Long Time Enthusiast....First Time Builder

[sigmae]

Hello,

I finally had the time (and money...almost) and confidence, to build a new PC, and I have devised a blueprint of what to get for my new system. I am very confident in most of my selections, but I have some questions on variables.

So far the main components have been:


Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600

Asus P5K DELUXE/WIFI-AP OR ASUS P5K-E/WIFI-AP

Crucial Ballistix PC2-8500 DDR2 2GB

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 500GB Sata2

BFG GeForce 8800 GT OC2 512MB OR HIS Radeon HD 3870 512MB

Antec P182 ATX Black Mid Tower

Sunbeam Tuniq Tower 120 Heatpipe Cooler 120MM

Pioneer DVR-212D Black DVD-RW

Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium

Corsair CMPSU-620HX 620W ATX 50A


I am very solid on most of my choices but am still battling which motherboard and graphics card to use. Both boards seem to be quite good but I am not sure which will perform the best (price/performance). Is the Deluxe really worth it for a average gamer, or are the features just for show? I plan on doing some over clocking, possibly to 3000MHz, which also raises the concerns if my Tuniq Tower can sustain the heat.

Now the graphics card seems very interesting, as 8800 GT performs amazingly right out of the box, but both Asus boards are only Crossfire... where the HD 3870 kicks in. There is more confidence to play games at better features with the HD 3870 in crossfire, as the MB permits it. Also over clocked, it performs similar to the 8800 GT for $60 CAD less. But since the both MB's are x16 + x4 PCI-E, is the MB going to bottle neck one of the cards? So which is worth buying in the long run?

Other minor things I encountered is if the DVD drive is any good, I chose it on recommendations, but if their are better Sata ones that aren't too expensive, I am willing to consider it. Also, the power supply I chose is only there just in case I decide to go crossfire with the HD 3870's, other wise I am not sure of a lower wattage PS that is reliable and cheaper to power one 8800 GT.

Thanks for any input!

***EDIT: I have also considered the EVGA 680i, but how does it compare to over clocking with the P35's and overall system performance, minus the SLI capabilities.

 

[chookman]

Get the P5K-e... there is next to no difference ...

The GPU is a big decision but i would still go with the 8800GT by the time you want to "upgrade" youd be better off with a new single card than a 2nd dated card.

Save some money on the RAM Get some Crucial 6400 stuff instead the 8500 will show little to no improvement

 

[akhilles]

2 votes P5K-E for better overclockability.

You don't need pc2-8500 for a 3ghz o/c. You can do it with 800mhz ram. 333 x 9 = ~3ghz. 333 x 2 = 666mhz ram. In fact, 666mhz ram is doable. This is a deal:

http://www.clubit.com/product_detail.cfm?itemno=A4394887

Unless you have a monitor bigger than 22", you can go with 1 video card. If you go HD3870, a Crossfire board can upgrade to 2 cards. If you do SLI, get a 680i board.

The EVGA 680i is no match for P35 when it comes to overclocking the Q6600. It won't be miles away. 680i needs a bios update for 45-nm cpu.

 

[Shadow703793]

What about a GIGABYTE DS3R/L/etc or DQ6? The DS3x are about the same price and have better OCing.

 

[einstein4pres]

I'm going to nitpick this:
Corsair CMPSU-620HX 620W ATX 50A

This system, while quite potent, does not require anywhere near the power this provides over the 520HX.

DVD drives are commodities, for the most part, brand won't matter too much.

If you're not thinking SLI/Crossfire out of the box, it's probably not worth leaving that upgrade route open.

 

[sigmae]

Thanks guys, P5K-E does seem sweeter, especially being cheaper, also, I was normally considering a decent pair of 6400's but this 8500 was equivalent or cheaper than some of the 6400's when it was on sale. I may switch it depending on the end of the day costs. If I were to to switch to 6400's which brand and model would be the the most practical choice? NCIX has Corsair 6400C4 RAM at $70 CAD, and the 6400 version of the crucial for $85 CAD. Should I go with one of these or should I choose a brand that sells 2 x 1GB sticks at ~$60 CAD, such as Mushkin, OCZ, and Patriot?

The Gigabyte DS3P seems really cool too. But how well does it do in terms of overclocking and overall system performance?

And I plan on using a 22"/24" widescreen, so would 1 8800 GT be powerful enough to diplay 1920*1200, or game with midrange settings at that resolution; I can always scale down to the next available resolution if needed. If I were to choose the 8800 GT, what reliable power supply would give the best inexpensive performance, seeing that ~500 watts and 30 amps on +12V are only needed?

EDIT: I was actually considering the 520HX, I think I will definately switch to that, thanks.

 

[chookman]

personally id go Crucial, OCZ, Patriot, Corsair, Mushkin in that order... but opinions change

Gigabyte boards are good also although ive heard they are not as basic in the BIOS for OCing as the ASUS's are

1 8800GT will push 1920x1200 fine, ive seen Crysis running on a Dell 24" with 8800GT medium to high settings and was nice and playable... and by the way your talking your not to concerned about "flawless" play.

520HX is a good PSU and will be plenty for that rig. If you wanted 2 GPU's that is when id be looking at the 620, not because the 520 wont do it but because its safer.

 

[akhilles]

Both 8800gt & gts have the same psu reqs: 425w 28a on +12v's. In reality, a 430w will power the pc up, but it'll be stressed & efficiency will be low. Which means more wattages are wasted.

 

[sigmae]

Thanks again guys, I think I'm overall good to go with my system.

The last thing I have to decide is an amazing 24" wide screen! I was planning to go with Dell originally, but I hear from local franchises that Samsung will release a new 24" display. I'm not confirmed on this, but I probably will wait till all the brands come out with a fresh display and buy based on reviews...I can always use my 17" until later.

 

[chookman]

Dell just released there cheap 24" as well thats obviously a TN 6bit panel, however, real cheap. Worth a look if your just gaming

 

[sigmae]

I've been also keying in on some 22" displays and I've gone to a a really good liking to Samsung's 226BW and Dell 22" SP2208WFP. I understand that many people get the disappointing A and C panels with Samsung, but how would both these monitors perform, if they were well calibrated?