Confirming Specs for New pc

[jednx01]

Current idea for pc specs and parts with prices:

dual Evga 8800 gtx $680 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130072&Tpk=eVGA+8800GTX
hermaltake Armor Series VA8000BWS Black ATX Full Tower Case $150 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133154
Tuniq Miniplant ATX12V / EPS12V 950W Power $250 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...uniq+Miniplant+ATX12V+%2f+EPS12V+950W+Power

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz $250 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115017

cpu cooler: MASSCOOL 8WA740 90mm Ball CPU Cooler $15 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835150081
Ram- CORSAIR 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 $115 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227289

Seagate barracuda 320GB harddrive 7200 RPM $80 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148140

Sony NEC Optiarc Black 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM 18 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827101131

sound card- Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio $50 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829102016

thermal paste- Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound $6 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835100007

mother b- eVGA 132-CK-NF78-A1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 780i SLI ATX $260 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188024&Tpk=EVGA+780I

Microsoft Windows Vista 64-Bit Home Premium for System Builders Single Pack $100 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116204




Goal: To build a computer that will be good for the next few years, with room to expand. It would be nice to be able to run crisis at very high at 1600x1200.
Main Questions-
a) are the parts compatible (for complete list of questions see list below.
b) Will this rig run crisis at highest settings at 1600x1200
c) For the video card(s) would crisis run better on one 9800Gx2 or dual 8800gtx’s?
Questions:

1. I understand with this case, the rear slots have plastic dividers between them. This might make it difficult to install 8800gtx’s. (after all each gtx is a double wide videocard) Would I need to remove these plastic dividers to install the gtx’s? If so, could I easily remove them, or would it be simpler to consider a different case? If so, does anybody have a recommendation? I want to have a case with good airflow, because I expect this rig would run fairly hot. (I know good air flow is important, because a friend of mine- NOT the one who’s computer I built- overlooked this little detail and literally melted his motherboard. I would like to avoid this mistake. Lol)

2. Power supply- will it fit in this case? Also, this is probably overkill for the system I am building. The reason for this high wattage of psu (power supply unit) is that I will probably upgrade the pc over the next four years or so, so I would like to buy a psu that has enough wattage to support potential upgrades. I would rather not have to replace the psu to upgrade later on. Basically, the questions are,
a) will this psu fit in the case?
b) is this psu compatible with the components listed?

3. For the processor (Q6600 2.4ghz quad core)-
a) any avise on cpu fans
b) does the p

4. Thermal Paste- this paste looks got good reviews, but my assumption is that the cpu does not come with thermal paste, is that correct? Even if it does, is it recommended to buy separate thermal paste? (This stuff is dirt cheap so I don’t mind paying extra for this)

5. The question with the ram is simple, is this stuff good? Also is it compatible? I want to have 2gb sticks, so that I have room to upgrade later on.

6. Similar question with the harddrive… compatible with the other parts?

7. CD drive- normal question- is it compatible? Is this good enough to run most programs?

8. For the motherboard-
a) is this board compatible with all my other parts
b) will I be able to run the dual gtx’s on this board in sli (I’ve seen this advertised as a tri-sli mobo. For now, I will only use the 2 gtx’s but may get a third in a couple years.)

9. Video cards- 2x 8800gtx
a) aside from the question about the case, will this actually work?
b) To run dual video cards do a need to buy any extra equipment or software?

10. Sound card- is this soundcard good enough to run games? I would like the card to be able to run my 5.1 surround speakers (I already have them)

11. Windows- is this version a good choice for building your own system from scratch?

 

[jednx01]

By the way... Any question in this list that you all could answer would be great. You don't need to try to answer all of these questions at the same time. I imagine that would take a while.

 

[groo]

I'd get a bigger hdd if your only running 1

many people run game s fine with onboard sound, so you card is more than enough

you cooler will come with a small tube of paste, is it like the ones I've bought in the past.

