Advice on Gaming PC?

[Veritas&Equitas]

2 things. 1: Don't skimp out on the power supply, it is probably the most underrated piece of your system, next to 2: Memory...if you're going to get a decent gaming PC, you're going to need more than a gig. Those are, at the minimum, the 2 things I'd reconsider...

 

[feakbeak]

G5Unit, if you use newegg.com Wish List feature it would be much easier to review the system you are considering purchasing as you could just provide one link.

I recently built my sister a system - just a few months back. Here is what I used:

* Antec Solution SLK3000-B Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - $49.00 (I really liked this case, simple and easy to work with)
* CHAINTECH VNF4/Ultra Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard - $93.00
* Leadtek PX6200 TC -64 Geforce 6200TC Supporting 256MB DDR PCI Express x16 Video Card - $69.00
* Rosewill Value RV450S ATX 450W Power Supply - $29.99
* AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Winchester 1GHz FSB Socket 939 - Retail - $146.00
* CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) - $77.99
* SAMSUNG SpinPoint P Series SP1213C 120GB 7200 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - $80.50
* Logitech Internet Pro 967450-0403 Black PS/2 Wired Standard Keyboard - $10.00
* Logitech Premium Optical Wheel Mouse Black 3 Buttons 1x Wheel USB + PS/2 Optical Mouse - $11.50
* LITE-ON Black IDE DVD Burner Model SOHW-1673S BK - $56.99

Subtotal: $623.97
Tax: $0.00
Shipping: $43.79
Amount Paid: $667.76

FYI - all these prices are from about 9-10 months ago, they are not current. I just posted my old invoice info.

I would think a similar system, with some obvious modifications would be fine for gaming. I built this system before the Venice core chips came out, get a 3000+ Venice core they are great chips, especially if you want to overclock it - plus this chip is only like $130 right now. Obviously you'll want to get a better graphics card - the new 6800 GS cards look awesome for the money. You'll probably want a beefier PSU if you're going to have a more powerful card, overclocking and/or will add more cards/drives in the future. Throw in an Audigy card with that and you have a good gaming system and it should only run you about $1000 sans display. You could also up the RAM to 2 GB for not much more money.

 

[G5Unit]

My Current Wish List
Qty. Product Description Unit Price Savings Total Price
1 COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW Black Aluminum Bezel, SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
Model #: CAC-T05-UW

In Stock
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$49.99 $49.99

1 eVGA 133-K8-NF43 Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
Model #: 133-K8-NF43

In Stock
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$99.00 $99.00

1 eVGA 512-P2-N435-AX Geforce 6800GT 512MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail
Model #: 512-P2-N435-AX

In Stock
Mail-in Rebate
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$319.00 $319.00

1 ASPIRE ATX-CW500WP4 ATX 500W Power Supply - Retail
Model #: ATX-CW500WP4

In Stock
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$39.99 $39.99

1 AMD Athlon 64 3700+ San Diego 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Processor Model ADA3700BNBOX - Retail
Model #: ADA3700BNBOX
** This item is warranted through the product manufacturer only.
In Stock
Remove Add item to Cart
$233.00 $233.00
1 Patriot Signature Series 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered Dual Channel Kit System Memory Model PSD1G400KH - Retail
Model #: PSD1G400KH

In Stock
Mail-in Rebate
Remove Add item to Cart
$89.95 $89.95

1 Western Digital Caviar SE WD2000JS 200GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
Model #: WD2000JS

Out Of Stock
ETA: 11/21/2005 3:19:00 PM
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$90.00 $90.00

1 LITE-ON Black IDE DVD Burner Model SOHW-1693S Black - Retail
Model #: SOHW-1693S Black

In Stock
Remove Add item to Cart
$42.99 -$3.00 Instant $39.99
Subtotal: $960.92

 

[feakbeak]

G5Unit, looks pretty good. I'd still recommend considering getting the 6800 GS rather than the GT to save you money. The performance of these two cards is comparable. The only difference is that the GS has 12 pixel pipelines rather htan 16, but the increased clock speeds pretty much cancel that out. AnandTech is great PC hardware info/review site and discussed this card in depth. Link

Thus, the 6800 GS is physically the same as a vanilla 6800 with a higher core clock speed (425) and paired with GDDR3 at a 1000MHz data rate. From the 6800 GT, we see a decrease of 25% in pixel pipeline, but a ~21.4% increase in core clock speed. The net result is a theoretical core performance decrease of only 9%, but since NV42 doesn't require a bridge chip the results may be even closer than that. This puts the 6800 GS in the same class as the 6800 GT (but at a much lower cost).

The other thing I don't see is if that case comes with a power supply. Considering it's only $50 I doubt it comes with one and if it does it probably sucks. I agree with Veritas&Equitas, don't skimp on the power supply. It is often an overlooked piece of system building that can be a major source of system instability. I've heard great things about the Antec NeoPowers. It may seem pricy but it is worth it.

Let us know how it turns out when it is up and running.

 

[cr2sh]

I think it's look good.. however, I purchased a dual channel 1GB when I built my machine.. and I kind of regret it now. The RAM requirements of Vista seem pretty stunning... if I had to do over again I would have bought a 2GB kit.

 

[G5Unit]

Hey they came out with an update that fixes my PowerMac! But maybe I should still put up a feeler...

EDIT: So 512mb won't help in gaming?

 

[wako]

No, the 6800GT is designed using 256. You wont see performance increases. Not including most games arent even designed to use that much other than the Doom 3 engine. Even the 512mb is still useless if the GPU cant even process the data fast enough.

It would be much better to get the 7800GT

 

[G5Unit]

No, the 6800GT is designed using 256. You wont see performance increases. Not including most games arent even designed to use that much other than the Doom 3 engine. Even the 512mb is still useless if the GPU cant even process the data fast enough.

It would be much better to get the 7800GT

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130240

But it says 512mb.