Gaming Rig

[TNT]

Here is the coolest link to show you what to do!! http://www.pcityourself.com/building/processor.php

 

That is a pretty nice site, but it tells you to mount the motherboard AFTER you have installed the CPU, heatsink, and RAM. I've never done this before. Imo, it makes the screws harder to get to when mounting it and there's the possibility that you slip and bump something your not supposed to.

[Shadowex3]

Unless your working with a fulltower sized case or one with a removable motherboard tray odds are you're going to want to put the CPU and heatsink in outside the case. My preferred build order is:

 

1. Unwrap and lay out everything I'm going to need around me

2. Install power supply in case and clip anti-static wristband on, plug the psu into the wall (path to ground)

3. Install CPU and heatsink into mobo on top of an anti-static bag, then the ram

4. Put any cd/dvd or hard drives and fans into the case but dont plug them in yet

5. Mount mobo inside case, now you can install videocards and whathaveyou

6. Plug in all cords and cables

7. Continue praying and press power button

8. Swear and fiddle with front panel cables

9. Try again

10. Repeat this about four more times before it boots up without making strange noises.

[trakaill]

That is a pretty nice site, but it tells you to mount the motherboard AFTER you have installed the CPU, heatsink, and RAM. I've never done this before. Imo, it makes the screws harder to get to when mounting it and there's the possibility that you slip and bump something your not supposed to.

 

like shadow said it would have been hard for me to attach the HSF after the mobo was in the case and it covers one of my ram stick so that had to be on first..

Then I put it in and installed my video card

[ReGIONALS]

Unless your working with a fulltower sized case or one with a removable motherboard tray odds are you're going to want to put the CPU and heatsink in outside the case. My preferred build order is:

 

1. Unwrap and lay out everything I'm going to need around me

2. Install power supply in case and clip anti-static wristband on, plug the psu into the wall (path to ground)

3. Install CPU and heatsink into mobo on top of an anti-static bag, then the ram

4. Put any cd/dvd or hard drives and fans into the case but dont plug them in yet

5. Mount mobo inside case, now you can install videocards and whathaveyou

6. Plug in all cords and cables

7. Continue praying and press power button

8. Swear and fiddle with front panel cables

9. Try again

10. Repeat this about four more times before it boots up without making strange noises.

 

when i built my computer i put

1: the mobo

2: put everything that belongs on the mobo on it except for gpu

3: hdds

4: routed cables

5: gpu

6: psu

 

 

 

 

doesnt putting the psu in later on decrease your chance of shocking anything?

[Shadowex3]

No, it's the exact opposite. The amount of static electricity that we are capable of feeling is many hundreds of times greater than the amount needed to fry computer parts, so just because you dont feel any zapping doesnt mean you aren't doing any zapping.

 

The power supply, when installed in the case and plugged into the wall, grounds your entire case. That means what it says on the tin, your case now literally has a path for electricity to follow to the ground (dirt, worms, etc) and dissipate harmlessly. If you have an antistatic wrist strap or any electrical connection to the metal of the case then your static charge will dissipate to ground through the power supply rather than frying your motherboard's components.

[ReGIONALS]

No, it's the exact opposite. The amount of static electricity that we are capable of feeling is many hundreds of times greater than the amount needed to fry computer parts, so just because you dont feel any zapping doesnt mean you aren't doing any zapping.

 

The power supply, when installed in the case and plugged into the wall, grounds your entire case. That means what it says on the tin, your case now literally has a path for electricity to follow to the ground (dirt, worms, etc) and dissipate harmlessly. If you have an antistatic wrist strap or any electrical connection to the metal of the case then your static charge will dissipate to ground through the power supply rather than frying your motherboard's components.

 

ah, thanks for clearing that up.

[tinkerbell]

6. Plug in all cords and cables

7. Continue praying and press power button

8. Swear and fiddle with front panel cables

9. Try again

10. Repeat this about four more times before it boots up without making strange noises.

 

made me lol, i know how hard that can be!!!

[Toxin]

Bump, is it possible to go any lower? I'm not looking to play BC2 on max settings, just wanna scrim TF2 with at least 100fps+. Well, it should be able to play BC2 also, without lag. So yeah..

 

And who would be willing to help me with assembly?

 

Alright, let's talk premade:

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883227218

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883229159

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883229130

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883229134

 

Preferly the first or last one.

[Shadowex3]

I had a Q6600 for a while before I sold that and bought my Q9450. In a 750 unit cap game of Supreme Commander the guy with the 4ghz Phenom II Quad wound up running at -4 simulation speed while my Q6600 at stock speed was still going at +5 sim speed. That means that his processor was so amazingly weak and underpowered that it could only calculate the physics of the game 4 times slower than realtime while mine was capable of going 5 times faster than realtime.

 

However in the price range your looking for i guess your not going to find anything better than Core i5's and Phenom II midranges. You can find them compared in benchmarks Here.

 

As you can see there's no real winner, the two of them are basically within a few hundred points of each other pretty much every benchmark, alternating between which one wins. That means which prebuilt computer would be better is based on two things: Which videocard it has now, and which processor you could upgrade to in the future.

 

You could get a better Core i5 on that socket but never a core I7, or you could pray AMD comes out with a good socket AM3 processor, but for example the current flagship Phenom II 965 (one step up from your choice) is marginally better than yours at best.

 

So that leaves total expenditure. You need to replace the power supply anyway (TRUST ME ON THIS) so why buy a new graphics card too? Get This one because it has a 9800GT which, as you can see in the =on]Benchmarks doesn't suck.

 

You won't get 100fps in TF2, even I don't get 100fps a lot of the time and I have a GTX 260, but you should be able to manage ~60fps if you don't use anti-aliasing.

[Toxin]

I had a Q6600 for a while before I sold that and bought my Q9450. In a 750 unit cap game of Supreme Commander the guy with the 4ghz Phenom II Quad wound up running at -4 simulation speed while my Q6600 at stock speed was still going at +5 sim speed. That means that his processor was so amazingly weak and underpowered that it could only calculate the physics of the game 4 times slower than realtime while mine was capable of going 5 times faster than realtime.

 

However in the price range your looking for i guess your not going to find anything better than Core i5's and Phenom II midranges. You can find them compared in benchmarks Here.

 

As you can see there's no real winner, the two of them are basically within a few hundred points of each other pretty much every benchmark, alternating between which one wins. That means which prebuilt computer would be better is based on two things: Which videocard it has now, and which processor you could upgrade to in the future.

 

You could get a better Core i5 on that socket but never a core I7, or you could pray AMD comes out with a good socket AM3 processor, but for example the current flagship Phenom II 965 (one step up from your choice) is marginally better than yours at best.

 

So that leaves total expenditure. You need to replace the power supply anyway (TRUST ME ON THIS) so why buy a new graphics card too? Get This one because it has a 9800GT which, as you can see in the =on]Benchmarks doesn't suck.

 

You won't get 100fps in TF2, even I don't get 100fps a lot of the time and I have a GTX 260, but you should be able to manage ~60fps if you don't use anti-aliasing.

 

1/3 of this post was "bleh" to me.... So you want me to get that computer with the 9800GT, and upgrade the power supply?