Still new to this..

[Madek]

I know this gets asked very often on these boards but I would really appreciate some help from you guys. I'm building a new computer for gaming and will be playing all the new games coming out later this year, and will also be going back and playing games that I never had a chance to finish (Doom 3, Half-life 2, Bioshock, Prey..) Keep in mind that I most likely will not be doing any overclocking as I am not experienced with it and am still kind of afraid of ruining any of my PRECIOUS hardware. If you think it would be worth it to look into overclocking and switching up my hardware, please let me know.


COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-2GBNQ - Retail

AeroCool ZERODBA ZERODBA-S620 EPS 12V & ATX 12V 2.02 compliant with Powerful Dual +12V Rails 620W Power Supply - Retail

SAMSUNG 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model SH-S203B - OEM

GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3R LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

EVGA 768-P2-N831-AR GeForce 8800GTX 768MB 384-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail

Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 Conroe 3.0GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6850 - Retail


Now some questions on my part.

Would getting another hard drive and running a RAID help performance in game? If it takes a few seconds less to load something without any fps increase.. then it's not a big deal for me.

I picked the Aerocool power supply because I've read that it's very stable and a solid power supply. This power supply should be fine, correct?

Went with the gskill memory because it has received great reviews on newegg.. does anyone know if I will encounter any problems with running the default timings on the gigabyte mother board?

I'm thinking of going with the E6850 over the Q6600 based on the fact that I most likely will not be overclocking. Would this be a smart choice? How simple is it to reach 3.0ghz on the Q6600 with air cooling? I've never OC'ed a processor before and am a little confused on how difficult of a task it actually is.

Does anyone notice any foreseeable problems I would run into if I went with this hardware? Are there any changes you would immediately make? I'm trying to build a stable computer that will run excellent without any overclocking... unless it can be accomplished easily without much harm on my end. I'll greatly appreciate any help from you guys. Thanks!

 

[avarice]

The E6600 which I have is enough for any game I have come across - and I have heard great things about the Q6600. With the components you are looking at (with the exception of the PSU) you will be getting excellent FPSs in just about everything - including Oblivion (one of the most intense graphics games out there). With that - I would not plan on needing to overclock.....but just keep it open for an option. To keep that option open, get a solid aftermarket Heatsink and Fan. I have Arctic Cooling Freezer Pro 7 on mine - and it does a good middle of the road job. There are better heatsinks out there - but this is a good price/performance for me.

The power supply seems - ok - but you could do better. You seem to want modular cables which isn't bad - I would think you could get a more powerful PSU if you went for the FSP FX-700 - for about the same money (just not modular). Compare the number of rails and amps and you will see. Better yet - read the PS 101 stickey and make sure you get a tier 2 or better PSU.

Also - the Hard drive seems a bit small - just plan on having to add a second within the year. Games do tend to take up a lot of space.

Good luck.

 

[emp]

Even though that PSU was used on a Tom's article, I criticized their choice before, and still am. For the kind of money you are paying for it you could get a more powerful, better known brand, with most likely better quality parts and stability. What comes to mind are the Corsair HX series (Corsair 520HX), Antec NeoHE series (500 or 550), or a Seasonic M12 or S12 series too (M12 500 or S12 550).

 

[Madek]

Would this power supply be a much better choice?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139002

 

[lunyone]

Yes the Corsair 620HX would be better, but for the $ right now, this is a screaming deal:
PSU - $100 shipped - $45 MIR = $55, can’t beat for this price
Antec NeoPower NeoHE 550 ATX12V 550W Power Supply 100 - 240 V UL, CUL, TUV, CE, FCC, CCC, CB, C-tick – Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817103941

You shouldn't need any more that that. It's efficient >80% and has plenty of clean good power!

 

[aevm]

YES. I was just going to tell you about it

I'd recommend a Q6600. It will help in Crysis and Hellgate and Flight Simulator and Supreme Commander, in the short term. Long term, most games should start supporting quads.

I'd get Seagate 7200.10 drives, the 500 GB model - best bang for the buck. WD5000AAKS (also 500 GB) is just as good, if you prefer. RAID won't help as much as you'd expect, but you could try it, sure.

A really good CPU cooler: Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme.

Not sure about the case. Reviews say it's pretty good for the money. However, if you can afford the 8800 GTX you can probably afford a nicer case too. Do you like any of these, for example: Thermaltake Armor, Antec 900, Antec P182, Silverstone TJ09?

 

[emp]

The Corsair HX and Antec NeoHE series are both manufactured by Seasonic, that's why you will find them to be very similar in quality, stability, and power output on the same wattage range (i.e. NeoHE 500 outputs 38A on 12V rails, Corsair 520HX outputs 40A, and the NeoHE 550 outputs 42A.)