Been waiting since last year to build a new rig and I was hoping to catch the new Nvidia 9800 card, but my current rig has DIED. I'm left with NO PC so I'm trying to build with an eye towards the future. System is going to be used for gaming (alot), photoshop and video editing (sometimes), storage of movies/songs, etc. and a good bit of business (wife is a teacher and will use it from time to time).
1. I don't want to OC but would like to keep that option available for future
2. I have no clue how to do RAID...if it's THAT much better than regular HD set up, I'll consider, just don't know what else you have to buy to get it running.
3. Budget...roughly $2k to $2.5k
Here is what I've put together so far from reviewing the forumns, and talking to alot of my gamer friends.
Case: I plan to air cool...any suggestion on fan set up in this box would be helpful. This case seem ok?
Thermaltake Armor Series VA8003SWA Silver ATX Full Tower Computer Case w/ 25CM Fan - Retail
Motherboard: I'm leary of Asus...I'm currently on an older Asus board and it was a VERY picky board when it came to BIOS revisions. Caused me so much heartache over the years I've had to stay with the original BIOS. Having said that..here is my pick. I wanted to get a board with DDR3, but I'm going to wait til next year to make that move.
ASUS P5E LGA 775 Intel X38 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Video Card: I have been waiting and waiting on the new GeForce 9800GTX, but I've heard today that they are pushing it back even further (from Feb. 14 to April/May). And since my box is down, I'll just order one of these for now. Is this a card that needs a cooler or will it be fine stock?
EVGA 512-P3-N841-A3 GeForce 8800GTS (G92) 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
PSU: This one was advised by a friend of mine who swears by it...I'm leary of it being a "Crossfire" edition plus will it be enough to run everything I want. I asked alot of these questions last year as well...sorry !
PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Quad (Crossfire Edition) EPS12V 750W Power Supply - Retail
Processor: I'd like one that has the ability to overcloak but can hold it's own stock with no OC'ing needed. Would this be a wise purchase? And with a life of more than a few months
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor Model BX80562Q6600 - Retail
Memory: I've been a Corsair believer for a long time...even when my beloved Corsair crapped out on me last year (sent it back to them, they replaced it but it never really performed the same). I'm a glutton for punishment so I'm going with them again.
CORSAIR XMS2 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X4096-6400C5DHX - Retail
Hard Drives: I was told to get a "fast 10k" first drive and then pick up a seond drive...and then I was told it wouldn't make much difference in my games....so unless someone knows a good fast first drive..here is what I picked up from my earlier post as a good drive set.
2 ea. Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
Monitor: I wanted to go 24" but someone said make sure it was 2ms and when I looked at the 2ms 24" monitors, they were a bit out of my price range. So, I thought this one might be ok.
LG L226WTY-BF Black 22" 2ms DVI Widescreen LCD Monitor - Retail
DVD Burner I used to get 2 drives, but my friend told me one would do fine and I couldn't think of any arguement off the top of my head to refute him...so here is the one I thought would be good.
LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model LH-20A1L-05 - OEM
There you have it...I already have my keyboard (Logitech G15) and mouse (something older by Logitech as well). I was going to go with a soundcard but he told me I'd get just as good sound from the onboard sound that's found on the mobo so I'm not sure. Any help in that area would be great. Also, should I go XP or Vista. I have a MS dealer brother-in-law who can get my Vista Ultimate 64bit for next to nothing. But he swears that as a gamer, I'll hate myself in the morning if I go with Vista over XP. Other reviewers seem to say there aren't any problems with gaming on Vista but I'm not sure since I've read horror stories saying there was. Suggestions?
Any help you can give me is appreciated. Sorry for the long post but I want to get this right before I drop the money on a new system.
SPECIAL thanks to Aevm (hope I spelled it right) and Mazier who helped me alot with responses before when I asked about a system my wife was going to buy me for Christmas (this same system).
1. I don't want to OC but would like to keep that option available for future
2. I have no clue how to do RAID...if it's THAT much better than regular HD set up, I'll consider, just don't know what else you have to buy to get it running.
3. Budget...roughly $2k to $2.5k
Here is what I've put together so far from reviewing the forumns, and talking to alot of my gamer friends.
Case: I plan to air cool...any suggestion on fan set up in this box would be helpful. This case seem ok?
Thermaltake Armor Series VA8003SWA Silver ATX Full Tower Computer Case w/ 25CM Fan - Retail
Motherboard: I'm leary of Asus...I'm currently on an older Asus board and it was a VERY picky board when it came to BIOS revisions. Caused me so much heartache over the years I've had to stay with the original BIOS. Having said that..here is my pick. I wanted to get a board with DDR3, but I'm going to wait til next year to make that move.
ASUS P5E LGA 775 Intel X38 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Video Card: I have been waiting and waiting on the new GeForce 9800GTX, but I've heard today that they are pushing it back even further (from Feb. 14 to April/May). And since my box is down, I'll just order one of these for now. Is this a card that needs a cooler or will it be fine stock?
EVGA 512-P3-N841-A3 GeForce 8800GTS (G92) 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
PSU: This one was advised by a friend of mine who swears by it...I'm leary of it being a "Crossfire" edition plus will it be enough to run everything I want. I asked alot of these questions last year as well...sorry !
PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Quad (Crossfire Edition) EPS12V 750W Power Supply - Retail
Processor: I'd like one that has the ability to overcloak but can hold it's own stock with no OC'ing needed. Would this be a wise purchase? And with a life of more than a few months
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor Model BX80562Q6600 - Retail
Memory: I've been a Corsair believer for a long time...even when my beloved Corsair crapped out on me last year (sent it back to them, they replaced it but it never really performed the same). I'm a glutton for punishment so I'm going with them again.
CORSAIR XMS2 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X4096-6400C5DHX - Retail
Hard Drives: I was told to get a "fast 10k" first drive and then pick up a seond drive...and then I was told it wouldn't make much difference in my games....so unless someone knows a good fast first drive..here is what I picked up from my earlier post as a good drive set.
2 ea. Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
Monitor: I wanted to go 24" but someone said make sure it was 2ms and when I looked at the 2ms 24" monitors, they were a bit out of my price range. So, I thought this one might be ok.
LG L226WTY-BF Black 22" 2ms DVI Widescreen LCD Monitor - Retail
DVD Burner I used to get 2 drives, but my friend told me one would do fine and I couldn't think of any arguement off the top of my head to refute him...so here is the one I thought would be good.
LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model LH-20A1L-05 - OEM
There you have it...I already have my keyboard (Logitech G15) and mouse (something older by Logitech as well). I was going to go with a soundcard but he told me I'd get just as good sound from the onboard sound that's found on the mobo so I'm not sure. Any help in that area would be great. Also, should I go XP or Vista. I have a MS dealer brother-in-law who can get my Vista Ultimate 64bit for next to nothing. But he swears that as a gamer, I'll hate myself in the morning if I go with Vista over XP. Other reviewers seem to say there aren't any problems with gaming on Vista but I'm not sure since I've read horror stories saying there was. Suggestions?
Any help you can give me is appreciated. Sorry for the long post but I want to get this right before I drop the money on a new system.
SPECIAL thanks to Aevm (hope I spelled it right) and Mazier who helped me alot with responses before when I asked about a system my wife was going to buy me for Christmas (this same system).