Gaming Rig specs

[fragger]

@JRD: Congrats mate, hope you'll be happy with your new rig :)

@Binnatics: That cooler is a thing of beauty. I thought it was a piece of impressionistic sculpture at first :-() :-X

[deadman1]

Upgrading my old rig... finally  >:D

Here's what I got

- Processor Intel i3 2120 3,3GHz (2nd generation of the "i" series - still reading about it for in depth info)
- MoBo: Gygabyte P67A-UD3P with 2x2GB DDR3
- Power source Thermal Take TR2 500W Real.

Will keep my good'ole nVidia GT9800 1GB as it still has lots of fuel to burn  >:D

I'm still missing a good coller for the rig but I can go with that for the time being

I think the i3 was a good choice for it's cost/benefit. An i7 would be much more than I can use and maybe the i5 would be the perfect choice, but it was twice as much as the i3. The MoBo is the one coming along with the processor having Intel technology in it... not many choices where I got it anyway.

Will assemble the parts this week and might have a gaming rig by the weekendb :)

Nice JRD  :-X, I would like to suggest though that you upgrade you graphicscard to a Nvidia 560 or AMD 5870 and a 600-750 W PWS in the future when your budget allows it. That will give you some nice futureproofing along with maybe an i5 processor (since it uses the same socket that´s an easy upgrade). Now I´m even more eager to get my taxrefund so I can get my Sandybridge upgrade  :-()

[JRD]

Upgrading my old rig... finally  >:D

Here's what I got

- Processor Intel i3 2120 3,3GHz (2nd generation of the "i" series - still reading about it for in depth info)
- MoBo: Gygabyte P67A-UD3P with 2x2GB DDR3
- Power source Thermal Take TR2 500W Real.

Will keep my good'ole nVidia GT9800 1GB as it still has lots of fuel to burn  >:D

I'm still missing a good coller for the rig but I can go with that for the time being

I think the i3 was a good choice for it's cost/benefit. An i7 would be much more than I can use and maybe the i5 would be the perfect choice, but it was twice as much as the i3. The MoBo is the one coming along with the processor having Intel technology in it... not many choices where I got it anyway.

Will assemble the parts this week and might have a gaming rig by the weekendb :)

Nice JRD  :-X, I would like to suggest though that you upgrade you graphicscard to a Nvidia 560 or AMD 5870 and a 600-750 W PWS in the future when your budget allows it. That will give you some nice futureproofing along with maybe an i5 processor (since it uses the same socket that´s an easy upgrade). Now I´m even more eager to get my taxrefund so I can get my Sandybridge upgrade  :-()

That`s the idea, deadman... my faithful nVidia can still go a long way and it`s a 1GB GPU so I won`t be spending an extra cash unless it`s needed. For the future, a new GPU is on the top of my list and I`m considering to try some Radeon Sapphire series like the 5870 or something like this. I`ve always been a nVidia guy, but I`m open for new experiences  ;D

[deadman1]

Well the 560 will give you great "bang for your buck", don´t be tempted to buy a card in 400 series though even if they are on sale. They are a lot louder and the use a lot more power than the 500 series. Being a Nvidia fanboy myself I really don´t know how they perform but the 5870 has gotten some nice revues on the hardware fourms I read.

[Art Blade]

560/570 are supposed to be good, too

[Binnatics]

I have a 5870 myself, and the card is great. I never hear noises. It's quiet, not consuming much, and somehow the fan never gets to its top almost. I remember my 4890 (double gpu) was blowing like a boeing all the time, but this one is different. It handles dx11 with no problem. I'm only not sure how it will act when I upgrade my monitor. I'm using 19" now, and want to go for 26" or 27" widescreen. That might suck some extra power out of it.
I think I have the Sapphire, but I couldn't find the box around here.

[Art Blade]

I don't expect your card to get (much) louder once you've upgraded to 26" widescreen. Mine didn't :)

[JRD]

... and there'll be gunshots, portals being open, engines burning, aircrafts, and - in my case - even R'n'R on top of it all, so you won't tell the difference.....  ;)

[Art Blade]

The only situations I'm becoming aware of the vents is when watching a film on DVD and a silent part comes up. The wheezing of the vents usually is something I don't notice except when I swich off my PC. Then the absence of that wheezing makes me become aware of that it actually had been there before :)

[JRD]

Upgrading my old rig... finally  >:D

Here's what I got

- Processor Intel i3 2120 3,3GHz (2nd generation of the "i" series - still reading about it for in depth info)
- MoBo: Gygabyte P67A-UD3P with 2x2GB DDR3
- Power source Thermal Take TR2 500W Real.

Will keep my good'ole nVidia GT9800 1GB as it still has lots of fuel to burn  >:D

I'm still missing a good coller for the rig but I can go with that for the time being

I think the i3 was a good choice for it's cost/benefit. An i7 would be much more than I can use and maybe the i5 would be the perfect choice, but it was twice as much as the i3. The MoBo is the one coming along with the processor having Intel technology in it... not many choices where I got it anyway.

