Completely New System for '08!

[wart thumbed]

Hello, I've recently decided to rebuild my system, one I have neglected to upgrade since 2003~04, and since I am hardware illiterate I've been reading up on different parts. I would like this PC to be focused on gaming and so, I've compiled this list. I would ask any bored forum-goers on advice on switching any parts or a stronger alternative, thanks in advance and I greatly appreciate your help!

The Basics:

Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - 110$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021

Thermaltake W0106RU Complies with ATX 12V 2.2 & EPS 12V version 700W Power Supply 100 - 125$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153039

ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 64 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler - 20$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185125

Western Digital Raptor X WD1500AHFD 150GB 10,000 RPM 16MB Cache Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - 175$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136011&Tpk=Raptor%2bx

EVGA 512-P3-N841-A3 GeForce 8800GTS (G92) 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI - 300$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130312



As for the Motherboard, RAM, and Processor I decided between two builds, one AMD and the other Intel.



AMD
Mother Board, RAM & Processor (AMD):


GIGABYTE GA-MA790FX-DQ6 AM2+/AM2 AMD 790FX ATX Ultra Durable II AMD Motherboard 230$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128070

CORSAIR XMS2 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 - 85$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145176

AMD Athlon 64 X2 6400+ Windsor 3.2GHz 2 x 1MB L2 Cache Socket AM2 125W Dual-Core Processor - 170$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103228



Total for an AMD build: 1115$ this is including the basics I mentioned above and mail-in rebates from products and excluding shipping fees + tax.


Intel
Mother Board, RAM & Processor (Intel):


GIGABYTE GA-EP35C-DS3R LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Dynamic Energy Saver Ultra Durable II Intel Motherboard - 145$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128082

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz 2 x 4MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor - 275$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115017

CORSAIR 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) - 230$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145183

Total for an Intel Build: 1280$ this is including the basics I mentioned above and mail-in rebates and excluding shipping fees + tax.



As for the graphics card I was originally set on a -
EVGA 768-P2-N831-AR GeForce 8800GTX 768MB 384-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported - 400$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130072

But after reading the article on TomsHardware about the newer 8800GTS and its ability to rival the GTX and for 100$ cheaper I decided to go with the GTS. I mainly centered this build again, around gaming but also future proofing myself from having to shell out big bucks for additional upgrades anytime soon. I'm not particularly sure if the AMD or Intel build would be better for my purposes. As such, I tried to get the best parts available that weren't outrageously priced. Any advice on which build is best or if there are any parts that you would recommend over one I listed I would love to have your suggestion/advice.

Thanks again in advance!

EDITED: for clarity

 

[Silverion77]

looks good. You obviously did research

1) Go with the Intel build. ATM Intel is beating amd and that quad core would be nice for longevity (are you overclocking)
2) Graphics is a good choice.
3) For the Hard drive i would say SKIP on the Raptor. Compared to newer larger drives it is old news and outdated. Many like the WD 750AAKS (or other sizes) and the Seagate 7200.11 drives (the new ones)
4) The PSU is okay, but I would highly recommend a Corsair modular HX unit or a PC Power and Cooling unit. They are a nicer build quality.

On another note....DO NOT get the P35C motherboard. DDR3 is a waste of total money atm. Get the regular DS3R or L and some nice 4 gigs of DDR2 ram. Another good P35 board is the Asus P5K-E. It is a great board to overclock that quad

 

[wart thumbed]

looks good. You obviously did research

1) Go with the Intel build. ATM Intel is beating amd and that quad core would be nice for longevity (are you overclocking)
2) Graphics is a good choice.
3) For the Hard drive i would say SKIP on the Raptor. Compared to newer larger drives it is old news and outdated. Many like the WD 750AAKS (or other sizes) and the Seagate 7200.11 drives (the new ones)
4) The PSU is okay, but I would highly recommend a Corsair modular HX unit or a PC Power and Cooling unit. They are a nicer build quality.

On another note....DO NOT get the P35C motherboard. DDR3 is a waste of total money atm. Get the regular DS3R or L and some nice 4 gigs of DDR2 ram. Another good P35 board is the Asus P5K-E. It is a great board to overclock that quad

Ah okay, thanks a bunch, I'll be sure to look up all the parts you mentioned, and with the extra cash from going DDR2 instead of DDR3 maybe I can replace my crappy speakers.

 

[Silverion77]

Also forgot top mention. Another reason not to get the P35C is that many have complained that it is picky on the memory and has problems with the memory

 

[h2ocaver]

+1 on the Raptors, I have 2 in raid 0 and it is really nice for quick starts after the screen saver or startup, but the new drives aren't that much slower. I also run out of room on them and am always pushing files to a 500gig secondary. $350 would get you 1.5 Tb in raid 0 right now @7200 rpms-Just my 2 cents

 

[wart thumbed]

I'm also curious on the cooling part of my system.
Besides the built in Antec case fans and the additional CPU cooling system I am planning on, do I need any other heatsinks for other parts of my CPU?


