Hello everyone!
I will be building a new system in the next few months and I would like to know what you guys think about my build!
I have only built one other system two years ago for $700, P4 3.0, Radeon X850 so I know how to set things up.
I am on a budget of $1800-2000.
Also, I already have my case: XG Viper II - Mid Tower and a Monitor: Samsung 226BW running at 1680x1050
The components that I need are PSU, motherboard, CPU, CPU Cooling, Memory, Video Card, Hard Drive(s)? and Operating System. I plan to mostly use it for gaming, and also 3d modeling/animation/rendering in 3ds max.
Here are the parts I plan to buy right now:
EVGA NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
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(Processor: I plan to OC it from 2.4 to 3.4-3.6ish)
Q6600 Intel Quad Core 2.4Ghz
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Cooling: ZALMAN 9700LED 110mm (Any better air cooling out there? for under $70?)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
(I want to stick with air cooling to keep the price down but I wouldn't be against water cooling if it is not very expensive and is reliable. )
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Here is my Video Card dilemma. The 2900XT costs less than the 8800GTX, and also has better specs. People are equally divided arguing which one is better. In a year or so when the new gen cards come out I might buy another for crossfire or SLI. I really don't know which one to choose! Help!
EVGA GeForce 8800GTX 768MB 384-bit GDDR3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
DIAMOND 2900XT 1GB 512-bit GDDR4
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
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G.SKILL 4GB(2 x 2GB)DDR2 1000 (PC2 8000) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
(I don't know much about memory but I think this would be pretty good for my 3d app.)
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My last and final problem is HDD and OS.
I dont know why but i really want to try 2x10,000rpm in RAID0.
(2x) Raptor X 150GB 10,000 RPM 16MB Cache Serial ATA150
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
(2 of them would cost $370. Is it worth it? Any alternatives?)
Windows Vista Home Premium 64bit OEM -111$ (To run on these babies.)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
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Lastly to power this rig:
XION Supernova ATX12V / EPS12V 800W Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Rosewill RX850 ATX12V850W Power Supply (-$45 if bought together with Q6600)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Both look pretty cool, but I'm not really sure which one is better.
I would really appreciate feedback or any advice that you can give me! Thanks!