# ~$760 Gaming PC



## Nateku (Jul 12, 2008)

Hey. Looking to build a computer meant for gaming, this is what me and my more computer-knowledgeable friend came up with. I would prefer it if the price stayed the same, or dropped even, if any changes are suggested. Thanks in advance. 

Case: RAIDMAX SMILODON Extreme Black ATX-612WEBP 1.0mm SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Foldout MB Computer Case With 500W Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811156098 

Hard Drive:   Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250410AS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148262

Motherboard:  ASUS M2N-SLI Deluxe AM2 NVIDIA nForce 570 SLI MCP ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131013

Video Card:  EVGA 512-P3-N801-AR GeForce 8800 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130318

(Note: May end up buying another one of these and linking them later. Need more money. >_>)

Power Supply:  XCLIO GREATPOWER X14S4P4 700W ATX12V Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817189009

RAM: Crucial Ballistix Tracer 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model BL2KIT12864AL804 - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148076

Processor:  AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ Windsor 3.0GHz Socket AM2 125W Dual-Core Processor Model ADX6000CZBOX - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103773

Fan: ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 64 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler - Retail 
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185125

Oh, and can anyone recommend a good SATA DVD/CD drive burner dealy? The one I was gonna get is out of stock. >_> Thanks again!


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## oregon (Jul 12, 2008)

Its probably better to go with Intel if your willing to overclock at all, but otherwise that's a decent build I think.


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## cohen (Jul 12, 2008)

1. - Where are you in the world?
2. - get 4GB ram.


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## Cleric7x9 (Jul 12, 2008)

are you going to run Vista or XP? if XP, 2gb of ram is plenty, if Vista, you may want to consider 3-4gb


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## cohen (Jul 12, 2008)

I recommend getting vista for your OS.


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## Nateku (Jul 12, 2008)

I am in Washington, US. Also, I plan to run XP. However, I DO have a copy of Vista Ultimate lying around. ^_^ Friend gave it to me after he got it free at a Microsoft party. xD 

So yeah, I think right now I still want to run XP, but I might get more RAM once we're all forced to switch to Vista.


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## maroon1 (Jul 12, 2008)

E7200 is faster at stock speed and consume less power than 6000+

I would change the CPU and motherboard to this

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138122
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115052


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## oscaryu1 (Jul 12, 2008)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115017
Q6600

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128347
GA-EP43-DS3L

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136073
WDC SE16 500GB 7200RPM 16MB SATAII

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119115
Cooler Master Elite 330 Mid ATX Case

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151171
Samsung Black DVD Burner SATA

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145194
Corsair XMS2 DHX 4GB (2x 2GB) DDR2-800 CL4 Dual Channel Kit

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102747
Sapphire HD4850 512MB GDDR3 PCI-E 2.0 256bit

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341010
OCZ GameXStream 600W PSU

Total after rebates including shipping: $787.59


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## simpletron (Jul 12, 2008)

RAIDMAX SMILODON Extreme Black - 84.99 with 25MIR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811156078
Seagate Barracuda 250GB - 59.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148262

SAMSUNG Black DVD Burner -26.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151154
OCZ StealthXStream 600W - 84.99 with 25MIR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341010

BIOSTAR P43 Motherboard - 89.99 with 10MIR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138122
Q6600 - 209.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115017

HIS Hightech HD4850 - 189.99 with 20 MIR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161235
Crucial Ballistix Tracer 2GB (2 x 1GB) - 60.99 with 25MIR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148076
comboing ram and video card -  -40

total 767.92 with 37.01 shipping and 105MIR
if you need to save money get an e8400 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115037


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## Ramodkk (Jul 12, 2008)

maroon1 said:


> E7200 is faster at stock speed and consume less power than 6000+
> 
> I would change the CPU and motherboard to this
> 
> ...



Wow, that seems like a really nice Biostar!  And paired with a E7200, that'd blow the 6000+ out of the water.


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## Nateku (Jul 12, 2008)

So is Intel better than AMD for gaming? 

