Silkroad Online Forums

Hey guys, I'm at your mercy again. I'm looking to build a new computer, nothing too fancy and nothing too expensive. Just a decent gaming rig that can also run autocad/sketchup and PS smoothly.

This is what I have so far:

Case:
RAIDMAX SMILODON ATX-612WBP Black 1.0mm SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Foldout MB Computer Case With 500W Power Supply - $89.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6811156062

Power Supply:
CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - $119.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817139006

Processor:
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - $164.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819115037

Mobo:
ASUS P5Q Pro LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - $119.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813131299

Memory:
CORSAIR XMS2 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Desktop Memory - $59.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820145241

Graphics Card:
SAPPHIRE 100265HDMI Radeon HD 4830 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - $89.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814102822

Hard Drive:
Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - $74.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6822136319

CD/DVD Drive:
LITE-ON Black 18X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM SATA DVD-ROM Drive Model iHDS118-04 - $19.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6827106276

I have the keyboard, mouse, speakers, and monitor already.

Is there anything I'm missing?

Thanks =]

EDIT: I'm hoping to take that price down to $600s.
EDIT#2: Editted with cheaper Mobo and DVD drive.
EDIT#3: Put in another power supply 750W this time.
EDIT#4: Basically got rid of all the options I didn't want. Added another graphics card (9800 gtx) and another memory card option.
EDIT#5: Sticking to the Corsair RAM because of MIR.
EDIT:#6: Chose the 4830. Added another case that I believe is superior to the NZXT.
EDIT:#7: Chose all the things I wanted.

Final price: $748, with MIR $673.

You have quite nice parts already..I wouldn't cheap out on the graphics card.

Yea, I like those parts. I still need to add the DVD.

Most of those have MIR, so I can probably get this machine for around $700.

What I'm not sure about is the case. Can that fit everything in there alright? Anybody have experience with the case?

Personally I'd skimp on the motherboard to get a bigger budget on the graphics card.
The rest looks pretty nice.

Also, you can use your current case if you're not keeping your current PC.

Am I blind or did you not include a sound card?

Haha, you're not blind. Gonna use the onboard sound device.

This is another cheap Mobo that's quite good:

ASUS P5Q Pro LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - $119.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813131299

Jeez 775 mobos sure have dropped in price. The p5q pro was a standard not to long ago..

I'd go with that and grab a better graphics card. Screw sound cards..on board and you most likely won't hear the difference.

I would suggest maybe getting an even more powerful graphics card just so you wont have to upgrade in a year or two.

2. CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - $119.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817139006

That's the new PSU I'm thinking of.

EDIT:

About the graphics card. I don't really play any graphics intensive games. Just WoW, SC2 when that comes out, D3 when that comes out.

Well I'm a big ATI Fan but Nvidia has been leading in GFX cards for awhile since like the 6800 and well I say go with Nvidia, try like a 9800 or a newer Nvidia Card because you will get a better deal!

TOloseGT wrote:2. CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - $119.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817139006

That's the new PSU I'm thinking of.

EDIT:

About the graphics card. I don't really play any graphics intensive games. Just WoW, SC2 when that comes out, D3 when that comes out.

sc2 and d3 max settings will look amazing. You can save like 60+$ on that mobo, use it for a graphics card. Believe me it'll be worth it.

IMO:

-cheaper mobo, better gfx card! (in my computer i have a $70 mobo and a $200 gfx card)

-processor fan is pointless, stock does a good enough job, don't need an after market fan)

-power supply might be overkill, 750w? i7 ready? no need!

"Just a decent gaming rig that can also run autocad/sketchup and PS smoothly."- you said it, gaming pc's don't have to look glamorous, save yourself $20 or so and dull down your case.

Woo, glad to see someone who doesn't scimp on the PSU, good choice.

Case will fit everything fine. Do you have an OS? Windows 7 will be out soon.. you could give the RC a test drive until official release. (which is in July I think?)

I have the P5Q Deluxe, rock solid boards. I overclock and it's been running a C2D 2.5Ghz @ 4Ghz for months now. Although you could get a cheaper board if you don't plan to OC. A higher end board won't net you any noticeable speed increases unless it's used to overclock. Check out some cheaper boards with good reviews on stability and save a few bucks.

If you're buying the retail cpu and not planning to overclock I suggest saving the $45 and just use the stock cooling. It will get the job done fine. With the $45 saved get two sets of this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820231122

That's 8GBs of ram, ram is cheap..get as much as you can. Ram is your friend, especially when using editing software. With 8GB you'll need a 64-bit OS.

Graphics card..should be fine. I have a 9800GT (outdated) and it runs everything great along with 8GB of ram.

