$2500 gaming build. Any advice would be great

[Krome]

So I told my wife that I needed to build a new computer and that it would cost $2500 knowing full well that she would say no. I figured we could agree on something around the $1500 mark. To my surprise she had no objections to $2500! This is my first real build, (I built one before, but with no research and paid to much $ for not enugh machine) and I want it to last me a while. I intend to use this for gaming, music, surfing, the usual stuff. I don't intend to order this for a couple of weeks, but here is what I am looking at so far.

Case: XCLIO A380Plus http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16811103014

Mother board: EVGA 780i http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16813188024

CPU: Intel Q6600 http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16819115017

CPU Cooler: Zalman 9700 http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16835118019

Ram: 4X2 (8 gigs) G-Skill DDR2 1000 http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16820231145

GPU: 2 EVGA 8800GTS (G92) in SLI http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16814130325

Hard Drive: 2 Seagate Barracuda 320 gig 7200 rpm http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16822148140

PSU: X-CLIO Great Power 850 Watt ( is this enough for 2 8800GTS in SLI?) http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16817189017

Optical Drive: Samsung DVD-R http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16827151154

Monitor: Acer 24" LCD 2ms http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16824009125

Right now this is all from The Egg, and after shiping totals out to $2430. I will be running Vista Ultimate 64 bit. Any input helps. Thanks in advance guys!

 

[Krome]

Oh, I also would like to over clock this.

 

[nossr50]

Get a E8400 (Wolfdale) CPU, cheaper and faster
Get a Freezer 7 pro for the CPU or better [overclocking]
Scythe makes great case fans, look at their CFM when purchasing
Don't know much about aftermarket GPU coolers unfortunately.

 

[Shadow703793]

Change the PSU to :
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817814005
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703009
see: http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=108088 for PSU tire listing. Every thing else looks good. .

Also get this RAM:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227199
(cheaper)

 

[Shadow703793]

Get a E8400 (Wolfdale) CPU, cheaper and faster
Get a Freezer 7 pro for the CPU or better [overclocking]
Scythe makes great case fans, look at their CFM when purchasing
Don't know much about aftermarket GPU coolers unfortunately.

No. The Zalman is better. If going for an after market GPU cooler get:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118006
ZALMAN VF900

 

[nossr50]

No. The Zalman is better. If going for an after market GPU cooler get:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118006
ZALMAN VF900

or better [overclocking]

That is why I said "or better"

 

[Twoboxer]

With $70 budget left, and an OS and speakers to buy . . . and maybe some software . . . although she probably won't notice those separate little charges . . .

And maybe I'll learn something too lol . . .

Why not the Intel E8400 Dual Core for this Gaming Rig? It should run your games faster, cooler, and be cheaper - whether stock or OC'd - than your choice. And save $37.

Also, the Arctic Freezer 7 Pro cooler is a snap for anyone - even a first-time builder - to properly install. No worries about how to apply what thermal paste, can be installed after the mobo and PSU are installed/connected, seems to outperform the one you chose in tests I've looked at, in any case is overkill for a stock cpu, will be more than adequate for all but the most severe OCs, and save $28. If this is your first build, you will likely get a better result from this cooler than any other - nearly foolproof.

Second time I've seen that case suggested, unless this is your second post. Yeccch! But hey, if you want an arcade between your legs, go for it lol.

I'd consider taking a few of those dollars saved and trade one of those disks for a WD Raptor as my C: drive (Maybe someone knows of a faster drive - I don't.) You'll lose 170G and maybe $15 but compare the specs. But hey, that's just me thinking the disks are the slowest part of this system, and that problem always shows up at the wrong time, whether zoning in an MMORPG or an FPS.

 

[nossr50]

I'd consider taking a few of those dollars saved and trade one of those disks for a WD Raptor as my C: drive (Maybe someone knows of a faster drive - I don't.) You'll lose 170G and maybe $15 but compare the specs. But hey, that's just me thinking the disks are the slowest part of this system, and that problem always shows up at the wrong time, whether zoning in an MMORPG or an FPS.

He listed a Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 (GET THE 7200.11 DUDE), if...he got the 7200.11 which is nearly as fast as the raptors (literally 1 second~ behind on all load times except a cold boot), it would be many more times the space and a lot cheaper, if he puts them in raid 0 then the raptor truly becomes obsolete..unless compared to other overpriced raptors in raid 0, in which case you will again be a second behind.

EDIT: That one second will probably be a hell of a lot faster than anyone you encounter ever, seriously no big deal.

 

[mlaporta]

I would get 2 hd's for better performance the 250gb for OS and the 500gb for Data, Video,mp3's, etc.

Seagate Barracuda ST3250410AS 250GB 7200.10 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
Seagate Barracuda ST3500320AS 500GB 7200.11 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

I would seriosly look into this display: SAMSUNG 245BW Black 24" 5ms DVI Widescreen LCD Monitor with Height Adjustment

 

[mlaporta]

I would go with these for your build with 2 video cards:

Antec 900 Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

CORSAIR CMPSU-620HX ATX12V v2.2 EPS12V 2.91 620W Power Supply

 

[nossr50]

mlaporta one of those is the older 7200.10 models

 

[iMAKEtheDEVIL CRY]

You should have a look at this OCZ PSU http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341007.
It will give you loads of headroom for overclocking and adding hard drives.Also OCZ are a huge brand name and that means you will not have a cheap PSU and having a cheap one is very bad(Not saying the X-Clio PSU is cheap but I don't know much about that company compared to OCZ).The 1010 watts are pretty good for future proofing and will have no problem with that PSU.The 8GB's of RAM isn't needed unless your doing some serious photo and video editing.The impact of the 2nd 4GB's won't be as big as the 1st 4GB's.You should consider the Thermalright Ultra-120http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835109125.I have heard nothing but praise about it(just google it.I would consider if you're gonna o\c and sli you should have a look at the Antec Nine Hundred Case.It can fit 8800GTX sli and has 2 120mm fans on the front and 1 200mm on the top.Other than that it's fine.

