Bit of a predicament. Need help on deciding parts for PC.

[enforcerfx]

Hello again.


I had originally posted some specs of the PC I was going to build in the upcoming weeks. Until, severe cutbacks have been made due to the car trouble I've been having and have had to donate some money into it to keep her still going.


This is the list I have now. I had a original budget of about $1700 USD with no monitor, keyboard, mouse, speakers.

Now that budget has severely dropped to about 1200 give or take.

I really wanted to have some good gaming experiences with this new computer. And I did want a lot of overclocking room as well, along with graphics power.


I'm stuck in what I should buy and in when I should buy.

Here is the rough copy of what I have so far:

Gigabyte DS3(Model that supports Quad-core) - 130.00
G.Skill 2x1GB PC6400 - 104.99
Intel E6420-E6600 - 189.99-226.00
150GB Raptor - 179.99(after rebate)
Mushkin 580w - 109.99 (after rebate)
Windows XP Home Edition OEM - 89.99

Was looking into a X2900XT instead of a 8800GTX, being that its claimed to be $150.00 cheaper than a 8800GTX and still provide the same quality. But who knows.

DVD-RW - 30.00


Now I wanted to overclock this thing, and I had a Swiftech liquid cooling system picked out, but that was 250.00 and is out of my budget unfortunately. So I have to decide on a good CPU cooler I guess.

Any recommendations here? I also wanted to keep it more silent than the computer I have now(little noisy, but the side panel is off though). I already have sound dampening materials, and a case already.


Suggestions? I want to overclock this thing as much as possible for a good price.

Thanks.

 

[lostandwandering]

Was looking into a X2900XT instead of a 8800GTX, being that its claimed to be $150.00 cheaper than a 8800GTX and still provide the same quality. But who knows.

Some benchmarks that have been released or leaked or whatever you want to call em, put the HD2900XT at about 8800GTS 640 levels. The cards trade blows depending on the game and res. From what I've seen two 2900XT's in crossfire keep up with the GTX.

Since you're on a budget, I say go with the E6420 and save some cash.

 

[apt403]

Instead of a single Raptor get two of these and put 'em in RAID0. Better performance, over 4x the disk space, and cheaper as well.

You can get 2900XTs now, verndewd just posted zzf links to the 3 cards that are on sale. They start at $400.

http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware/2900xt-ftopict236722.html

I would get the Corsair 520HX, more power, and after the rebate it's only $4 more.

The hsf you should get is obvious, the Thermalright Ultra 120 eXtreme. Along with one of these.

 

[enforcerfx]

Really lost? Hmm, I guess Ill go with the 8800GTX then.


And apt, the Mushkin boasts quad rails pushing 20A each on the +12v rails. Ill consider the Corsair one though.


Heres my list though, little outta my price range but Ill manage:


Gigabyte DS3 - 129.99
E6420 - 189.99
Foxconn 8800GTX 519.99 After rebate(overclocked model)
Mushkin 580w - 109.99 after rebate OR Corsair HX520w 114.99 After rebate
2x1GB G.Skill PC2 6400 - 104.99
2 Western Digital 320GB 79.99 X2 = 159.98
Windows XP Home edition OEM - 89.99
Thermalright Extreme 120 Heatsink - 61.99


Any other changes you can see here folks? Thanks.


BUMP.

 

[apt403]

And apt, the Mushkin boasts quad rails pushing 20A each on the +12v rails. Ill consider the Corsair one though.

So? The Corair unit has a total of 40a on the +12v rail, the Mushkin only has 38a. Whether you have 18a or 20a on each rail, it's going to be near impossible for you to overload one with your system. Over at Xtremesystems, a guy had a QX6700 @ 3.8ghz, a vmodded 8800gtx, 3gb of ram, multiple fans, and a wc system, all running off a 500w Enermax Liberty (32a).

 

[enforcerfx]

Ah, I see. Well the Corsair HX520w it is!


BUMP.