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Help and advice on my new computer build

(2 posts)
  • Started 4 years ago by doctortommy
  • Latest reply from ScottW
  • Topic Viewed 1167 times

doctortommy
Posts: 1

I'm looking to build a gaming computer. I want it to be high performance but not a supercomputer. Think a lower end high-end pc if that makes any sense =p.

This is my first time designing a new computer and these are the part i picked out yesterday. It would be great if people could point out my weak points in the design that may limit performance and the things i overdid. I'm also looking to cut the price a bit. I also need to know what type of power supply i'll be needing. I currently just picked out one of the higher wattage ones on newegg just to make its enough =p.

Some other notes:
- I'm interested in SLI that's why i chose nvidia motherboard and GPU
- I think my motherboard or gpu may be a little too strong so focus on those a lot
- I didn't include a case or fans yet because those are critical to performance

Motherboard:
EVGA NVIDIA nForce 780i
$239.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/.....6813188024

CPU:
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550
$329.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/.....6819115041

GPU:
EVGA NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GX2 1GB
$285.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/.....6814130338

Memory:
Patriot Extreme Performance 4GB (2x2GB)
$87.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/.....6820220269

Hard Drive:
Western Digital 1TB SATA hard drive
$149.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/.....6822136151

Power Supply (not sure if this is a good choice):
OCZ GameXStream 700W
$114.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/.....6817341002

CD/DVD BURNER:
ASUS Black
$26.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/.....6827135156

CD/DVD Drive:
ASUS Black DVD-ROM CD-ROM
$14.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/.....6827135172

Monitor:
Acer 24 inch widescreen LCD
$329.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/.....6824009113

Total Price:
$1,580.91

Any help appreciated =)

Posted 4 years ago #
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ScottW
ScottW
Posts: 6609

DoctorTommy, hi. Here are some thoughts:

* Mobo - it has 3 PCI-E slots for a triple-SLI config, but you are putting 2 GPUs in one of these slots. Why 3 slots? It is an expensive board, too, and probably for this reason.
* CPU - few games can use 4 cores, so you could save money and get a higher clock speed with a 3+ GHz Wolfdale. Still 45nm, same cache per core, less power consumption, and a higher clock rate.
* GPU - I like this choice. It's exactly what I recommended in another thread -- get a late model GPU on the cheap. Two 9800 series GeForce chips is good for serious gaming!
* HDD - consider getting 2 smaller drives instead. Each can have better performance and reliability. Then split the workload either with RAID or just install the OS on one and games on the other.
* PSU - good brand name, plenty of power, 80% efficiency and NVidia SLI certified. Looks good to me.
* CD/DVD - Why put a pokey IDE drive in a system with SATA? There is plenty of headroom on the SATA bus, so no need to worry about saturating it, even with 2 HDDs and 2 DVD drives.
* Monitor - I've never used an LCD for gaming. You should see what other gamers recommend for response time to prevent motion blur. Is 5 ms fast enough?

Posted 4 years ago #
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