Planning a New Gaming Rig

R Edwards · 26-03-2008, 12:44 PM

I have been saving frantically for the last 6 months to gather funds for a decent gaming computer. I have been running on crap hardware since I can remember and really am in desperate need of an upgrade. I have a little more waiting to do, mainly for parts to come out and current items to come into stock. The items I am looking at are as follows, but I am torn between either getting a DDR2 option or going for the DDR3 option for future compatibility:

Case: Antec P190 Gaming Case.

Motherboard (DDR2 Spec): EVGA nForce 780i SLI nForce 780i ATX.

Motherboard (DDR3 Spec): XFX nForce 790i Ultra SLI ATX.

Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 2.66GHz.

Memory (DDR2 Spec): OCZ 4GB (2x2GB) PC2-8500C5 1066MHz Reaper HPC Edition.

Memory (DDR3 Spec): OCZ 4GB DDR3 PC3-10666C7 1333MHz.

Graphics Card/s: nVidia 9800GTX (when they are released, will eventually get two).

Hard Drive/s: Western Digital Raptor 150GB and Seagate Barracuda 1TB.

Optical Drives: LG Blu-Ray & HD-DVD Reader and Samsung DVD±RW.

Sound Card: Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi 7.1 XtremeMusic.

Operating System: Microsoft Windows Vista x64 OEM.

That is all of the parts I have looked at and think are a good choice, all are compatible to my knowledge. Please let me know what you think, if it will be a decent gaming system and if I should go DDR2 or DDR3.

Cheers.

MercyFlush · 26-03-2008, 02:09 PM

personally i would recommend this case, the antec nine hundred. i have this one, and it is by far the best case i have ever used. as for the motherboard and DDR3 specs, i think that if you have the money, you may as well go for it. it never hurts to be future-proof. and now that the 9800s are out (the GX2s) you may as well just get those, since there isn't going to be much difference between those and any higher end versions, as no games today can even make those cards lag at all. even crysis at max settings runs nearly perfectly on 2 of those running in SLI. oh and the link for your soundcard sends you to the DVD burner.
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic 7.1 Sound Card - OEM (30SB046000000)
i think thats the link you wanted.

MercyFlush · 26-03-2008, 02:11 PM

oh and to answer your last question, yes that will be a "Decent" gaming rig. that thing will be one of the best rigs i have ever seen or heard of. i dont even want to know how my rig compares to it in 3Dmark, or any other benchmarking program, and i have a really nice computer

R Edwards · 26-03-2008, 03:11 PM

I was thinking of getting a nVidia 9800GX2 but I did a little research and it is barely better then the nVidia 8800 Ultra, in some cases it really under performs. It is essentially two nVidia 8800GTs strapped together so I think the later nVidia 9800GTXs will be better performing, if not then I can go with the nVidia 9800GX2s. I think I might go for DDR2 and overclock them to save on some money, as I think so far DDR3 is massively over priced when DDR2 can reach almost the same speeds with overclocking. You reckon these are some smart decisions or have I missed a valid point? I will obviously be upgrading in the future like everyone else will, when the 32nm processors come out and they will have 8 cores! Till then I think my PC will be sufficient.

Cheers for the advise on the case. Is there anything wrong with the P190?

MercyFlush · 27-03-2008, 12:17 AM

nah theres nothing wrong with it i dont think, but i read a review on it somewhere and it didnt get quite as good a ranking as the antec 900 did. if i remembered where i saw the review id let you know. but anyways, the 900 is a great case and is pretty easy to get into and upgrade, since all you have to do is pop out a couple thumbscrews and you can easily access everything. and as for the 9800GX2 basically being 2 8800 ultras strapped together, who doesn't want quad sli? haha. but yeah id hold off on buying the 9800GX2 til the GTX specs come out actually. never hurts to wait a bit longer

MercyFlush · 27-03-2008, 12:20 AM

once again, forgot to add something. the P190 case is a bit quieter than the 900 because of all the sound dampeners and stuff that it has in it, but if you dont mind a bit of noise, the 900 (this is just my opinion) is a better case. plus, its dead sexy compared to the p190

