I'm taking the plunge and building my long overdue upgrade myself (Currently still running a 800Mhz P3). The computer will be used primarily for gaming and office applications with some light photo editing. I'll start out running XP Pro, but will upgrade to Vista in the future. I've been doing a lot of research and I think I'm set. I'm not the type of person that wants to upgrade every year, so I'm hoping this system will last for a while. This system will also be my first attempt at overclocking. Nothing crazy, 3.0Ghz maybe which I've read is fairly easy to obtain with this processor.
CPU:
[strike]Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz 2 x 4MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16819115017[/strike]
Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 Conroe 2.66GHz 4M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16819115029
Motherboard:
[strike]GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16813128059[/strike]
ABIT IP35 Pro LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16813127030
Power Supply:
OCZ GameXStream OCZ600GXSSLI ATX12V 600W Power Supply 100 - 240 V CB/CE/CSA/UL/FCC - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16817341001
GPU:
EVGA 512-P3-N802-A1 GeForce 8800GT Superclocked 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16814130303
RAM:
[strike]G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16820231098[/strike]
Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16820146565
Hard Drive:
[strike]SAMSUNG SpinPoint T Series HD501LJ 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16822152052[/strike]
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16822136073
Monitor:
SAMSUNG 226BW Black 22" 2 ms (GTG) DVI Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 700:1(DC 3000:1) - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16824001096
DVD Writer:
SAMSUNG Black 20X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 20X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 20X DVD±R DVD Burner - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16827151153
CPU Fan/Heat Sink:
ZALMAN CNPS9700 LED 110mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16835118019
Case: (Already Own)
Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021&Tpk=Antec+Nine+Hundred
Questions:
-Should I wait on the processor until the new quads are released in the next few weeks? Will the new processors be significantly better? or will they drive the price of the Q6600 down?
-Is there a motherboard in a similar price range that supports Fire Wire? I've been looking at the Abit IP35 Pro, but it costs a lot more. I don't need SLI or Crossfire, RAID or eSATA. Just want a solid overclocker.
-Is there a superior brand of the 8800GT? I know EVGA supposedly has good customer support, just not sure if that is worth paying a couple extra bucks for.
-As far as hard drives go, both Samsung and Western Digital got good reviews. Is one more reliable than the other?
Thanks in advance for your help!
CPU:
[strike]Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz 2 x 4MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16819115017[/strike]
Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 Conroe 2.66GHz 4M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16819115029
Motherboard:
[strike]GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16813128059[/strike]
ABIT IP35 Pro LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16813127030
Power Supply:
OCZ GameXStream OCZ600GXSSLI ATX12V 600W Power Supply 100 - 240 V CB/CE/CSA/UL/FCC - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16817341001
GPU:
EVGA 512-P3-N802-A1 GeForce 8800GT Superclocked 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16814130303
RAM:
[strike]G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16820231098[/strike]
Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16820146565
Hard Drive:
[strike]SAMSUNG SpinPoint T Series HD501LJ 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16822152052[/strike]
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16822136073
Monitor:
SAMSUNG 226BW Black 22" 2 ms (GTG) DVI Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 700:1(DC 3000:1) - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16824001096
DVD Writer:
SAMSUNG Black 20X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 20X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 20X DVD±R DVD Burner - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16827151153
CPU Fan/Heat Sink:
ZALMAN CNPS9700 LED 110mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16835118019
Case: (Already Own)
Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021&Tpk=Antec+Nine+Hundred
Questions:
-Should I wait on the processor until the new quads are released in the next few weeks? Will the new processors be significantly better? or will they drive the price of the Q6600 down?
-Is there a motherboard in a similar price range that supports Fire Wire? I've been looking at the Abit IP35 Pro, but it costs a lot more. I don't need SLI or Crossfire, RAID or eSATA. Just want a solid overclocker.
-Is there a superior brand of the 8800GT? I know EVGA supposedly has good customer support, just not sure if that is worth paying a couple extra bucks for.
-As far as hard drives go, both Samsung and Western Digital got good reviews. Is one more reliable than the other?
Thanks in advance for your help!