Building a Gaming PC for the first time!

669 ACH / 10338 P

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Hello! I will be building a PC from scratch for the first time ever and I want to able to run all the current games at high settings.

Here is my build so far:

Motherboard: Asus P7P55 Deluxe Motherboard - LGA1156, Intel P55, ATX, Dual-Channel DDR3, Intel DMI, SLI, CrossFireX
Processor: Intel Core i7 860 Processor - 2.80GHz, LGA 1156, 8MB L3 Cache, Quad-Core, Lynnfield, Retail
Memory: Corsair XMS3 Tri Channel 6GB PC12800 DDR3 Memory - 1600MHz, 6144MB (3 x 2048)
Hard Drive: Seagate ST31000528AS Barracuda 7200.12 Hard Drive - 1TB, 7200 rpm, 32MB, SATA-3G
Power Supply: C13-2503 :: Corsair TX750W 750-Watt Power Supply - ATX, 140mm Fan, SLI-Ready, SATA-Ready, 80Plus
Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 275 Video Card - 896MB, PCI Express 2.0 x16, SLI Ready, (dual Link) Dual DVI
Operating System: Windows 7 64-bit

What do you guys think? Will I be able to run high settings? I haven't decided about the cooling system yet.

Any suggestion will be nice!! =D

Posted 2 weeks, 3 days ago

Post by Diamond (4,744 posts) See mini bio

2746 ACH / 51380 P

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You don't need a Crossfire mobo unless you're planning on getting 2 ATI cards in the future. Your Nvidia card won't benefit. edit - oh I see it has SLI and crossfire. Still probably spending more than you have to there...

Personally I'd get EVGA if you want a Nvidia card and I'd get a Western Digital HDD over Seagate.

Edited 2 weeks, 3 days ago

Post by JeanM (11 posts) See mini bio

669 ACH / 10338 P

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What would be a good mobo for this build? I'm a total noob when it comes to this stuff...

Posted 2 weeks, 3 days ago

Post by Giantsquirrel (452 posts) See mini bio

1234 ACH / 22325 P

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@Diamond said:

" You don't need a Crossfire mobo unless you're planning on getting 2 ATI cards in the future. Your Nvidia card won't benefit. Personally I'd get EVGA if you want a Nvidia card and I'd get a Western Digital HDD over Seagate. "

That board is also SLI so he's good. Agreed on EVGA for the GPU, they've got the best customer service and also on the Western Digital. Try the WD Caviar Black 1TB.

? on the RAM, why not go for the Dominator 6GB? If you use Newegg's combo deals effectively you might be able to pick the RAM up for around $115, like I did! :)

You should be able to run high settings, depending on if you want to max out your resolution on your monitor. Do you know its optimal display?

Posted 2 weeks, 3 days ago

Post by RetroIce4 (2,953 posts) See mini bio

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@Giantsquirrel said:

" @Diamond said:
" You don't need a Crossfire mobo unless you're planning on getting 2 ATI cards in the future. Your Nvidia card won't benefit. Personally I'd get EVGA if you want a Nvidia card and I'd get a Western Digital HDD over Seagate. "
That board is also SLI so he's good. Agreed on EVGA for the GPU, they've got the best customer service and also on the Western Digital. Try the WD Caviar Black 1TB.

Yep

Posted 2 weeks, 3 days ago

Post by JeanM (11 posts) See mini bio

669 ACH / 10338 P

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Thanks for the suggestions!!

What's a good EVGA card under $300?

The highest resolution that can run the GTX 275 is 2500 X 1600.

Posted 2 weeks, 3 days ago

Post by KaosAngel (2,646 posts) See mini bio

872 ACH / 9478 P

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Make sure you watch Brad's video...it gives good advise.

Posted 2 weeks, 3 days ago

Post by JeanM (11 posts) See mini bio

669 ACH / 10338 P

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LOL, yeah Brad's video is extremely helpful!! =p

Ok how about this card: EVGA GeForce GTX 275 Video Card - 1792MB, PCI Express 2.0 x16, SLI Ready, (dual link) Dual DVI, HDTV, HDMI (w/ Adapter)

Posted 2 weeks, 3 days ago

Post by Akeldama (1,964 posts) See mini bio

974 ACH / 13645 P

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@KaosAngel said:

" Make sure you watch Brad's video...it gives good advise. "

Posted 2 weeks, 3 days ago

Post by Geno (1,146 posts) See mini bio

102 ACH / 0 P

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At this point in time, you shouldn't be getting an Nvidia Card. Ati's 5870 is the best bang for buck at the moment, and will be able to play all games at highest res with highest settings and maxed AA and AF. It also of course has DirectX11, which will provide tesselation in future games. From there you can then simply buy more 5870's for crossfire in the future when you need to upgrade. The other option is to wait for Nvidia's next line up, which is rumored to be significantly better than ATI this gen, but that could be at least 6 months away.