 

[mlaporta]

I would wait to here from someone that knows more on the video side of things before you order, if I see it correct you have 2 EVGA 8800GTS (G92) in SLI and I'm not sure your going to benefit from it with only a 24" display.

So a possibility may exist that you only get 1 and change your mother-board and what may be helpful to receive better recommendations is why do you think you need an SLI configuration???

 

[nossr50]

I would wait to here from someone that knows more on the video side of things before you order, if I see it correct you have 2 EVGA 8800GTS (G92) in SLI and I'm not sure your going to benefit from it with only a 24" display.

So a possibility may exist that you only get 1 and change your mother-board and what may be helpful to receive better recommendations is why do you think you need and SLI configuration???

Normally Sli is just for overkill builds, but with that many pixels, he may need it. We'll have to wait for someone to come in here with a 24" to testify.

 

[mlaporta]

To save money I listed a 250gb which is only available in 7200.10 so if he really wanted the increase in performance though it will hardly be that noticeable (miliseconds) he could go with 2 of the 500gb's at 7200.11 which I listed.

 

[nossr50]

Or you could get a 750GB 7200.11 drive which would be cheaper than both of those hard drives combined and have the same capacity.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148298

 

[mlaporta]

First do you plan to do some serious silly insane OC???

If so go with this one PERIOD-END-OF-STORY:
Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme + Scythe S-Flex SFF21F fan (these are 2 seperate components as the TU-120 doesn't come with a fan) and some ARCTIC COOLING MX-2 Thermal Compound

If you plan to light to moderate OC this one is a fine heatsink with many many great reviews & positive comments:
ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler

 

[mlaporta]

Or you could get a 750GB 7200.11 drive which would be cheaper than both of those hard drives combined and have the same capacity.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148298

As I stated 2 drives will give you better performance not 1 no matter how big it is... it's not how big it is... it's the motion-in-the-ocean (the ocean being 2 drives) :lol: :lol:

If and I mean IF he is that concerend about it go with 2 - Seagate Barracuda ST3500320AS 500GB 7200.11

 

[nossr50]

As I stated 2 drives will give you better performance not 1 no matter how big it is... it's not how big it is... it's the motion-in-the-ocean (the ocean being 2 drives)

If and I mean IF he is that concerend about it go with 2 - Seagate Barracuda ST3500320AS 500GB 7200.11

Only if 2 drivers are used in RAID 0 will they beat an identical model single drive of equal capacity in speed, otherwise...they will just be equal.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAID

Here is some nice reading material for you

 

[imrul]

why do you need to use 8gb of ram?

 

[Twoboxer]

Only if 2 drivers are used in RAID 0 will they beat an identical model single drive of equal capacity in speed, otherwise...they will just be equal.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAID

Here is some nice reading material for you

Hehe. And the sky is blue. Your statement is true as far as it goes, but irrelevant in context.

Take two identical disk drives. Isolate (eg) your "swap file" on drive #2, and your system will perform better than if everything were on one drive. The two drives give identical performance, but your system runs faster. Whenever you can spread files needed by the application(s) currently running, you cannot lose performance, and you may gain.

You can argue whether the gain is worthwhile, but you cannot argue there is no gain.

 

[Krome]

That's a lot of really good input. I'll have to check into these parts you guys suggested. Thanks a lot for all the help. I was under the impression from reading other posts that 1920*1200 res is where I would start to see the bennefits of SLI. Is this true, or am I misguided here? As for the ram, I don't know that I would need 8 gigs, just thought it couldn't hurt. Would I be better of to just go with 4 gigs since this machine is mostly for gaming? How much of a difference would I see going from the 1000 to the 800 recommended? Oh, and Twoboxer, this is a replacement for my current pc, so I already have a keyboard, mouse, sound card, 5.1 surround sound, and a friend that can get me the OS. I like the Samsung monitor that was suggested, (love that brand) but would like to be able to connect my xbox 360 to the monitor. The Acer has an hdmi port that would be perfect as I already have hdmi cables for my xbox. But I have had really good luck with Samsung, so I will have to keep that one in mind.

 

[trevorblain]

First do you plan to do some serious silly insane OC???

If so go with this one PERIOD-END-OF-STORY:
Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme + Scythe S-Flex SFF21F fan (these are 2 seperate components as the TU-120 doesn't come with a fan) and some ARCTIC COOLING MX-2 Thermal Compound

If you plan to light to moderae OC this one is a fine heatsink with many many great reviews & positive comments:
ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler

While I do agree whole heartedly about the TR HS, double check to make sure it will work with your case. I'm using an Antec 900 and it is a snug fit, and that is without a MB tray or a huge side door fan. I could stop being lazy and check the case measurements, but hey, my system is already built .

 

[groo]

I'd sugest dualboot with a 32 bit OS, Vista 64 drivers STILL suck.

I personaly don't think they should have released vista 32, keep XP for the old 32 bit machines and the UMPCs

 

[Krome]

Actually, Groo, I do intend to dual boot Vista 64 and XP 32. Should I put both OS's on the same disk and use the second disk for storage? Or put one OS on each disk? Still not sure about RAID, reading up to see what it is, and if it would help me.