Building a monster computer

[Unstoppable]

Hi all. Lets all build a computer that is under 1500$ and will be able to run Bioshock, Assasin's Creed, Gears of War, and anything that they throw at us in the next five years. I spent an hour or so searching these components from newegg.com (a very good online store). What i'm missing pretty much now is the video card(s). I am wandering how SLI works. I know this motherboard supports it, but do you just put both cards in and plug the monitor into one card and BAM! it works?

 

Anyway here are the specs and costs.

 

Qty. Product Description Savings Total Price

 

 

SAMSUNG 18X DVD±R DVD Burner With 12X DVD-RAM Write, LightScribe Technology Black SATA Model SH-S183L - OEM

Item #: N82E16827151141

Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

 

$77.98

($38.99 each)

 

 

Antec Performance One P180B Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel for durability through the majority of chassis 1.0mm cold rolled steel around the 4 x HDD area ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

Item #: N82E16811129017

Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

 

$40.00 Mail-in Rebate

$129.99

 

 

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

Item #: N82E16822144701

Return Policy: Limited 30-Day Return Policy

 

Select An Optional Extended Warranty Plan 1 Year Service Net Replacement Plan -- $14.99 2 Year Service Net Replacement Plan -- $19.99

$69.99

 

 

Crucial 1GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Desktop Memory Model CT12864AA80E - Retail

Item #: N82E16820148061

Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

 

Select An Optional Extended Warranty Plan 1 Year Service Net Replacement Plan -- $14.99 2 Year Service Net Replacement Plan -- $19.99

$170.97

($56.99 each)

 

 

Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6600 - Retail

Item #: N82E16819115003

Return Policy: Processors (CPUs) Return Policy

 

Select An Optional Extended Warranty Plan 1 Year Service Net Replacement Plan -- $39.99 2 Year Service Net Replacement Plan -- $59.99

$223.90

 

 

Microsoft Windows Vista 32-Bit Home Premium for System Builders Single Pack DVD - OEM

Item #: N82E16832116202

Return Policy: Software Return Policy

 

$111.99

 

 

 

CORSAIR CMPSU-620HX ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V 2.91 620W Power Supply - Retail

Item #: N82E16817139002

Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

 

MSI P6N SLI Platinum LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 650i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

Item #: N82E16813130081

Return Policy: Limited 30-Day Return Policy

 

Grand Total: $1,124.83

 

Throw in the video cards plus shipping and no doubt it will near the 1500$ mark. I hope I didn't leave anything out. Everything should be able to work accordingly. Case is worth they money and it brings 3 120 mm fans. Just put in the specifications at newegg.com and add the components to your shopping cart so you see what they come with. Has lots of pictures and reviews and stuff.

 

Anyway now for the harder part. Figuring out what graphics card(s) to put in there and explaining SLI. I don't have much time as I type this so I leave the rest up to you gurus. Maybe you can help me finish this little project. It might be cool if some of us end up purchasing this rig and running Bioshock, Creed, Crysis, etc on it in the future.

 

p.s.

Thanks for your help. Also pay no attention to the warranty stuff. I basically just copy/pasted my shopping cart. I'm surprised I didn't hit the 1500$ mark. Truly, building your own rig is way cheaper.

Edited June 7, 2007 by Unstoppable

[Baddcog]

from what I understand so far is you could just run windows XP and you don't need the second vid card or a dual core processor, that could save a bit more right there.

[Unstoppable]

Anyone interested check out this topic on gamespot forums.

http://www.gamespot.com/pages/forums/show_...87489#289087489

 

Basically you can build a good dual core gaming rig for 1500$. In Europe you could save 500$ and build it for 1000$ as someone states in the thread over there.

 

1558.64$ with shipping

http://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion/wishli...tNumber=4487525

[Crispy]

I am wandering how SLI works. I know this motherboard supports it, but do you just put both cards in and plug the monitor into one card and BAM! it works?

Almost. You also have to connect the video cards to each other using an "SLI bridge" (just a little circuit board with plugs on each end). I got one with my SLI-capable motherboard. (I'm not actually using SLI; I just got a motherboard with that feature so that I have more room to upgrade later.)

