Gaming PC

[MiserySyndrome]

Sorry if i posted this in the wrong category (i thought it was games, because it handles about the "gaming")
Well,
I am looking for a computer for gaming only.
Until now, my number one PC is this one: Acer Predator
But the price is kinda high... It's € 2500 ($ 3500)
So I was wondering.
Why don't I make one myself?
These are the specs of the predator (G7700)



OS: Windows Vista Home Premium (Maybe I use the other part of the drive with XP)
Processor: Intel Core i7 processor Extreme Edition with Intel X58 chipset chipset (3.33 GHz)
System memory: Supports DDRIII 1066/1333 up to a maximum of 12 GB (three-channel support of six DIMMs)
Graphics: 3x PCI Express 16x Graphics expansion slots offering a choice to approved ATI or nVidia graphic cards
Audio: HD (7.1) and EAX 4.0 audio support
2nd Generation Dolby Home Theater 4 audio enchancement, featuring Dolby Digital, Dolby Pro Logic IIx, Dolby Headphone, Dolby Sound Space Expander and Dolby Digital Love technologies5
I/O Interface: 18-in-1 memory card reader for Sony® Memory Stick, Memory Stick PROTM, CompactFlashTM Type I, CompactFlashTM Type II, SmartMedia (SM),
Secure Digital (SD), MultiMediaCard (MMC) and xD Card. (plus 1 USB port in front)
. Audio connections: Six audio jacks 7.1 channel support (rear), Lin Out - MIC In (front)
. 10/100/1000 Network Connection
. 6 USB2 ports in back and 5 USB2 ports in front
. PS2/USB Keyboard port, PS2/USB Optical/Ball Mouse port.
. 1 Firewire 1394 port
HDD: Up to 4 serial ATA hard disk, each up to 1 TB, supported in a Hotswap drive cage. Supports RAID 0, 1, 0+1 and 5
Optical Station: SuperMulti DVD RW with Labelflash™ technology and Blu-ray Disc™ optical drive (optional)
Expansion slots: 1 x 8XPCI, 2 x 1X PCIE, 3 x 16X PCIE
Size: 190(W) x 490(D) x 430(H)
Software: Adobe® Reader® 7.0, McAfee Internet Security Suite 2008 (60-day trial), Acer Arcade Live, Acer Empowering Technology, eSobi™, Acer
Gamezone, NTI Media Maker
EMI/Security: CE, FCC, BSMI, CCC, ETL, Nemko, C-tick, UL, VCCI

Then there are 2 sorts of this.
One costs € 1599 the other € 2599

€ 1599 version:
Genuine Windows VistaHome Premium , Intel® Core™i7 processor i7-920, Intel® X58 Express
chipset, NVIDIA® GTX285 1024MB DDR 3 2x DVI, 6GB DDR3 SDRAM 1066MHz (3x 2GB), 2TB HDD
7200rpm (2x1000GB), Liquid cooling, swap cage HDD 4x, Blu-ray ROM, DVD-RW Dual Layer, 750
Watt power supply, incl. Belgium Azerty Logitech G11 keyboard & G5 laser mouse, color Copper
Metallic

€2599 version:
Legitieme Windows VistaHome Premium , Intel® Core™ i7-940 processor, Intel® X58 Express chipset,
2x NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX260 896MB DDR 3 4x DVI, 12GB DDR 3 SDRAM 1600MHz (6x 2GB), 1x
150GB Raptor 10Krpm strip 0, 2TB HDD 7200rpm (2x 1000GB), Liquid cooling, swap cage HDD 4x,
Blu-ray Combo, DVD-RW Dual Layer, 750 Watt power supply, incl. Belgium Azerty Logitech G11
keyboard & G5 laser mouse, color Copper Metallic .



I don't know if i should buy it, or try and build one myself.
Hope anybody can give some good support.
Thanks in advance

 

[MrNeeds]

unless you know exactly what you are doing, i would leave the building to the pros, i build comps myself, but i wouldnt even know where to start with liquid cooling, unless you have a family member or friend that can build it for you, i wouldnt even attempt it, its a lot of money to just throw away if you mess it up.