Posted 2 weeks, 3 days ago

Post by KaosAngel (2,646 posts) See mini bio

872 ACH / 9478 P

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On a serious note, why not get a cheap card now and wait for the epic Nvidia card coming out early 2010?

Posted 2 weeks, 3 days ago

Post by Geno (1,146 posts) See mini bio

102 ACH / 0 P

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@KaosAngel said:

" On a serious note, why not get a cheap card now and wait for the epic Nvidia card coming out early 2010? "

This is also what I've been telling others who are building a new PC at the moment. Either go with ATI now and crossfire for the next gen, or wait 6 months for nvidia's offering which is likely going to be significantly better. Most people can't wait that long though.

Posted 2 weeks, 3 days ago

Post by Giantsquirrel (452 posts) See mini bio

1234 ACH / 22325 P

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@JeanM said:

" Thanks for the suggestions!! What's a good EVGA card under $300? The highest resolution that can run the GTX 275 is 2500 X 1600. "

I meant resolution of your monitor. You could try this card.

Posted 2 weeks, 3 days ago

Post by JeanM (11 posts) See mini bio

669 ACH / 10338 P

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Hmm...the 5870 is $400 which is bit over my budget.

What would be a good cheap video card that can run games on high?

Posted 2 weeks, 3 days ago

Post by JeanM (11 posts) See mini bio

669 ACH / 10338 P

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I've been a console player all of my life and this is the first gaming rig that I will build.

Which one is better? ATI or Nvidia?

Posted 2 weeks, 3 days ago

Post by KaosAngel (2,646 posts) See mini bio

872 ACH / 9478 P

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@JeanM: Nvidia

Posted 2 weeks, 3 days ago

Post by Diamond (4,744 posts) See mini bio

2746 ACH / 51380 P

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@JeanM:

ATI has higher end cards out right now, but I've preferred Nvidia for PC video cards. A GTX275 will run most stuff just fine (Crysis for example will get some slowdown to ~20fps on maxed details at higher resolutions), and by the time there's worthwhile DX11 features in games the current DX11 cards will be a lot cheaper and more will be available.

Basically it depends on what kind of games you want to play right now, what features you want / need, your budget now and your future budget.

Posted 2 weeks, 3 days ago

Post by JeanM (11 posts) See mini bio

669 ACH / 10338 P

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I am definitely going to make two changes to my list: I will be going for the 1 TB Western Digital Black Caviar and the EVGA GTX275.

I honestly don't have a high end monitor right now. All I have is a 32" Samsung that can only run up to 720p but I'm building this PC right now so that I don't have to upgrade for the next couple of years. You could argue that with a 720p LCD TV there's no need for all this high end stuff but I may buy a 1080p monitor sometime next year. As far as games go, I am really into Left 4 Dead on the PC and i'm kind of tired of having to play it on laptop at the lowest settings possible.

What do you guys think?

Posted 2 weeks, 3 days ago

Post by KaosAngel (2,646 posts) See mini bio

872 ACH / 9478 P

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I say buy a 8800 or a 9800, and save the money you save on the card for the new card in 2010....the next gen cards are going to be a HUGE leap. Trust me man, don't buy a card during a transition period.

Posted 2 weeks, 3 days ago

Post by JeanM (11 posts) See mini bio

669 ACH / 10338 P

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@KaosAngel: Can you please direct me to a good 9800 card?

Posted 2 weeks, 3 days ago

Post by Atto (3 posts) See mini bio

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That ram won't work with that motherboard. You have to get Dual Channel ram for socket 1156 boards. Check out the Tech Report its a great site if you have any computer questions. They have a system building guide that should help you out and great people in the forums.

Posted 2 weeks, 3 days ago

Post by KaosAngel (2,646 posts) See mini bio

872 ACH / 9478 P

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@Atto: Stick A couple of these in.

Posted 2 weeks, 3 days ago

Post by KaosAngel (2,646 posts) See mini bio

872 ACH / 9478 P

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Don't forget to get a mobo that supports DDR3 RAM, don't fuck yourself in the ass by getting a DDR2 mobo.

Posted 2 weeks, 3 days ago

Post by JeanM (11 posts) See mini bio

669 ACH / 10338 P

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@KaosAngel: It's a DDR3 mobo =)
@Atto: Thanks!! I already posted a thread there!!

