# Help with my new gaming rig.



## c-Bassett (Jun 13, 2007)

Hello TSF! :wave:

Yes, it's that time to upgrade. I've been stuck with AGP for 3 years and I'm done with it. I have spent hundreds of dollars on new upgrades, and it's just time to stop and upgrade to newer standards, say PCI?.

Now TSF, I don't want to fly to Newegg, and throw some of the best parts together and ask you if they're good, I want to ask you to build it for me.

The main things I play are from Steam. Counterstrike Source, Day of Defeat Source, Half Life 2, Garry's Mod, etc. I play these frequently, more than anything, and since I've started playing them, I've always gotten a shoddy FPS. :upset:

TSF, I'm asking you, can you create me a rig that will give me excellent FPS all the time (I'm talking about 80-90 FPS all the time even in smoke), in any Steam game?:4-dontkno

I want to spend the money and make an awesome rig, and be disappointed in it. I want to be running 1600x1200 Max settings with 6x AA and 16x AF, and not have a single stutter.

But the main point of this is to be able to start up CS:S and hop to a 32 player server on cs_assault and play with 80-90 FPS, which has always been my dream.

I don't really have a budget, but I would prefer to keep it under or atleast around $2,000. However, if my request calls for above that price, so be it. Just please create a rig that will run the way I described it. 

And as an added bonus, I would like to be able to play certain games such as Oblivion and Crysis with a decent amount of FPS if possible.:wink:




So now I hand it off to you guys, the pros. Create me a monster. Please. :devil:


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## c-Bassett (Jun 13, 2007)

Anyone?


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## bruiser (Jul 30, 2005)

I really can't help you with choosing a gaming rig, but there are people here who can. I suspect they won't offer any advice until you at least post up some parts/components you are thinking about. A starting point.


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

Hi, :wave:

Take a look at this:

GIGABYTE GA-N680SLI-DQ6 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard
http://e3wwwtest.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128037

Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz 4M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor
http://e3wwwtest.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115003

CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory 
http://e3wwwtest.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145034

Western Digital Raptor WD360ADFD 36GB 10,000 RPM 16MB Cache Serial ATA150 Hard Drive
http://e3wwwtest.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136054

Western Digital Caviar RE WD1600YS 160GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
http://e3wwwtest.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136062

LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black
http://e3wwwtest.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106073

EVGA 768-P2-N835-AR GeForce 8800GTX 768MB 384-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 SUPERCLOCKED HDCP Video Card
http://e3wwwtest.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130079

SILVERSTONE ST1000 ATX12V / EPS12V 1000W Power Supply
http://e3wwwtest.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817256020

I left the case out so you can choose. If you want, I can make some suggestions. I am currently adding up the total price and verifying the compatibility of the RAM.


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

That RAM has been verified as compatible with that board by Corsair. Your total is $1686.

For the case, I would look at a full tower because you will definitely have heat issues. The Thermaltake Armor with the optional side panel is a good choice:
http://e3wwwtest.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133154
http://e3wwwtest.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811999812

With that combo, you will have 120mm and 250mm intake fans, and 120mm and 2x 90mm exhaust fans. You should have good cooling for your graphics and CPU with that.

BTW, I chose a 1000w PSU so you will have room to go SLI later, but if you don't plan on doing that, you can drop down to an 800w or 750w.

I know you mentioned not to rush off to Newegg, but that was the default place I went to. You can look around for better parts elsewhere as that was to give you an idea of how much that combo would cost. I would plan on buying everything from the same place though so you only have one shipping fee.

In case you are wondering, you should expect to be scoring at least in the 8k range in 3DMark06 with this computer, but I wouldn't be surprised if you pass 10k


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## c-Bassett (Jun 13, 2007)

Excellent, thank you! Now this will give me excellent fps in 1600x1200 on all high settings with 6x AA and 16x AF in most games, or at least css?


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## 1 g0t 0wn3d (Jan 31, 2007)

Yep =[)


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## c-Bassett (Jun 13, 2007)

Sick! Thank you so much! Hopefully one more question: Should I upgrade anything else for the future, say go SLI?


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## 1 g0t 0wn3d (Jan 31, 2007)

Thats why he gave you the motherboard and the 1000 watt psu all you have to do later is buy the same card that he posted again (brand and clock speeds), but there are no games that need 8800 gtx's in sli at the moment though it will be a good option later.


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

1 g0t 0wn3d said:


> Thats why he gave you the motherboard and the 1000 watt psu all you have to do later is buy the same card that he posted again (brand and clock speeds), but there are no games that need 8800 gtx's in sli at the moment though it will be a good option later.


Exactly. If you want to throw in another 8800GTX in the future with that setup, you won't have to buy anything but the card. :smile:

Any other questions? We will be happy to answer.


