FINAL REVISION- Please check before placing order

[asdfsystema]

I had a 1.5ghz 128ram 32mb video card computer for about 7 years and I decided it was time to upgrade. I decided to buy a brand new computer.
Please keep in mind this will be a gaming system !
Here are the specs:
CASE TT Armor Black ATX Full tower
CPU E8400 wolfdale 3.0ghz
Videocard eVGA 8800GTS 512 MB (G92)
Mobo Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L
Ram G.skill 4gb (2x2) DDR21000
HD WD Caviar 500GB 7200RPM 16m cache
PSU Corsair 650TX 650W
DVD/CD Samsung SH-s203b
Mouse G5 Logitech
Keyboard ANYONE RECOMMEND a good keyboard similar to G15, but it's too expensive. standard keyboard good enough? for gaming.
CPU cooling Planning to get the Thermalright Ultra 120-extreme, anyone know where to get it?
Soundcard- x-fi fata1ty , but a while after I get the system, going to test out mobo's audio
Monitor- Might go up to 24' but leaning towards samsung's 226BW 22'

Hopefully that's all I need so far. Trying to order all the parts today so I can work on this system over the next weekend.

Thanks in advance for any of your opinions ^^

P.S. forgot to ask for advice on CPU COOLING Alternatives ... I want to keep my system as cool as possible, so please tell me what to get. I'm not an expert at this.. brand new to this. THanks!

 

[chuckm]

Cooler:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233003
You shouldn't need more than DDR2 800 ram.

 

[asdfsystema]

i might be doing some OC . Also the DDR2 1000 2x2 is around the same price as the 800 so what the heck haha. decided to get that instead.

 

[amd_fanboi]

good choices... the cooler could be the Zalman CNPS 9700LED... or the thermalright ultra 120...

looks VERY good otherwise

 

[asdfsystema]

Thank you.

I was looking into the thermalright ultra 120-extreme with the scythe S-flex for the fan, but newegg doesn't have it. Is the thermalright ultra 120 technically the same? If so, it'll be a hassle to search a place for the 120-e...


more opinions appreciated ! thank you.

 

[asdfsystema]

how's this cooler?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186134

Is it on the tier as the thermalright ultra 120 and should I replace the fan?

 

[chuckm]

The cooler I suggested does a lot better than the freezer pro for the same money. It's new and there isn't a lot of reviews on it, but everything I've read is very positive. Here's one review;
http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=81&Itemid=1

 

[asdfsystema]

Does anyone know of a cheaper, just as efficient PSU like the cosair ?

 

[chuckm]

The Corsair VX550. May want to look around for the best price on it .

 

[jevon]

You could try NCIX for other cooler options, I also like the Tuniq Tower 120 (Comes with fan). Has done well for itself in reviews, I think second only to the Ultra-120.

About the processor, just an FYI that they are EXTREMELY allocated right now and will likely be backordered until April-ish, according to the Admins over @ NCIX :/ That's when Intel has said they'll be finally sending out large quantities.. until then, what small shipments etailers get will be going towards the list of backorders

BUT there's also something else to look into: Will the DS3L boot with the 8400 without a BIOS flash? It's somethign you need to be careful with the new 45nm chips, especially on the P35 boards. There's two options here, one is if you have an 775 Intel chip laying around that you can put in just to boot the system and flash the motherboard's BIOS to use 45nm chips, or you could grab something pretty cheap like the E2160 (~$80 I think) and use it to flash AND just overclock it and use in the mean time until the 8400's are in stock.

I'd look into the DS3L and if they're working with 45nm chips without an update, and if they aren't definately consider the E2160 because you'll get two uses out of it. If the DS3L IS working right away with 45nm, well then you're still likely looking at waiting until April-ish before you get one.. so the E2160 might be a good choice even then to hold you over.

Otherwise the system looks great. Another PSU option could be the Antec Neo Blue 650W. Keyboards, I like the Merc Stealth. Make sure you get a 64-bit OS (Vista > XP here for sure) for that 4gb memory if you weren't already. And I would also suggest considering DDR2-800.

I got 4gb of Patriot RAM http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220269&Tpk=pdc24g6400llk for a great price during boxing week, and the DDR2-800 will give me a good OC, but this memory also will also OC easily enough to get to 4Ghz with the 8400.

I'm not familiar with the fan setup of that case or what fans are included, but since air cooling is important to you FYI sleeve bearing fans last much longer when mounted vertically while ball bearings work best when mounted horizontally. Should help with the noise too. Not a lot, but just maximizing efficiency I'm a fan of Yate Loon fans for the price/performance factor.

Good luck with the new rig!

 

[adlertheman]

looks,...very very nice! Good choice!

 

[chuckm]

The only way to know if the board will need a bios flash is to find out which bios it has when shipped, which the seller may or may not know. If you need to order now, get a 2140 CPU or even maybe a Celeron, you could always sell it after the E8400's come back in stock. The only place that I know that has them is tigerdirect and it is OEM, which means no stock cooler and a shorter(1 yr) warranty.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3636566

 

[asdfsystema]

got all my parts for a total of 1300 excluding rebate (rebate 80$). didn't buy a monitor yet though so the total should be around 1500. thanks guys