About to build awesome new gaming rig! Any suggestions?

[HOLOGRAPHICpizza]

I am finaly replacing my state-of-the-art-in-2002 PC with an amazing gaming rig that will cause all who see it to tremble in its presence! The sheer might will knock you over from 30 feet away!

Well these are my goals to meet with this rig:
- 100% Ubuntu Compatibility
- 100% Vista Compatibility
- Be able to run Crysis maxed out.

Here is the link to the Newegg wishlist. https://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion/Wishli...+suggestions%3F (https://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion/Wishlist/PublicWishDetail.asp?WishListNumber=6198205&WishListTitle=cortana+any+suggestions%3F)

Any suggestions? Is there anything that won't work? Anyway I can save some money? Promo codes?!?!? Anything I could change to get a little more bang for my buck? Or a little more buck for my bang?

Oh yeah, and I will name this mighty machine Cortana, after the first class 3 AI. :D

[DarthBagel]

- Be able to run Crysis maxed out.


Good luck with that, the only benchmarked systems I've seen that even get close involve a really high end SLI setup. What resolution do you normally play games at?

I personally just picked up a 9600gt from newegg for ~$150. I love it, plays oblivion, assassin's creed, and anything else I've thrown at it so far at 1680x1050 and max settings. Now it probably wouldn't run Crysis at that resolution, but then again Crysis is kind of its own animal.

My suggestions? Core 2 Duo/Quad Processor, Nvidia video card, 2gb or more of ram and a decent motherboard to put all that together. I haven't looked around at motherboards lately, but I've got an older Gigabyte P965-DS3 that overclocks nicely. I'm running a C2D e4300 which is 1.8Ghz stock at 300*9 = 2.7Ghz stable with stock cooling and voltages.

Hope any of that helps!

[original_jamingrit]

- Be able to run Crysis maxed out.

Are there any existing computers that can do that? :-P
It's even laggy on my university's supposedly uber-hardcore gaming rigs.

[HOLOGRAPHICpizza]

Yeah, look at the wishlist I posted, I already have all the stuff you mentioned. I usually run games at 1024x1280.

[orgy]

- Be able to run Crysis maxed out.


LOL (http://blog.videosift.com/MarineGunrock/NASA-comes-close-to-running-Crysis-at-maximum-settings)

[st0n3cutt3r]

I know you'll probably laugh at this suggestion, but I HIGHLY recommend the intel E2160 dual-core processor.

It's stock clock is 1.8GHz, but I tested it for 20 hours 100% load at 3GHz, ran flawlessly, and on stock cooling, no less. It's a hell of a processor for $70, and will actually outrun my roommate's quad running at stock speed for a lot of things.

Consider it. :)

Edit:
I actually ran it for about 2 months at 3GHz, but my motherboard died of an unrelated issue (bad PCIe slot), and so I had to RMA the board and haven't used the chip since. The board is supposed to be back to me tomorrow though. Woo!

[HOLOGRAPHICpizza]

No, the FSB on that is 800. I need 1333 or 1066.

[lespaul_rentals]

If you are going with Intel, you should definitely get the Intel Quad Core and overclock it to the speed of the Quad Core Extreme.

And for the love of God man, don't buy that Rosewill CPU cooler. Get one of the huge Zalman fans. Please.

Other than that, looks great. :)

[DarthBagel]

No, the FSB on that is 800. I need 1333 or 1066.

Before I say any of this, overclocking can do bad things to your system if your not careful.

For the sake of giving options,my e4300 runs with a stock FSB of 800 mhz as well. The advantage of the lower FSB is that the processor itself has a higher multiplier, so when overclocking I can reach high CPU frequencies with comparably lower FSB frequencies.

For example my e4300 runs with a stock FSB speed of 200 Mhz (Intel busses are 800/1066/1333 because we multiply this base frequency by 4 so 200*4=800). It has a multiplier of 9, so we get 200*9 = 1.8Ghz or the stock speed of the e4300.

Overlocked you can still achieve these bus speeds. For example overclocking to 266Mhz (266*4 = 1066) FSB gives us a processor speed of 2.4 Ghz (266*9).

So, what does that all mean? If your planning on overclocking the lower FSB processors can potentially save money.

As for the Phenom, if they are price competitive I would say they are an option, but last time I checked the C2D still held the performance crown.

[Yes]

Some thoughts:

Get the E8200. It's cheaper than the E6750 at the same speed and a bigger L2 cache. I hear it's also an amazing overclocker.

Don't get that HSF. Get an Arctic Freezer Pro or a Zalman.

Are you really going to do a 3-way SLI? Unless you are don't bother with that motherboard, you can get something just as good for a lot cheaper without the three PCIe x16 slots.

Either get a SATA DVD player or a circular IDE cable, for better airflow.