R Edwards · 27-03-2008, 08:02 AM

I have done a little more research into the nVidia 9 series and it seems that people are getting the feeling that it is just a slight revamp of the older nVidia 8 series. Which is a massive disappointment. The 9800GX2 is kind of a let down, and is massively over priced. It does perform well, but if you look at the same sort of setup with two nVidia 8800GTs in SLI then the benchmarks are almost the same. Quad SLI sounds good but I would love to know if it will still be better then the upcoming nVidia 9800GTXs in SLI.
I really hope nVidia hurry up and release those new nVidia 9 series cards as releasing the nVidia 9600s and the nVidia 9800GX2s seems like they have missed everything into middle of the two. I would have thought they would release the lower end first then work their way up.
I think I might hang fire for a bit and perhaps purchase my computer in Mid to Late May. This gives me some extra less stressful saving time and lets nVidia get those new cards out in the next month or so. Then we can have a look at the results of the benchmarks and the GPU Details.

MercyFlush · 27-03-2008, 11:44 AM

thats definetly a better idea i think. but considering how much power the newest gfx cards have, its going to become harder and harder for the companies to make their cards much better. the 10 series is probably going to be even better when it finally comes out. but still, dont wait for those. knowing nvidia, that could be a few years

26-03-2008, 12:44 PM	#1 (permalink) Top
R Edwards Geek Trainee Join Date: Mar 2008 Gender: Male Posts: 12 Times Helpful: 1 My Mood: Angelic Status: Offline My Computer	Planning a New Gaming Rig I have been saving frantically for the last 6 months to gather funds for a decent gaming computer. I have been running on crap hardware since I can remember and really am in desperate need of an upgrade. I have a little more waiting to do, mainly for parts to come out and current items to come into stock. The items I am looking at are as follows, but I am torn between either getting a DDR2 option or going for the DDR3 option for future compatibility: Case: Antec P190 Gaming Case. Motherboard (DDR2 Spec): EVGA nForce 780i SLI nForce 780i ATX. Motherboard (DDR3 Spec): XFX nForce 790i Ultra SLI ATX. Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 2.66GHz. Memory (DDR2 Spec): OCZ 4GB (2x2GB) PC2-8500C5 1066MHz Reaper HPC Edition. Memory (DDR3 Spec): OCZ 4GB DDR3 PC3-10666C7 1333MHz. Graphics Card/s: nVidia 9800GTX (when they are released, will eventually get two). Hard Drive/s: Western Digital Raptor 150GB and Seagate Barracuda 1TB. Optical Drives: LG Blu-Ray & HD-DVD Reader and Samsung DVD±RW. Sound Card: Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi 7.1 XtremeMusic. Operating System: Microsoft Windows Vista x64 OEM. That is all of the parts I have looked at and think are a good choice, all are compatible to my knowledge. Please let me know what you think, if it will be a decent gaming system and if I should go DDR2 or DDR3. Cheers. Last edited by R Edwards; 26-03-2008 at 04:05 PM.

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26-03-2008, 02:09 PM	#2 (permalink) Top
MercyFlush Big Geek Join Date: Jan 2008 Gender: Male Posts: 102 Times Helpful: 10 My Mood: Tired Status: Offline My Computer	personally i would recommend this case, the antec nine hundred. i have this one, and it is by far the best case i have ever used. as for the motherboard and DDR3 specs, i think that if you have the money, you may as well go for it. it never hurts to be future-proof. and now that the 9800s are out (the GX2s) you may as well just get those, since there isn't going to be much difference between those and any higher end versions, as no games today can even make those cards lag at all. even crysis at max settings runs nearly perfectly on 2 of those running in SLI. oh and the link for your soundcard sends you to the DVD burner. Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic 7.1 Sound Card - OEM (30SB046000000) i think thats the link you wanted.

