I'm wanting to make a killer gaming rig.. Just the tower..

What would you guys suggest?

I would suggest buying a fast processor.


And get some of those RAM thingys.....

Western Digital Raptors, everything else is negotiable. I've got the 74 gig versions but a 150 gig is out now that's supposed to be pretty slick.

Quoted: I would suggest buying a fast processor. And get some of those RAM thingys.....

I was thinking ram with those light thingies! They look tits!

Quoted: Quoted: I would suggest buying a fast processor. And get some of those RAM thingys..... I was thinking ram with those light thingies! They look tits!

How could I forget the light thingies !??!?!  DEFINITELY get some of those !

Prebuilt or you gonna roll your own?

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: I would suggest buying a fast processor. And get some of those RAM thingys..... I was thinking ram with those light thingies! They look tits! How could I forget the light thingies !??!?!  DEFINITELY get some of those !

I saw them at Blizzcon! And my heart stopped! I have to have them!

Ill roll my own.. just need some starter ideas! Intel or amd?

I'll stop crapping in your thread and give you a serious response.

I have been an AMD fan for a LONG time, but the Intels, as much as I hate say it, are  ahead in terms of pure performance. If money is no object, your fastest machines will be Intel (right now) . AMD still rules in the mid range, bang for your buck sytems, since they are competing on price mostly these days.


For a Gaming Rig, the video card is usually more important than the CPU. Buy the biggest baddest card you can afford. Hell, buy 2 of them and run them in SLI mode. You can easily spend $500 - $600 per card for a high end graphics card.

zipzoomfly.com
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 $285

newegg.com
Maxtor DiamondMax 21 STM3500630AS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
Item #: N82E16822144450

$99.99

Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model BL2KIT12864AA1065 - Retail
Item #: N82E16820148069


$159.99

ASUS P5K LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Item #: N82E16813131180

$139.99

EVGA 320-P2-N815-AR GeForce 8800GTS 320MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card - Retail
Item #: N82E16814130038

$350

Rosewill RT650-135-BK 650W SLI Ready, ATX12V v2.2 Power Supply - Retail
Item #: N82E16817182077

$85

total, about $1000

+ your case and optical drive and watercooling or heatpipe based aircooling.

You can also replace the high speed ram for ddr2 800. But I like it fast, for more stable overclocking.

The raptor is one of the few absolutes in the gaming world right now.

Arguements like SLI vs Crossfire, Nvidia vs ATI, AMD vs Intel, Asus vs Abit(Fatal1ty FTW) etc.  will probably always exist. Hence my statement.

I don't recall at any time suggesting skimping on a video card. I believe the intent of the OP was to determine the best hardware out there. Since I own any 600-$700 video cards I felt it would be best to speak on what I have the most personal experience with.

Quoted: The raptor is one of the few absolutes in the gaming world right now. Arguements like SLI vs Crossfire, Nvidia vs ATI, AMD vs Intel, Asus vs Abit(Fatal1ty FTW) etc.  will probably always exist. Hence my statement. I don't recall at any time suggesting skimping on a video card. I believe the intent of the OP was to determine the best hardware out there. Since I own any 600-$700 video cards I felt it would be best to speak on what I have the most personal experience with.

I get what you're saying.
I'm just making sure the OP gets his money's worth.
I run RAID 0 with two SATA II drives and the difference is amaz.....  hardly notiable.

Quoted: zipzoomfly.com Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 $285 newegg.com Maxtor DiamondMax 21 STM3500630AS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM Item #: N82E16822144450 $99.99 Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model BL2KIT12864AA1065 - Retail Item #: N82E16820148069 $159.99 ASUS P5K LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail Item #: N82E16813131180 $139.99 EVGA 320-P2-N815-AR GeForce 8800GTS 320MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card - Retail Item #: N82E16814130038 $350 Rosewill RT650-135-BK 650W SLI Ready, ATX12V v2.2 Power Supply - Retail Item #: N82E16817182077 $85 total, about $1000 + your case and optical drive and watercooling or heatpipe based aircooling. You can also replace the high speed ram for ddr2 800. But I like it fast, for more stable overclocking.

Thanks!

I got to meet the guy that your avatar is based on..

Quoted: Quoted: zipzoomfly.com Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 $285 newegg.com Maxtor DiamondMax 21 STM3500630AS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM Item #: N82E16822144450 $99.99 Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model BL2KIT12864AA1065 - Retail Item #: N82E16820148069 $159.99 ASUS P5K LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail Item #: N82E16813131180 $139.99 EVGA 320-P2-N815-AR GeForce 8800GTS 320MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card - Retail Item #: N82E16814130038 $350 Rosewill RT650-135-BK 650W SLI Ready, ATX12V v2.2 Power Supply - Retail Item #: N82E16817182077 $85 total, about $1000 + your case and optical drive and watercooling or heatpipe based aircooling. You can also replace the high speed ram for ddr2 800. But I like it fast, for more stable overclocking. Thanks! I got to meet the guy that your avatar is based on..

