Gaming Expert computer builders wanted!

[Fishaman P]

Hey, I have never built a computer before. I want a really good gaming rig built my myself. However, I'm a little thick when it comes to these things.
Please check the following list for compatibility issues, redundancies, cables needed, anything missing, and anything that would prevent this setup from working.
Thanks in advance!

Inside
Case
Optical Drive
Processor
HDD
Memory
Video Card
Wi-Fi Card
Motherboard
Power Supply

Outside
Microphone
Keyboard
Mouse
Monitor
Speakers


Thanks Joe88, updated with the power supply. I thought 800 would be good because I calculated wattage to be around 650 watts, and I plan on plugging a lot of things into the computer.
However, the speakers are unnecessary, I'm not that keen on sound. It's not a home theater system. Oh, and thanks for the sound card tip. I didn't notice it had one onboard. Does it have a Wi-Fi card onboard too?

Also, Sephi, I don't plan on using Steam. It's incredibly stupid and requires IE, which is essentially bloatware. I also prefer antimicrobial keyboards because then the letters don't fade.
But thanks about the Blu-ray drive. I didn't plan on burning Blu-rays, I just didn't know it made that much of a price difference.
And the mic is for voice commands, not online games. So no feedback.

So I could just put this baby together and it would work? YAY!
Please point me to the cables I need though.
Oh, and please tell me if anything is overkill!

EDIT: Links updated. Price should now be around $1500. And someone still needs to tell me what cables I need!

 

[Joe88]

overall looks fine

dont get the sound card, the onboard easily matches / beats it
not fond on that psu, something from corsair would be better http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/Se...2&CatId=106
speakers these would be better http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/Se...&CatId=4959

 

[Sephi]

as far as I know, AMD isn't a great cpu choice if you plan on using steam. performance notably lower than with an intel when playing source games. I don't know if that's changed, but that's how it was when I tried some months ago.

if you want intel, a core2 duo E8400 would do quite well.

and about the bluray burner, I can't help but ask if you are actually going to make full use of it, since a reader is 1/3 the price and a regular dvd burner is a mere $25


monitor is pretty expensive, personally I'd take a 22" acer for $160

keyboard seems like over kill, I like the $6 plain ones myself, last forever.

you'll want to use head/ear phones with the standing mic to avoid annoying feedback

gaming on regular wifi isn't all too great usually, unless you have full signal and your router isn't crap.

 

[Am0s]

never had an issues with steam on my amd box, personally I prefer amd over intel anyday but thats my preference

 

[hullo8d]

In response to your edit: Just stick to your first build, it's twice the power of the bundle.

If I were you I would drop the soundcard as joe88 said before and save yourself a couple dollars or use it to up your processor a bit with this if I might suggest. The Blu-ray Burner and the Multitouch Monitor is a bit of an overkill. Also, do you really need all that RAM? It won't really be of much use unless you really love to multi-task while playing high performance games.

Also you might want to buy a new fan for your CPU since most stock fans suck ass

 

[Maz7006]

i really dnt see what you could do with all that RAM ... i mean you can knock off a bit from the price if you go 6GB

.. anyway no complaints other than that.

 

[DjoeN]

I find it not overkill 8Gb of ram when using Windows 7 64Bit

 

[wohoo]

Well for the moment more than 4GB of RAM is pretty much overkill for most people, but since your budget seams pretty high, a lot of RAM has always been a great choice in the past.

Oh, by the way. That monitor is way expensive. Come on, $300+ 21.5 inch, 5ms and no hdmi? Don't know how to make the fancy links but in my opinion you shuld get something like:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/Se...&CatId=4420
Or, if HDMI isn't something you need
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/Se...&CatId=4420

Edit: Great, the links are working!

 

[DjoeN]

Samsung SyncMaster 2033HD


I got this one:

- FullHd (1080p)
- 2x HDMI
- Digital and Analog TV
- Component
- DVI
- Scart/AV
- Remote

Paid Price 169 Euro 6 months ago (was a little promotion)

 

[Joe88]

I think he wants to keep touch screen

 

[Originality]

The case is suitable for high end gear, although you linked a midranged CPU, motherboard and graphics card. It'll do well for today's games, and probably for the next couple years. Beyond that...

