# Can you help me with this gaming rig build? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 10, 2008, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-help-me-with-this-gaming-rig-build/459516 "2008-08-10T18:35:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DeadlyAccurate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@DeadlyAccurate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadlyAccurate)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2008, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-help-me-with-this-gaming-rig-build/459516/1 "2008-08-10T18:35:33Z")
I wasn’t sure if this should go in The Game Room or here, so apologies in advance if a mod has to move it. I’m about two weeks from building a new machine. I need it to be capable of serious gaming, but I’m not planning to overclock. The only things I’m keeping from my existing machine are my hard drive, floppy drive, and maybe my DVD-ROM drive, and I’ll be putting Windows XP Pro back on (I may do Vista later, but not now). I’m even getting a new case. Here’s what I’ve picked out at [newegg.com](http://newegg.com): ePOWER EP-523BC-750 Black / Silver Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 750W Power Supply > **[ePOWER EP-523BC-750 Black / Silver Computer Case - Newegg.com](https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16811202009)** > > Buy ePOWER EP-523BC-750 Black / Silver Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 750W Power Supply with fast shipping and top-rated customer service. Once you know, you Newegg! AMD Phenom 9550 Agena 2.2GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 2MB L3 Cache Socket AM2+ 95W 65nm Quad-Core Processor > **[MSI K9A2 Platinum AM2+/AM2 ATX AMD Motherboard - Newegg.com](https://www.newegg.com/msi-k9a2-platinum/p/N82E16813130136)** > > Buy MSI K9A2 Platinum AM2+/AM2 AMD 790FX ATX AMD Motherboard with fast shipping and top-rated customer service. Once you know, you Newegg! MSI K9A2 Platinum AM2+/AM2 AMD 790FX ATX AMD Motherboard > **[AMD Phenom 9550 Agena 2.2GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 2MB L3 Cache Socket AM2+ 95W...](https://www.newegg.com/amd-phenom-x4-phenom-9550/p/N82E16819103251)** > > Buy AMD Phenom 9550 Agena 2.2GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 2MB L3 Cache Socket AM2+ 95W Quad-Core Processor with fast shipping and top-rated customer service. Once you know, you Newegg! (two) G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory > **[G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory...](https://www.newegg.com/g-skill-2gb-240-pin-ddr2-sdram/p/N82E16820231098)** > > Buy G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-2GBNQ with fast shipping and top-rated customer service. Once you know, you Newegg! (two) ASUS EAH4850/HTDI/512M Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card > **[ASUS Radeon HD 4850 Video Card EAH4850/HTDI/512M - Newegg.com](https://www.newegg.com/asus-radeon-hd-4850-eah4850-htdi-512m/p/N82E16814121253)** > > Buy ASUS Radeon HD 4850 512MB GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 CrossFireX Support Video Card EAH4850/HTDI/512M with fast shipping and top-rated customer service. Once you know, you Newegg! LITE-ON Black 20X DVD+R (…) DVD Burner with LightScribe > **[LITE-ON Black 20X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 20X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM...](https://www.newegg.com/lite-on-model-lh-20a1l-05-dvd-burner/p/N82E16827106073)** > > Buy LITE-ON Black 20X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 20X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA DVD Burner with LightScribe - CD / DVD Burners with fast shipping and top-rated customer service. Once you... This comes to just shy of $1000. Is there a real benefit to having two crossfire-enabled video cards? Do you see something I’m overlooking regarding the CPU/mobo? Know of something better (and preferably cheaper?) ---
**Author:** ![treis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@treis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/treis)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2008, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-help-me-with-this-gaming-rig-build/459516/2 "2008-08-10T20:36:17Z")
I’m also looking into buying something to serve as a TV/DVR as well as a gaming rig. I can basically get the fastest dual core, or the bottom line quad core, and I’m not sure which one to get. I figure that it’s tough to split up a game into quads, so the dual would be better. However, if I’m recording/encoding, watching tv, and running another program I’m thinking the 4 cores would be nice. Any ideas? ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2008, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-help-me-with-this-gaming-rig-build/459516/3 "2008-08-10T21:13:59Z")
Ars Technicas latest game machine guide: > **[Ars System Guide: Summer Gaming Edition](https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2008/07/guide-200807/)** > > The Ars Summer Gaming Guide helps you the heat by giving you an excuse to stay … Brian ---
**Author:** ![DeadlyAccurate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@DeadlyAccurate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadlyAccurate)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2008, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-help-me-with-this-gaming-rig-build/459516/4 "2008-08-10T21:44:19Z")
Thanks for that link, **N9IWP**. I made some changes. Decided to go with an Intel and the Core 2 Duo based on their opinions on quad vs. duo. ---
**Author:** ![DeadlyAccurate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@DeadlyAccurate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadlyAccurate)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2008, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-help-me-with-this-gaming-rig-build/459516/5 "2008-08-12T14:46:57Z")
Well, got a really nice setup ordered. Husband is getting an identical rig, plus he’s finally springing for an LCD monitor (I already had a 22" widescreen). He’ll have to grab some arctic silver from Fry’s on his way home soon (Newegg wanted as much to ship it as it costs to buy). Went with Core 2 Duo E8500 Wolfdale 3.16GHz Processor and relevant motherboard Only one Nvidia card (9800 GTX) instead of 2 Radeon cards We spent hours finding the right motherboard (which will need a BIOS flash before we even do anything with it), so the damn things better work. Thanks for your help, **N9IWP**. (I don’t actually know the answer to **treis’s** question, so maybe this bump will help someone else find it.)