Thank you guys for all the help!!

Posted 2 weeks, 3 days ago

Post by CitizenKane (4,074 posts) See mini bio

607 ACH / 12780 P

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Moderator

Moving this to the PC forum.

Posted 2 weeks, 3 days ago

Post by Xelloss (101 posts) See mini bio

1532 ACH / 28972 P

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@JeanM said:

" @KaosAngel: Can you please direct me to a good 9800 card? "

Don't gimp yourself stick with the GTX260-275. I have 2 GTX 280s, a GTX260Core216 and a 9800GTX. My 200 series cards outperform the 9800 by a lot both in stability and frame rate, I run all my games on high setting 4xAA. I wouldn't jump at the new GTX 300 series, wait a good 3-6 months for the next set of gtx300s before buying, they will be probably cheaper and slightly better. No game is going to come out in the mean time to make the GTX 275 cry especially if you are only demanding high settings. (Of course by all means go buy a GTX300 series if you can afford one just fine)

The system as a whole looks great, might want to see if the Corsair 850watt is like the same price of the 750 cause sometimes it is on Newegg.com, or is just 10 bucks more, this would be one change if you ever are considering SLI.

Posted 2 weeks, 3 days ago

Post by torus (742 posts) See mini bio

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@Geno said:

" At this point in time, you shouldn't be getting an Nvidia Card. Ati's 5870 is the best bang for buck at the moment.

Flat out wrong. Buying the top of the line, flagship model is in NO WAY the best value. You pay a large price premium for getting that technology first (which will not be used in any major way for another several years).

The best value right now is unquestionably the 4870 (1gb). TWO of those cards in Crossfire would still cost about a hundred dollars less than a single 5870, and the performance benefit between a single card of each is minimal.

Posted 2 weeks, 3 days ago

Post by Geno (1,146 posts) See mini bio

102 ACH / 0 P

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@torus said:

" @Geno said:
" At this point in time, you shouldn't be getting an Nvidia Card. Ati's 5870 is the best bang for buck at the moment.
Flat out wrong. Buying the top of the line, flagship model is in NO WAY the best value. You pay a large price premium for getting that technology first (which will not be used in any major way for another several years). The best value right now is unquestionably the 4870 (1gb). TWO of those cards in Crossfire would still cost about a hundred dollars less than a single 5870, and the performance benefit between a single card of each is minimal. "

A single 5870 costs about $100 more than 2 4870 in CF, you're right, but a 5870 also has DX11 and future scalability. The performance benefit over a single 4870 is also not minimal, especially if the OP wishes to run in max graphics http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-5870,2422.html. If he gets 4870 CF now, not only will he not have DX11 access (which, since it's out already is probably a good idea to get if you're buying a new comp to save you the hassle in the near future), but it will be harder for him to scale in the future, as an additional 4870 would not significantly help performance. Whereas if he gets a 5870, purchasing another 5870 to CF in the future will give him a much more significant performance boost, thus being the best bang for the buck long term.

Edited 2 weeks, 3 days ago

Post by torus (742 posts) See mini bio

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@Geno said:

" @torus said:
" @Geno said:
" At this point in time, you shouldn't be getting an Nvidia Card. Ati's 5870 is the best bang for buck at the moment.
Flat out wrong. Buying the top of the line, flagship model is in NO WAY the best value. You pay a large price premium for getting that technology first (which will not be used in any major way for another several years). The best value right now is unquestionably the 4870 (1gb). TWO of those cards in Crossfire would still cost about a hundred dollars less than a single 5870, and the performance benefit between a single card of each is minimal. "
A single 5870 costs about $100 more than 2 4870 in CF, you're right, but a 5870 also has DX11 and future scalability. The performance benefit over a single 4870 is also not minimal, especially if the OP wishes to run in max graphics http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-5870,2422.html. If he gets 4870 CF now, not only will he not have DX11 access (which, since it's out already is probably a good idea to get if you're buying a new comp to save you the hassle in the near future), but it will be harder for him to scale in the future, as an additional 4870 would not significantly help performance. Whereas if he gets a 5870, purchasing another 5870 to CF in the future will give him a much more significant performance boost, thus being the best bang for the buck long term. "

This is a moot point, because you can now Crossfire two different card ranges. He could add a 5000 series card later on if he likes. So no.

Posted 2 weeks, 3 days ago

Post by Kblt (344 posts) See mini bio

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>Seagate
>7200.12

NONONONONONONONONONONNONONNONO DON'T DO IT FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DON'T DO IT

Posted 2 weeks, 3 days ago

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