New Rig Question

I have about $800 - $1300 to spend and have been looking into Alienware and been looking at the CyberPower website. I have come to the conclusion that I have NO CLUE what to do with a new gaming only rig. Dont need the monitor, keyboard, or mouse.

I currently play CoH and Batman: Arkham Asylum only. Will most likely pick up KOTR when it launches but that's about it. I currently play on a 2 year old XPS system but would like to dedicate that system to work/personal use only and have 1 rig just for gaming. I would like that machine to run CoH on high (or better settings) and tackle Ultra Mode easily (yes I know we dont have specs yet). Also, I run my rig in the bedroom so it needs to be quiet enough to run while the woman sleeps.

Here is the rig I have been looking at on Cyber: http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/system/Mega_Special_II/. Anyone be able to recommend a build from that or something else in that range? Or should I just go with a base Alienware desktop?

I appreciate the help!

I wouldn't suggest Alienware. You'll end up overpaying.

I remember when I decided to get a gaming PC I initially thought that Alienware was the way to go, but after I did research on the components and added up what it would take to get a good gaming rig, I compared the sum with an equivalent rig from Alienware and I was pretty shocked.

I was relatively patient in that I went to NewEgg and waited for the prices on my selected components to go down. In the end, I saved about $1,000 (total cost vs an equivalent rig by Alienware) by building the rig myself and waiting for price drops.

Since I did all that research and such about a year ago, my advice may be outdated, but there's guys on here like FatherXmas who keep up on that stuff and have PC build guides for various price ranges.

*EDIT*

Oh, and try to be patient and wait for Black Friday deals. Try to get the most bang for your buck!

I would highly recommend you order the components from NewEgg, TigerDirect or a similar site and put the machine together yourself. You will absolutely save yourself quite a bit of money.

If you decide to go that route (Again, highly recommended) don't hesitate to ask around here for help choosing components. FatherXMas even has some links in his sig to a couple of machines worthwhile. Either way, you're going to spend more if you buy pre-built and you generally don't get the luxury of choosing the components you actually want. Even if you can choose, the selections are generally quite limited and nowhere near worth the amount they charge.

We'll see....

Thanks for the input guys.

Honestly, putting a system together is so not my cup of tea; I would rather spend a couple extra hundred bucks to have it done. Sorry 65 hour work weeks dont leave much free time with training for a triathlon, planning a wedding, 3 dogs, 2 cats, a very busy fiance, etc. . .

I did go through FatherX's guides but they are all about a year old. Is there anything more current or could someone pm me a build with the why's and what's of the build. I have a basic concept but I am definitely a little lost.