 

[jednx01]

To help make the specs easier to read (at a second glance, the first post of specs is rather hard to read), here is a new list of them (same as above, but minus the thermal paste) For the links, see above.

dual Evga 8800 gtx's

Thermaltake Armor Series VA8000BWS Black ATX Full Tower Case

Tuniq Miniplant ATX12V / EPS12V 950W Power

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz

cpu cooler: MASSCOOL 8WA740 90mm Ball CPU Cooler

Ram- CORSAIR 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800

Seagate barracuda 320GB harddrive 7200 RPM

Sony NEC Optiarc Black 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM

sound card- Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio

mother board- eVGA 132-CK-NF78-A1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 780i SLI ATX

Microsoft Windows Vista 64-Bit Home Premium for System Builders Single Pack

 

[hughyhunter]

Alright buddy... let's see if I can help... full detail:

CAse... Nice choice. But why full tower? You dont need that much room. I love my Antec 900 and have a awesome rig.

Here is a few pics:

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8800GTX's? No way man. For the same price you can get new gen 9800GTX and run 3 of them in SLI. Dont be a fool... 8800GTX are a year old.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Description=9800gtx&x=0&y=0

Your PSU is overkill... just think about it. As components advance in tech the power consumption decreases also. REmember DDR memory had to run at 2.6v and now DDR2 runs at 1.8-2.2! I have a 750 watt PSPC and love it.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703009

I would opt for new gen Q9300 or even Q9450. Q6600 is over a year old and is 65nm. New 45nm quads should be more overclockable and consume less power. Also Less heat means higher overclock and that's exactly what these puppies are for.

The only HSF I can recommend is Thermalright ultra-120 extreme. Not only do I like it because I have had great experience from it but reviews continually show it's the best... do your research here. Also I like that it mounts very solidly with it's metal base and mounting hardware.

Memory... If you plan on doing SLI you need EPP or SLI ready memory. I like OCZ and they came out with a 2X2GB kit 1066mhz reaper here: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227289

Hard drive... get the 32mb cache 500gb version. Almost as fast as raptors.

Stick with optical drive you selected. If you go with the EVGA 780i board you will have to do some bios and driver updates to have SATA drive. Dont worry about that now though as your drive is IDE.

Great choice in Motherboard. EVGA has best reviews.

Sound card is cool too!

Good choice is OS... It's buggy but I have it and like to see 4gb memory and it seems smooth and crisp to me.

Some of the questions:

Crysis you will play at very high, 2x AA around 30FPS with two 9800GTX. If you throw a third one in there you might get 45FPS. Maybe though.

Crysis will run better on 9800GX2 than two 8800GTX. But I wouldnt do either. I would get 2 9800GTX.

Good luck!

 

[jednx01]

hughyhunter.....
wow! that was a lot of info. Thank you so much for the help. I haven't decided if ill go with 2 9800gtx's or 3, but the 8800gtx's are definitely out. Ill post the new specs i have in mind once I make the changes you suggested. Your probably right that the case is really big, and i may change the same case that you have. The reason why I selected that case is actually an interesting story. The short version is simply... I had a friend who got the a case without good airflow. When I was at his house, we played games on his computer for about two hours. We were forced to stop playing when his computer randomly stopped working. We couldn't figure out what was wrong with the computer... until we opened the case. His motherboard had literally melted itself due to lack of airflow. Anyway, the i guess i thought that more space equals more airflow. I'll probably take your suggestion though. Thanks for all your time.

 

[hughyhunter]

No problem... it's just as much fun for me as it is for you... Let us know what you end up doing.

 

[jednx01]

just one more question... would crysis run better on a 2.5ghz quad core or a 3.0 ghz core 2 duo? Also... most intel processors come with heatsinks, thermal paste, etc., but is it still a good idea to by one separately?

 

[jednx01]

Also. Are you sure 1066 ram will work with the motherboards i selected? If you look at the specs (see: link to motherboard above and look at the "specifications" tab) it says that the "memory standard" is ddr2 800. Will 1066 work?

 

[JackNaylorPE]

The Hard Drives are "old". The new 7200.11's are 34% faster. The Samsung F1 is the only SATA drive manufactured today that is faster than the 7200.11 and that includes the Raptor.

