Is it worth it? Any recommendations?

[Quixotic]

1. COOLER MASTER Ammo 533 RC-533-SWN1 Black/Silver Aluminum+Plastic front bezel; SECC chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16811119098
2. Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 (Perpendicular Recording) ST3320620A 320GB 7200 RPM IDE Ultra ATA100 Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16822148139
3. eVGA 768-P2-N831-AR GeForce 8800GTX 768MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16814130072
4. OCZ GameXStream OCZ600GXSSLI ATX12V 600W Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16817341001
5. CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16820145034
6. GIGABYTE GA-965P-DS3 Socket T (LGA 775) Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16813128012
7. Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 Conroe 2.13GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6400 - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16819115004

Three questions I do have though... regarding the 8800gtx... that is one expensive video card. I mainly play WOW and my wife does graphic editing. Do I really need that powerful of a card or can I downgrade to a 7900gtx or a 1950xt type card?

Question 2 is what cpu cooler is recommended?

Question 3 is that I have a Antec 550w Truepower and an older Antec full tower case. Will the 550w PSU handle it?

I plan to buy buy first week of January so your help is really appreciated.

 

[Pitcher]

1st-go for the 8800gtx...though it's expensive it has DX10 support
it will be a plus for your wife's futur softwares and your future games

2nd- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16835186134
This one is pretty good and cheap

3rd- if you plan to upragde chose a 600W PSU to be sure

That'a pretty nice comp you're buying....go for it....

 

[mabaty]

Ok most is fine but..

1. Why buy a new PSU for just 50watt, the 550w will handle the system. If you are going to buy a new PSU go ahead and get a 700-800watt and be done for a while.

2. The ammo case will not fit an 8800gtx I have heard.

3. the 8800 will run WoW into the ground, a 7900gt or gtx would be killer for wow, so it comes down to how much money you have basically.

 

[haywood]

Almost the same rig I just ordered. Check the case as the 8800 is a big card and needs plenty of room and cooling.

What size monitor? The GTX is a waste if you are running lower than 1600x1200 resolution. You could also get the GTS version as it would handle WoW easily.

No cooler necessary unless you extreme overclock, stock cooler is fine.

Your power supply may not have the amps on the 12v rails for a GTX. The OCZ you listed is what I just bought and would run the GTX although mine will be powering a GTS.

 

[Quixotic]

8800 gts or gtx.... If I go with the 8800 gts and for my needs... is it worth it to just upgrade the psu to a 700w and maybe even upgrade the cpu to a 6600?

Is there any recommendations on what case is best for a 8800? I definitely dont need anything fancy... just looking for a case to stick under a desk so it doesnt have to be pretty. LOL I liked the ammo case only because it had the reset and power buttons on top... I play wow so that makes me pretty lazy just to bend down 12 inches to push the smaller button.

I just purchased a 20.1" widescreen with 5ms. It was a good deal so the resolution question... it would be hard for me to answer bc Im usually on my laptop... even when i play wow.

I would appreciate any recommendations on the case and/or an upgraded psu so I can purchase it once the consensus comes through. But, reading the posts on this thread and others... maybe ill just go with the 8800gts and upgrade the chip??? Is that a better choice?

 

[Pitcher]

I use an nzxt nemesis elite it's just fine for the 8800GTX card

 

[weskurtz81]

If you are planning on going with SLI, then you might want a little bit larger PSU, otherwise, that PSU can push your system with no issues.

wes

 

[Pitcher]

I tried SLI no isuue with my PSU....pretty stable

 

[weskurtz81]

What PSU do you have? Just curious, doing some PSU myth busting here, that you need 1kw for air cooled system with SLI 8800gtx's. I assume you have a 600W psu, but post your specs please so I am not speculating.

wes

 

[Pitcher]

3800+ 64X2
1xleadtek 8800GTX
3x250Gb maxotr diamond plus 10
1x320Gb seagate barracuda
asus m2n-SLI
1Gb kingston value ram 667Mhz
550Wraptoxx 2.0 modded@600W PSU

no need for more to power a SLI

and 1Kw is a bit too much....could be usefull though in 1 or 2 years....

tried SLI with a friend's card just to know if my PSU would handle it...it does...
is that what you wanted for specs?

 

[weskurtz81]

Yeah,

That works, thanks for the specs. Well, the word is, future cards will actually use less power than the latest and greatest G80 and R600 when it comes out. So, you probably wouldn't need a 1kw, even for the future(unless using crazy water setup or peltier). Thanks again, there you have it folks, 600 what PSU running two cards in SLI. I assume you stressed the system, played games and whatnot to see if the PSU could push it over a period of time.

wes

 

[Quixotic]

Personally, I dont plan on using the SLI for video cards. I dont need that much on video for what I and my wife do. But, thank you for the suggestion.

I appreciate the update on the PSU. Ill go with the 700w just in case. I do have the 550w Antec 2.0 true power but I was afraid of the fact that it does not have all SATA cables and I bought it last year. Im thinking a newer psu (even though it is only a 150w upgrade) would have the newest connections so I wouldnt have to worry about it.

The case... thank you for the suggestion.

So, the final question is... should I downgrade the video card from a 8800gtx to a 8800gts and just use the 200 dollar savings into a better 6600 cpu? If I do the video downgrade and cpu upgrade.. it comes out to be 50 dollars cheaper. what do you think of this?

1. Antec Performance One P180B Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel for durability through the majority of chassis 1.0mm cold rolled steel around the 4 x HDD area ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - 129.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16811129017
2. Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 (Perpendicular Recording) ST3320620A 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache IDE Ultra ATA100 Hard Drive - 94.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16822148139
3. eVGA 640-P2-N821-AR GeForce 8800GTS 640MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card - 429.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16814130071
4. OCZ GameXStream OCZ700GXSSLI ATX12V 700W Power Supply - Retail - 274.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16820145034
5. Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6600 - 317.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16819115003
6. Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 SP2b w/Upgrade Coupon for Vista - OEM - 109.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16832116171
Total = 1505.95

Final consensus from the PC gods on this forum?