Here's the build (any help dropping it by about $150):
Configuration

# *BASE_PRICE: [+745]
# BUNDLE: None
# BLUETOOTH: None
# CD: 16X DVD ROM [-8] (BLACK COLOR)
# CD2: NONE
# CAS: Apevia X-Dreamer 3 Mid-Tower Gaming Case w/ Side-Panel Window & Temperature Display [-7] (Black Color with Green Ring & Green LED Fan)
# CASUPGRADE: NONE
# CS_FAN: Maximum 120MM Case Cooling Fans for your selected case [+9]
# CPU: Intel® Core™ i5-750 2.66 GHz 8M L2 Cache LGA1156
# FAN: XtremeGear HP-1216X Five Heatpipes Direct Core Contact Copper Heatsink CPU Cooling Fan (Extreme Silent at 20dBA & Overclock Proof) (Extreme Silent at 20dBA & Overclock Proof)(Venom Boost Extreme OC Certified) [+23]
# FREEBIE_RM: None
# FA_HDD: None
# FLASHMEDIA: None [-3]
# FLOPPY: NONE
# FREEBIE_OS: None
# HDD: Single Hard Drive (1TB (1TBx1) SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache 7200RPM HDD [+26])
# HDD2: NONE
# IEEE_CARD: NONE
# KEYBOARD: Xtreme Gear (Black Color) Multimedia/Internet USB Keyboard
# MOUSE: XtremeGear Optical USB 3 Buttons Gaming Mouse
# MODEM: NONE
# MULTIVIEW: Xtreme Performance in SLI/CrossFireX Gaming Mode Supports Single Monitor
# MONITOR: NONE
# MONITOR2: NONE
# MOTHERBOARD: [CrossFireX/SLI] GigaByte GA-P55-UD4P Intel P55 Chipset DDR3 ATX Mainboard w/ 7.1 HD Audio, Dual GbLAN, USB2.0, SATA-II RAID, 2 Gen2 PCIe, 3 PCIe X1 & 2 PCI [+71]
# MEMORY: 4GB (2GBx2) PC1333 DDR3 PC3 10666 Dual Channel Memory (Corsair Dominator [+48])
# NOISEREDUCE1: Anti-Vibration Fan Mounts [+9]
# NETWORK: Onboard Gigabit LAN Network
# OVERCLOCK: No Overclocking
# OS: NONE - FORMAT HARD DRIVE ONLY
# OS_UPGRADE: None
# POWERSUPPLY: 800 Watts Power Supplies [+44] (CyberPowerPC XF800S Performance ATX 2.0 Power - Quad SLI Ready)
# PRINTER: None
# PRINTER_CABLE: None
# RUSH: NO; READY TO SHIP IN 5~10 BUSINESS DAYS
# SERVICE: STANDARD WARRANTY: 3-YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY PLUS LIFE-TIME TECHNICAL SUPPORT
# SOUND: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO
# SPEAKERS: 600Watts PMPO Subwoofer Stereo Speakers
# TEMP: NZXT Sentry LX Aluminum High Performance Fan Control, Clock, & Temperature Display [+69]
# TVRC: None
# USB: Add External USB 2.0 Hub (4x USB 2.0 Ports) [+19] (BLACK Color IR-4100-BK)
# USBHD: NONE
# VIDEOCAMERA: NONE
# VIDEO: NVIDIA GeForce GTX285 1GB 16X PCIe Video Card [+265] (EVGA Powered by NVIDIA [+5])
# VIDEO2: None
# VIDEO3: None
# VC_PHYSX: NONE
# VC_GAMES: None
# WNC: Zonet ZEW1642 IEEE 802.11b/g/n Draft 2.0 PCI Wireless Adapter Network Card [+29]
# _PRICE: (+1344)

You could try going to the NewEgg forums and asking around too. There's all sorts of guides for price ranges and background on components and such there.

Let me point out a few things here.

The motherboard is NOT nVidia SLi compliant. If you ever were planning to go with that route, that motherboard isn't the way to go. Also it isn't even a good way to go for ATI CrossfireX either because the 2nd video card slot is actually only wired for x4 V1.0 PCIe while the main video card slot is x16 V2.0 (twice as fast as V1.0) PCIe. So there is an 8x difference in speed on how fast the CPU can talk to each card.

Looks like you spec this at CyberPowerPC/BuyXG (same place, same fax, different names). Nothing obviously bad about your selections, just some oddities. You have a full size tower case, great if you have/plan to have a ton of hard drives. However you are using a uATX motherboard. It sort of sticks out like a Hummer driven by a family of "little people". Just seems odd to me that's all.

Honestly now, your choice of soundcard is just to get the "SoundBlaster" name isn't it. That card isn't going to affect gaming performance and I doubt, unless you are an audiophile, not notice any difference in audio quality. Save your money, you can always buy a sound card later at NewEgg and plug it in yourself. And speaking of audio, unless you have no speakers right now, those $15 (price difference between these and none) 2.1 speaker system tells me you aren't an audiophile.

Not of fan of "unknown" manufactured 700 watt power supply. It's probably good enough for now but a PSU is as important to a system as the motherboard. Would you buy a "generic" motherboard?

And do you need 8GB of memory today. Yes more the merrier but this is an easy thing to upgrade later.

I also think the noise reduction mats aren't going to be to helpful on a case with top, bottom, side, front and back fans/fan mounts. I'm all for anti-vibration mounts for fans and PSUs since they can help to get rid of rattle.

So there are my comments and criticisms on your build. You are caught in the trap of a limited budget and big desires. You want the top shelf CPU, memory and video card and are willing to sacrifice everything else just to get within budget than than compromise on the major components to bring the general quality up.

If you "downgrade" to a GTX 275 and 4GB of main memory and get rid of the sound card you will free up over $250 that you can use to get a better motherboard with actual SLi support (Gigabyte UD4P), a better quality power supply, a better set of speakers or maybe even a legitimate Windows 7 license.

Thanks Father! Updated my build above.

