Q6600 Build Questions

[esp]

CASE Antec Nine Hundred Already Bought
MOTHERBOARD ABIT IP35-E LGA $90
CPU Intel Core2Quad Q6600 2.4GHz G0 Stepping $267
GRAPHICS nVidia GeForce 8800gt 512mb $250
RAM Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1GB) $89
HARDDRIVE Western Digital 320g $75
CD/DVD Samsung Black 20x DVD Burner $30
PSU Corsair 620watt Power Supply $140
CPU Cooler Thermalright Ultra-120 eXtreme $65

TOTAL $1006




The 8800gt is going to be PCI-E 2.0 Do i need a more expensive mobo for that or does it not matter..?

 

[aevm]

Nope, good mobo. All excellent choices.

Also add a SFF21F fan for the CPU cooler.

You may also want a cooler for the 8800 GT, either Thermalright HR-03 or the Duorb mentioned here:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/245739-33-bearing-good-news

 

[esp]

This is fun now my mouse2 broke and it doesn't register until i release it.

 

[ibleet]

All your choices look just fine.

 

[esp]

anyone else have any suggestions

 

[bobbknight]

What you have on your list will work great, the items below will be better.


PSU

http://www.pcpower.com/products/viewproduct.php?show=S61EPS

DDR2

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231065

 

[chookman]

Stick with your original list... no-ones got anymore to say because i would have to say performance per dollar for gaming rig youve hit the nail on the head.

as AEVM mentioned make sure you get a fan for that badboy cooler you dont get one with it!

 

[aevm]

Oops, I just wanted to mention that the Thermalright HR-03 will NOT work with the 8800GT. I found this in a review yesterday, some guys tried to install it and it didn't fit. Just use the card as it is. The Antec 900 has great cooling, so I wouldn't worry about it. I'm sure aftermarket coolers for the 8800GT will be available soon, if you want one.

 

[BrutalDawg1]

best PSU @ 620W, excellent choice.

 

[esp]

In the future when my PC becomes old do you think 2 graphics cards would do anything for 1280 1024 and I should get a sli motherboard or no...

 

[redbadge]

if u have the extra bucks go for a good sli board that wont damage your pockets much... however u wouldnt be able to have the p35 chipset.

the system is fine... but the way the crysis demo is acting...
you may build this system play it... and it seems to run at 'ok' fraames at not too high a resolution with the 8800gt... but i think 8800gt sli for crysis/ future releases will be awesome..

 

[SuperiorRobot]

I personally think SLi is a waste, and I would stick with what you have. the 8800gt performs very well, and crysis will play on it and look beautiful.

 

[esp]

And I play CSS in CAL/CEVO and lan alot so this pc is mostly for that game which I know will run flawlessly on, and COD4.

My current setup -
dell demension 4600
pentium 4 2.66
radeon x700
2 gigs unknown ram
80 gig harddrive
200 wat psu which is not powerful enough for my gpu, and is why it and my graphics card burnt out at separate points, you can see how desperate I am and I cant wait. I run css at 60-70 fps, 20-35 in pubs with the LOWEST settings possible with configs and 640x480. I will be buying all this on monday and ill post pics when I finish the build.

 

[esp]

btw how well do you think crysis demo would run on those specs on dx9 xp.

 

[Sparkarrestor]

That system should run Crysis alright. With my system I average about 30FPS on High settings no AA 1680x1050 resolution.

If I could add one more suggestion. Get your self a decent soundcard. For around $50 they really do make a world of difference.

 

[Lanessar]

If you have money to burn, go with SLi. Otherwise, the next time you want to upgrade your video cards, it's going to cost close to $500.00 for both (and depending upon what's released, that could be very conservative).

Bang for the buck - no SLi.

Your system as proposed looks pretty good - and nice bang for the buck.

Just my personal commentary - I did not see a drastic improvement with SLI over non-SLI. There are certain circumstances where SLi is good - but I'm also considering longevity. If you're not buying a new system every 6-12 months, then it's just bragging rights. SLi is not "double the graphics performance" on most games - more like 15-25% increase. Is that worth close to $300.00 to you? If not, stick with a single GPU.

 

[esp]

I can always upgrade my gpu
And im gunna upgrade to penryn when the prices drop if i need to. And i hear that next winter they are releasing octocore processors, which i would need a new motherboard for. But the mother board i selected will work for penryn right?

 

[DrMaV]

Great choices, nice rig!

I would recommend getting another drive for the OS (60-80 gigs), and use the 320 for data and swapfile.

Only if your budget permits it.

 

[Lanessar]

Personally, as far as the OS goes, I'm looking at an 8-gig SSD. The boot times from an SSD are amazing, and the price is coming down due to larger drives being released at the end of Nov.

Seeing as the low-space SATA drives are perfect for an OS-only drive, and they booted (from power to desktop) in under 3 seconds, I think those will be the performance of the future. Again, only if you care to blow $100 for the added speed from the OS.

I'm surprised I haven't seen more builds using the SSDs for OS stuff. They're pretty cheap (seeing as most parts cost $100 out of the gate as a norm).