In a different thread, I helped a 'Temper come up with a Core i7-930 system with a HD5970 and 6GB of RAM and it came up to a bit below $1500 after price-hunting. The i7-930 is superior to all PhenomII processors when it comes to gaming (due to being able to handle around 30% more Instructions Per Second than the best PhenomII X6) and the HD5970 is the most powerful graphics card currently available (although it's a dual-GPU card so it uses more power and produces more heat) which he specifically wanted (despite my advice). Whilst the boost in performance won't make any significant change on a 21" monitor, it'll definitely still do well playing games in 4-6 years whilst a mid-ranged rig will struggle to keep playable framerates.

Comparing the two builds... I can't help but feel you're paying a lot more and getting a fair bit less less. Then again, you've listed a $300 monitor and £99 speakers, whilst the other 'Temper just stuck with his old ones ($400 can go a long way in getting better parts). If Touch Screen is a priority for you (I know how fun it can be) then I can't make any recommendations (I've never tried buying one) but if you're just looking for a HD Monitor, then the BenQ G2220HD (21.5") is highly regarded, or the NEC EA231WMi if you want a 23" Monitor (although 23" Monitors are mostly pricey).

As for the bundle deal in the edit... it's a low-end bundle, with a fairly low price for it. For a gaming PC, especially if you have a good budget, you need much better components because the performance gap is just huge.

 

[Berthenk]

The case is suitable for high end gear, although you linked a midranged CPU, motherboard and graphics card. It'll do well for today's games, and probably for the next couple years. Beyond that...

In a different thread, I helped a 'Temper come up with a Core i7-930 system with a HD5970 and 6GB of RAM and it came up to a bit below $1500 after price-hunting. The i7-930 is superior to all PhenomII processors when it comes to gaming (due to being able to handle around 30% more Instructions Per Second than the best PhenomII X6) and the HD5970 is the most powerful graphics card currently available (although it's a dual-GPU card so it uses more power and produces more heat) which he specifically wanted (despite my advice). Whilst the boost in performance won't make any significant change on a 21" monitor, it'll definitely still do well playing games in 4-6 years whilst a mid-ranged rig will struggle to keep playable framerates.

Comparing the two builds... I can't help but feel you're paying a lot more and getting a fair bit less less. Then again, you've listed a $300 monitor and £99 speakers, whilst the other 'Temper just stuck with his old ones ($400 can go a long way in getting better parts). If Touch Screen is a priority for you (I know how fun it can be) then I can't make any recommendations (I've never tried buying one) but if you're just looking for a HD Monitor, then the BenQ G2220HD (21.5") is highly regarded, or the NEC EA231WMi if you want a 23" Monitor (although 23" Monitors are mostly pricey).

As for the bundle deal in the edit... it's a low-end bundle, with a fairly low price for it. For a gaming PC, especially if you have a good budget, you need much better components because the performance gap is just huge.

Do note, though, that the GT(X?)480 takes more power and produces more heat than the 5970. But, if you want to sponsor your electricity company, do take the 480.

 

[Originality]

I didn't mention the GTX 480 because I think that the elevated power/heat levels and the comparative performance levels provided don't make for a good graphics card for the average gamer. As for the un-average enthusiast, watercooling the GTX480 has proven to make it more viable (and the superior nVidia drivers helps, although only in certain games with "nVidia, the way it's meant to be played"). Somehow I don't think the OP sounds like someone who wants to risk such a rig (since it's advisable to get someone experienced if you're going to build a liquid cooled system).

 

[Fishaman P]

Sorry, I thought I updated the links. I'll update them.

EDIT: And oh, what do you think of my new sig?

 

[Originality]

For the cables, the power supply will come with all the power cables needed, the motherboard will come with all the data cables needed, the graphics card will come with all the adaptors needed, and the monitor should come with the display cable needed (either VGA, DVI or HDMI... or in newer cases, DisplayPort, although I've yet to see that). The only time I found the cables missing, it was for a monitor my dad got cheaply. I complained to them about it and they provided a VGA cable for free, saying it was their mistake for forgetting to include it.

 

[Fishaman P]

Okay! A mod can close this topic!