plenty od SATA ports to add new hard drives as well if you run short on storage.
From what i can see all looks to be compatable and on a stock heatsink/fan you should be able to get a half decent overclock on the E8400.
Performance should be pretty good.

The only thing I would possibly consider is the E8400 for an extra $15

Newegg is the only real place I know of in the states as I am in Australia

As far as dvd burners go liteon have a decent rep and are cheap

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106228

Glad to be able to help


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