Gaming PC for 1500

I'm trying to build the best gaming PC i can for about 1500, but i've never done it before. I'm debating between building my own and buying from like cyberpower or ibuypower. I'm torn atm between going with the i7-920 or a Q9550 or an E8500 something close to that. I'm usually a pretty big power user and run a small game server on the side, so i want the computer to have some balls. Also from a GPU standpoint i heard as far as single cards go that the ATI 4870 was the king of the hill. Is it better to do that or buy like a ATI 4850X2?

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Are you in the USA?

Do you already have a monitor, Windows, mouse, keyboard, speakers, etc?

Look at this thread for example. The guy came up with something excellent for $1500, including monitor. If you already have a monitor, you can use the money to upgrade from E8500 to Q9550.
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/ [...] g#t1864328

There's a PC Power & Cooling S75CF at Newegg for $70 after rebate.

The ATI 4870 X2 is king of the hill. OK, it's not a "single card" inside, but who cares

Message quoted 1 times
Message edited by aevm on 12-31-2008 at 03:46:23 AM

Reply to aevm

That red one does not say its an ATX, it says its an EPS 12V, I do not know if this is a problem though.

Reply to jeep11

aevm wrote :

Are you in the USA?

Do you already have a monitor, Windows, mouse, keyboard, speakers, etc?

Look at this thread for example. The guy came up with something excellent for $1500, including monitor. If you already have a monitor, you can use the money to upgrade from E8500 to Q9550.
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/ [...] g#t1864328

There's a PC Power & Cooling S75CF at Newegg for $70 after rebate.

The ATI 4870 X2 is king of the hill. OK, it's not a "single card" inside, but who cares

Yes I'm in the USA. I have a really nice SAMSUNG 42'' LCD but that's too big to attach to my computer, so i'm guessing ill get a monitor. Should probably pickup a gaming mouse/keyboard too... Speakers aren't a big deal. I''m guessing for gaming an E8500 is probably better since you can OC the **** out of it?

Reply to deafboy

What about after market cooling? Is water cooling needed?

Reply to deafboy

Nope. Unless you want to OC then I would recommend a aftermarket cooler.

Reply to jeep11

I have that red PC P&C 750W myself. No worries, it works fine with the usual components (I have a P35 MB, 8800GTX, Q6600, etc.).

A 42" TV with 1080p can play games at 1920x1080. That's very cool IMO, and I wouldn't buy a monitor in that case.
If it doesn't have 1080p then it probably runs at 1366x768. In that case I'd definitely want a monitor. A 22" runs at 1680x1050, usually, and a 24" at 1920x1200.

Read this to get some idea how various CPUs do in games:
http://www.legionhardware.com/docu [...] id=775&p=2

Yes the E8500 can be overclocked to about 4GHz, with a little luck and skill and a good cooler. The Q9550 can reach 3.4 GHz easily and 3.9 GHz with luck and skill. After-market cooling is needed for overclocking. The Xigmatek HDT-S1283 is excellent and doesn't cost that much.

Water cooling is only needed if you want a very high clock and silence and money is no object and you don't mind doing maintenance from time to time. Most people just stick with air cooling.

Reply to aevm

When you start OC'ing you need better cooling. Water cooling is the extreme method for a very hot setup. Sounds like the dual core is what you want, with a mild OC you will get over 3.5mhz easy.
With a high end GPU, you should get a 22 or 24" monitor. All the current Video cards in that range can push the resolution.
The PSU is one of the best out there and is a super deal right now, it's hard to reccomend anything else if you need a 750 watt unit.

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to alcattle

If I was to build a $1500.00 system, I'd build something like this.