[Unstoppable]

Almost. You also have to connect the video cards to each other using an "SLI bridge" (just a little circuit board with plugs on each end). I got one with my SLI-capable motherboard. (I'm not actually using SLI; I just got a motherboard with that feature so that I have more room to upgrade later.)

 

I just heard from a veteran of building cpu's that SLI isn't that good. If you were to get the 8800 GTS from Nvidia which is in the 500-600$ range you'd be way better off. Which is what the system I helped build above has.

 

As for Quad-cores which I find very interesting, a real quad core is coming in July. Right now this is what the market has available and it's not worth it that much.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductRevie...N82E16819115017

 

I also found an article via Gamespot forums on Eigth core CPU. That's right 8 freaking cores. People are estimating the cost for the cpu to be like 1500$.

 

http://www.legitreviews.com/article/521/1/

 

I think with a dual core all the future games should be maxed out with the 8800 GTS and no slowdown. Like creed, bioshock, gears of war pc if it ever is announced officially. Honestly i'm just happy the entrance price of 1500$ is resonable.

[Crispy]

Yeah, I wouldn't bother with SLI right now personally. I only got it because I figured someday my motherboard won't be able to handle the latest graphics cards, and at that point I can pick up a couple of current-gen graphics cards for cheap and use them in SLI mode in order to put off a motherboard upgrade.

[Unstoppable]

Just curious what are your system specs? Mine are since 2003 with a couple upgrades here and there.

 

AMD Athlon Xp 2100+ (1.73ghz)

2GB DDR RAM 2100+

40GB HD

ATI Radeon X1650 PRO 512MB from Sapphire

MSI K7N2G

Thermaltake 430Watts powersupply

 

I'm pretty happy this baby is still going. Had to replace motherboard due to 350watt power supply which wasn't sufficient for all the stuff I kept adding. (Like a dvd drive etc) I added a 20$ one and it burned out after 3 months. So spending the 40$ on the Thermaltake was so worth it. No problems since there for like 6-12 months now. Decent rig to run games like Half Life 2 and F.E.A.R. but no way would I be able to enjoy Assasin's Creed or Bioshock.

[Order of the Hammer Bureaucrat]

I question your choice of cold-rolled steel case, this is not a steam engine you're building here. And 1GB of RAM seems somewhat too little for your purposes. But the HDD you're spending too little on, I doubt it'll be reliable - it might suddenly start clicking any day. And, no, if you're wondering, I'm not building something like that, I'm content with my P2 laptop, although I do dream of a sub-sub-notebook.

[Unstoppable]

My first post was copy/pasted. However with this wishlist you can get a way better grasp of things. Also I had help from someone who knows a lot more than me.

 

http://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion/wishli...tNumber=4487525

 

Has 2 gigs on there. I agree with you on the hard drive which is why I might throw in another. This whole thread though was to learn about the costs of building a powerful, budget conscious, gaming rig. I am very pleased with the results. As for the steel case, I don't see what could come bad from it. As long as everything is properly elevated and connected, I should avoid forest fires.

 

With 800 dollars though a good system can be build that can run Assasin's Creed, Bioshock, and even Crysis. I was going for higher end stuff so that I can keep gaming without upgrade worries for many years to come. There's a price drop coming in mid July for Intel CPU's. I won't be buying this PC for years to come if at all.

 

Hmm this case is getting a few bad reviews. Gonna have to find a better one thanks for info.

Edited June 8, 2007 by Unstoppable

[Crispy]

I have:

 

Windows XP SP2, Athlon64 3500+, 2GB RAM, graphics card is a Gigabyte GEFsomethingorother (chipset is NVIDIA GeForce 6600GT).

 

The case is an Antec Sonata (not the Sonata II) - very good case, attractive and well constructed. PSU is an Antec... forget which one, but it's the one that comes with the case. I forget the motherboard... probably some Gigabyte one, tell me if you really want to know which model. HDD is a Seagate; I forget the capacity, though I do know that it's >100GB.