Gaming config.

[pimpom]

I can hear a lot of groaning.... "Not another bloody request for a gaming config !!"

OK, here goes. A close friend has asked me to build a gaming rig for him and left the config to me. He's a wealthy hard-core gamer and has largely left it to me to decide what the budget should be.

My attitude is that it makes sense to spend more as long as it makes a significant difference in performance, but beyond a certain point, it's meaningless to spend thousands more just to gain a couple of fps or simply for bragging rights.

I think it makes more sense to get something lower than the highest-end config, save tens of thousands of rupees, and upgrade after some time. Therefore the budget is not strictly limited but not unlimited.

With that in mind, I have my eye on a few things such as the items listed below. I'm intentionally keeping things vague because I have not made a firm decision about any item and they're all open to change. Your suggestions are welcome.

A64 3500+ or higher, single or dual core.
nForce 4 motherboard, perhaps SLI.
6600GT or 6800GT/U or maybe 7800GT
1GB RAM
160GB SATA, maybe a second drive for pagefile.
19" flat CRT monitor
Logitech Z-5300 THX speakers
Input devices (keyboard, mouse, joystick) not yet really thought about.

(BTW, I'll get a very generous percentage for buying and setting it up, but I won't spend more just to increase my share).

 

[devilhead_satish]

What is the budget?
Go with the 7800GT
RAM Kingston
Input devices
Mouse MX700
Keyboard Microsoft
Joystick Saitek and M'Soft have some really good ones.

Monitor
LG

HDD
1 Seagate Baracuda 120GB 7200RPM
2 80GB 7200RPM
Create a Hardware RAID. It'll boost performance

Speakers
Go for Creative. You can spend the saved money on a better Mobo/processor. Logotech's are pricey

 

[ashu888ashu888]

Jus a simple suggestion Pimpom..u can check out the DIGIT's September 2005 Issue mag for the latest GRAPHICS CARD comparison tests as it will help u alot according to u budget (as u hv not mentioned any limt..so its hard for me to predict..)

But do look into the mag..for sum really gr8 performance to price ratios on various Graphics cards..

As for the HDD u can go in for a Seagate baracuda SATA,with atleast 500W (or even 450W) Power supply (SMPS) from Antec or VIP

For speakers u can go in for Altec lansing,Creative speakers to suit ur taste with a minimum of 5.1 surround sound effect..

As for the Keyboard,mouse etc..u can choose any model from logitec or Microsoft..and go in for a wireless also..

For monitor..choose LG or Samsung (but my personal taste tells me to go with Samsung) 19"

Neways jus wait and see other guys suggestions and then u can decide..

cheers n e-peace..

 

[icecoolz]

1) Stick to single cores. None of the games take adv of the dual cores out there. And he can always change it to a dual core later on as all it needs is a BIOS update.

2) Kingston RAM's are not performance oriented. Try getting either Corsair memory's. They perform extremely well.

3) Get a primary HDD of say 80GB and a secondary HDD or say 200GB. Set the page file onto the secondary HDD. It will improve performance significantly. Also I say 200GB since he is a hardcore gamer and hence he will need the space for some of the newer games coming up.

4) Graphics card: If he can wait ask him to wait for the new ATI chipset based cards. Trust me they are worth it. Also The 7800GT does not have any significant technological advances except for hanving more pipelines open and bigger memory. Now if its an ATi card then it will be an ATi based which supports crossfire technology which is ATi's answer to SLI.

5) Get a good power supply. Antec 450W or the 500W will last whatever upgrades he does.

6) Speakers I think it is the right choice.

7) A good mouse is imperitive to the whole gaming experience. Microsoft infra-red mouse or the wireless ones from MS or Logitech are the ones to be looking at.

8) The above applies to keyboard as well.

9) UPS is also quite important. An APC UPS with the power he things he needs.

Thats all I can think of at the moment.

 

[supersaiyan]

well icecoolz has given some good advice.
1. i would recommend the single core system for the same reason.
2. i don't think there is a need to get a separate drive for the pagefile itself. but if u r getting it be sure to set a raid setup so that u get much better performance out of ur hdds.
3. i would recommend u to buy a 6800gt sli config instead of a 7800gtx because of the fact the the 7800gtx just has more pipelines. if i were u i would buy the x800pt and then wait for the crossfire to come out. i read somewhere that the crossfire technology will enable two gfx cards of the same series (yes same series not same model) to work in parallel. much like the sli but with two diff gfx cards but of the same series. then ur friend can buy any ati card of the x series and upgrade his mobo and use the crossfire.
3. buy a seagate hdd with SATA. do not buy a non-sata. pls.
4. power supply must be atleast 450w or 500w for future upgrades.
5. don't know abt ups. as a matter of fact i wanna buy one. could someone recommend me a gud company?
6. get a gud cabinet. ibox if u want a plain one. or cooler master or antec if u wanna go all fancy and stuff.
7. get atleast one or two fans to suck in the air as an sli rig would heat up.
8. get corsair ram. not hynix for the same reason as of icecoolz.
thats it

 

[pimpom]

Thanks for the replies. As to some of the points you brought up -

Budget : I did not state a budget because, as I said before, it's not strictly limited. I also did not want someone to try to fill it just because the money's available. I'd like to keep it within 80K but could stretch it to 1 lakh.

Again as I said before, I don't want to waste thousands just to gain a few benchmark points that would not be noticeable in actual usage, even if those thousands come from someone else's pocket.

This guy's currently using setup I built for him 2 years ago. It's an Athlon XP 2600+, A7N8X, FX5700, 512MB, 120GB Seagate Barracuda, 17" Samsung MB.

Changing the gfx card alone will give it a big boost, but I think it's time he starts using a 64-bit system. This guy's loaded and he'll probably just give the old system away to a friend.

Dual core : Yep, I did not seriously consider dual core. Just mentioned it as a possibility.

UPS : He already has a 1kVA unit I installed for him some time ago.

I'll keep your other suggestions in mind. Pls keep them coming.