EDITED: Added a few sentences.

TOloseGT, you won't be able to do it, don't event try. lool jk jk XD

ok, those parts look nice, bye.

I tried building a "good" set from the alienware website last night and holy fuck it was around $6.2K (CPU, mouse, keyboard, monitor, etc. included)

I'd rather use the money to go on vacation for now...maybe in a year and a half.

inky wrote:I tried building a "good" set from the alienware website last night and holy fuck it was around $6.2K (CPU, mouse, keyboard, monitor, etc. included)

I'd rather use the money to go on vacation for now...maybe in a year and a half.

Because it's Alienware. Pick and choose the parts yourself off newegg and save $5k.

Change the graphics card to nvidia, it's worth it.

BlackFox898 wrote:
-power supply might be overkill, 750w? i7 ready? no need!

750W is fine.

Memory:
1. CORSAIR XMS2 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Desktop Memory - $59.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820145241

2. G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - $48.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820231122

Graphics Card:
1. SAPPHIRE 100265HDMI Radeon HD 4830 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - $89.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814102822

2. XFX PVT98WYDFU GeForce 9800 GTX+ 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - $134.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814150341

I changed those up, added another option for both.

I've read the reviews fo the G. Skill ram and they're pretty good. $10 cheaper as well. I'm leaning towards those unless someone tells me otherwise.

The graphics card, I've also heard that Nvidia is slightly better than ATI. I added the 9800 GTX. More expensive, but since I've taken out the extra cooling, I have $50 to add to my graphics card.

Any other thoughts?

EDIT: Actually, just checked the Corsair RAM, it's $20 MIR, so it's $39.99 essentially. Definitely going for those now.

maybe a heatsink for your processor

In his original post he has a heatsink. Although if he buys the Retail CPU it will come with a heatsink which will work perfectly fine if he plans to run the cpu at stock speeds.

Before you choose one GPU over another look up some reviews. Toms Hardware usually has a "GPU Comparison" review every few weeks/months that compares all the latest video cards. I'd have a look myself but its almost 4am and I need to sleep xD

Dump the heatsink and get 8GB of ram! Again, what OS?

I hope it's Vista so he can take advantage of DX10.

Windows 7 would be worth giving a try. Supposedly a huge improvement over Vista.. manages memory a little differently.

Personally i would spend an extra $30 or so and just get the GTX260 GPU. The PSU will definitely handle it well. Would depend what games you play and what resolution.

my take on this;

Dunno about that case. It only has two fans.. I think there are better options out there for around the same price.

You've got some great parts there.. don't get the 4830. At least a 4850 or 4870. 9800gtx+ is pretty good.. but I'd still take either of those ATi cards over it. If you go nvidia I'd recommend a 260 or 280.

yeah, that's about it. Great PSU, cpu and ram.

Sharp324 wrote:Personally i would spend an extra $30 or so and just get the GTX260 GPU. The PSU will definitely handle it well. Would depend what games you play and what resolution.

+1 the 260 was a great card for me until I EVGA stepped up to a 285.

Nvidia > ATI. Change that GPU!

Hm....after much though, I'm going to have to stick with the 4830. The price and the fact that I can get 4830x2 for around the same price as a gtx 260 just makes it so appealing for me. The good reviews it received and the fact that ATI's really stepping up its game makes me lean towards that. Couple those things with the fact that I won't be playing Crysis on highest at 1800x1600...

However, I'm looking at more cases right now.

Since I'll be using the stock fans, I really should get a case with more than 2 fans just in case.

2. RAIDMAX SMILODON ATX-612WBP Black 1.0mm SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Foldout MB Computer Case With 500W Power Supply - $89.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6811156062

That immediately caught my fancy. After MIR it's $69.99, the same as the NZXT Apollo and it has 4 fans. It received good reviews as well.

And yes, I'll be using Vista from now on. Maybe I'll try the Windows 7.

Sounds good. I just totaled it all up and with the MIR they have today I got a total of $650. Pretty nice setup for $650. I didn't add in the cpu heatsink, it's not necessary. And also changed the HD to a seagate with the same capacity/speed/cache for $10 less. I'm partial to seagate, they're all I use.

Good luck with your build

EDIT: Windows 7, doooooo it!

^ looks like a decent case.. but that one comes with a 500w psu.. I really don't think you should trash the 750w corsair. It's a great investment. (Unless you were planning to just e-bay the 500w? o.O)

I'll most likely keep that 500W PSU for other stuff. I'm definitely putting the Corsair PSU in.

At this point, I'm pretty much set on what I want now. Thank you everybody!