OK, I am coming into a little money and want to build THE BEST GAMING COMPUTER I can...

I am somewhat versed in hardware and plan on building this thing solely myself as far as assembling the components. MB, CPU, RAM, HD, Video Card etc etc..

But I have been out of the loop, so I don't know what is best and I really don't have the time to do the required research from the ground up..

So, I want your suggestions for MP, CPU, RAM and Video Card.

In your opinion, what is the Best of the Best of the Best..

Money is no object....

Talk to me, Goose....

Well if money is no object, I would start with the Core 2 Extreme X6800. It's the fastest consumer processor out there right now, bar none. But it's about 1000 bucks, give or take. The Core 2 Duo E6700 is supposedly not that far behind it in performance, and is about half that price.

For video, I would get the 7950GX2. If you can spare the money, get two and run them in quad SLI. I've heard the quad sli drivers are kinda buggy, so you might hold off on that. Although that was a while ago. I haven't checked up on it lately, so maybe they're more stable now. Depending on where you get them, they range about $500-$600 each.

I'm a big ASUS motherboard fan, so I would recommend the P5W DH Deluxe. Newegg.com has them on sale through tomorrow (10/10) for $259.99.

For RAM, I would get 2GB of DDR2 PC6400, probably Corsair XMS2. More than that is just overkill, unless you do a lot of video editing, graphic design work, CAD, etc. Figure about $275-$300.

You didn't ask for HDD recommendations, but I would get a couple 150GB WD Raptors, and stripe them (RAID 0). Your loading times will be zippy quick. They're about $275-$300 a piece.

Get a beefy power supply. No less than 550W. 600W or more would be better.

Get a case with lots of space inside, and plenty of real estate for fans. You'll need them. Or just go liquid cooling.

That rig WILL OWN.

Thanx for the input.. I am pricing this out as we speak..

Is this thi memeory you are referering to:

Corsair pc-6400 ddr2-800 1gb
PC6400 DDR2-800 1GB - Corsair -- TWIN2X1024A-6400 -- (2pcs 512) - High Performance - Lifetime Manufacturer Warranty - Retail Pack
Dealer Part # 140573
Manuf Part # TWIN2X1024A-6400


Thanx again..

I also am having some issues finding a decent case. I want to check into a Liquid Cool system, but I am not sure if I need a case that supports that or what...

I have everything else priced and ready to order, including a 680 PSU.

The only think left hanging is the case and cooling system..

Any clue??


Thanx

Money is no object? You're such an elitist.



My suggestion would be not to spend all your money on a top of the line gaming system, but to build something that can handle all the newest game engines. As you know, anything top of the line today, will be somewhat outdated next year when the new games come out. I just feel that building a top of the line rig is a waste of your scoots. $500 for a video card? Crikey!

Maybe you could build two computers with that money, and I could use the second one. Then we can play some Madden online and I will take my liberal time smacking you around the field.



Or you can disregard my suggestions, as we all know you are fully capable of and try these sites:

http://www.abs.com/

http://www.gotapex.com/

http://www.falcon-nw.com/flash/

http://www.voodoopc.com/default.aspx

D

OK, if you want to build it yourself, do this. Go to Falcon-Northwest and configure a top of the line PC in the configurator and configure a Mach V computer. It should run around $10,000 with the 30 inch Apple monitor. Once you have it configured, go to NewEgg.com and price the same parts out there along with S&H. Buy your parts there and put it together. Remember though, that the preformance one would get with the FNW PC will be different from what you would actually build (they do some serious tweaks on them).

Well, here is what I priced out...

ASUS P5W Delux
Duo Core E6700
RAM PC6400 2G
7950 GX2
250 GIG Serial ATA
Power Supply


I am going to use my existing case that is already rigged up to a Window AC Unit, plus I am partial to my ratty keyboard and trackball..

Total cost for the above: $1,623

I'll be in hog heaven.. For at least a month or two, eh?

I did read on the VEGAS Forum that there are some issues with such a beefy machine and RavenShield. Anyone have any details??