He looks just like his avatar, Oh and ask him about his screen name.


I am considering building this system, just saving up a bit for it.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: zipzoomfly.com Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 $285 newegg.com Maxtor DiamondMax 21 STM3500630AS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM Item #: N82E16822144450 $99.99 Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model BL2KIT12864AA1065 - Retail Item #: N82E16820148069 $159.99 ASUS P5K LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail Item #: N82E16813131180 $139.99 EVGA 320-P2-N815-AR GeForce 8800GTS 320MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card - Retail Item #: N82E16814130038 $350 Rosewill RT650-135-BK 650W SLI Ready, ATX12V v2.2 Power Supply - Retail Item #: N82E16817182077 $85 total, about $1000 + your case and optical drive and watercooling or heatpipe based aircooling. You can also replace the high speed ram for ddr2 800. But I like it fast, for more stable overclocking. Thanks! I got to meet the guy that your avatar is based on.. He looks just like his avatar, Oh and ask him about his screen name. I am considering building this system, just saving up a bit for it.

From Blizzcon.. This was one of the pics that was up for auction..

Quoted: Mineral Oil Aquarium PC. www.pugetsystems.com/submerged.php

That's a pretty good idea

I wish I had the link but some dude built a PC with an ammo can as a case.

Quoted: I wish I had the link but some dude built a PC with an ammo can as a case.

I saw that one.. it was a 20mm can IIRC.

I just got a dual core Dell that I couldn't be happier with.
Check out "FatWallet.com". The site list many deals including computers, it's a message board with no affiliations.
Dell has had a "build a 1000 dollar rig and get 350 off" off and on for a while.
I dropped the monitor on mine and added other goodies up to 1000 and paid around 700, with a surge protector/power back up.

McNasty:

Use your imagination with the case.  I built my server inside of a South African 50BMG ammo can. Good shielding, and the top comes off in a second.

I am going to build the next one inside a 2 cubic foot refrigerator...


Lem

Avoid: Dell, Gateway, Acer

Choices: HP, Sony, and even the budge-priced eMachine is pretty decent

Asus P5K Premium/Deluxe + Intel Core 2 Quad

That's what I would do if I had $500 laying around.

Intel C2D and overclock the shit out of it.  Though focus more on the video card(s) as the new games are real monsters graphically. Your best bet is an NVidia 8800GTS or maybe 2 in sli.  Minimum of 2gigs of good to great ram, plan on 4 in the near future.  Don’t skimp on your PSU.  Hardware is becoming power hungry, and sometimes sensitive to the quality of the power.  Usually not a problem when running at stock speeds, but can become unstable when OC’ed.  Not to mention if it gets f’ed up it can take every bit of hardware in your comp with it.

Check out all the computer hardware forums you can find.  If this is your first try at high end comps, you have lots to learn.  Find out what combos work best and learn to get every once of power out of your components.  Most of the hardware is very similar and sometimes the only difference is the settings they come with from the factory.  

Guru3d
OCforum

If you truely want the best bang for the $ and a high end comp, you will need to spend at least a week or more surfing forums like these.  

Also keep an eye to the future.  Changes tend to come in waves and can leave you stuck a generation behind in 3 months.  Especially if there is a format change and little to no backwards compatibility.

Quoted: Avoid: Dell, Gateway, Acer Choices: HP, Sony, and even the budge-priced eMachine is pretty decent

Avoid Dell but get an HP or Sony???

Yeah, brilliant advice.

Quoted: Check out all the computer hardware forums you can find.  If this is your first try at high end comps, you have lots to learn.  Find out what combos work best and learn to get every once of power out of your components.  Most of the hardware is very similar and sometimes the only difference is the settings they come with from the factory.   Guru3d OCforum If you truely want the best bang for the $ and a high end comp, you will need to spend at least a week or more surfing forums like these.

Ars Technica is another good one.

Let me suggest a case: Antec Nine Hundred.  It is the best case I have ever used.  Big giant fans mean it is super quiet and cool.  All the blue lights make it look good also.


This is what I built a few months ago:

Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6600 -   $308.00

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM  $134.99

ASUS P5N32-E SLI LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail $209.99

Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail $129.99

BFG Tech BFGR88640GTSOCE GeForce 8800GTS 640MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail $419.99

CORSAIR XMS2 DOMINATOR 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X2048-6400C4D - Retail
$215.00

LITE-ON 16X DVD±R DVD Burner With LightScribe and 5X DVD-RAM Write Black ATAPI/E-IDE Model SHM-165H6S - OEM $30.99



If I had to do it again and if money was no object I would upgrade the MOBO to the Asus Striker Extreme and whatever RAM was on their QVL list to go with it.  The RAM/MOBO combo I bought above had some compatibility issues that caused me to spend more time fiddling with the BIOS than I would have liked.

Also, for what I paid for my CPU you could get a faster one now.