 

[MiserySyndrome]

unless you know exactly what you are doing, i would leave the building to the pros, i build comps myself, but i wouldnt even know where to start with liquid cooling, unless you have a family member or friend that can build it for you, i wouldnt even attempt it, its a lot of money to just throw away if you mess it up.

That's what a friend of me told me as well, becuase I see the graphic card are expensive.
I learn informatics at school (passed my first year) and learned how a computer is built, what each part is, etc etc.
But i never build one myself...
So I was wondering why not trying.
but don't you think it's too expensive for a computer? (opinion please) or is it worth it?
And also, what exacltly is the difference between the two G7700's?

 

[thepizzaman]

um.... i'd get the acer preditor if i had the $....... they build good stuff.... and i think its pretty good price for one......
and as to two g7700's i have no idea...

 

[MiserySyndrome]

um.... i'd get the acer preditor if i had the $....... they build good stuff.... and i think its pretty good price for one......
and as to two g7700's i have no idea...

But there's another thing hoding me back...
a lot of ppl are getting this "Driver didn't respond and is now restored" error
Is there a change to have this on that pc too?

 

[AstaLaVista]

um.... i'd get the acer preditor if i had the $....... they build good stuff.... and i think its pretty good price for one......
and as to two g7700's i have no idea...

But there's another thing hoding me back...
a lot of ppl are getting this "Driver didn't respond and is now restored" error
Is there a change to have this on that pc too?

This is usually do because of installing w/o having Higer privileges (right click on file and "Run as Administrator) an/or people trying to use the wrong drivers (ie: 32 bit drivers on a 64 bit OS or viceversa).

Building a computer is easy, knowing were each wire and cable goes connected onto the mobo is the trick and I did messed up my mobo once because of it. Now, water cooling... that is an entirely different monster.

If you have a friend in the business or a friend who has build a few pc's, you should talk to him, pay him something if you must but you must be clear to him that he's gotta teach you so you can do it next time... Yes, you will need to do it in about 2 or 3 years when your shiny new rig is already obsolete

 

[skunksmash]

building your own rig is far from complex, dont buy a pre-built unit....... you might as well chuck your cash down the toilet

if your knowledge is a little lacking, Google is your friend...


i built my fist PC about 4 years ago.....& i had no help except from my buddy Google, since then ive lost count how many ive built for myself & others.....

& we will be here to guide you also......

 

[thepizzaman]

building your own rig is far from complex, dont buy a pre-built unit....... you might as well chuck your cash down the toilet

if your knowledge is a little lacking, Google is your friend...


i built my fist PC about 4 years ago.....& i had no help except from my buddy Google, since then ive lost count how many ive built for myself & others.....

& we will be here to guide you also......

very true :D

 

[Frostmourne]

The 1600 one is fine. Assuming you game at 1920x1200, any higher and the 285 will struggle. Price is OK, but you can easily build one yourself.

 

[stoneys-nutz]

Hello MiserySyndrome,
If you don't want a compromise, then build you own, you can have a computer built to your own specification, not somebody else's.
If your not sure about some part or other, there are hundreds of tutorials out there and a forum full of people here, who will help.
I would never buy a pre-built PC again.
If there is anything you need help with just ask.
Good luck and keep us up to date if you decide to build your own.

 

[roy69]

When I built my computer over two years ago it cost me £1400. The same computer in the shops cost at the time £1980.

Also you can upgrade as you like, you do not need to buy two gfx cards right away if you are short of cash, however ensure your mobo can handle two.

My system still plays new games with near max settings.

It is also more fun to build your own, as has been said we are here to help.

Do your research and download all the drivers for the equipment you are going to buy in advance. This will make the installation process of Vista or Windows 7 if you want to wait alot easyer.

Also download and burn SP1 and 2 for vista.

 

[thepizzaman]

and.... if you do decide to build your own.....
don't mess with water cooling right now.... air cooling will do just fine :D just get a good case like the coolermaster haf 932 case

 

[MiserySyndrome]

At the moment i'm short on cash to buy a computer.
I also found some tutorials on YouTube and stuff.
But I'm just wondering what parts should I get?
I mean, what's a very good processor, motherboard, graphics card, RAM, HDD, etc.
That's actually one thing I'm afraid of buying 'the wrong one'

 

[thepizzaman]

hm..... good cpu......
Phenom II 955 :D
and.. mobo........ asus M4A79 mobo
taht kinda thing :D

 

[roy69]

The main thing to look for.

