The Ultimate Gaming PC

[guysullavin]

ok, so i've been thinking about this for a bit and I have decided to start constructing the ultimate gaming PC for myself. So being sorta a beginner in all of this, i have a few Questions:

Please note i have a budget of about $800

1:Coming from the mac side, and having common sense i know that vista is very bad for gamers and for modding and the like, which part actually houses the Operating system and do they come with XP?

2: Is there different types of computer cases and which ones do you guys suggest?

3: should i get a system board, or get the CPU, RAM, and Motherboard separately?

4: which Video card happens to be 1st place right now?

5: Which Video Controller should i get? (if thats what a video card is then just ell me, don't flame me)

6:Which hard drive happens to hold the most that runs at 7200 RPM?

7:Should i bother with a DVD Burner or just get a DVD/CD player?

8:for operating systems should i get Xp Professional or just home?

9: I would like a decent flatscreen monitor but i think we might have this old mac one, would it do fine?

10:Using an Airport Extreme would i be able too hookup my Custom PC with it wirelessly?

11:from reading soem of your older posts, how many fans should i use to cool it down without sounding too distractive?

I know i am a major n00b but I hear that this really Isn't as hard as it sounds, but its still pretty hard... if you have a decent tutorial on how to hookup, construct, etc. all these parts it would be greatly appreciated

[Aumaan Anubis]

Dude, you're in for a treat. I had the same idea awhile back, last summer, I think, and I built my own gaming computer.

I got a lot of my parts from NewEgg, as well as a store called, "Fry's"
You can get some really cheap stuff with the rebates they offer.

I can't really answer your other questions individually, so good luck!

[guysullavin]

that is a very great resource TYVM!

[Cryticfarm]

Mainstream Gamer - $970 AUD / $830 USD / 560 EURO/ £450
CPU: AMD Phenom 9600 Agena 2.3GHz - $150 - Here
Motherboard: DFI LANPARTY DK 790FX-M2RS - $120 - Here
RAM: CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) PC6400 - $100 - Here
Video Card: HIS Radeon HD 4870 512MB - $280 - Here
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 250gb - $80 - Here
PSU: COOLER MASTER Real Power Pro 650W ATX - $110 - Here
Case: Antec Nine hundred - $100 - Here
Burner: Anybrand DVD+-RW - $30

This is an extremely powerful single GPU system. Not only do you have an insanely fast tri-core CPU but you also have an high end graphics card, with the option to add in another in the future. This will handle almost any game you throw at it with great performance. It has a large hard drive for tons of storage and a durable case with good cooling.

Is 830 ok? Oh yeah, CAD money :p. Well, that the best thing I could find, was on a random forum O_o.
EDIT:
OMFG, I FORGOT CANADA. NO NEWEGG WIHTOUT SPECIAL SHIPPING. just search the items in ncix.com. Great site, its newegg for Canada basically.

[xbox]

I like that case.

[guysullavin]

well this is what i 'm looking at... dont ask about the order... it jut sorta stacks that way

• ASUS 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model DRW-2014L1T - $39.99
  COOLER MASTER Elite RC-330-KKR1 Black SECC ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 350W Power Supply - $54.99
  Seagate ST3640323AS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - $89.99
  EVGA 512-P3-N868-AR GeForce 9600 GT SSC Edition 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - $159.99 (yea i spoiled my self on this)
  Creative Sound Blaster Audigy SE SB0570LPVP 5.1 Channels PCI Interface Low-Profile Sound Card - $26.99
  G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-10600CL8D-2GBHK - $89.99
  Intel BLKD946GZISSL LGA 775 Intel 946GZ Micro ATX Intel Motherboard - $79.99
  Intel Core 2 Duo E7200 Wolfdale 2.53GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80571E7200 - $119.99 (BIG intel fan
  Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition SP3 English for System Builders 1 Pack CD - $89.99

heres my attempt at listing the cart so that way you can see the objects seperately
http://secure.newegg.com/Shopping/Shopp ... ubmit=view
otherwise i'm gonna have to link each object... separately... theres like 10? oh yea, and since i have no knowledge about windoze would i need this to connect to our home network?

@ Cryitic: damn you know what your doing but I'm sorta looking for an intel bundle, sorry, but thanks for the BETTER website

[Cryticfarm]

I'm not UBER SURE about that power supply.

