J-Love

Hey, This is my first attempt at building a pc and i really don't know what parts would be best, I basicly want a pc for gaming, i'd like to be able to run new games and future releases and need storage for music and films so the sound on it needs to be good too.. So could anyone help me with everything i'd need including which operating system is best for media and gaming.. and maybe even a good monitor as well.. don't really know my budget cause im gonna buy it all gradually, although the cheaper is always better :P

grmnasasin0227

OS really comes down to what you feel like, the battle continues between Vista and XP (I'm an XP man myself). Vista allows DirectX10 for better graphics, but I'm too lazy/scared to switch over from all the horror stories.
For a good future proof (don't jump on me about my term usage) you're going to want an X38 motherboard, they're cheaper than X48 and X48 doesn't really offer anything new. These boards allow for multiple video cards, which is always a plus incase you want to buy another one later. For video cards if you're a gamer, there is no other option. Get a Radeon 4870. They're cheap, and outperform many Nividia setups by themselves. For a CPU (if you're a real gamer) you're going to want an E8400 or something from that family, they're pretty cheap and OC VERY well. If you're trying to future proof, get a Q6700, which also OC just as well (if not better) but they're not as useful for gaming because only half of it will be working at any one time. For RAM, I prefer DDR2, it's much cheaper than 3, and it would mean I'd need a new mobo if I switched. I would go no lower than 800 for speed, and you'll want 4GB's on it for capacity to be safe for gaming. G.Skill 1066 is a really hot kit going around now, and it's dirt cheap. For a single video card setup, get like a 550W PSU with a decent amount of amps on it (at least 36, preferably more). If you feel like you're going to be getting another video card for a total of 2, get something more like 800 (but no more than 1000W). For the case, it's completely up to you, just make sure it has plenty of fans and is large enough to house everything.

I think that covers it, good luck!

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J-Love

Hey.. i've been attempting to put together a compatible build and this is what i came up with.. can anyone tell me if this is any good??

I will be using it for gaming (playing new releases and would like it if i was able to keep up with future releases for a while!!) and media (movies and music so need alot of space).

Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad Pro Q6600
Motherboard: Asus Rampage Formula Intel X48
Ram: OCZ 4GB (2x2GB) PC-8500C5 1066mhz Reaper HPC Edition DDR2
Graphics Card: Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 4850 512mb GDDR3 PCI-Express
HardDrive: Samsung SpinPoint F1 1TB Sata-II 32MB Cache
Optical Drive: LG GGW-H20L Blu-Ray ReWriter & HD-DVD Rom
Cooler: Asus Silent Square Pro CPU Cooler
Case: Coolermaster RC-1000 Cosmos Silent Full Tower Case
Power Supply: Akasa AK-P085FG-BK 850W PowerMax PSU
Monitor: Hyundai ImageQuest N91W 19" Widescreen LCD Monitor
Operating System: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit

Overall this comes to around £1200 plus delivery.

Also because this is my first build, I have probably made many mistakes in thinking things are good, or probably missed something out that I would need to get, either way.. Please feel free to comment on my attempted build and if you think you can keep within £1200 and make it better, then please do so!

grmnasasin0227

Did I not just say in my last post that if you're a gamer, get a dual core? Get an E8400 and OC that puppy to 4.0GHz. And are you going to to be CF'ing, or just using a single card? If you're going to CF, get an X38, if you only want 1 card, get a P35/45. Also, did I not just say that X38 is more efficient than X48? Get a DFI, get the best OC'ing there is. If you're a gamer, you'd better be getting a straight up 4870, not a 50 if you want any hope of this machine being viable in the future. Also, your PSU is overkill, get a 550W and be happy. I would also suggest G.Skill 2x2GB 1066 for a better OC than OCZ can deliver. Other than that, enjoy!

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conductor609

Listen to this man.

Also, you might wanna swap that cpu cooler for a Tuniq Tower, Xigmatek S1283, or a TRUE (thermalright ultra 120 extreme). Other than that, looks great.

Oh, and I'd keep the quad personally. I don't think you'll notice the difference between a quad at 3.2 and a dual at 4.0, or atleast I don't when it comes to gaming.

lhowatt

Id go with a corsair power supply. Also are you going to be able to afford this?

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grmnasasin0227

I would suggest the Corsair 520W, it has plenty of rails and amperage to power a healthy video card. Also, I'd still wait until games are truly threaded for quads before investing in them unless you're a number crunching, or half of your CPU will be sitting on its hands.

HINT: wait until August for sure to buy this rig, Intel is making lots of price cuts on dual cores, so E8400 = crazy affordable.

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J-Love

Thanks guys, I changed my cpu cooler to a ..Tuniq Tower 120-LFB CPU Cooler.. and will change my power supply, but will a 520w power supply run two 4870's? (i changed from the 4850's) and 8gb of ram? with possibly another 1tb hd eventually being put in if space gets tight..

my reason behind getting a Q6600 instead of a dual core is that i thought it would last longer for the future?? also i went for an x48 motherboard because again, i thought it would be a better choice for the future? also the products are around the same price range, maybe like £30 difference between an x38 and an x48

I really don't know about these things, im just going by what i'd expect to be better :P what i want this pc to do is.. be able to play up to date games for a while to come.. use it as a media centre as well.. (will have it rigged up to a stereo for the music and a hdtv for watching movies, so need alot of storage) and be able to run tasks like converting and editing media (so it doesnt slow down the pc when doing them)

kaivorth

Stick wit the X48, its a die shrink of the X38, for little to no cost increase. Get the TX750w Corsair PSU. Your Q6600 is fine. 4GB of RAM is nice, look for the 800mhz version instead of the listed 1066mhz for a cheaper amount. The Blu-Ray rewriter drive, I didn't see that one coming. Keep that only if you are going to be watching blu-ray movies. Otherwise get a $30 SATA drive.

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J-Love

just been looking at the ram.. is this good enough for £130..

OCZ 8GB (4x2GB) PC2-6400C5 800MHz Quad Channel Platinum Low Latency XTC Series DDR2 (OCZ2P8008GQ