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## c-Bassett (Jun 13, 2007)

I can probably handle a 2000$ cost. Is there something in there that you can add to make it even stronger?


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## c-Bassett (Jun 13, 2007)

Likewise, I don't wanna be disappointed with this baby.


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## 1 g0t 0wn3d (Jan 31, 2007)

What are we at now? you could just buy another 8800, or maybe a quad core.


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## speedster123 (Oct 18, 2006)

Dont forget to purchase a quality surge protector or a ups power bank.


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

speedster123 said:


> Dont forget to purchase a quality surge protector or a ups power bank.


Thank you Speedster! That is something you cannot forget and is more important. I would definitely get that before a processor upgrade or another video card.

Also, about the processor. I have mentioned this before, but graphics processing is relying less on CPU power and more on GPU processing power. Because of this, you will want to channel more of your money on GPU power than on CPU power for better gaming.


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## 1 g0t 0wn3d (Jan 31, 2007)

but he can always buy another card later the cpu later would be replacing the e6600 and he would be out that money (see i am thinking budget-wise)


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## c-Bassett (Jun 13, 2007)

Alas, I want the best gaming performance out there for around 2000. The BEST.


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

Get the UPS first, and get the second 8800GTX later. Right now you will be fine with the single 8800GTX, you only need to go SLI if you want to run games at very high resolutions like 2560 x 1600 with full settings.


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## c-Bassett (Jun 13, 2007)

Why does one need a UPS?


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## 1 g0t 0wn3d (Jan 31, 2007)

So a power surge does not "blow up" your computer don't want to waste $2000 now do we lol.


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## Death (Aug 5, 2006)

If I were you, I'd get 4GB of RAM to guarantee good gaming for Windows Vista.


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## c-Bassett (Jun 13, 2007)

Agreed. So basically what is listed there is the best you can get for under 2000?


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## Death (Aug 5, 2006)

It is, unless you can wait until tomorrow to get the Quad Core.


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

c-Bassett said:


> Why does one need a UPS?


And so you don't loose data on the hard drive when your computer shuts down suddenly from a power outage.


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## c-Bassett (Jun 13, 2007)

Is the quad-core really that important? I don't think any games can take advantage of it yet, right?





Also, quick question. With the PC I have now (p4, 7800gs oc, 2 gigs of corsair xms ram, 550 psu), what would happen if I increased the voltage in my bios to 1.8v?


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

Which voltage are you referring to?

The quad core really won't help in games, spend the extra money on more powerful graphics for better gaming.


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## c-Bassett (Jun 13, 2007)

I actually don't know. I'm uneducated in the JumperFree Config in my bios, I usually just have it overclocked by 20%. But I went into manual and I discovered voltages and other settings in there. Any idea what they do?


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

If its working, don't adjust the voltages. You willl adjust the CPU Vcore voltages when overclocking a lot and you shouldn't have to adjust the RAM voltage.

Don't push that button you are unfamiliar with. :wink:


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## c-Bassett (Jun 13, 2007)

Alright. 


Another question, why do I need the 36 gig 10,000 rpm HD?

Is that for speed for a game?


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## Death (Aug 5, 2006)

I think the 36GB one is for the Operating System, and the bigger one is for whatever you want.


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

Correct.


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## rm41400 (Jul 25, 2007)

I am courious about the system the 2nd poster listed... I just bought (geek squad built for me) a set up similar in specs to this one with the exception of a few things


Duo AMD 2.6 ghs
BFG 8800GTS 640mb
4gb RAM DDR2 (640mhz? I think)
Single hardrive 320 gb
BFG 800 PSU

TO the OP, my system seems a bit infurrior to yours and it totally smokes on the games I play (mostly older games though). I am wondering how long this type setup will be able to play the newest games on full settings? Anybody have a guess?


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

It should still do very well. What motherboard did they use?


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## rm41400 (Jul 25, 2007)

hmm... i did not list the MB cause I am not totally sure. However, what they did was pull the MB, the AMD chipset and the HD from a Gateway like this (except it had only a 320gb HD and (2) 512 ram which got pulled out)

http://www.gateway.com/retail/gm5472.php

Then I bought these components:

ANTEC 900 Tower
BFG 8800GTS 640mb
4gb RAM DDR2 (640mhz? I think) 
BFG 800 PSU

I will not have enough physical space on the MB to run two 8800gts (because its huge), which I dont plan to ever really do. When the time comes I will just buy a new graphics card.


I was just wondering whats a best guess on the lifecylce for a computer like mine or the OP's is before having to upgrade running graphics at max.

I realize my MB will limit my upgrades and may be the first major item to replace in a few years.


Thanks! Did not mean to HIjack


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

Probably a while. The 8800 is right now one of the top of the line cards, and the nVidia 9 series won't be out for a long time.

I would also upgrade the motherboard as the next component. Other than that, I think you are all set.


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