Rate my potential build

[Ironsoap]

I know that this place is littered with these kinds of threads, but I think that's kinda what it's here for. I was hoping someone could give me any suggestions as far as this build. I already have the case, fans, and optical drives.

Also, as I will be saving up money as I go along, the CPU and GPU will probably change as they release the Q9450 and 9800GX2. But that's my general outline as far as budget is concerned.

Thanks!

 

[HamRadio]

SLI is not worthwhile from a price/performance point of view in my opinion.

i can't find the Zalman PSU you've chosen on the quality PSU lists. But my eyes are not as good as they once were. if the zalman is not listed, pick something from tier 1 or 2. some suggestions would be the corsair 620 which is stable, quiet, and modular, and the pcp&c silencer 610 or 750 which are stable and quiet but not modular. the 750 is slightly larger than standard PSUs and for smaller cases they may not fit well without a little tinkering.

no one knows if newegg is shipping the G0 stepping version of the Q6600. if you want to make sure you get that one, which is better for OCing, get it from clubit.com .. also you can save a little if you get the OEM version since you are getting an aftermarket cpu cooler. the OEM version has less warranty than the retail version, but CPU chips do not burn out very often, it is usually some other part that goes first.

there are reviews of CPU coolers on toms and frostytech, and according to the reviews, there are quieter cooler and cheaper coolers out there than the one you picked. the xigmatek hdt-s1283 is cheap, and at the top of the list.

other than that i think your parts are ok. if i could talk you out of SLI i would suggest a single 8800GTS G92 512MB with a GA-P35-DS3L. SLI may be slightly better performance but from the price/performance standpoint, a single card is more bang for the buck.

 

[amd_fanboi]

that PSU is WAY too expensive... and it doesn't look like a good one.

taking a RAID setup with 2x 500 GB drives will be cheaper

and yeah, if you aren't going to go SLI, then take the 8800GTS and a P35 DS3L

 

[Serj]

Holy Carp! that's an expensive PSU. Get a Seasonic M12-700. Not quite as much juice, but it's 80Plus certified, $60 cheaper, and dead freakin' quiet.

 

[Ironsoap]

SLI is not worthwhile from a price/performance point of view in my opinion.

As you'll notice, I'm getting a 24" monitor, either from Newegg or a B&M store, but either way, the native resolution will be 1900 x 1200, which all of Tom's Hardware's charts show has an improvement with SLI. It'll be worth it with this setup.

i can't find the Zalman PSU you've chosen on the quality PSU lists. But my eyes are not as good as they once were. if the zalman is not listed, pick something from tier 1 or 2. some suggestions would be the corsair 620 which is stable, quiet, and modular, and the pcp&c silencer 610 or 750 which are stable and quiet but not modular. the 750 is slightly larger than standard PSUs and for smaller cases they may not fit well without a little tinkering.

This is something that has been echoed throughout my posts on various forums. The Corsair looks like it's a good buy, so I'm gonna look over some reviews.

no one knows if newegg is shipping the G0 stepping version of the Q6600. if you want to make sure you get that one, which is better for OCing, get it from clubit.com .. also you can save a little if you get the OEM version since you are getting an aftermarket cpu cooler. the OEM version has less warranty than the retail version, but CPU chips do not burn out very often, it is usually some other part that goes first.

No one knows for sure, you're correct, but every review on that site up to the 2nd of February (as far as I can tell) says it's a G0. And I'm pretty confident that with 1400 reviews, they probably have only G0s in stock. Besides, by the time I buy all this, the Q9450 will have come out, and I'll just get that instead anyway.

there are reviews of CPU coolers on toms and frostytech, and according to the reviews, there are quieter cooler and cheaper coolers out there than the one you picked. the xigmatek hdt-s1283 is cheap, and at the top of the list.

This is something that people have echoed as well, and I'll be looking at reviews over the next couple of days. I'll admit, the LED is kinda what sold me, but I think I can live without it.

 

[HamRadio]

if you like flashy LEDs, and who doesn't , look at the xigmatek red scorpion. same top CPU cooler, better longer life fan with red see through blades and 4 flashing white LEDs.

the 9800 will be out soon. best of both worlds. two 8800 cards but only takes one PCI-e slot.

post back after you get it all built and report on the scepter monitor. i've always thought samsung made the best LCDs.