The 780i is now eclipsed by the 790i which is showing significant advantages in SLI performance as well as memory bandwidth. Might want to look at the Striker II for the 780i and the Striker II Extreme for the 790i tho I haven't seen the Extreme offered for sale yet. Anandtech has a good review of the 780i Striker and compares it with the EVGA.

If you gonna start with 32 bit Vista but would someday like to move to 64 bit suggest getting Ultimate Upgrade Version. Search the web for "Clean install of Vista Upgrade" to find out how to use the upgrade DVD to install even when you don't have a qualifying OS.

If you thinking maybe triple SLI someday, make sure your PSU can handle....

I think I'd go for the 9800GTX's too.

As for CPU coolers, the old champ (Thermalright 120)has been eclipsed by Thermalright's new release the IFX-14. It has more surface area and also has a MoBo CPU socket backplate cooler which trims an extra degree or 2 off CPU temps. Of course it seems the better the cooler, the harder it is to install and if you have no removable MoBo tray this one can be a bear.

Make sure you can actually get a sound card in if you thinking 2 or 3 Vid Cards. That's one advantage of the Asus model is it has a special sound card riser.

And yes you can always use better memory than you need, the question is since it costs more, why would you ?

Also, the Asus burner has been named Buyer's Choice Award winner 2 months running on new egg.....worth looking at to see if you like better since so many peeps seem to like it.

CPU is a budget thing primarily so best you can afford.

 

[hughyhunter]

I agree mostly with JackNaylorPE... However I didnt read the article that compares the Asus to the EVGA. ON a personnel note I own the EVGA and can say it is a great overclocker and I like it very much.

http://www.evga.com/products/moreinfo.asp?pn=132-CK-NF78-A1&family=400 here is the product page. Go under specs and check out memory... it shows that it supports all memory up to 1200mhz. Like Jack said though most mobo will support increased bandwidth memory if the mobo is overclockable.

I would get 64bit to begin with and for sure the 9800GTX. Get one if you can afford and slowly get more as you save up and see price drops.

I have owned two thermalright HSF. The xp-90 and now the TRUE... both have proven effective and reliable. The mount solid and temps are phenomenal for air cooling.

Good luck!

 

[JackNaylorPE]

However I didnt read the article that compares the Asus to the EVGA. ON a personnel note I own the EVGA and can say it is a great overclocker and I like it very much. !

I don't think you can go wrong with either....ant any given point in time one company is going to come up with a few winners, a few losers and the rest will be "within a pack". The Asus X48 board is a winner for example, clearly separated from the pack. Then sometimes one company goes on a run and comes up with a series of winners.

A lot will depend on what you are used to ....I practically have Asus TS on "speed dial" as a while back when they had a series of winners in a row, I bought like 8 of em. It's kinda easier to not to have to use and service multiple brands so all things being equal, I would lean to Asus cause it's easier for "me". The last non Asus board I bought was almost in the last millenium

EVGA OTOH has been coming on strong, their trade in / upgrade policy is enticing many owners from their favorites and they are finding that the products are just as solid and configurable as their old favs.

As for the articles at Anandtech, both the 780i and 790i articles IIRC mentioned BIOS related problems on both the EVGA and Asus entries leading them to conclude it was a reference board issue.

 

[spencercpu1983]

2 9800 GTXs is the way to go. The 9800 GTX is faster and uses less power than the 8800 GTX.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130339

Take a look at the SeaSonic M12 700 Watt power supply, it has modular cabling, 4 6 pin PCI-E connectors and a 6+2 Pin PCI-E connector.
http://www.virtual-hideout.net/reviews/Seasonic_M12_700w/index.shtml
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151031

 

[hughyhunter]

^Agreed! 2 9800GTXs are the way to go. ATM they are the fastest card that can do 3-way SLI.

PSU I would look at Corsair for modular. Great reviews and a tad bit less expensive. However since you need more power (want rather) I would stick with a 700+ watt PSU... but for the $$ PC power and cooling makes the best IMO. Why else would maximum pc use them every year in a row for their dream machine!?