Find a good graphic card that you want, check if it is sli compatable.

Find a good processor that you want.

Decide on the mobo, ensuring it will support the CPU and DDR3 memory.

Get 6mb(just my opinion) of ram 3x2gb sticks. Ensure the sticks of ram are identical and are for DDR3.

Get 1 or 2 500gb HD`s You can use raid if you want for speed or keep it simple and have the two drives as C:\ and D:\

Get yourself a good sound card, dont rely on the onboard sound from the mobo.

Get yourself a good set of speakers, 5.1 minimum for gaming.

Now an important part, get a good PSU. DO NOT GET A CHEAP one.

Decide on the case.

Decide on the monitor but 22" widescreen is the smallest you want to go for. 1 or 2 monitors.

Get any keyboard and mouse (these can be upgraded when you hame more money).

I would recommend doing it in the order that I have listed.
When getting the case check for cooling and also where the cables can be channeled. The cables being tied up will help with cooling.

 

[thepizzaman]

The main thing to look for.

Find a good graphic card that you want, check if it is sli compatable.

Find a good processor that you want.

Decide on the mobo, ensuring it will support the CPU and DDR3 memory.

Get 6mb(just my opinion) of ram 3x2gb sticks. Ensure the sticks of ram are identical and are for DDR3.

Get 1 or 2 500gb HD`s You can use raid if you want for speed or keep it simple and have the two drives as C:\ and D:\

Get yourself a good sound card, dont rely on the onboard sound from the mobo.

Get yourself a good set of speakers, 5.1 minimum for gaming.

Now an important part, get a good PSU. DO NOT GET A CHEAP one.

Decide on the case.

Decide on the monitor but 22" widescreen is the smallest you want to go for. 1 or 2 monitors.

Get any keyboard and mouse (these can be upgraded when you hame more money).

I would recommend doing it in the order that I have listed.
When getting the case check for cooling and also where the cables can be channeled. The cables being tied up will help with cooling.

um i wouldnt do ddr3 its still slower than some ddr2

 

[roy69]

ddr3 is just my opinion if you find ddr2 that works out faster then go for that.
The reason I advised ddr3 is for future proofing. The reported ram speed may be slightly slower but 3 sticks working together will be faster than 2 in the future.

 

[thepizzaman]

hm... true...... but as soon as he buys it it will be outdated anyway :D haha.....
in that case.... this is my overall recommendation
for you case i would get this
Cooler Master HAF 932 Full Tower Black Case RC-932-KKN1-GP at TigerDirect.com
one of the best cases
for cpu i would get this
AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Quad Core Processor - 3.20GHz, Socket AM3, 6MB Cache, 2000MHz (4000 MTs) FSB, Retail, Processor with Fan HDZ955FBGIBOX at TigerDirect.com
for mobo this is a good choice
ASUS M4A79T Deluxe Motherboard - AMD 790FX, Socket AM3, ATX, Audio, CrossFireX, PCI Express 2.0, Gigabit LAN, USB 2.0, SATA, RAID at TigerDirect.com
but if you don't want to go ddr3 there is a drr2 version of this mobo
for ddr3 this is good
Patriot Viper 4096MB PC12800 Dual Channel DDR3 Memory - 1600MHz, 4GB (2x2048MB), CL9 PGS34G1600ELK at TigerDirect.com
if you wanted ddr2 i'd go with patriot still and get the ddr2 line of the viper series
for gpu get two of these and crossfire them
Visiontek Radeon HD 4890 Video Card - 1024MB DDR5, PCI Express 2.0 x16, CrossFireX Ready, (Dual Link) Dual DVI, HDTV 900278 at TigerDirect.com
and for psu i'd get this
Corsair HX850W 850w Modular Power Supply - Single Rail, 80 Plus Silver CMPSU-850HX at TigerDirect.com
and there ya go that is what i'd build, as far as hdd and all i have no personal favorites....
:D

 

[roy69]

Id go for corsair on the PSU as well, I have one and the modular feature is a good idea.

 

[thepizzaman]

yes that modular feature is very nice because you can leave off the cables you don't need :D