[Rockymods]

ok, so i've been thinking about this for a bit and I have decided to start constructing the ultimate gaming PC for myself. So being sorta a beginner in all of this, i have a few Questions:

Please note i have a budget of about $800

1:Coming from the mac side, and having common sense i know that vista is very bad for gamers and for modding and the like, which part actually houses the Operating system and do they come with XP?
If you buy vista, you have the oppurtunity to play games in DirectX10 (only available in vista) and games with 64 bit. Although no games are requiring this and with hardware, it's not practical to go that high if you want to do a lot of multiplayer

2: Is there different types of computer cases and which ones do you guys suggest?
If you want a quieter computer, get a case that has a larger fan size capacity (like 120mm over 90mm)

3: should i get a system board, or get the CPU, RAM, and Motherboard separately?
I get all them seperately, you need to know how to put it all together. This doesn't necessarily mean push it in till it seems it's in. There's places where you need to specifically short out certain peices and very small plug-ins.. If you haven't done it before it's best you have someone who has be with you when you put it together

4: which Video card happens to be 1st place right now?
Mainly a matter of preference. You can crossfire video cards or (forgot the other name)
In my opinion, the Geforce 9850 gtx+ is top right now, then there's the ATI 4850

5: Which Video Controller should i get? (if thats what a video card is then just ell me, don't flame me)

6:Which hard drive happens to hold the most that runs at 7200 RPM?

7:Should i bother with a DVD Burner or just get a DVD/CD player?
Depends.. Do you want to burn DVD's?
8:for operating systems should i get Xp Professional or just home?

9: I would like a decent flatscreen monitor but i think we might have this old mac one, would it do fine?
It adds a hefty price to your total, not sure about the MAC screen

10:Using an Airport Extreme would i be able too hookup my Custom PC with it wirelessly?

11:from reading soem of your older posts, how many fans should i use to cool it down without sounding too distractive?
It truthfully depends on what fans you get, not necessarily on how many.

I know i am a major n00b but I hear that this really Isn't as hard as it sounds, but its still pretty hard... if you have a decent tutorial on how to hookup, construct, etc. all these parts it would be greatly appreciated

I hope I helped in some way.. There may be a few things wrong but yeah.. I'm sure someone else would quickly point it out

[Cryticfarm]

By the way, I suggest getting a 500 W power supply, so you can upgrade your card later if you want too. 350 W is too small for anything higher then that card almost.
EDIT: I suggest you do this by bring down your hard drive to something like 500 GB's, or 400. I have 250 GB's on my hard drive, and I still have 50 left.

[xbox]

dx10 isn't used yet but it's pretty much like 1080p and hddvds. At first no one thought it would be worth it to get it but a month later its the standard.
And an Ethernet cable is always better for connecting to the internet so don't go wireless if you don't have to. But if you do go wireless get something better than a lynksis, like a D-link, they last longer and have a better connection strength.

[guysullavin]

wow, ive tried posting twice and i've been interrupted by other posts, thanks for the feedback!

im not getting vista, not untill they fix almost everything wrong about it and you can run almost every program you could on XP, and i just dont feel like it, now i have a 500GB HD, and I'm browsing around some cases looking for larger fan inputs and 500 W power supplies that dont drive my wallet to turn into a black hole and eat me.

one problem is that i know no one who has that I know in person... (hmm... this could be difficult, better read the instructions very carefully)

[grimdoomer]

There is nothing wrong with vista, the only thing that doesn't run on it would be H2Sounds Tools and its only because of CodeVile. But you need at least 1 gig of RAM to run it without problems, although 2 is optimal. The operating system is stored on the Hard Drive, you probably want at least a 40gig, if not maybe 80 or 120.

Also for gaming look into ATI Cross Fire. And make sure you get CPU's and RAM that work for your PC, as not all are universal.

[Aumaan Anubis]

Go with XP if you can get it.

In addition, you probably need a larger power supply, from what I've heard, (500W seems about right)

[guysullavin]

ok, i need to start over... i was looking without hints, now i have very important advice and now it just makes me want to start from square one...

[Aumaan Anubis]

Then start from square one.

This isn't something you should rush into. Take your time.

[grimdoomer]

Then start from square one.

This isn't something you should rush into. Take your time.

Yes, search NewEgg.com for parts, check your local electronic stores for sales. I remember I got 2 gigs of RAM for 50$.

[guysullavin]

ok, so i want to know if i go down the Intel road or the ADM road, because I know intel from macs, and those work nicely, but what about ADM?

[sneakyn8]

if you already have some specifications then i suggest going to new egg i would suggest getting the motherboard ram and cpu differently o and for an os get ubuntu and WINE and go intel imho

[guysullavin]

ok, heres what i got AFTER listening to you guys (yous guyses are the Bessht ):

• SAMSUNG 22X DVD Burner - $24.99
  Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - $139.99
  Western Digital Caviar SE 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - $64.99
  VisionTek Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit CrossFire Video Card - $184.99
  Creative Sound Blaster Audigy Low-Profile Sound Card - $26.99
  COOLER MASTER Real Power Pro 650W ATX Form Factor CrossFire Ready - $139.99
  ASUS P5QL PRO LGA 775 Intel P43 ATX Intel Motherboard - $94.99
  Intel Core 2 Duo Wolfdale 2.53GHz 65W Dual-Core - $119.99

totals just less than $800

[Aumaan Anubis]

That looks pretty good from my perspective, but I'm not so much an expert.

You are on the right track, however. Choosing components and asking opinions is the best way, from my point of view.