Will assemble the parts this week and might have a gaming rig by the weekendb :)

After a whole day with a geek fixing my rig, turns out my HD is damaged  :D  :'(

It read the disk but had to fix some issues, which windows did by itself. So the surgery went on as expected. Near the end, with the patient already closed the disk went boink.  :-(
I now purchased a new HD - Samsung 1TB (man,  those are cheap nowadays  :) ) and a new DVD reader (any generic model and brand). All SATA as my old MoBo was IDE and so were some of those input and storage devices.
In the end I only kept the GPU (which was basically my last upgrade), monitor, keyboard, mouse and the CPU case... everything else is brand new.
A relief actually as now I know all parts are the same age and of good quality, so my rig should be operational pretty soon  >:D :-X

[Binnatics]

It's allways good to have new gear.  :)
New HD's ARE super cheap, compared to the rest of the hardware. Actually, only the HD's, DVD devices and the case I consider as supercheap.
1 Tb is a horrible lot of space. Can't imagine ever filling it up. I myself have 500 Gb and that's allready so much, I can hardly fill it up ever I guess ;)

[Art Blade]

good news, JRD :)

Binnatics, the thought "I'll never make use of all that disk space" will only last for so long. After 2.5 years you'll start to notice that those games you collected during that time actually use up some space.. I still have plenty of free disk space but the partitions need some working-on now. My games partition is coming alarmingly close to "full"  ;)

[fragger]

Hope you're up and running soon, JRD :)

@ Art, it's true what you say about HD space. I too have a 500 gigger which I thought I'd never use all of. Three years later it's over 3/4 full, mostly games but also in my case a growing collection of 3D model and texture files, some of which can be fairly hefty.

But high-end games are generally getting bigger all the time. I remember when a 2MB HD was considered a huge volume of space that the average user would never fill. I can see a time in the future when gamers will say the same thing about a 2TB HD.

My maxim is: Better to have too much space than not enough :-()

[Dweller_Benthos]

This is the new rig I just ordered to replace the video-card eating Portal 2 monster that I have been using:

Chassis: Fortress FT02
Motherboard: Asus Sabertooth X58 MotherBoard   
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-bit
CPU: Intel Core i7-960 3.20GHz 1366 8M CPU 
RAM: 12GB (2GBx6) Triple Channel Memory 1600MHZ   
Hard Drive: 256GB C300 SSD - OS
2nd Hard Drive: 1TB 7200RPM 3G SATA II Hard Drive   
Optical: Blu-Ray/DVD-RW Combo Drive   
Power Supply: 850 Watt ThermalTake Power Supply   
Floppy/Media Card: ICR Ultra U12-40529 Aluminus 3.5" Internal Card Reader 
Video: Two GTX 460 1GB SLI   
Audio: Creative Labs SB X-FI Titanium Fatality Champ SC 
Network: Integrated 10/100/1000 Network Adapter 
Keyboard: Logitech K120 USB Keyboard   
Mouse: Logitech B100 Optical USB Mouse   
Other: Integrated Firewire

The geforce 460's aren't the high end at the moment, but two of them should suffice  :) Had to add the Fatality soundblaster as a custom item as well as the card reader, which brought the total to just over $2600, build time I hope is less than two weeks, as I'm going on vacation the end of the month and would like to have it before then.

[Binnatics]

Damn Dweller, that quite a system you're making. I'm very curious what's your ideas about the SSD disk, that's on my wishing list too. I think 2 460's in SLI is at least ALMOST high-end. Those are powerfull cards. You should post a pic when you got it all essembled and working, I'm curious what it looks like ;)
Should be quite a machinary  :-X

[PZ]

My goodness, that's nice, D_B - I particularly like the SSD/SATA configuration - exactly what I want to do.   :-X

[JRD]

You should post a pic when you got it all essembled and working, I'm curious what it looks like ;)
Should be quite a machinary  :-X

Here it is

[smg id=3293]

... and this would be mine

[smg id=3292]

Note that mine isn`t bad at all, but there`s a tiny difference in... let`s say... combustion power...  ::)

[Binnatics]

 ^+-+

That's a good one  ;)
But seriously, these heavy combusting machines do look great with all the exhaust stuff all lighted up:
[smg id=3294 width=300]

[Art Blade]

damn fine machine, D_B :) :-X

[Dweller_Benthos]

Yeah, once I get it, I'll post a pic or two.

[Binnatics]

Upgraded my mouse. The revoltec Fighting mouse pro. I bought it for the extra buttons which you can manage with your thump. It also has a nice laser-controlled sensor which enhances the precision in fighting. You can push it to 3200 DPI, which is very precise. Nice looking by the way, and good aerodynamics  ^-^
***Edit: Oops, I forgot to mention the nylon cord which is very handy since the cord is extreme lightweight and will not get in the way anymore  :-()
And there's a weight-adjustment-system on board. I have an extra case with 7 20gr. halters in it, which I can atach to a magazin inside the mouse. Doing so I can upgrade the mouse's weight if I wanted to. I'm not a fan of heavy mouses so I don't use it, but it's still a nice gadget :P***

[JRD]

If the the legs are screwed... enhance hands... cool....  :-X ;D

[Binnatics]

 >:D

[Art Blade]

 ;D

[RedRaven]

Seeking some advice regarding a new tower as its been couple of years and finding myself out of touch with PC tech and specs.


What would you guys recommend for the following -


Motherboard
Processor
Memory
Power supply
Graphics


Hard drive, Disc drive, Monitor and Interface I can deal with, and a case should be easy enough when a motherboard is decided upon.


Aim is for a system that will blitz FC3 and Stalker2 as far as gaming goes but can easily handle high quality A/V editing and vector graphic animation software.


Cheerz.