As of now, my list looks like this.


The Basics:

Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - 110$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811129021

PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Quad (Black) EPS12V 750W Power Supply 100 - 240 V UL, ULC, CE, CB, RoHS - 170$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703009

ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 64 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler - 20$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835185125

Western Digital Raptor X WD1500AHFD 150GB 10,000 RPM 16MB Cache Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - 175$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] Raptor%2bx

EVGA 512-P3-N841-A3 GeForce 8800GTS (G92) 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI - 300$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814130312

CORSAIR Dominator 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) - 160$ (2 of them)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145043

ASUS P5K-E LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - 140$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131225

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz 2 x 4MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor - 275$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819115017

The bolded parts are areas where I swapped for better fits. (thanks Silverion77) I kept the Raptor X from WD because I generally don't see myself using more than 40-70gigs of space anyway and the 10,000 RPM seems a lot better than the 7,200 offered by other models. I'm probably wrong though.

Please let me know what you think of my final revision and about the cooling concern. Any noticing of problems / better set ups available would also be great. Thanks again for everyone's help.

Total : 1350$ with rebates excluding shipping and tax.

 

[wart thumbed]

Also, if I want to SLI later would it be possible with the motherboard I am aiming for? Or should I go with something like the XFX MB-N780-ISH9 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 780i SLI Intel Motherboardhttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813141005

I'm a bit confused with the memory standard on this product however, it says it is DDR2 800 but up to DDR1200 (with EPP 1.0), I've heard the wrong DDR ram can melt your board, so if I switched to this motherboard would I have to swap my Corsair Dominator DDR2 1066's as well?

 

[nukchebi0]

Good choices on everything, but I think you could be able to find cheaper RAM.

 

[Silverion77]

Just because it says DDR2 1066 just means it can go that high, but can go back to 800. I have a DS3L that is 1066 stock but I have DDR2800 Crucial Ballistix ram. If you are gonna go for 4 gigs, get a nice 2x2 kit so you can save room for the future
I like the PSU.
For SLI, how big is the monitor. The main problem with SLI is that by the time you go to use it (6 months is about average) it is usually better to get the new single card solution. Personally i find SLI to be just a silly joke unless you have a large monitor.
For the Cooler, the main question you have to answer first is "Are you overclocking?". If so then you might something a little better. If not then that's fine

 

[dash1]

Sorry but why not raptor ??? I need 250-320 HDD 7200 RPM should be fine for video.
Should I avoid WD ? Should I take 10000 RPM for the system ? WHIch brand please ...???

 

[wart thumbed]

I'm most likely going to try and OC (my first time ever) the quadcore to about 3.0ghz which is why I bought that CPU cooler. As for my monitor I have a 21" LCD from Viewsonic (not the best on the market but hey it works), so I think I'll pass on the SLI, since I like to play around the 1200x1000 resolution ranges anyway.

I'll most likely switch my RAM to a 2x2 DDR2 set.

 

[Silverion77]

Sorry but why not raptor ??? I need 250-320 HDD 7200 RPM should be fine for video.
Should I avoid WD ? Should I take 10000 RPM for the system ? WHIch brand please ...???

The Raptor is fine, but nowadays you are paying 3 times the price for a drive that gets slight performance increase. Before it was nice, but compared to newer larger drives, the performance is negligible. Unless you care about a 1 second faster load on a game then waste your money but otherwise get a nice larger drive.

Yea, ocing is fun. I tried it out for my rig and now run at 3.0 (2.8 for the moment because it was stock voltage). If you can you might want to get a better cooler. The best is the Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme but has a high price tag. Other good choices are the Tuniq Tower and the ZEROtherm Nirvana

 

[aevm]

Here's a better price for the Silencer 750W:
http://www.buy.com/prod/ocz-silencer-750w-quad-sli-ready-power-supply-black/q/loc/101/204839780.html

 

[aevm]

Sorry but why not raptor ??? I need 250-320 HDD 7200 RPM should be fine for video.
Should I avoid WD ? Should I take 10000 RPM for the system ? WHIch brand please ...???

Get a WD7500AAKS or a Spinpoint F1 1TB. Those are among the fastest disks available today. They are in fact faster than the 10000 RPM disks when handling huge files. For example when editing videos they are better. They also cost several times less per GB.

 

[aevm]

The Raptor is fine, but nowadays you are paying 3 times the price for a drive that gets slight performance increase. Before it was nice, but compared to newer larger drives, the performance is negligible. Unless you care about a 1 second faster load on a game then waste your money but otherwise get a nice larger drive.

