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Trying to finalize but am too ignorant, need help!

Forum Homebuilt Systems : General Homebuilt - Trying to finalize but am too ignorant, need help!

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Okay, have to buy and build and have it stable within 2 weeks. Trying to keep it cheap as possible while having good value for the money, with no upgrades needed for some time to come.

Meant to run a high-end MMO that has just gone into Beta.

My skill level is low, I haven't built anything since 2003. I can handle a small amount of OC but do not troubleshoot issues well so I need solid parts.

I decided to wait on Vista and see if I can get it to run on 2k. I dont own XP and dont want to buy it if it wont last a long time like 2k did for me. I dont like DRM because I do a lot of work with video, and I plan on listening to my music, and I have lots of old software I dont plan on repurchasing either. Also, some sites are starting to sell music without DRM so I dont see the point in getting tangled in an OS built around it when sales sites are beginning to abandon it.

Have a better idea now on things.
updated below

Appreciate any help you can give!

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Time to tear apart your setup!

OK now, if you are beta-testing an MMO (I assume you will be keeping notes on the hard drive), you will want a RAID1 or RAID5 configuration. For graphics, either card is good though the more expensive card will run a bit better at high-res. For RAM, you can find less-expensive RAM for about half as much--DDR2 800 should be grand (the DDR2 1066 is overclocked DDR2 800). I would recommend against either motherboard. The CPU heatsink/fan should be good. Some better motherboards include a northbridge fan. For DVD burners, look for SATA (Asus has a nice model at $36 with LightScribe--just an extra feature that you might end up wanting, like I did). For processors, I would go with a C2D E6420 (4MB cache). As for PSU, just make sure it can handle the graphics card (12V@26+A, iirc for the GF8800GTS's).

So, here is what I'd put out for...

2 x Western Digital WD3200AAKS, 320GB in RAID1 ($80/each)
2 x 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2 800 ($70/each 2GB kit)
EVGA nForce 680i SLI S.E. (older version, only lacks front-panel firewire) ($160)
Asus 18x DVD burner (12x DVD-RAM, SATA, lightscribe, all in black) ($36)
Intel Core 2 Duo E6420 ($186)
EVGA GeForce 8800GTS 640MB ($350)
AMS Mercury 550watt EPS12V power supply ($90)
XClio WindTunnel Black ($130)
Windows Vista Ultimate, 64-bit, OEM ($190)

Total for that is $1450. That system is top-of-the-line. You can dual-boot Windows 2000 and Windows Vista if you want.

Reply to Bobsama

http://www.msicomputer.com/product [...] m&class=mb
http://www.msicomputer.com/product [...] I&class=mb

They BOTH run x16 on single & x8 on SLI. No diff. The copper cooling is better on the plat. IMO, if you get a good mobo, get a good cpu. i.e. 680i + e6600/6700. I see some unbalanced setups with 680i + 4300 for example. You can do that, but you're prolly not getting the most out of it. Def. not best bang. So if you want cheap & good o/c:

msn p6n sli fi + g.skill hz

The rest are good choices. I won't bother telling you which to get. Can't go wrong.

Reply to akhilles

What about this new board?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 3R&x=0&y=0

then I could get a long term upgrade based board that I wouldnt have to rebuy later.

Id still have a slower CPU but I could upgrade that to a quad down the road.

Gigabyte ga-p35c-ds3r $177
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813128048
e4300 $115
http://www.newegg.com/product/prod [...] 6819115013
Gskill pc2 6400 2x1gb $115
http://www.newegg.com/product/prod [...] 6820231065
Sata HD $70
http://www.newegg.com/product/prod [...] 6820231065
Any Drive $38
http://www.newegg.com/product/prod [...] 6827151141
A cooler $41
http://www.newegg.com/product/prod [...] 6835186134
EVGA 8800 gts 320mb 500mhz $296 (-20)
http://www.newegg.com/product/prod [...] 6814130082

And a PSU ($120) I can't find a PSU without SLI,I dont want dual rails for SLI, just one good line for 1 video card. Something quiet and efficient.

What about this at 158?
Silencer 610
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817703005

Total is $990 with shipping, which is within my budget (Don't want to surpass $999)

Reply to divpers

I wouldn't pair a $177 mobo with a $115 cpu. That's just me. If you want, go ahead.

Intel P35 is the next chipset for C2D. Like P965 was last year. However, the board you chose uses DDR2. It won't be very future-proof. DDR2 is old, IMO. If I were to go P35, I'd wait for DDR3. The DDR3 will be expensive. P35 + quad + ddr2 are great for now.

Nobody forces you to run SLI on SLI mobo. it's your choice. It's my choice to run single video on SLI, why? Cuz I can. & I overclock. I won't be getting dual cards. My next one will prolly be 680i. + a faster cpu.

Reply to akhilles

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