First Overclocking Project & Gaming Build

for a gaming case i would go with the cool master stacker case. i tried the antec 900 but its not very big and i was impressed with the cooling properties of the case check this one out: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
there are two other things im just going to throw my two sense in is the segate hd....blaaa...i ban segate and only use wd.....never had a problem and second, i like corsair memory personally but if it works great!

You have made some great choices there!   The only thing I might change is the CPU cooler to a Tuniq Tower 120 that already comes with a great fan included. I have heard other people complain about machine marks on the bottom surface of the Thermalright Ultra 120 that you can find at NewEgg reviews or any place where you can buy one. The Antec 900 is more than fine, its like a wind tunnel inside that thing.

If I were building a new PC right now I would chose what you have chosen except for this>>>>



By systemlord at 2007-11-13


By systemlord at 2007-11-13

Thanks for the input. So I switched out the Seagate hdd & Thermalright+fan for
-> $129.99 - Western Digital Caviar RE2 WD5000ABYS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s
-> $ 44.99 - Tuniq Tower 120 P4 & K8 CPU Cooler

I dropped the floppy/all-in-one reader, its not that neccessary. I was thinking a mid tower would work out well unless everything didn't fit well. For $10 more, I could get a full tower.
-> $129.99 - Thermaltake Armor Series VA8000BWS Black - ($89.99 after rebate)

Just an option, but I think I might stick with the Antec 900. I think i'll stick with the memory I already have.

UPDATED BUILD:
01) $119.99 - Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX ($79.99 after rebate)
02) $ 89.99 - GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35
03) $279.99 - Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor Model BX80562Q6600
04) $359.99 - EVGA 512-P3-N841-A3 GeForce 8800GTS (G92) 512MB 256-bit GDDR3
05) $169.99 - SILVERSTONE ST85ZF ATX12V / EPS12V 850W SLI Certified ($119.99 after rebate)
06) $104.99 - G.SKILL 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit
07) $129.99 - Western Digital Caviar RE2 WD5000ABYS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s
08) $ 33.99 - SAMSUNG 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model SH-S203N
09) $179.99 - Microsoft Windows Vista 64-Bit Ultimate for System Builders Single Pack DVD
10) $ 44.99 - Tuniq Tower 120 P4 & K8 CPU Cooler
11) $ 5.99 - Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound
-->Subtotal: $1,517.89/1427.89 after rebates.

Seems solid.  

Now that you mention it the Thermaltake Armor Series are very popular cases, if I were to rate both the Antec 900 vs. the Thermaltake Armor they both would get the same score. The big difference between the two is the extra space the Thermaltake Armor has over the still spacious Antec 900. The Tuniq Tower 120 has dropped in price since I purchased mine in March, I payed $64.99 and have not looked back since.


You've got a great computer to put together, when you get it up and running let us know how it benches.

If you want space and cooling check out the Lian Li A70, spacious, support for 2 psu;s e-atx boards, 6x120mm fans and water cooling holes need i say more?

That PSU is a bit of overkill but EXCELLENT at that price so forget i said anything

I'm only really looking to buy a $80-130 case (after rebate). The Antec 900 looks alot more aesthetically appealing to me than the Thermaltake Armor. If only they had a full tower version.

I also ended up switching the G.Skill ram to Corsair 2x2GB. Thanks for the advice.

I thought the same thing about the PSU, might be a bit much for this build. Did find this however:
-> $119.99/$89.99 after rebate - SILVERSTONE ZEUS SST-ST65ZF ATX12V 650W Power Supply - Retail
Seems like enough power, but its not listed as Tier-1 on http://www.tomswiki.com/page/Tiered+PSU+Listings?t=anon or http://www.jonnyguru.net/forums/showthread.php?t=103. Is this because it came out after those reviews? Same Silverstone Zeus product line though, but it not being listed there makes me wonder. The 560W version IS listed on the reviews as Tier 1 and costs more:
-> $129.99 - SILVERSTONE SST-ST56ZF ATX12V / EPS12V 560W Power Supply - Retail
Any insight on this?

Prices also just changed a bit last night on Newegg. The DS3L mobo went up about $17 bucks. Looked like a great deal before, but it's still not bad. Would the DS3R be better for overclocking being "Ultra Durable 2, ultra cooling?"

Should be ordering most of the parts soon. Are prices expected to go up after the holiday season? I was also thinking maybe I could hold out on the CPU and GPU for now and just get a E2140 for now and just overclock it until the new stuff comes out.

Found the answer to my PSU questions, forget about that. ST65ZF is an Enhance build. I'll stick with what I have.

Also found my answer to the DS3L vs. DS3R question.
-DS3L: 4 SATA 3.0 ports, no RAID (Cooling not as good for extreme OC)
-DS3R: 8 SATA 3.0 ports, RAID, newer onboard audio chip - $30 more
I guess I might as well get the DS3R since I don't mind the additional $30.

No onboard video support so I will need a gpu...   So that can't wait..

Does that board do SLI? If so, you might want to think about 2xHD3850s in Crossfire...the will beat a 8800GT for a few $$ cheaper...

No SLI or Crossfire I believe. Only 1 PCI Express x16 slot. So I'm just going to go for a single gpu. The 8800GTS 512 (G92) seems to be the best option at the moment for running Crysis. Don't know if there will be a 8800GTS 1024 (G92), if it comes out, it has to be awesome but might be too costly for me.

wow, I like your choices and picked a very similar set up any comments? I may opt for your MB, why did you choose that one instead of others.

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SAMSUNG 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model SH-S203N

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COOLER MASTER Stacker 830 Evolution RC-830-SSN3-GP Silver Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case

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EVGA 512-P3-N841-A3 GeForce 8800GTS (G92) 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card

EVGA 512-P3-N841-A3 GeForce 8800GTS (G92) 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
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$349.99

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1

G.SKILL 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ

G.SKILL 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ - Retail
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$99.99

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ASUS P5K-E/WIFI-AP LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard

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Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor Model BX80562Q6600

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$24.99

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ZALMAN CNPS 9700 NT 110mm 2 Ball Ultra Quiet CPU Cooler

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