Gaming rig - comments, please?

[atsekhan]

I am trying to build a new gaming rig, and I decided to use a company that has good component selection and fairly good rating on resellerratings.com (will not mention the name for now).

Apevia X-Jupiter case (full-tower, aluminium).
Supports up to 5 120mm case fans, and the builder has it for $45 less than Coolermaster Stacker 830. Reviews say it's lite, roomy, and one do not need tools to install things.

Thermaltake W0131RU Toughpower 850W PSU.
I was thinking to get Tagan TG1100-U96 TurboJet Quad Quiet SLI Ready, but it's $110 more (from the builder), and I think 850W will work quite nicely with the equipment I get. Even if I get 3-way SLI I think it will be ok.

Intel Q6600
I plan to run business applications besides gaming on it, so quad-core would make a difference for me.

Thermaltake MaxOrb CPU cooling
I was debating whether to use V1, MaxOrb, cheaper Freezer-7, or some cheap water cooling, like Aquagate S1. After reading some horror stories about leaks, and looking at the comparative chart, I decided against liquid cooling for now. Re: V1 vs MaxOrb - V1 is easier to put in, but it has high center of gravity. I was thinking that side fan would perform better than a vertical one, but tests recommended MaxOrb rather than V1. All-in-all - since the compaby would put it together, I think this will do (comments?)

EVGA nForce 780i SLI motherboard
I actually like multiple monitors, and would use that not necessarily for SLI, but for multiple monitor connections. Of course, having a possibility of 3-way SLI is also good.

2x1Gb PC6400 DDR2/800
The company puts "Corsair or comparable value brand", which is fine. I will add 2x2Gb PC6400 on my own (I plan to run a few 64-bit systems in a multi boot and VMWARE anyway)

2xEVGA 8800GT
I do want SLI. While I will not do 3-way SLI for now, when higher-end cards will come down in price, that may make a difference.

2x500Gb SATA-II 3.0Gb 16M cache HD in RAID-1 configuration
Data safety is VERY important for me, especially on a primary drives, I may buy some high-speed drives later.

20x DVD+-RW/CD+-RW
I will get HD/BlueRay combination on my own later.

On-board 7.1 HD audio.
I was thinking whether I should even consider Creative Labs X-FI Xtreme Gamer PCI sound card, but I really do not think it would make a difference here.
I got Altec Lancing 995 5 years ago for my old DELL, and I've been very happy with them so far, and I plan to use those speakers.

I will use on-board 10/100 network card. If my internet connection is 15/5M (15 down, 5 up) - what's the point of getting extra Gb cards? I will not have others playing games on my home network.

Logitech G15 keyboard.
Yeah, I know - not really needed.
Regular optical mouse. I use Wireless Intellimouse Explorer Optical I've been happy with so far.

Vista Ultimate 32-bit.
I will also transfer licenses of my 64-bit XP from another PC, and will have a few other 64-bit OS (Linux, Solaris)

Any comments on the components, reasoning and the rig in general?

The rig would cost about $2000 delivered. Yeah, I know, it's expensive for the things I mentioned (especially if you get After-rebate deals - which will be probably more like $1600 if I buy components myself, I think), but I am paying for the warranty and a piece of mind.

 

[akhilles]

Peace of mind is always a good thing.

Good job at not cheaping out on the psu. Toughpower is a solid psu. The quad will def. make a diff.

MaxOrb isn't a bad cooler to boot. There are ready-made watercooling kits that requires no fiddling & is as easy to install as a large air cooler. They're no match for fine-tuned DIY watercooling. If you're concerned about leaks, air cooling is the safest. However, the fan can still die or malfunction. Dust can build up around the cooler. Keep an eye on the cpu temp & fan speed with speedfan. Air dust the innards once in a while when the pc is off.

The good thing about 780i is it can do a single GPU, dual GPUs or tri GPUs. The 2 SLI links are included. This flexibility is something people tend to miss out when they hear tri SLI.

Overall, it looks like a very good build. Pay 1-2 extra years of warranty if it's not too expensive.

 

[atsekhan]

Thanks for the comments!

After some more reviews I decided to upgrade PSU to 1100. I know it's overkill, but if I will go 3-way SLI with the highest power CPU that this board supports, even 850 will be pushing it with 3-4 disk drives, 2 DVDRWs etc. I looked, and after rebates that upgrade from the builder will only cost me $40, and with free shipping promotion - I should be ok. The reviews on that particular model say it's not much noisier than 850W.

Re: water cooling - I agree with you. I will still stick with air cooling for now, though, because I am concerned about leaks, but my case has a front temperature display. Besides, it supports 5 fans. May be if I get beefier video cards and CPU in a future, I would think about switching everything to water cooling.

The price includes 3-year "limited warranty" (which means motherboard, HD, CPU, RAM and videocards have 1 year). However, because I will use AMEX, it will extend the warranty on those 1 more year. I think 2-year warranty is pretty good for the parts I get.

Peace of mind is always a good thing.

Good job at not cheaping out on the psu. Toughpower is a solid psu. The quad will def. make a diff.

MaxOrb isn't a bad cooler to boot. There are ready-made watercooling kits that requires no fiddling & is as easy to install as a large air cooler. They're no match for fine-tuned DIY watercooling. If you're concerned about leaks, air cooling is the safest. However, the fan can still die or malfunction. Dust can build up around the cooler. Keep an eye on the cpu temp & fan speed with speedfan. Air dust the innards once in a while when the pc is off.

The good thing about 780i is it can do a single GPU, dual GPUs or tri GPUs. The 2 SLI links are included. This flexibility is something people tend to miss out when they hear tri SLI.

Overall, it looks like a very good build. Pay 1-2 extra years of warranty if it's not too expensive.