Gaming rig

If you want a proper sound card you have two options:

Using DA pricing:

Asus Xonar DX , ultra fidelity 7.1 R977.00

Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer PCI Sound R1,628.00

Take2 pricing:

Asus Xonar DX Ultra Fidelity 7.1 Channel Sound Card - PCI-E x1 Price: R 974

Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer Audio Sound Card Price: R 1,084

I want to use it for gaming but also to watch HD or Blu-Ray movies, so I need a sound card which will be best for both. So Should I go 7.1 or 5.1 ?
 
I want to use it for gaming but also to watch HD or Blu-Ray movies, so I need a sound card which will be best for both. So Should I go 7.1 or 5.1 ?

For gaming the Creative is better, but creative's drivers are crap, especially under vista.

Take the Asus.

A 5.1 sound system will work with a 7.1 sound card, if that's what you're asking.
 
For gaming the Creative is better, but creative's drivers are crap, especially under vista.

Take the Asus.

A 5.1 sound system will work with a 7.1 sound card, if that's what you're asking.

hehe ok so then 7.1 it is guessing from your post :p
I have an Asus board so Asus would be better yes ? Also I only have one PCI-E slot so it needs to be a PCI card :)

Asus Xonar DX , ultra fidelity 7.1 R977.00 is PCI ?
 
hehe ok so then 7.1 it is guessing from your post :p
I have an Asus board so Asus would be better yes ? Also I only have one PCI-E slot so it needs to be a PCI card :)

Asus Xonar DX , ultra fidelity 7.1 R977.00 is PCI ?

Are you sure about that? The pci-e sound cards use the small 1x pci-e slots, even though they will work in the 16x pci-e gfx card slots.

Have a look at your board, check if it has small slots around 3cm long, some have the 4xpci-e slots, half the length of the 16x gfx card slot.
 
How do I check if my XP is 64 bit or 32 bit ?

most standard xp installations are 32 bit unless you requested 64 bit when you bought it.
but your new rig will work best with vista 64 with your extra ram ,and dx 10
gaming needs vista anyway unless your'e going to wait for windows 7.
current new hardware is optimised for vista although most will work with xp.
 
Are you sure about that? The pci-e sound cards use the small 1x pci-e slots, even though they will work in the 16x pci-e gfx card slots.

Have a look at your board, check if it has small slots around 3cm long, some have the 4xpci-e slots, half the length of the 16x gfx card slot.

it's an Asus P5 something something -SE board
 
Can't go much wrong with a P5 whatever. Great overclockers. I would personally wait till Windows 7 arrives early next year and upgrade to 64 bit - although I think the Core Duo doesn't technically support it.
 
Where can i get DX 10.1 ?

or even DX 10
 
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I have vista ultimate and a force 3D HD 4850
 
That means you should be dx10.1 capable if you have vista sp1.

i think only ati cards are are presently 10.1 capable, nvidia up to dx10 at present.

oops sorry . didn't notice you have an ati hd 4850 already.
 
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Back to my original question where do i get DX 10.1 from ?
 
Why not rather go for 2 x 2GB?

Gaming RAM I'd go for Corsair Dominator but I've heard good things about the Mushkin equivalent.

Best mouse and keyboard - probably Logitech G9 and G15 respectively.

You're going to be gaming on 17" max? Can't see any thing really special in that size, all seem standard.

Case-wise I'd go for the CoolerMaster CM690, very well-priced. Anted 900 is also very nice and not too expensive. If you want to fork out a lot then I'd go for one of the CoolerMaster Cosmos cases.

700watt would be overkill, I'd go for a 550watt Antec/CoolerMaster PSU.

Yeah, 700W is too much.
2x2GB is a better choice than 4x1GB.
17" is puny... really puny... 22" pwns everything else and the 4870 is perfect.
 
No offence to you, but whenever I see someone recommend a "gaming" mouse pad I smile.

A while ago NAG did a pretty thorough of a whole bunch of "gaming" mouse pads.

Guess what won.

A polished porcelain tile. I kid you not.

R150 bucks for a box and if one breaks you have 9spare. :D

lol no offence to you but anyone who believes NAG's hardware reviews is a fool. I'm not a fan of NAG tbh and it would be just like them to put something gimmicky in a hardware review to make their readers feel like they have the "inside scoop" even if its just a bunch of made up BS.
This setup has been tested by the world's premier computer magazines and websites as well as the world's best competitive players, and I'll tell you now that the majority of the time it has been the "best" choice :D
If you really wana play on a tile then go ahead rofl - I have actually tried it out and it felt stupid, AND IT WAS COLD :P:P
 
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