The motherboard is my biggest question mark. Honestly, not sure what to look for in a motherboard. And you are dead on with the audio channels (and the SoundBlaster name) and the case was a recommendation from a friend. Personally, I liked the "mid tower gaming case" better than the full size but he recommended it for better ventilation. I do have a set of speakers so that may be a mistake (I meant to select none) but I am definitely not huge for the "noise" of my game (as said by the fiance).

I would like to keep the 8GB of memory but I could swap to the 4GB if it wouldn't drop performance. If I swap out the case (-$50), the sound card (-$30), drop to 4GB (-$159), upgrade to CrossFireX/SLI] GigaByte GA-P55-UD4P Intel P55 Chipset DDR3 ATX Mainboard w/ 7.1 HD Audio, Dual GbLAN, USB2.0, SATA-II RAID, 2 Gen2 PCIe, 3 PCIe X1 & 2 PCI, and change to Intel® Core™ i5-750 2.66 GHz 8M L2 Cache LGA1156, am I on the right track? Also, as for the power supply how about I go with CyberPowerPC XF800S Performance ATX 2.0 Power - Quad SLI Ready?

And forgot. . . I do have a Windows 7 package for upgrading 3 computers - was going to use it for my laptop, work desktop, and this rig.

OK last one for me tonight before bed. Updated my build above and here is the second one I have been working on. One better than the other? Both come in right around my price mark just not sure which one is a better build or should I say functional?

# BASE_PRICE: [+799]
# BUNDLE: None
# BLUETOOTH: None
# CD: LG 22X DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Dual Layer Drive (BLACK COLOR)
# CD2: NONE
# CAS: Apevia X-Dreamer 3 Mid-Tower Gaming Case w/ Side-Panel Window & Temperature Display [-6] (Black Color with Green Ring & Green LED Fan)
# CASUPGRADE: NONE
# CS_FAN: Maximum Enemax 120MM Case Cooling Fans for selected case (Maximum Silent Operation) [+29] (500-1,200 RPM White Color with White LED Twister Bearing 8-14 dBA [+16])
# CPU: Intel® Core™ i7-920 2.66 GHz 8M L3 Cache LGA1366
# FAN: XtremeGear HP-1216X Five Heatpipes Direct Core Contact Copper Heatsink CPU Cooling Fan (Extreme Silent at 20dBA & Overclock Proof) (Extreme Silent at 20dBA & Overclock Proof)(Venom Boost Extreme OC Certified) [+23]
# FREEBIE_RM: None
# FA_HDD: None
# FLASHMEDIA: None
# FLOPPY: NONE
# FREEBIE_OS: None
# HDD: Single Hard Drive (1TB (1TBx1) SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache 7200RPM HDD [+26])
# HDD2: NONE
# IEEE_CARD: NONE
# KEYBOARD: Xtreme Gear (Black Color) Multimedia/Internet USB Keyboard
# MOUSE: XtremeGear Optical USB 3 Buttons Gaming Mouse
# MODEM: NONE
# MULTIVIEW: Xtreme Performance in SLI/CrossFireX Gaming Mode Supports Single Monitor
# MONITOR: NONE
# MONITOR2: NONE
# MOTHERBOARD: (3-Way SLI Support) GigaByte GA-EX58-UD5 Intel X58 Chipset SLI/CrossFireX Ultra Durable™3 Mainboard Triple-Channel DDR3/1600 SATA RAID w/ eSATA [+113]
# MEMORY: 6GB (2GBx3) DDR3/1600MHz Triple Channel Memory Module [+99] (Corsair Dominator [+60])
# NOISEREDUCE1: Sound Absorbing Foam on Side, Top And Bottom panels [+29]
# NOISEREDUCE2: Anti-Vibration Fan Mounts [+9]
# NETWORK: Onboard Gigabit LAN Network
# OVERCLOCK: No Overclocking
# OS: NONE - FORMAT HARD DRIVE ONLY
# OS_UPGRADE: None
# POWERSUPPLY: 800 Watts Power Supplies [+88] (CyberPowerPC XF800S Performance ATX 2.0 Power - Quad SLI Ready)
# PRINTER: None
# PRINTER_CABLE: None
# RUSH: NO; READY TO SHIP IN 5~10 BUSINESS DAYS
# SERVICE: STANDARD WARRANTY: 3-YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY PLUS LIFE-TIME TECHNICAL SUPPORT
# SOUND: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO
# SPEAKERS: None
# TEMP: Thermal Temperature Color LCD Display [+15] (Black Color)
# TVRC: None
# USB: Built-in USB 2.0 Ports
# USBHD: NONE
# VIDEOCAMERA: NONE
# VIDEO: NVIDIA GeForce 9600 GT 1GB 16X PCI Express [+45] (EVGA Powered by NVIDIA [+5])
# VIDEO2: None
# VIDEO3: None
# VC_PHYSX: NONE
# VC_GAMES: None
# WNC: Zonet ZEW1642 IEEE 802.11b/g/n Draft 2.0 PCI Wireless Adapter Network Card [+29]
# _PRICE: (+1379)

