Nearly ready to order. Last minute tips appreciated!

[FXRH]

I'm going to order my system this weekend and would appreciate critiques on my choices.

I'm looking to OC (nothing too extreme).
Rig is slanted towards gaming but will also be used for media/biz apps.
SLI is not a must but I'd like the option once the DX10 games start coming online (I'll either add another 8800GTS or get the new DX10 cards in a few months).

Case: Antec Performance One P180B Black 0

Optical Drive: 2 x Pioneer 16X DVD±R DVD Burner With 5X DVD-RAM

CPU Cooling: Scythe SCINF-1000 120mm CPU Cooling Fan (Will this work with my mobo and case?)

RAM: CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 675 (PC2 5400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X2048-5400c4

Mobo: ASUS P5N-E SLI LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 650i

HDs: Western Digital Raptor WD1500ADFD 150GB 10,000 RPM Serial
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 (Perpendicular Recording) ST3320620A 320GB 7200 RPM IDE Ultra ATA100 Hard Drive - OEM

Power Supply: Thermaltake W0106RU Complies with ATX 12V 2.2 & EPS 12V version 700W Power Supply - Retail

CPU: E6600

Sound Card: Creative 70SB046A00000 7.1 Channels PCI Interface Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer Fatal1ty Professional Series - Retail

Speakers: Creative Inspire P7800 90 Watts 7.1 Speaker

GPU: BFG Tech BFGR88640GTSE GeForce 8800GTS 640MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card - Retail

WiFi: D-Link DWL-AG530 PCI Tri-Mode Dualband Wireless Adapter - Retail


Thanks in advance for your input!

 

[asusman]

Make sure that psu fits, those run Wide by a 1/4 inch.

 

[wimcle]

My $.02 (worth less with inflation)

downgrade the cpu to a 6400 (both will clock in the same 3.2-3.4Ghz range anyways)

take that that $100+ and upgrade to the 8800gtx, this will result in a *MUCH* faster gaming machine at the same price.

 

[merc14]

I'd get DDR2 800 RAM and a board with 32 lanes of PCIe for the 8800 series. I believe the 650i is limited to 16 lanes of PCIe which may not be enough for an 8800 series card, at least not the 8800GTX (GTS possibly). I haven't seen much written about how much bandwidth the 8800 series takes up but I know that a 7950GX2 used well over 8 lanes of PCIe and the 8800GTS has similar performance with the GTX way above that. Might be worth some research.

 

[Talon]

One change I might make is to get Lite-On drives with the SATA interface instead of IDE drives. Won't necessarily make them faster but will help with case clutter and I think that mobo has only one IDE port so rather than congesting the one IDE with 2 drives you can put them on their own separate SATA and should be slightly improved performance at least. Airflow can only improve as well, shrug.

 

[Crapola]

I'd get DDR2 800 RAM and a board with 32 lanes of PCIe for the 8800 series. I believe the 650i is limited to 16 lanes of PCIe which may not be enough for an 8800 series card, at least not the 8800GTX (GTS possibly). I haven't seen much written about how much bandwidth the 8800 series takes up but I know that a 7950GX2 used well over 8 lanes of PCIe and the 8800GTS has similar performance with the GTX way above that. Might be worth some research.

Sorry, but that's not true... the 8X PCI-E x 2 runs just as fast for the 8800... So, the 650i is just as good... check this out:

http://anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=2894

8O

 

[avarice]

With regards to the PS - you seem to want the modular cables, which is not a bad idea with the P180B case. The Thermaltake W0106RU will fit in the ruberized cage on the P180 - however it will be a bit longer than a normal PS- possibly requiring you to remove the lower fan. My PS is 8.6x15x14 cm (HxWxD), the Thermaltake W0106RU is 8.5x15x16. Without the modular cables, I have had to push and tug the wires to keep them away from the fan.

I wouldn't worry too much about this though - the 140mm fan in that PS should be fine for drawing air through the lower chamber. You should still consider putting drives in the lower cage - even without the lower fan.

One thing you might want to do is to move the lower fan into the upper chamber - you will likely need to remove the upper drive cage to make room for the 8800GTS - however there is a mounting point right behind the upper air filter that you could mount this extra fan. That would provide a forced input fan and two exhaust fans in the upper area.

Good luck with the build.

 

[merc14]

I'd get DDR2 800 RAM and a board with 32 lanes of PCIe for the 8800 series. I believe the 650i is limited to 16 lanes of PCIe which may not be enough for an 8800 series card, at least not the 8800GTX (GTS possibly). I haven't seen much written about how much bandwidth the 8800 series takes up but I know that a 7950GX2 used well over 8 lanes of PCIe and the 8800GTS has similar performance with the GTX way above that. Might be worth some research.

Sorry, but that's not true... the 8X PCI-E x 2 runs just as fast for the 8800... So, the 650i is just as good... check this out:

http://anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=2894

8O

Thanks mate. I hadn't read that before. I'd still be hesitant to plug two GTX cards in a 16x board because I believe that DX10 will really get the most from the 8 series but nice to know that it isn't a showstopper at all and there is actually very little difference between 32x and 16x. Thanks again for the link.