Case: Thermaltake Armor Series VA8003BWS (URL)
Price: $159.99 (Before $30.00 rebate)
Special Note: Lots of room, 25CM fan on side panel

Motherboard: EVGA 750i SLI (URL)
Price $169.99 (before $30.00 rebate)
Special Note: SLI Capable (2 x PCIe 2.0), Sata connectors are right angled

Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 (URL)
Price: $187.99
Special Note: 2x Winner of Customer Choice Award - Processors - Desktops

CPU Cooler: ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 (URL)
Price: $26.99
Special Note: Top rated CPU Cooler on Newegg.ca & Newegg.com

Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 280 (URL)
Price: $374.99 (Before $30.00 rebate)
Special Note: Lifetime Warranty, if you don't care go with the BFG version for less money.

Ram: 2 x OCZ Reaper HPC 2 x 2GB (4GB) (URL)
Price: $64.99 (before $30.00 rebate)
Special Note: 1x Winner of Customer Choice Award - Desktop Memory

Power Supply: CORSAIR 750TX (URL)
Price: $119.99 (Before $30.00 rebate, $60.00 instant discount)
Special Note: Corsair is the Best Power Supply Manufacturer 2008 Voted by Custom PC’s readers

Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar 640GB (URL)
Price: $74.99
Special Note: Best Rated 400GB - 750GB Hard drive

Blu-Ray Player: LITE-ON Black 6X Blu-ray - Sata (URL)
Price: $104.99
Special Note: Burns CD's, DVD's, Reads everything!

Before Tax: $1,349.90 USD
After Tax & Shipping: $1,496.06 USD
Rebates: $140.00 USD
Shipping Zip Code Used: 90210

Hows this?, now this is the system I'd build, people will most likely disagree with the motherboard but I'm somewhat of an Nvidia / EVGA Fanboy. He doesn't have to use my system but this is what I'd be building if I had to make a PC below $1500.00 USD.

Newegg Wishlist

Final Specs: 8GB of ram, Blu-Ray Reader, GTX 280, E8500, 750W PSU, 640GB, Decent looking case.

Message edited by xTalent on 12-31-2008 at 04:19:12 AM

Reply to xTalent

So you're recommending the E8500 over the Q9550? I do some encoding on the side so i guess its not a bad idea. the 42'' IS 1080p but i'm letting my roommates use it atm so it might be a better idea to get a monitor. I probably will OC a bit. Would you recommend i get the 4870 and possibly setup a crossfire set later on or just get the 4870X2 now?

Reply to deafboy

I'd actually wait until the 295 is released and then base your system around that, but meh, do what you want.

The build aevm linked to is great, it's your choice, in terms of performance I have a feeling that his would beat mine slightly, but its your choice.

Message edited by xTalent on 12-31-2008 at 04:25:09 AM

Reply to xTalent

both CPUs are good, cost and usage is why we are thing of the dual core.

Same on the Video card, both are very good and can both handle the big monitor so it is more the costs of the 4870x2 vs the 4870.

Reply to alcattle

For the price of the 4870 I'd get a GTX 280 (BFG Version) for around the same price. (After rebates)

Message edited by xTalent on 12-31-2008 at 04:26:52 AM

Reply to xTalent

Is this mobo a good choice http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 813128358. Do i understand it to be CrossFire-Ready or no?

Reply to deafboy

You didn't link directly to a product but rather to a list of 51 motherboards, fix the link and I can answer your question.

Reply to xTalent

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813128358

whoops

Message edited by deafboy on 12-31-2008 at 05:12:07 AM

Reply to deafboy

From what I read on the specifications (and other sources) the motherboard is crossfire capable but uses one PCIe x16 2.0 slot and the other is PCIe x8 2.0.

It's a decent motherboard but there are probably better out there, I wouldn't know about any though as I'm an SLI man

Reply to xTalent

Gah I'm having a tough time. Get the GTX 280 or 4870X2? I heard the 4870X2 had scaling/driver issues in the beginning but hopefully those have been resolved by now.