The motherboard is really the component that's going to be the backbone of your rig. Its capabilities will determine your options as far as essentially every other component goes.

And are you looking to use more than one video card in the future through SLi? If not, you will probably be able to find a cheaper version of the motherboard with fewer PCI-E slots. Three of them seems a tad overboard if you don't plan to actually use them.

Now he switched to an X58, Socket 1366 based rig from a P55, Socket 1156 rig.

I originally meant the GA-P55-UD4P which was a full size ATX Socket 1156 motherboard that supports either one PCIe V2.0 video card slot at x16 or two at x8. Note that a x8 V2.0 slot has the same bandwidth that an older x16 V1.0 could provide. The motherboard supports either SLi or Crossfire.

The GA-X58-UD5 is premium ($$$) gamer motherboard. It can support two video card at x16 width and an additional one at x8. It too can support SLi or Crossfire. For future uber elite upgrading, the X58/Socket 1366 is the way to go but you pay for the privilege big time. And it looks that you are paying for it by downgrading from a GTX 285 to a 9600GT which is something around 1/3 or less as fast as a 285.

For around that same money, you can go this way:

• *BASE_PRICE: [+985]
• BUNDLE: None
• BLUETOOTH: None
• CD: LG 22X DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Dual Layer Drive (BLACK COLOR)
• CD2: NONE
• CAS: NZXT M59 Gaming Mid-Tower Case with See-Thru Window [-4]
• CASUPGRADE: NONE
• CS_FAN: Default case fans
• CPU: Intel® Core™ i7-920 2.66 GHz 8M L3 Cache LGA1366
• FAN: Intel LGA1366 Certified CPU Fan & Heatsink
• FREEBIE_RM: None
• FA_HDD: None
• FLASHMEDIA: None [-3]
• FLOPPY: NONE
• FREEBIE_OS: FREE! (Halo 2) Game
• HDD: Single Hard Drive (500GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache 7200RPM HDD)
• HDD2: NONE
• IEEE_CARD: NONE
• KEYBOARD: Xtreme Gear (Black Color) Multimedia/Internet USB Keyboard
• MOUSE: XtremeGear Optical USB 3 Buttons Gaming Mouse
• MODEM: NONE
• MULTIVIEW: Non-SLI/Non-CrossFireX Mode Supports Multiple Monitors
• MONITOR: NONE
• MONITOR2: NONE
• MOTHERBOARD: Asus P6T SE Intel X58 Chipset CrossFireX Mainboard Triple-Channel DDR3/1600 SATA RAID w/ eSATA
• MEMORY: 6GB (2GBx3) PC1333 DDR3 PC3 10666 Triple Channel Memory (Corsair or Major Brand)
• NETWORK: Onboard Gigabit LAN Network
• OVERCLOCK: No Overclocking
• OS: Microsoft® Windows® 7 Professional [+135] (64-bit Edition)
• OS_UPGRADE: None
• POWERSUPPLY: 900 Watts Power Supplies [+60] (Apevia Warlock Series)
• PRINTER: None
• PRINTER_CABLE: None
• RUSH: NO; READY TO SHIP IN 5~10 BUSINESS DAYS
• SERVICE: STANDARD WARRANTY: 3-YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY PLUS LIFE-TIME TECHNICAL SUPPORT
• SOUND: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO
• SPEAKERS: None
• TEMP: NONE
• TVRC: None
• USB: Built-in USB 2.0 Ports
• USBHD: NONE
• VIDEOCAMERA: NONE
• VIDEO: NVIDIA GeForce GTX285 1GB 16X PCIe Video Card [+220] (Major Brand Powered by NVIDIA)
• VIDEO2: None
• VIDEO3: None
• VC_PHYSX: NONE
• VC_GAMES: None
• WNC: NONE
• _PRICE: (+1393)