Would like some input on building my own

[nosehavingdog]

Am I overclocking? (Yes, no, or I'm interested but currently unsure about overclocking)
If yes, how much will you be overclocking? (Very little, as far as I can on stock voltage, as far as I can with minor voltage increase [less than 10%], as far as possible on air, or as far as possible on water)

TBH I dont know how to overclock a computer really, so the short answer is no. Probably, once I figure it out more, I'd probably try to do it.

What is my budget? ($ amount. Specify if Canadian or USD)

Want to spend 1500-2500 total. USD

Usage of the Computer? (Gaming, work, HTPC, Video Editting, Image Editting ...)

Mainly for gaming. I'll also use general office applications, but that shouldnt matter in any way, nothing extensive there. However I also want to use FRAPS screen capture software and do some video editing. I'll probalby just use whatever editing software I can find to start, may later "get" a version of adobe.

What games do you play? (Specify what games you play, if any)

Mostly Eve online, and its a priority for me to be able to multiclient it. Will probably also play Supreme commander and Command and Conquer 3 when it comes out.

What resolution do you use your computer at? (Specify resolution)

I plead ignorance to this one.

Do you use multiple monitors? (Yes or no)

Want to use 2.

Do you have any additional questions or comments? (List them here)

I'd like to also try to have an easy upgrade path, ie SLI compatible, be able to go to dual core later.

My plan right now was just to pretty much use Sanjis build in another thread

E6600 GTX Build

Sanjis helpfil guide thread.

 

[drummerdude]

what are you asking? you answered all of your own questions.

 

[nosehavingdog]

I mostly just wanted to get some feedback in case anyone thought there was something worth changing etc.. prefer to get a variety of responses rather than just from 1 guy since I am pretty new to all this.

 

[drummerdude]

Case: (variable, check Case Selection.)
$45
For build purposes, $45 (Centurion 5) is the assumed price. Price may fluctuate depending on case.
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6600 - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115003
$313
One of the best C2D overclockers with a whole 4GB of cache.
Mobo:GIGABYTE GA-965P-DS3 LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813128012
$122.99
Proven overclocker. Great stuff, upgrade path to Quad-Core. The D stands for durable.
RAM: Patriot 1GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Desktop Memory Model PSD21G8002 (x2) - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16820220088
$149.98
Sets the stage for a 3.6ghz+ overclock. Memory overclocks decently.
GPU: EVGA 768-P2-N831-AR GeForce 8800GTX 768MB is the assumed GPU for this build. The price $529.99 is assumed.
Please see the Graphic Card Suggestions for other suggested cards.
HD: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250820AS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive (x2) - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822148142
$149.98
RAID 0 for maximum performance.
DVD: SAMSUNG Black 18X DVD±R DVD Burner With 12X DVD-RAM Write E-IDE/ATAPI - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827151133
$30.99
DVD burner. Generic.
PSU: Antec True Power Trio TP3-650 ATX12V 650W Power Supply with Three 12V Rails 100 - 240 V UL, CUL, FCC, TUV, CE, C-tick, CCC, CB - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817371001
$129.99
This'll power the GTX and a solid OC. Very Happy
CPU Cooling: (variable, check Intel Cooler.)
For build purposes, $40 (Scythe SCNJ-1100P) will be assumed. Price may vary based upon cooler.
Total: $1496.91

ok, lets see...
1) since you could possibly want sli in the future, you'll need and sli compatible mother board: EVGA NVIDIA nForce 680i

2) look into a better case than the one listed

3) raid 0 is up to you, just remember if one drive fails in the array you lose everything. so it would be better to have some sort of backup or just go for one large single drive.

4) again if your going sli later, you will need a bigger power supply, about 850W for dual gtx's. check out this list: Official XS Tiered PSU

 

[nosehavingdog]

Ok thanks for the hints, the different mobo sounds like a good choice, would it work to upgrade the ram from 2G to 4G with this different patriot memory kit?

Patriot 2*2G

This was the powersupply that I found based on that tier list

SILVERSTONE ST85ZF

Finally I was thinking of possibly getting 2 hard drives, with one high rpm drive maybe 10,000 or 15,000 and one slower rpm for storage but I was told that would only marginally increase performance

 

[dietzjack]

First you need to select your components. You have already selected 2 components in your original post, E6600 and 8800GTX. Now you need to select other components. You need:
Case
Power Supply (Sometimes included with case)
CPU - Got it
CPU Cooler/Heatsink - One comes with retail versions of your processor, but I don't recommend using this one. There are others that are much better in terms of noise/cooling.
Motherboard
Graphics - Got it
Memory/RAM
Hard Disk/HDD
Optical Drive
Mouse/Keyboard/Monitor - Optional

Other stuff (Wireless NIC, TV capture, extra HDD/optical, Mem card reader, Floppy, webcam, case fans, fan controller, you name it)
OS Software - Linux is free, but since your getting a 8800GTX (for games) you need windows. Pick either XP or Vista, your choice (XP is slightly cheaper, I would go with that, but its your choice).