Thanx again for all the heads up.

I think Raven Shield has issues with most machines.

Raven Shield has issues with dual core processors. You'll need to set it to run on only one of the cores. I'm not sure if there are issues with dual core Intel processors specifically, as I've not seen a post yet in the RvS forums concerning that. But there definitely is with AMD ones, and AMD has their own dual core optimizer. There is a third party dual core utility called WinLauncherXP that people were using until AMD released one of theirs. You can also set affinity using the task manager in Windows XP, but that didn't work for a lot of people.

Here is a thread about it:
http://forums.ubi.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/327106611/m/9021030954

But the Duo Core you recommended is an Intel, right??

It is Intel, and I can vouch for the diference it makes to multi tasking, games aren`t much faster as most aren`t optimised for even AMD dual cores let alone Intel Core Duo cpu`s.
Future games no doubt will take advantage of any dual core or even quad core so they are a good bet for future proofing, you should be able to run anything you throw at it without suffering any lack of power.
The problem Orbit mentions with AMD dual cores is caused by them not staying in sync, the optimiser is a fix for that.
I`ve had AMD cpu`s, I`ve had Intel cpu`s and I`ve had fewer stability problems with Intel, so I stick with them these days as I value a stable, bomproof system more than wringing the best possible frame rate out of it, the last thing I need is a crash while I`m making changes on a forum or editing member profiles.

Actually, the MAIN reason I want to update my system is for my map making. I sometimes have 2, maybe 3 UNREAL ED processes going and right now, it can take almost 30 secs or more to render complex brushes and SMs...

While the extra speed in games is a bonus to be sure, but it's my Map Making that is the driving force.

Sorry, I guess I missed your posts.

The memory I was referring to is the Corsair XMS2 PC2 6400, 2GB, here:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145590

Although if you're really going to have all those UnrealED processes going, you might actually consider more. More than 2GB isn't going to make a difference in your gaming, but it will with multitasking applications. You can always add more memory later though.

A 680 watt PSU would do nicely.

For liquid cooling, you just need to make sure that there's plenty of room for the tubing. There is no special case for that. I was looking into it for a while, but I'm not a hardcore overclocker, and the price was too much for what I would have got out of it. Fans work fine for me. Granted, liquid cooling would get rid of most of the fan noise, but you still need fans to move air in the case for the motherboard, memory, hard drives and whatever else you don't hook up to the cooling system. And you need a big 120mm fan or two for the cooling system radiator. You can get a water block for just about any PC part though, including northbridge, hard drives, video cards, etc. If I were to do a liquid cooling system, I'd use it for just the CPU, GPU and northbridge. Then I'd get an inlet fan blowing over my hard drives in the front of the case towards the rear, and an exit fan blowing out the back of my case.

Hay Orbit??

Are these recommendations still valid??

Woot Woot!!

I just placed my order for my new system...

Check this out!!!

ASUS P5W DH DELUXE/WIFI-AP Motherboard



eVGA 640-P2-N821-AR GeForce 8800GTS 640MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card



INTEL|C2D Duo Core 2 E6600 2.4ghz 775 4M LCache



4 GIGs CORSAIR XMS2 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)



Hanns·G HW-191DPB Black 19" 5ms DVI Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 700:1 Built in Speakers




Everything should be here by Fri!!!

Just think of the maps I will be able to churn out with this puppy!!!

Nice, it should handle the work with no problems, I bet you can't wait for friday.

Looks like a nice rig.

So do you need a second case just for the video card?

Yea, I am pretty pumped about it.

Question though...

Seems I neglected to get a CPU FAN for it.

Do I need to look for a FAN that fits the CPU or the MB or both??

Any suggestions on fans??


Thanx

Last time I bought a boxed CPU it came with a fan. Are you sure that yours does not?

My last tower I had multiple fans in there, CPU and case.

If its a retail box CPU, it should include a stock fan.

but if you ordered an OEM CPU then it wont.