Help with Gaming PC

[bigshotprof]

We are going to build a gaming pc based on a model in PC Gamer. I would like some feedback and maybe some suggestions for substitute components.

Shuttle SG31G2S Barebones case
Intel Pentium W2180 2 Ghz Dual Core
Samsung SH S203B dvd burner
Hitachi Deskstar 7K160 160 Gb HD
A-Data 2GB DDR 2 SDRAM
MSI GeForce 8600GT 512 MB card

Thanks in advance

[cacogen]

We are going to build a gaming pc based on a model in PC Gamer. I would like some feedback and maybe some suggestions for substitute components.

Shuttle SG31G2S Barebones case
Intel Pentium W2180 2 Ghz Dual Core
Samsung SH S203B dvd burner
Hitachi Deskstar 7K160 160 Gb HD
A-Data 2GB DDR 2 SDRAM
MSI GeForce 8600GT 512 MB card

Thanks in advance

Pentium W2180?

I wouldn't really call that a "gaming" PC.

8800GT is the best bang for the buck.

[burkhartmj]

I would go with a core 2 quad 9300 for proc

As far as graphics, ATI's most recent generation kinda destroys anything below 300 bucks in the nVidia 8000 series. 4850 is a little more expensive than the GT, but noticeably more powerful. 8800GT is still a solid card though if price is a huge concern.

[cacogen]

I would go with a core 2 quad 9300 for proc

As far as graphics, ATI's most recent generation kinda destroys anything below 300 bucks in the nVidia 8000 series. 4850 is a little more expensive than the GT, but noticeably more powerful. 8800GT is still a solid card though if price is a huge concern.

I think the 8800GT can be as much as $70 cheaper than the 4850.

If budget is not as much an issue as it looked, there's the GTX 200 series.

[maxhdrm]

You mentioned a barebones case which typically means a case, motherboard and power supply if memory serves me. Well personally I prefer starting completely from scratch. I love Antec, Lien Liu and Coolermaster for cases. They are more esthetically pleasing. To add I look for tool-less versions. Good ventilation is something to look at as well. Unless you are going with a liquid cooling system, you want something that allows for front to back pulling of air. Just front to back. Anything that has placement for front, back side and top cooling fans will simply produce a circular motion with the hot air defeating the purpose. While some air will get out there will still be a small “pocket” residing in the center of the machine. A flaw the better companies have acknowledged and moved away from.

Hard Drives:
Personally I would stick with Western Digital or Seagate however since Western bought the later it negates the issue. Your capacity desires is a good start. Unless you’re a major downloader of music or keep every single game you buy 160 GB will due just fine. I always delete what I finish. So my 160 still has 130 left. The higher capacities will only come into play if you decide to convert later to a multimedia pc or HTPC. Even so it is relatively easy to install more drives later.


Power supply:
I would keep to Corsair, OCZ ,Thermaltake and Coolermaster. I look for the amount of 12v rails provided, heat dissipation, dB level and connectivity (I prefer the pluggable molex connections). 600W is a good starting point. The more you plug into your computer or higher end components you upgrade to the more watts your system will consume. Yes the GeForce 200 series kicks butt out of ATI but juices 300+ watts for the 280 alone. Just add up the watt/volts consumed by each component and it will give you a general idea of what you need. I always like having a cushion, again for future growth.

Ram
For an everyday system PNY ,Toshiba or Samsung make some decent memory. However you mentioned that you are building a gaming rig so this changes things up a bit especially when we are talking about frame rates of the games being processed as well as matching memory speed to bus (FSB) to cpu to get the best performance. Here is my top three memory picks OCZ, Corsair and Crucial. While they are the top 3 of five rated makers like most companies that make a bevy of high to low end (meaning price not quality) versions so don’t sweat price too much. Keep in mind that some decisions that could dictate which ones are available to your particular system are latency vs. speed and the model number (PCXXXX) you motherboard supports. Your amount of ram is good. Anything over 2 GB is still just overkill unless you are running a 64bit OS or a CAD program. My own board supports 4Gbs of ram but I don’t run apps that would consume that much even games because they primarily (if not completely) draw off the graphics card so I only keep 2.

DVD-Burner
Samsung has really impressed me as a company. That is a good choice as well as Sony and Toshiba. Plextor by far hands down beats everyone but with that crown comes a higher price and not necessary for just a gaming rig.

Graphics Cards:
My personal preference is NVIDIA (use to be Voodoo) True the ATI 4850 is good but NVIDIA has had a better business history and never takes long to squash ATI. Keep in mind that NVIDIA Forceware chipsets DO NOT support ATI products so if you chose a board that has an NVIDIA official chipset (not the MOBO manufacturer chipset version of that standard) you are pretty much locked into an NVIDIA card due to their SLI technology. I believe Intel chipsets support both versions but I could be wrong. Really the card you are starting off with is good. Getting those new top of the line cards are only necessary for that one or two games that need it (crisis and I forget the other). It simply is just overkill as well. Does it have decent clock speed? Does it have a decent amount of memory? And does it support the resolution you desire? The 8600 is a good start and I would lean toward the GTX side of most Geforce cards because the performance is just better.

Final thoughts:
In the end it is important to think about what YOU want out of this machine as far as performance and upgradeability because ultimately YOU are the one that will have to be happy with it. If I may add though, Dual Core Duos are starting to slip into history with the increase and popularity of Quadcore so I would search for a MOBO that is forward compatible with the Quads or a Quad board that supports the Duo 2’s. I apologize if this turns into information overload.

[bigshotprof]

Thanks to you all!