PC Game Fun Time

We have previously discussed the release of Intel’s new Core i7 processor and all the changes that it brings.  Well, it has been a month, and the new processors and compatible motherboards are now readily available online at sites like www.newegg.com.

I have been itching to get my hands on one of these new processors, which by all accounts are a significant leap up from the Core 2 line.  Unfortunately (depending on how you look at it!), my current gaming rig has proven more than adequate for everything I have thrown at it.  While I can’t justify the expense, some of you might be interested in putting together a new high end gaming machine.  So, with that in mind, here is my current Core i7 build:

• CPU - $295 - Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66 GHz - Getting a 2.66 GHz quad core that would beat the crap out of an old 2.66 GHz Core 2 Quad for under $300 seems like a good deal to me.  Unfortunately, the next cheapest Core i7 is $570, so this is pretty much our only option.
• Motherboard - $245 - Gigabyte GA-EX58-DS4 - This is a bit of sticking point for me right now, actually.  The Core i7 uses a completely new CPU socket type, meaning there are only a small number of compatible motherboards currently available.  They are all pricey, with most in the $300 range.  The above motherboard has a PCI Express x16 and 2 PCI Express x8, so it could accommodate up to 3 high end graphics cards.  It takes up to 6 DDR3 RAM chips, has 8 channel onboard audio, and good onboard RAID.  So, at least you are getting some good features for your $245.
• Memory - $185 - G.SKILL 6 GB (3 x 2 GB) 240-Pin DDR3 1333 -  It is true that 6 GB of DDR2 800 would only cost you about $50.  However, $185 is not, in the grand scheme of things, that much to pay for memory.  G.SKILL has had a number of very popular RAM offerings on newegg and I don’t have any hesitation recommending them.
• Hard Drive - $110 - Western Digital Caviar Black 7200 RPM 1 TB - Depending on how much storage you want and whether or not you want to do RAID, you could get 1, 2, or even more of these hard drives.  From a gaming perspective, you might also want a faster, smaller hard drive to help minimize load times.  This would probably be a VelociRaptor or even a Solid State Drive.  However, I can’t honestly recommend doing this as the benefit is very low and the cost is comparatively high.
• Case - $70 - Enermax Chakra ECA3052B Black SECC ATX Mid Tower - Yes, I know this not a well known maker of high quality gaming cases.  However, this case is inexpensive, well constructed, and sports a 250 mm side fan for some serious, yet quiet, cooling.  I would probably throw in one or two 120 mm fans, in addition.  These can be ordered for a few dollars each.  One added bonus of this case: no unnecessary LED lights!
• Power Supply - $100 - Corsair CMPSU-650TX 650 W - This is a nice, affordable 650 watt power supply.  It has plenty of peripheral and SATA connectors, as well as a 4 or 8 pin CPU power connector, and two 6 + 2 pin PCI-X power connectors.  This will allow you to connect any single graphics card on the market today, as well as many 2 card configurations.
• DVD Drive - $25 - Samsung 22x DVD Burner Model SH-S223F - Not much to say about this one.  It is a DVD burner that will handle all of your CD / DVD drive needs.
• Video Card - $220 - $260 - We at last come to the most exciting part of building any gaming rig - the video card.  Here, I’ll give you a few options.  The EVGA 896-P3-1260-AR GeForce GTX 260 is a decent option at $220.  My card of choice, however, would be the HIS Hightech H487F512P Radeon HD 4870 at $230.  This card edges out the GTX 260 in most benchmarks.  For a little bit more power, you could also go with the EVGA 896-P3-1267-AR GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 Superclocked.  The card costs $260, but it is based on the slightly more powerful GTX260 Core 216 and has been tested by EVGA to run at a stable 626 Mhz (compared to 576 Mhz stock).

That wraps up my build.  I have managed to keep the cost around $1300 and put together a pretty serious gaming machine.  Of course, if you were really looking to splurge you might want to spend an extra $200 or so and go for one of the high end video cards - probably the Radeon HD 4870×2.

There were a few areas where I would have to spend a bit more than I would like, mainly the motherboard and RAM.  However, I’m sure in the coming months that these costs will come down, making a Core i7 machine a very real possibility for me in the relatively near future.

It has been a very long time coming, but pricing on DDR3 memory is finally getting to the point where it is just about worth it.  The last time I checked on www.newegg.com, 4 gigabytes of DDR3 1333 could be had for around $125.  This is still several times the going rate on the older, slower DDR2 standard, with the same amount of DDR2 routinely going for $50 or even $40.

In the grand scheme of things, though, $125 is not that much to spend on system memory, and prices will continue to drop.  Also critical is the fact that there are now plenty of DDR3 supporting motherboards available at reasonable prices.  Perhaps most importantly, the new line of processors from Intel, the Core i7, will only support DDR3.  The Core i7 is Intel’s successor to the Core 2 line of processors, due out later this month.  It will be a little while before Core i7s become mainstream, as the early motherboards are all in the $300+ price range.  However, rest assured that once there are some good Core i7 motherboards at lower prices, DDR3 will pick up some serious steam.

There are a few reasons why DDR3 has taken so long to become popular.  The primary factor that provided momentum to DDR2 and kept DDR3 from taking hold was the pin incompatibility between the 2 formats.  While some newer motherboards now have slots for both types of memory, DDR3 memory will not fit in a DDR2 slot.

Also, faster memory speeds generally do not translate to significant performance increases in real world tests.  From a gaming perspective, you might see an increase of a few frames per second going from DDR2 800 to DDR3 1333 or DDR3 1600.  However, this will not hold true forever.  Currently, memory speeds are rarely a bottleneck, and so faster speeds won’t help you much.  Nonetheless, progress keeps marching on, and eventually DDR2 memory will be slow enough compared to other system components that it will become a problem.  This may not be very far down the road.

Of course, the pricing of actual DDR3 memory sticks has also been limiting.  Typically, DDR3 memory has costed about 3 times as much as DDR2 memory for quite some time.  However, DDR2 now costs about 1/3 what it did 12 or 18 months ago.  It is now so cheap that putting 4 gigabytes into even the lowest cost desktops is recommended.

With all these facts in mind, I think we have now reached the turning point.  If I were to build a gaming machine today, I would go with DDR3 memory.  It is not that expensive, and it will give you a lot more upgradeability options in the future.  Of course, I would also probably wait on building anything until Core i7 motherboards come down in price, but that is another story.