First PC Build Help!

[Kliment]

Hello Everyone!
I am planning on building my first pc and since there are so many ways to go I thought I would get some expertise. Anyways I am building a computer primarly for gaming as well as the other basic needs. As far as a price range I would like to keep it at or under $1000. Here are some thing's I have been looking at, also I am undecided on a vid card thus why I have listed multiple. If anyone can give me some pointers and there own opinions on what I should have I would appreciate it.


Intel Core2 Quad Q9400 2.66GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor
Nvidia 8800GTX
GeForce 9800GTX
GeForce GTX 280
GeForce GTX 285

CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply
ASUS P5Q-VM LGA 775 Intel G45 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio 7.1 Channels 24-bit 96KHz PCI Express Interface Sound Card
Thermaltake CL-P0114 120mm Big Typhoon CPU Cooler
Thermaltake V1 Universal CPU Cooler (LGA775 / AM2 / 939 / 940 / 754) (CL-P0401)
Kingston 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1066 (PC3 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory
Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
SAMSUNG Black 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 22X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 22X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe
COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW Black Aluminum Bezel , SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

[Realityshift]

Id drop the mATX motherboard for a P5Q pro, depending on your budget id just go with a GTX 260, if you can fit it go with the GTX 285. Drop the CPU cooler for a Xigmatec or a thermalright ultra. That DDR3 doesnt fit into your motherboard does it?? No your looking for DDR2, try G.Skill or Mushkins their great performers and always cheap. good on the HDD and DVD rom but Id spend the $20 extra and grab a CM-690 as I dont think longer video cards fit all that well in the centurion.

ASUS P5Q Pro ATX LGA775 P45 DDR2 2PCI-E16 CrossFire 3PCI-E1 2PCI SATA2 Sound GBLAN eSATA Motherboard - DirectCanada

Motherboard

XFX GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 576MHZ 896MB 2.0GHZ GDDR3 PCI-E Dual DVI-I HDCP HDTV Out Video Card - DirectCanada

Video card

G.SKILL F2-6400CL4D-4GBPK PC2-6400 4GB 2X2GB DDR2-800 CL4-4-4-12 240PIN Dual Channel Memory Kit - DirectCanada

Ram

Coolermaster CM 690 Mid Tower Black ATX Case 5X5.25 5X3.5INT No PS Front USB Sound Firewire & eSATA - DirectCanada

Case

Xigmatek Dark Knight S1283 Direct Touch 3HEATPIPE Heatsink AM2 LGA775 S754 S939 S940 W/120MM PWM Fan - DirectCanada

CPU cooler

Also drop that sound card for an XFI extreme gamer as the audio doesnt have a true Xfi chip...

Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-FI Xtreme Gamer 24BIT Sound Card 7.1 PCI Retail Box Bilingual - DirectCanada

Add all of that together and youll have a damn nice PC, id personally just go with onboard sound to save on the budget.

[rjbarker]

^ +1 to everything Reality stated, including dropping the sound Card. I'd also consider dropping the Quad Core for a Duo Core E8400. I don't believe you stated what Resolution you plan on gaming on..if 22" you could get away with a 9800GTX+ or up to GTX 260 / 275

[Realityshift]

E8400 is on for a steal right now $189!!! its a very limited supply though =(

[Kliment]

Hey guy's thanks for the info. To answer RJBarker I have a 22' and would be running on 1280x800 or 1280x768. On a side note what is the benefit of the Duo core over the Quad core other than cost and overall stability?

[Dwayne]

+1 to RealityShift on the E8400. You need speed, not multi-cores for gaming and speaking from experience the P5Q Pro / E8400 combo is a good OCer. Make sure you get good air cooling for the CPU, or even try the CoolIT Domino! The CM 690 is a great case to work in, excellent cable management ability and good fans with the option to install more. I would add at least one fan to the top of the 690 to exhuast the air rising, a 120 or 140 (I think it can take a 140).

Good luck, and take some pics and make a worklog of your build, I love seeing the stuff people work on and how they put it all together!

[geokilla]

If you're gaming on 22", get a 9800GTX+ or ATI 4830/4850 and call it a day. Take what Reality said but drop the sound card.

The benefits of a quad over a dual core is that quad gives you 4 cores instead of 2, so you might be a bit "more future-proofed".

Are you overclocking? If you are, get an OCZ Vendetta 2. If you're in Ontario, Canada Computer has them on sale right now.

[Realityshift]

If your gaming you wont see much benefit going to a quad, and future proofing is a farse, a quad will probubly see the same amount of time in a PC before you need upgrade as a dualy would. A year from now theres going to be octocore CPUs running on 32nm architecture, thats going to blow everything thats in right now out of the water. If your gaming on a 22" monitor your native resolution is going to be atleast 1650x1080 and thats what you should be aiming to run your games at or its going to look like poo. Go with a GTS 250 not a 9800GTX+ or a GTX 260 core 216. 9800GTX+s are out theyve been rebadged and rebuffed to the GTS 250s which are a tad more powerfull but take less power and are shorter so they fit easier into a case.

If you go with an E8400 youd be just fine going with an arctic freezer 7 pro, its dirt cheap and will handle the heat from an E8400 pretty decently. You can go with a vendetta 2 or xigmatech HDT-1283 or even a thermalright TRUE if you really want to overclock the heck out of that CPU. If you go quad skip the ACF7 pro and go straight to the HDTs or TRUE as quads put out quite a bit more heat.

I cant stress enough the do not buy a 9800GTX+ new anymore, their being phased out and the GTS 250s offer more performance for the same price.