26-03-2008, 02:11 PM	#3 (permalink) Top
MercyFlush Big Geek Join Date: Jan 2008 Gender: Male Posts: 102 Times Helpful: 10 My Mood: Tired Status: Offline My Computer	oh and to answer your last question, yes that will be a "Decent" gaming rig. that thing will be one of the best rigs i have ever seen or heard of. i dont even want to know how my rig compares to it in 3Dmark, or any other benchmarking program, and i have a really nice computer

26-03-2008, 03:11 PM	#4 (permalink) Top
R Edwards Geek Trainee Join Date: Mar 2008 Gender: Male Posts: 12 Times Helpful: 1 My Mood: Angelic Status: Offline My Computer	I was thinking of getting a nVidia 9800GX2 but I did a little research and it is barely better then the nVidia 8800 Ultra, in some cases it really under performs. It is essentially two nVidia 8800GTs strapped together so I think the later nVidia 9800GTXs will be better performing, if not then I can go with the nVidia 9800GX2s. I think I might go for DDR2 and overclock them to save on some money, as I think so far DDR3 is massively over priced when DDR2 can reach almost the same speeds with overclocking. You reckon these are some smart decisions or have I missed a valid point? I will obviously be upgrading in the future like everyone else will, when the 32nm processors come out and they will have 8 cores! Till then I think my PC will be sufficient. Cheers for the advise on the case. Is there anything wrong with the P190?

27-03-2008, 12:17 AM	#5 (permalink) Top
MercyFlush Big Geek Join Date: Jan 2008 Gender: Male Posts: 102 Times Helpful: 10 My Mood: Tired Status: Offline My Computer	nah theres nothing wrong with it i dont think, but i read a review on it somewhere and it didnt get quite as good a ranking as the antec 900 did. if i remembered where i saw the review id let you know. but anyways, the 900 is a great case and is pretty easy to get into and upgrade, since all you have to do is pop out a couple thumbscrews and you can easily access everything. and as for the 9800GX2 basically being 2 8800 ultras strapped together, who doesn't want quad sli? haha. but yeah id hold off on buying the 9800GX2 til the GTX specs come out actually. never hurts to wait a bit longer

27-03-2008, 12:20 AM	#6 (permalink) Top
MercyFlush Big Geek Join Date: Jan 2008 Gender: Male Posts: 102 Times Helpful: 10 My Mood: Tired Status: Offline My Computer	once again, forgot to add something. the P190 case is a bit quieter than the 900 because of all the sound dampeners and stuff that it has in it, but if you dont mind a bit of noise, the 900 (this is just my opinion) is a better case. plus, its dead sexy compared to the p190

27-03-2008, 08:02 AM	#7 (permalink) Top
R Edwards Geek Trainee Join Date: Mar 2008 Gender: Male Posts: 12 Times Helpful: 1 My Mood: Angelic Status: Offline My Computer	I have done a little more research into the nVidia 9 series and it seems that people are getting the feeling that it is just a slight revamp of the older nVidia 8 series. Which is a massive disappointment. The 9800GX2 is kind of a let down, and is massively over priced. It does perform well, but if you look at the same sort of setup with two nVidia 8800GTs in SLI then the benchmarks are almost the same. Quad SLI sounds good but I would love to know if it will still be better then the upcoming nVidia 9800GTXs in SLI. I really hope nVidia hurry up and release those new nVidia 9 series cards as releasing the nVidia 9600s and the nVidia 9800GX2s seems like they have missed everything into middle of the two. I would have thought they would release the lower end first then work their way up. I think I might hang fire for a bit and perhaps purchase my computer in Mid to Late May. This gives me some extra less stressful saving time and lets nVidia get those new cards out in the next month or so. Then we can have a look at the results of the benchmarks and the GPU Details.

27-03-2008, 11:44 AM	#8 (permalink) Top
MercyFlush Big Geek Join Date: Jan 2008 Gender: Male Posts: 102 Times Helpful: 10 My Mood: Tired Status: Offline My Computer	thats definetly a better idea i think. but considering how much power the newest gfx cards have, its going to become harder and harder for the companies to make their cards much better. the 10 series is probably going to be even better when it finally comes out. but still, dont wait for those. knowing nvidia, that could be a few years

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