Reply to deafboy

I'm an FPS gamer (not first person shooter, frames per second) meaning I like extremely high FPS values, so I based my decision to go with a GTX 280 based on this chart

For a shorter Read

Sum of FPS Benchmarks 1680x1050 AA
GTX 280: 634 fps
HD4870 X2: 604 fps

Sum of FPS Benchmarks 1280x1024 AA
GTX 280: 687 fps
HD4870 X2: 645 fps

Sum of FPS Benchmarks 1920x1200 (Non-AA, but the AA results are the same)
GTX 280: 593
HD4870 X2: 555

Sum of FPS Benchmarks TOTAL COMBINED
GTX 280: 3765
HD4870 X2: 3503.30

Crysis v1.21 (Fraps/Contact, 1920x1200, 0xAA, Trilinear, High Quality) Score in Frames
GTX 280: 31
HD4870 X2: 26

with 4x AA and max AF they tie, the only thing the 4870 X2 really beats the 280 in is Mass Effect.

Basically thats what I based my choice off of and so far I'm getting better FPS then any of my friends who have 4870 X2's, and just wait until the GTX 295 is released!

Message edited by xTalent on 12-31-2008 at 05:38:38 AM

Reply to xTalent

YEAH... u cant trust thh for video chart as the 4870x2 wins over the 280gtx with over 4aa as with the res of 16x10 you still see plenty jagged edges with 4aa, its until res of 19x12 is when its less noticeable.
2 260gtx in sli is better then 1 280gtx and a 4870x2 > sli 260.
the upcoming 295gtx is a different story as its 2 280 cores with the speed of the 260gtx in one card solution. sorry for my broken english as i took several oxys for my pain. =/

Reply to javimars

Most of everything i've see is that the 4870X2 out performs a SINGLE GTX 280 but SLI GTX 280 holds the crown.

Reply to deafboy

I'd pick whatever your happy with, I personally like my 280 but don't let my opinion discourage you from picking up HD4870 X2.

Reply to xTalent

I would wait till the gtx 295

Reply to kelfen

Which from what I've heard will be priced competitively against the HD4870 X2 which is bound to drive the prices of the HD4870 X2 down.

Reply to xTalent

Here's what i came up with so far https://secure.newegg.com/WishList/ [...] ID=7709174 feedback is appreciated. I'm thinking of upgrading to the GTX280 over the 4870 if it's that much better.

Reply to deafboy

I've changed it up a bit https://secure.newegg.com/WishList/ [...] D=7709174. Good idea? I've decided i need a monitor

Reply to deafboy

I could not read the second list. The first list looks good, solid choices.

Reply to alcattle

alcattle wrote :

When you start OC'ing you need better cooling. Water cooling is the extreme method for a very hot setup. Sounds like the dual core is what you want, with a mild OC you will get over 3.5mhz easy.
With a high end GPU, you should get a 22 or 24" monitor. All the current Video cards in that range can push the resolution.
The PSU is one of the best out there and is a super deal right now, it's hard to reccomend anything else if you need a 750 watt unit.

yeah, im pretty sure it will do over 3.5mhz easy... in fact i'd go so far as to suggest it could get over 3.5 GHz easy... :lol: :bounce: :lol:

Reply to V3NOM

Last decision. Q6600 vs E8500 vs Q9550? Is the 9550 really worth the extra 150 dollars? I kinda want to have this thing for a few years so i'm leading towards a quad but i don't know if i need it........

Reply to deafboy

+1 for a quad if we're talking about 3 or more years.

The Q6600 is actually very good. Mine rarely reaches 100% usage, so an upgrade to Q9550 would be pointless in my case. Whether it's worth the extra $150 for you, that depends on you. Check your current computer, some time when it's heavily used. If it's got a decent CPU and used at 100%, then the Q9550 might be worth it.

Reply to aevm

if your'e talking about 3 years may as well get an i7 or wait for i5 shortly..

Reply to V3NOM

Yeah but having to get peripherals, a monitor, etc would make an I7 out of my budget range. I'd rather just get a better GPU for now

Reply to deafboy

Forum Homebuilt Systems : New System Build - Gaming PC for 1500

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