...at least a half-effort.

so maybe i'm an idiot, but do you need a fan/heatsink for the cpu? do they come with one? does everyone replace them 'cuz they suck, or is it only for crazy people who want to overclock like mad? looks like fitting one in that cardboard box might be a tight fit if it's some giant tower thing.

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If you buy a retail CPU it should come with a heatsink..and yes you need one..lol You don't need anything fancy if you don't plan on overclocking much. The stock heatsink is fine.

I was sort of joking with those components.. That would be my dream rig.

If I wanted to build a gaming rig today, I'd go the budget route with components 1 generation below state of the art. You can't beat the price/performance ratio.

Radeon 4890-OC 1GB - $200http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...N82E16814125292
Q9550 - $260 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...N82E16819115041
Gigabyte Mobo $105 -http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...N82E16813128359
4GB DDR2 $85 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...N82E16820231122
Antec 300 Case $60 -http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...N82E16811129042
Earthwatts 650W $80 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Combo...st=Combo.273269

Overclock the CPU 20% and you should be golden for at least 5-6 years.

Last edited by Capitalizt on Oct-22-2009 at 01:49

i know you need one of some sort. not that clueless. i just didn't know if it was assumed that everyone bought upgraded ones or not.

ok, so expand that budget to, say, 1000ish, instead of 680 (excluding the case. that box is a sweet deal)

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Id I had to expand the budget I'd spend $300 on a sweet 24 inch 1080P monitor. It would be a damn shame to build a high end gaming PC and use it with a weak little 19-20 inch monitor. Get a good big screen for $300-ish is before you do anything else. Check this out..28 incges of 1080P glory for $280: http://www.compusa.com/applications...COMEM387_-email or this..24 inch Samsung (who make beautiful screens) for $200 http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/...7421&lid=197378

I would stick with the components posted for at least a the next 2-3 years. If you want to future proof it, grab another 4GB of the same ram to bump the total to 8GB. You will be able to max out every game released for at least that long. By then the GTX295s will be below $200. You can sell the 4890 and upgrade for much less money, then you'll be set for another few years. The 295 makes no sense today when the 4890 is more than adequate for everything out there.

Last edited by Capitalizt on Oct-22-2009 at 15:54

Are you using this computer for general use or HTPC? Your case and comments suggest HTPC. Which is why I'm confused about people telling you to get all these parts that would not offer much value.

If you're doing a dedicated HTPC, get a micro ATX mobo with integrated video card that has HDMI. Why get a separate beefy video card? No need for 600W power supply either.

If this is your general use computer than your case is kinda overkill.

Oh yeah I assumed it was for gaming. If not, you can live with a $40 video card.

Oh yeah I assumed it was for gaming. If not, you can live with a $40 video card.

it's going to be gaming, music, and maybe an HTPC at some point, but it's going to be rack-mounted in a cabinet with HT components.

I already have a 26" monitor (and mouse, keyboard, sound card, & external HDDs I'll use with the new one). I've got some other components that I could, potentially, use, but I might just leave this pc up & running for basic use.

so, unless I'm missing something, I need:
mobo (2+ esata, 2+ fw. serial would be convenient, but idk if anybody even puts it on desktops anymore)
cpu (/heatsink/fan)
memory
psu (smaller physical size is better)
vid card(s) (need dual HDMI out)
1 BD drive

additional fans? cables? can of silly string?



a couple points:
without flaming like your life depends on it, intel vs. amd, nvidia vs. ati vs. whoever and why?

what's the deal with sli/crossfire? are two mediocre cards better than one great one?

does ram latency matter, and if so, how much?

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> S u s h i p u n k . P h o t o g r a p h y <

quote:

a couple points: without flaming like your life depends on it, intel vs. amd,

At stock speeds there is no difference. Price/performance is roughly equal. If you plan on overclocking or might even consider OCing in the future, go with Intel. All Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Quad chips can hit an EASY 30% overclock with proper cooling. You'd be lucky to get 10% with AMD.

quote:

nvidia vs. ati vs. whoever and why?

They both make high quality cards now...no difference on the high end stuff.

quote:

what's the deal with sli/crossfire? are two mediocre cards better than one great one?

SLI is only good for future proofing in my opinion. It's always best to own one really good card..the best within your budget. The benefit of having an SLI board is that when a state of the art 2009 card starts choking up on games in 2012, you can grab another one cheaply on ebay and double your power for much cheaper than buying another state of the art card.

quote:

does ram latency matter, and if so, how much?

Tests have been done and it matters very little. Clock speed and the amount of ram is most important.

There are some pretty tempting options within Crossfire if you chose an ATI solution, and some combinations will overtake the best single card solutions out there (for less money). Dual ati 4850 cards can do wonders. But I'd also stick with a single good card, unless you are running on a 30 inch monitor, and some high resolutions.

Stickw with an intel core 2 duo, I don't know if its really worth going to their i5 or i7 solutions now. If you are not going to overclock, the stock cooling solution will do just fine. If you want to overclock at some point, you can just upgrade your cooling solutions.

I'd invest in a modula power supply...but stay away from the Antec earthwatts range. I got the 650W power supply from them, and it still has the standard cables hardwired, then some modular options. Better solutions out there IMO. Wish I could return mine and go for something else.

What OS are you planing to run? Try to go for at least 4GB of RAM. A decent mobo from Asus is pretty reasonably priced. Again, you may wish to go to Gigabyte if you are looking to overclock.

Video cards are a plenty right now, for great prices. You can't go wront with a GTX260 core 216 card, and the prices on it are great.