Building a system this week, final specs,..,whatd'ya think?

[amc3000]

Been doing some research for a few weeks now. Think I got my system specced out. Hoping I can get some feedback on it. This will be a day to day desktop that can play WoW very nicely. Maybe some other games in the future. No need for SLI, not really big into OC'ing, but not opposed either. Here goes:

Case: Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
I actually bought this today at a local Micro Center for $129 no tax.

Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3R LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128050

Proc: Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 Conroe 2.66GHz 4M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115029

Memory: Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146565

Hard Drive: Western Digital 160GB 7,200RPM SATA-300 Hard Drive
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id =0235235
**The Micro Center where I bought my case today has this on sale for $59 no tax. Was going Seagate but this is a good price.

GPU: SAPPHIRE 100186L Radeon X1950XT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 VIVO HDCP Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102067

Good card here, initially thought about the EVGA 320-P2-N811-AR GeForce 8800GTS 320MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card. Its $100 more, but not sure if I really need it to play WoW.

PS: Corsair 520W SLI Certified Modular ATX Power Supply
http://www.buy.com/prod/corsair-520w-sli-certified-modular-atx-power-suppl y/q/loc/101/203270716.html


DVD/R - Haven't really searched for one yet
Thermal Compound
*I think that is about it. I might get another CPU cooler, but from what I read, if I dont do any OC'ing the fan that comes with the CPU will be fine.

How does it look? Any suggestions?? Thanks in advance.

 

[amc3000]

Cant get the link for the PSU to work, but its $99 at Buy.com with free shipping

 

[Maziar]

For WoW , x1950xt will be fine , but i would get the 320mb gts , it will be better with upcoming games ,

well , i wont recommand u the Q6600 , because its not needed for ur needs, but if u want to have both DDR2 and DDR3 ram , u can get ASUS P5KC ,or GIGABYTE P35C DS3R ,

overall ur system looks good

 

[Daredevil_8]

P35C-DS3R is having issues w/lots of people..gives you 3-4 second reboots, and you can't turn it on past that (mine did it as well..first dead mobo out of like 7). The regular p35-ds3r is fine apaprently.

I usually get a different CPU cooler because the intel one is kinda loud But you definitely don't -need- it.

Newegg is usually overpriced on Corsair PSU's...get it elsewhere for sure(It's a fantastic PSU btw, I have it and love it )

Rest looks good! Good luck on the build!

 

[Maziar]

But there are many useres in this forum who are happy with both P5KC and P35C DS3R

 

[Hapcorrolr]

I am also building a system this week and have almost identical specs to yours.

The only differences being: an Asus mobo instead of the Gigabyte for no other reason than it has built-in wireless, upping the wattage on the Corsair to the 620watt model, and instead of the Sapphire x1950XT, I've decided to go with an EVGA 8800GTS 320. I think I'll be happier with that card down the road, and the price is just too good to pass up right now.
I'm saving a little on the case and going with the NZXT Lexa Blackline that just came out not too long ago.
As far as the memory, I'm also running with 2 gigs of Crucial DDR-800.

Nice choices on your parts and good luck with your build!

 

[amc3000]

so, is the difference in the x1950 and the EVGA 8800GTS just like night and day? Im trying see if the exra 100 bucks is worth it.

Also, ive read something about some of the power supply cables not being long enough in the Antec 900 case? Is this true?

 

[phineas]

This is very close to the build that I am thinking of.

I am opting for the Q6600 processor, a Seagate Barracuda 320GB 7200rpm ($75), same mobo, ram, gpu, psu, a Coolermaster Centurion 5 case, and this DVD:

Sony NEC Optiarc Black 18X DVD+R 6X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 18X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 18X DVD±R DVD Burner, OEM Version - OEM.

My only question is -- since I have a monitor with 1680x1050 resolution, is the x1950xt enough to play decent games? Gaming is not the reason why I am building this computer, but I would certainly like to play the various Battlefield incarnations as they come out... and anything else that catches my eye. I am not a big FPS guy, so perhaps the games I play will be less graphics-intensive? What does everybody think?

 

[zenmaster]

Your RAM will really hold back your CPU.

Consider DDR2-1066 or an E6850.
With that RAM a G0 Q6600 would work well.