If anyone could offer a non-biased reason and maybe a few facts as to why, that'd be great. ^_^

EDIT: Forgot to mention that I WILL want to get another video card in the future and link them, so keep that in mind when suggesting a motherboard. ^_^ Also, is it better to use ATI for Intel?


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## cohen (Jul 13, 2008)

oscaryu1 said:


> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115017
> Q6600
> 
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128347
> ...



Looks good.



Nateku said:


> So is Intel better than AMD for gaming?
> 
> If anyone could offer a non-biased reason and maybe a few facts as to why, that'd be great. ^_^
> 
> EDIT: Forgot to mention that I WILL want to get another video card in the future and link them, so keep that in mind when suggesting a motherboard. ^_^ Also, is it better to use ATI for Intel?



Yes Intel is better for gaming.

So you will be wanting to run SLI.

Get this motherboard then - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131142


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## Cleric7x9 (Jul 13, 2008)

Nateku said:


> So is Intel better than AMD for gaming?
> 
> If anyone could offer a non-biased reason and maybe a few facts as to why, that'd be great. ^_^
> 
> EDIT: Forgot to mention that I WILL want to get another video card in the future and link them, so keep that in mind when suggesting a motherboard. ^_^ Also, is it better to use ATI for Intel?



Yes, Intel is better for gaming. The reason is simple: Intel CPUs are more powerful than AMD CPUs. Just google some benchmarks. Check out Tom's Hardware or Anandtech or the like. You will see.


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## Nateku (Jul 13, 2008)

Awesome possum. Just a few more questions I think. >_> 

Umm, is quad core gonna be good for gaming? I heard many games don't utilize it.


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## cohen (Jul 13, 2008)

Nateku said:


> Awesome possum. Just a few more questions I think. >_>
> 
> Umm, is quad core gonna be good for gaming? I heard many games don't utilize it.



Yes it will be fine for gaming, the newer games will utilize it but it will be fine.


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## Nateku (Jul 13, 2008)

Awesome. Thank you guys all so much. I think I will be using a lot of the Intel setup you've all been giving me. I really love this forum. ^_^


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## cohen (Jul 13, 2008)

Nateku said:


> Awesome. Thank you guys all so much. I think I will be using a lot of the Intel setup you've all been giving me. I really love this forum. ^_^



Well if you have anymore question or problems, post a thread and there are heaps of members that will be able to help you.

Hope you enjoy your build

Cheers for now and hope to see you around on the forum.


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## Nateku (Jul 13, 2008)

Haha, okay. Totally came up with this build now. Pretty similar to the one oscaryu1 posted, but I wanted the 8800GT video card and a different case. Also checking to see if I'm overlooking anything that's incompatible with something else. >_>  

Case: RAIDMAX SMILODON Extreme Black ATX-612WEBP 1.0mm SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Foldout MB Computer Case With 500W Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811156078

Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250410AS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148262

Motherboard:  ASUS P5N-E SLI LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 650i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131142

Video Card: EVGA 512-P3-N801-AR GeForce 8800 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130318

Power Supply:  OCZ StealthXStream OCZ600SXS 600W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341010

RAM: Crucial Ballistix Tracer 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model BL2KIT12864AL804 - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820148076

Processor:  Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor Model BX80562Q6600 - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115017

Fan: ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 64 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835185125

DVD:  SAMSUNG 22X DVD Burner Black SATA Model SH-S223F - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151171

Umm, yeah. I'm thinking that looks pretty good. I also went with 2G of RAM 'cuz I don't have unlimited funds, and I'll be running XP for a while on it. Oh, and a 250G hard drive instead. ^_^;;

Total Price After Mail in Rebates: $804.90


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## cohen (Jul 13, 2008)

Looks good, but in the future get 4GB of ram and bigger hard drive.


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## Nateku (Jul 13, 2008)

Haha, definitely. Just don't wanna be all extra poor right now. I might actually opt to get the 500G hard drive. I won't be ordering this for at least a few days. Also, is the fan too big? It's 92mm, but I'm not as metrically inclined so I dunno if that's too big or not. XD


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## cohen (Jul 13, 2008)

Fan will be fine, and get a 500GB it is cheap $79.99 is cheap and 250GB is a lot for that price really.