Other than that, it looks good. Have fun! :)

[heartburnkid]

I'd definitely skip the Tri-SLI mobo unless you're planning to buy 3 graphics cards RIGHT NOW for it. By the time you're ready to upgrade with new cards, you'll likely get more of a performance boost by simply replacing the card you have.

You'll save $80 by going with this dual-SLI model: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188026

And you can still add one card later.

Take that extra money and invest it in a quad-core CPU:

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

[HOLOGRAPHICpizza]

That mobo has 3 slots because thats a feature of the 780i chipset. The one you recommended has the 750i chipset which doesn't support PCI-E 2.0. And I'm only going to use one video card. Is it a big deal if your video card supports pci-e 2.0 and your mobo doesn't? Seems kinda... bad.

[swoll1980]

Windows xp the words vista and ultimate gaming rig shouldn't be used in the same sentence together

[Yes]

750i supports PCIe 2.0. I think X38/48 and P35 chipsets do also.

[HOLOGRAPHICpizza]

But I need vista for DX10.

So are you sure this motherboard supports PCIe 2.0?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188026

EDIT: Yes it does! I am getting this and saving a bunch of money! Thanks! Oh yeah, and is quad core really worth it?

[Yes]

That motherboard doesn't have PCIe 2.0 slots. This one does: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813127033, or if you want a cheaper board, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131232.

Right now, there aren't many programs outside of heavy video editing or other graphics design stuff that will use all four cores. Of course there will be more and more programs that take advantage of all four cores, but it might take a while to get to the point where a quad core is worth the extra money.

[HOLOGRAPHICpizza]

I updated the list, I already have a good 550W power supply, will it be enough? I decided to get a single 8800GT and when it starts to loose its luster, pop another one in.

[st0n3cutt3r]

honestly, I am very surprised and pleased that you are actually listening to (some of) the suggestions you are getting... most people who post "Help me choose hardware" threads really just want to brag about how much money they're about to throw away on hardware that will be 50% cheaper in 8 months...

[heartburnkid]

550W should be able to handle one GeForce 8800, but if you plan to get another later, I'd definitely suggest something with a little overhead.

[HOLOGRAPHICpizza]

Yeah, I have decided to go with 650W.

[HOLOGRAPHICpizza]

I made some changes to the list, is that new motherboard good?

[fedex1993]

ahh someone is not going with a 9800 :( once i get my money back this summer i am building a nice gaming system to i am getting the specs together as we speak then waiting for the price to drop
also you forgot about a case >_>

[jacob01]

those 9800gx2 cards sound amazing!!! has any one got one yet?

[HOLOGRAPHICpizza]

I already have an Antec 900.

[fedex1993]

those 9800gx2 cards sound amazing!!! has any one got one yet?

thinking about getting one once they get under 500 dollars then test it out with alot of stuff :)

[rajeev1204]

Whats the deal with crysis ?

It may be graphically stunning ,but not being able to run it at max settings doesnt mean it is the most advanced graphics wise.

I find call of duty 4 to be equally good looking and it also runs great on lesser systems.Sure they could add a few jungles to screw up the systems.Then they could get crysis type reviews.

Over hyped marketing nonsense.

[sglow]

You don't have a processor on your list. What are you going to get?

[youshoulduseunix]

there's no linux support for the 9800gx2 yet. But it's nvidia, so there willl be eventually.

I currently have a 9800gx2 in my gaming rig. I can thank 8 months of RMA hell through MSI for that actually. They sent me 3 bad cards from the 8000 series, so I finally drove to Los Angeles and talked to them in person. Result: 9800gx2 (retail) via fedex 5 days later. :guitar:

As for your list of parts:
I recommend a much more powerful PSU. I'm currently running an Enermax 720W with 3 12v rails, and it's a little strained on my current hardware. That Antec you listed only has 19amps on each of the 3 12v rails. You'll have to replace it when you upgrade from the 8k series. Mine currently has 28/28/30amps on the 3 rails and I had to take all my drives/fans and put them on a single rail to get my 9800gx2 to run. It just refused to give a video signal until I had 2 rails dedicated to it and the motherboard only.

other thoughts:
- crysis just barely runs maxed on my hardware (@1440x900 resolution) with decent frame-rates between ~30 - 45 fps
- other games like oblivion/R6 Vegas/Company of Heroes all run maxed no problem and with very smooth frames. (oblivion super high-res texture packs installed too)

hardware:
- asus p5e x38 motherboard
- intel q6600 (stock speed)
- 4GB mushkin enhanced memory
- raptor 150GB hard drive (3 other drives for dual-boot/raid storage)
- MSI 9800gx2 (stock speed)
- CM Stacker 830 case
- Enermax 720w PSU
- 20x dvd burner
- intel HD on-board audio (tested between that and my x-fi, and couldn't notice any performance difference in vista with current games. plus creative hates linux.) :(