 

[shoota]

as for your dvd drive you'll definatley want a sata drive. i just ordered this one with a promo code from newegg for 28.99, not bad at all.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106070

promo code: EMC802ODD11

oh and i just got the x1950xt btw and it's a great card. i was thinking about the 8800 gts as well but since vista and dx10 gaming isn't going to be mature for a while i didn't trust the 8800 to do the job down the line. so i ordered the x1950xt to hold me over till some games come out for vista and dx10... just a thought for ya

 

[amc3000]

Thanks for the replies.

Zenmaster, you say the memory will hold back the CPU? I just been researching others' posts and seems alot of people get that same memory for that board. Should I be looking at a different speed memory? 1066?

 

[Hapcorrolr]

I just wanted to point out that this GeCube x1950xt is $169.99 right now, after mail-in rebate, and has 512MB vs. 256MB on the Sapphire card.

 

[Hapcorrolr]

A link would be helpful

http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16814241063

 

[amc3000]

can someone explain what zenmaster was saying? With that CPU I have picked out, I need to run different memory??

 

[Dior]

can someone explain what zenmaster was saying? With that CPU I have picked out, I need to run different memory??

Not sure what he was referring to. That kit is great for an E6750, should work flawlessly.If you decide to overclock, with decent aftermarket cooling you can reach 3.4Ghz and higher. I don't see how this memory can possibly hold it back.

 

[amc3000]

Got my system built last week. Final specs were:
____________________________________________________________
Case: Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - $129

Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3R LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - $129

Proc: Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 Conroe 2.66GHz 4M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor - $189

Memory: Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - $109 w/ $30 MIR

Hard Drive: Western Digital 160GB 7,200RPM SATA-300 Hard Drive - $59

GPU: SAPPHIRE 100186L Radeon X1950XT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 VIVO HDCP Video Card - $170

PS: Corsair 620HX SLI Certified Modular ATX Power Supply - $169 w/$30 MIR

Optical: SAMSUNG 18X DVD±R DVD Burner With 12X DVD-RAM Write, LightScribe Technology Black SATA Model SH-S183L - OEM -$36

Monitor: SAMSUNG 226BW Black 22" 2 ms (GTG) DVI Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 700:1(DC 3000:1) - $319 w/ $30 MIR (Fry's)

Windows XP Professional - Free

$1219 after MIR's
___________________________________________________________

I think thats about it. Loaded it up and plays WoW like a mofo at 1680 x 1050 Widescreen with everything turned up. Getting 60fps. BTW- Even if i turn settings to lower, it still maxes at around 61fps. Cant seem to get it any higher. Is that normal? CPU runs at around 36 degrees Celsius with stock cooler (which seemed to be a pain to install). Case was semi easy to route all the Corsairs cables. Pretty happy with it so far. Thanks for all your help.

 

[cyberlan]

Make sure you dont have Vsynce enabled in the Graphic settings in WOW that would cap your FPS

 

[aevm]

Is your monitor's refresh rate 60Hz by any chance? Maybe the game checks that and limits itself to 60 fps.

 

[amc3000]

hmm, not sure, something I can check on though. Thanks

 

[zenmaster]

When looking at Memory, it's not just the board and the memory.
The CPU is the most critical factor.

The E6750 will OC to just under 3.2Ghz with DDR2-800 unless you OC the RAM.

The E6750 will OC to about 4.2Ghz with DDR2-1066.
The Limit of the CPU itself will be about 4.0Ghz.

The DDR2-800 may be able to OC some, but I'm not sure how far.

Let's say you put a E4400 in this same computer.
The DDR2-800 would let it hit 4.0Ghz or 800Ghz more than the E6750.
However, the CPU itself would likely hit a wall around 3.2Ghz.

An E6550 would hit just over 3.7Ghz on DDR2-1066.
So if working on a budget you could cut back the CPU and increase the ram quality and likely get more performance. However, The E6550 would still be limited by memory in this case, but it would be hitting the wall potentially 500mhz higher.

 

[amc3000]

BTW- that SAMSUNG 226BW I bought over the weekend, I check to see what letter it had on the back, and it didnt have one. The floor model had a "C" on it but i checked mine at the store and it had no letter. The manufacturer date was May 2007. Screen looks great to me.