Yea, ocing is fun. I tried it out for my rig and now run at 3.0 (2.8 for the moment because it was stock voltage). If you can you might want to get a better cooler. The best is the Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme but has a high price tag. Other good choices are the Tuniq Tower and the ZEROtherm Nirvana

True. I also like the Scythe Ninja. But, for only 3.0 GHz, I'm voting for the Arctic Cooling Frezer 7 Pro. It's trivial to install, cheap, quiet, small. There's a review here: http://www.anandtech.com/casecoolingpsus/showdoc.aspx?i=3210

 

[mlaporta]

Did you need an Optical Drive:

Samsung SH-S203B SATA

(Get the "Retail" version of the optical drive in order to get software with it. This will include the decoder you'll need to watch movies on it.)

 

[mlaporta]

Low to Moderate OC - Artic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler

High OC - XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler
ARCTIC COOLING MX-2 Thermal Compound

 

[mlaporta]

I was reading about lapping the heatsink... is it really worth it??

 

[Silverion77]

Some TRUEs come with very convex bases and yes lapping them does help. With the Xigmatek idk because it would be bad if you broke through the pipes

 

[wart thumbed]

Is it possible to OC my processor further than 3.0? It's factory setting is 2.4ghz and I want to OC it to where it doesn't sacrifice stability but will give me great performance. 3.0 seemed like a safe number. I'll probably choose between the Scythe Ninja / Arctic Cooler Pro 7 and the Seagate Barracuda / WD7500AAKS.

What do you guys think about getting a 780i XFX Nvidia board instead of the P5K-E for possible future SLI with the 8800GTS? Its about 50$ more than the P5K-E but I'm not sure if the P5K-E supports SLI.

 

[aevm]

Yes. I know people on this forum who got the Q6600 to 3.6 and 3.7 respectively. They used Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme and Tuniq Tower, if I remember right. You should probably get some DDR2-1066 if you're looking for that sort of overclock.

The Scythe Ninja will probably not reach 3.7 GHz. It will reach 3.4 and do it with very little noise and at a medium price, that's why I like it. The Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro is not a great choice IMO if you're thinking about 3.4 GHz or more.

Seagate 7200.11 competes pretty well with the WD7500AAKS, it just tends to make a little more noise and cost a bit more per GB. 7200.10 is also pretty good, but not quite as good as 7200.11.

P5K-E does not support SLI. For SLI you need something that contains 680i (or, much better for future CPU upgrades, 780i) in its name. Search for "eVGA 780i" at newegg for example, that's a good one. Not sure about the XFX 780i, but they make great video cards so I'd trust them with a mobo too.

 

[Silverion77]

The thing u have to decide is will you ever do SLI in say 6 months. Any later and it becomes silly because there are newer cards that are better than the dual.

^Agree to the above about drives and coolers

 

[wart thumbed]

Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - 110$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811129021

PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Quad (Black) EPS12V 750W Power Supply 100 - 240 V UL, ULC, CE, CB, RoHS - 140$
http://www.buy.com/prod/ocz-silenc [...] 39780.html

Scythe SCMNJ-1000 80mm Sleeve "NINJA MINI" CPU Cooler - 35$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductReview.aspx?Item=N82E16835185046

Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3500320AS 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM - 120$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148288

EVGA 512-P3-N841-A3 GeForce 8800GTS (G92) 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI - 300$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814130312

CORSAIR Dominator 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) - 160$ (2 of them)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820145043
Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) - 130$ (2)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148069
(RAM is still iffy)

ASUS P5K-E LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - 140$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813131225

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz 2 x 4MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor - 275$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819115017
(OC'ed to about 3.0~3.2ghz range)

total : 1250$ with rebates excluding shipping +tax

This is my final final build! Thanks for all your replies.

 

[aevm]

I'd pick the Crucial Ballistix. I'm just not sure you get two mail rebates if you order both sets yourself and send the rebate claims from the same address.

The Silencer 750W is one of the best PSUs ever and can handle SLI, but with the P5K-E you're ruling out SLI. Your "final final build" would be just fine with this $120 620HX or this $74 Corsair 550VX.
http://www.buy.com/prod/corsair-620w-sli-certified-modular-atx-power-supply/q/loc/101/203270718.html
http://www.buy.com/prod/corsair-vx-550w-power-supply/q/loc/101/205852646.html
You decide. Personally I got the Silencer 750W, but my video card is a GTX and consumes more, and I intend to have 6 hard disks eventually too, and a TV tuner, and a sound card, etc.

 

[mlaporta]

How about a: PC Power & Cooling Silencer 610