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## oscaryu1 (Jul 13, 2008)

Nateku said:


> Haha, okay. Totally came up with this build now. Pretty similar to the one oscaryu1 posted, but I wanted the 8800GT video card and a different case. Also checking to see if I'm overlooking anything that's incompatible with something else. >_>
> 
> Case: RAIDMAX SMILODON Extreme Black ATX-612WEBP 1.0mm SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Foldout MB Computer Case With 500W Power Supply - Retail
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811156078
> ...



Are you kidding me?!? 650i? No! Stick with the one I posted! 650i's are 1) Suck BADLY, 2) Non 45nm compatible.


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## oscaryu1 (Jul 13, 2008)

Also, that 8800GT is uncomparable with the HD4850. 8800GT cannot max out Crysis. HD4850 CAN. 

Also, that CPU Cooler is unneeded.

Just to be honest, you're MUCH better off with my build. There are just too many... errors. 650i, cooler is unneeded due to him not overclocking, the case is pretty much for looks, HD4850 > 8800GT...

But hey, I'm not the one buying it.


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## Cleric7x9 (Jul 13, 2008)

oscaryu1 said:


> Are you kidding me?!? 650i? No! Stick with the one I posted! 650i's are 1) Suck BADLY, 2) Non 45nm compatible.



what makes you say the 650i sucks badly? also, they are compatible with 45nm:  

http://nvidia.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/...nBfc2VhcmNoX3RleHQ9NDVubQ**&p_li=&p_topview=1


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## oscaryu1 (Jul 13, 2008)

Hmm... now that I'm looking it up, I see they had a new BIOS update. 

But then again, I stumbled upon a article on Google, "680i rejects 45nm"... Link doesn't work right now though.

Either way, IMO the P43 is much better than the 650i for many reasons.


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## Cleric7x9 (Jul 13, 2008)

oscaryu1 said:


> Hmm... now that I'm looking it up, I see they had a new BIOS update.
> 
> But then again, I stumbled upon a article on Google, "680i rejects 45nm"... Link doesn't work right now though.
> 
> Either way, IMO the P43 is much better than the 650i for many reasons.



i have a 680i, and i have a 45nm, and it works. so i can tell you it works. but yes, the p43 is definitely better than the 650i, unless he wants SLI, which he did in the OP


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## oscaryu1 (Jul 13, 2008)

Cleric7x9 said:


> i have a 680i, and i have a 45nm, and it works. so i can tell you it works. but yes, the p43 is definitely better than the 650i, unless he wants SLI, which he did in the OP



Which is a reason I advised against the 8800GT... the HD4850, same price as the 8800GT, but has much better performance. Pretty much rules out SLi.


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## `PaWz (Jul 13, 2008)

oscaryu1 said:


> Also, that 8800GT is uncomparable with the HD4850. 8800GT cannot max out Crysis. _*HD4850 CAN*_.


No, it can't.  It can get all settings at "High", but that's it.


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## benihana99 (Jul 13, 2008)

go with Vista. ive been using it for six months without a single problem. also, get 4gb RAM regardless of your OS. with vista, you get directx 10, and you might as well if you got one for free. vista 64bit is real nice.


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## Nateku (Jul 13, 2008)

Oh my, a heated discussion sprang up while I was asleep. >_> 

In response though, I know the case has no purpose other than to look pretty, but I'm willing to spend the extra money for something that looks, in my opinion, awesome. Also, I'm not sure if I ever will overclock, but 3.0 Ghz on a quad is mighty tempting. ^_^ 

The reason I went with the 8800GT is that I know nVidia's line of products way better than I do ATI. Is the HD4850 really that amazing? Also, I was just looking at a bunch of reviews for the HD4850 and a lot of them said it runs very hot. Is that true? If so, what can/should I do to cool it down? 