I would go to a place like PCStats.com or ARS Technica (arstechnica.com) and follow one of their component selection guides to fill in the rest of the components above. If you have a lot of time you can read multiple reviews for each component. I liked the case reviews at http://silentpcreview.com. For all of the other components you can find reviews right here at tomshardware.com. Also check out other forum posts - Every so often you will see people post their chosen components in a thread and ask for a critique - you can do this if you want once you have selected your components.

Then you need to order the components you selected and build your system. There are a number of guides for this as well. You could check out this THG article to get started (It's part 1 of a series). There are build guides on this forum too, I'm not sure exactly where they are. If you have trouble when building your system post on the forums for help.

For my first build not too long ago, I had a lot of trouble putting it together. I put it all together and it didn't work. I took it to a computer repair place and they finished my build for me (I didn't have the materials needed for proper troubleshooting, like a known good PSU, known good RAM, etc...). It turned out:
My board (ASUS P5B-VM) was defective, I had to RMA it. Lesson learned: Don't buy ASUS motherboards.
My RAM was an off-brand kind, and turned out to be incompatible with my board. Lesson learned: Buy on-brand RAM ("Value Series" RAM is OK, just not an off brand). Patriot, Corsair, Mushkin, OCZ, Super Talent (I'm forgetting many) are all good. Don't buy PQI or store brands.
I recently finished my second build and that went off without a hitch, everything worked the first time I powered on the system. So don't get discouraged if you fail the first time.

Overclocking: Sorry, there are no good overclocking guides on THG anymore. Check out this overclocking article in the THG forums . If you want a 10% overclock, you stand no chance/very little chance of ruining your hardware. Honestly I have never heard of people ruining their hardware by overclocking. Be careful when you enter voltage settings, as this is a good way to ruin your hardware quickly. If you try to push your system too hard, you will notice computing problems like lockups usually well before permanent CPU damage occurs. People have gotten 50% overclocks on C2D before. 10% is a piece of cake, easy to do with air cooling only. You can do it with the stock cooler that ships with retail C2Ds. I don't recommend you use the stock cooler, there are others that are cheap and very much better.

Multiple monitors: EVERY version of the 8800GTX released thus far supports multiple monitors. Nvidia drivers also support this. Windows also supports this. The short answer is you will be able to use multiple monitors if you have an 8800GTX. If your only goal was multiple monitors you could get away with a much cheaper card, but since you game the 8800GTX is fine. I'm not sure if any games you mentioned support multiple monitors, very few games do. The feature is used mainly for office apps.

Your budget will probably be closer to $1500.

 

[nosehavingdog]

well this is what i have so far

Brians computer list

I clicked share, so hopefully that will work

I went with 4 gigs of ram (2*2g sticks) from patriot, is that overkill?

 

[wilcoxon]

Ok thanks for the hints, the different mobo sounds like a good choice, would it work to upgrade the ram from 2G to 4G with this different patriot memory kit?

Patriot 2*2G

This was the powersupply that I found based on that tier list

SILVERSTONE ST85ZF

Finally I was thinking of possibly getting 2 hard drives, with one high rpm drive maybe 10,000 or 15,000 and one slower rpm for storage but I was told that would only marginally increase performance

Vista 32-bit only really supports around 3.1GB of RAM (so you won't get full benefit from 4GB).

The Silverstone PSU looks decent (no experience with them).

Unless you have money to burn, skip the 15k. Personally, I like the WD Raptor 10k RPM (best deal right now is 150GB).

 

[nosehavingdog]

Vista 32-bit only really supports around 3.1GB of RAM (so you won't get full benefit from 4GB).

The Silverstone PSU looks decent (no experience with them).

Unless you have money to burn, skip the 15k. Personally, I like the WD Raptor 10k RPM (best deal right now is 150GB).

But the processor I picked has 64 bit support and I thought that you could use windows vista at 64 bits and use additional ram

Windows Vista Edition 64-bit memory support


Home Basic 8 GB
Home Premium 16 GB
Ultimate 128+ GB
Business 128+ GB
Enterprise 128+ GB

windows vista site about 64 bit support

 

[wilcoxon]

Yes, Vista 64-bit supports more RAM. However, prepare for driver hell with Vista 64-bit (it's gotten better since release but still hell).

 

[drummerdude]

the link doesnt work, just go ahead and list the items and link it if you please. like he said above me, 2 gigs of ram is plenty for now, plus its too expensive ( 2 gig sticks)