Finally, the Vista. So yeah, the family computer does have Vista on it and I've been using it for about a year now. Very pretty, and yes DX10 is nice, but I've noticed that XP is compatible with a lot more stuff right now. When the time comes, I will definitely upgrade with my free copy. And I will get 4 gigs of RAM. ^_^


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## Sgt_Grim_Reaper (Jul 13, 2008)

eh, combining GeForce video card with AMD isn't a real good idea. Hard to find one that supports SLI. Easier to find one that supports crossfire though.


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## Nateku (Jul 13, 2008)

Oh, I've decided against the AMD. I'm going with the Intel Q6600. ^_^


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## cohen (Jul 13, 2008)

Nateku said:


> Oh, I've decided against the AMD. I'm going with the Intel Q6600. ^_^



Good Choice,

Are you able to post a fresh list with what you are going for?


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## Nateku (Jul 13, 2008)

I dunno. I think most everything will be the same as what I last posted, but now I'm having doubts about the video card and motherboard. The HD4850 reviews said it performed amazingly, but the 8800GT has a lot MORE reviews, mostly positive. Also, like I said, I don't know ATI cards that well. Oh, and I WILL go with 4G of RAM and probably the 500G HD. ^_^

Have to go to work right now, I'll be back on in like, five and a half hours.


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## cohen (Jul 13, 2008)

Yeah the 8800GT is getting old now. The Radeons are better (like the HD4850 or HD4870) or the 9 series.

Also the 8800GT only has more reviews because it has been out for ages.


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## Ramodkk (Jul 13, 2008)

Cohen, again, there's tons of Radeons out there, might help to specify 

Newest ones are the HD4000's such as the HD4850


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## Nateku (Jul 14, 2008)

Hmm, well then maybe I WILL go with the HD4850. Still, should I go with the non-SLI motherboard to save money then? And is there anything I can do to help lower it's temperature.


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## cohen (Jul 14, 2008)

Nateku said:


> Hmm, well then maybe I WILL go with the HD4850. Still, should I go with the non-SLI motherboard to save money then? And is there anything I can do to help lower it's temperature.



HD4850 sounds good,

Non-sli board will be fine, if you want to save money

And to lower the temperture, have good venterlation in the case and maybe put a better fan on it, but don't do that until the computer is built, if the temps are high then put a new fan on it.


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## Nateku (Jul 14, 2008)

Okay, I think I'll go with that then. And now that I think about it, I probably won't want to overclock for a long while so the CPU fan's unnecessary. New and potentially final build coming in a bit. ^_^


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## Nateku (Jul 14, 2008)

Case: RAIDMAX SMILODON Extreme Black ATX-612WEBP 1.0mm SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Foldout MB Computer Case With 500W Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811156078

Hard Drive:  Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136073

Motherboard:  GIGABYTE GA-EP43-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P43 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128347

Video Card:  SAPPHIRE 100242L Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102747

Power Supply: OCZ StealthXStream OCZ600SXS 600W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817341010

RAM: G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231122

Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor Model BX80562Q6600 - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115017

DVD: SAMSUNG 22X DVD Burner Black SATA Model SH-S223F - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827151171

Total after mail in rebates: $817.91


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## cohen (Jul 14, 2008)

Looks good.


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## Nateku (Jul 14, 2008)

Yeah? 

That's a relief. ^_^ I might make a separate thread for just that build to get a fresh opinion on it. xD


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## cohen (Jul 14, 2008)

Nateku said:


> Yeah?
> 
> That's a relief. ^_^ I might make a separate thread for just that build to get a fresh opinion on it. xD



If you do, add a poll, you'll be able to see better results that way.


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## Nateku (Jul 14, 2008)

Oh, good idea! Yeah, I think I'll definitely go do that now.


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## cohen (Jul 14, 2008)

Once, you have done that, post a link in this thread.


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## Nateku (Jul 14, 2008)

http://www.computerforum.com/125397-820-gaming-pc-good-build.html

Here's the link to the poll thread in case anyone is still going to THIS thread. xD


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## lovely? (Jul 14, 2008)

Nateku said:


> Yeah?
> 
> That's a relief. ^_^ I might make a separate thread for just that build to get a fresh opinion on it. xD



yeah its reeally nice. i would say almost twice as powerful as the build you posted at first. no joke!


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