Finally nailed down my new build specs!! yay -thoughts!?

[TurinX]

Time to finally get my new comp, any suggestions would be appreciated. (i'll probably be running vista.... )
points that may come up - I choose GTX as roughly same price as GTS here in the UK.
Nvidia chipset as I like the option of future SLI (though, its getting harder to find a GTX, so i'm worried it may be a moot point!)
RC-1000 because i think its just damn sexy (as well as pretty good airflow).
Hyper TX 2 as toms gave it a good review, and I'm assuming the q9450 is quite cool anyway compared to 6600(i DO plan to oveclock somewhat - was tempted by the Thermalright's IFX-14, but not sure it's worth it - looks a little scarily heavy!)


Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450, Yorkfield Core, S775, 2.66 GHz, 1333MHz, 12MB L2 Cache, Retail £246.69

768MB XFX 8800GTX, Extreme, PCI-E (x16), Mem 1900MHz GDDR3, GPU 600MHz, Stream 128, 2x DL DVI-I £164.37

Gigabyte GA P35-DS4 £98.57

750W TX Corsair PSU, single 12V rail, energy efficient, quiet & cool, fully compatible,5 yr warranty £88.00

750 GB Samsung HD753LJ Spinpoint F1, SATA II, 7200 rpm, 32MB Cache, 8.9 ms, NCQ £67.69

Xigmatek HDT-S1283 (H.D.T.) 120mm PWM Fan x3 Heat-pipe LGA775/K8/AM2 Cpu cooler £22.27

Samsung SH-S203P/RSMN Lightscribe SATA, 3 Bezels + Nero Retail £20.20

Coolermaster RC-1000 *New V2* Cosmos Silver/Black Silent Aluminium Full Tower Case w/o PSU £118.66

4GB (2x2GB) Corsair XMS2, DDR2 PC2-6400 (800MHz), Unbuffered, CAS 4-4-4-12, DHX £72.43

Total £900

Feelings? Thoughts? Criticisms? Meaning of life?

 

[mihirkula]

I really wouldn't recommend the GTX...even if its similarly priced with the GTS there...... if i were you i would wait for the spanking new Radeon 4800 series ... the $350 4870 outperforms even the 9800GX2 by a large margin.....the new cards would be out in late May....i can guarantee you it would be worth the wait

Get the Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3750330AS 750GB Harddrive instead of the Samsung one.

I'm not very impressed with SLI....i still think its much much wiser to get a different lightening fast single GPU instead of getting another same one to SLI....... moreover there are a lot of horror stories about SLI drivers/boards

Regarding the cooler, the XIGMATEK HDT S1283 is the boss of coolers out there right now.

Meaning of life is to love your woman and your GPU and make sure they never meet.

 

[stabgotham]

I like it. These are my only thoughts:

A) I don't know UK currency v.s. US currency...so forgive my ignorance when I mention pricing things.

B) I love the Cosmos case, but I think its too much. If you haven't ever owned a full-tower case, be forwarned...they are massive and heavy. I mean, the Cosmos is almost 50lbs. Not to mention that there is no desk in the world it will fit in.

C) This is just a personal preference, I would have gone with OCZ Ballistix memory over the XMS2. I can't recall off the top of my head, but I think its a better overclocker then the XMS2 and a little bit cheaper.

Either way, I think you have yourself a really good build there...now watch ATi drop the new 4000 series cards and slap NVidia in the face...

 

[stabgotham]

correction....Crucial Ballistx

 

[TurinX]

Thanks very much - GBP to USD is about 2 to 1, so expensive, but thats just one of the joys of living her.
I'was tempted by the Xigmatek HDT-S1283, so have updated to go with it.
I've basically been delaying for ages now, and I think i'd just like to go for it. I ended up waiting for ages for the 9x00 series, and ended up dissapointed.... i can always upgrade the graphics card later if it would really benifit, or go sli (which i know people dislike, but i've seen enough good to give it the benifit of the doubt!)

Here the segate is about 15% more expensive, and for a little more thant he seagate i could go for 1TB!
On the Cosmos, yeah, i've heard alot about the size...but i can't wait!! Supersize me!

 

[TurinX]

Oh, and I went for a 8800 GTX because i'm hoping to get a larger screen soon (am on 22" right now) and its better at larger res... I had a post last week here and that seemed to be the consensus...

 

[Shadow703793]

^You still might want to wait a while for the 4800, even though they will be priced high the new 4800s will drive down the prices for the 8800s and possible the 9800s.

 

[Shadow703793]

Unless you need SLI. Drop that motherboard. Consider a P35-DS3x or P35-P5K-x.

Good choices on PSU,CPU,cooler, HDD, and RAM.

 

[1971Rhino]

System looks pretty solid to me. I just built one myself with 2 9600's in SLI it runs COD4 on my Samsung 24" @ 1920 x 1200 silky smooth.

 

[TurinX]

I did like having the option of SLI, not sure really if its worth it with a both AMD and Nvida releasing new gen grapihcis cards soon...OH SO HARD. was set on ordering tommorrow, now, do i wait?!!??!!?!? AHAHHAAH

 

[aevm]

I like your build.

I agree about the Samsung HD. You're better off with a Seagate 7200.11 or a WD6400AAKs or a WD7500AAKS.

 

[roadrunner197069]

Buy it but dont get the GTX. Grab a 8800GS and wait til 4xxxs hit in a couple weeks. The GS will let you get your build done and tweaked while you wait.

 

[sprucebr1]

Nice Build! Though, I like that you picked the 8800GTX, maybe going to the 9800GTX would be a better option. Newer chipset, G92, and likely only a small performance difference. Not sure but I think its cheaper too. That's the only thing I see here, CPU is a great choice!!

 

[mihirkula]

^ ...9800gtx is the worst possible option.

OP...as roadrunner said, get a GS if you want now, or not, but do wait for the Radeon 4x series. Just a matter of three weeks.

 

[TurinX]

Think i'm going to edit my system and scarp SLi - i we've got the 4x series asap and then the GT200 in summer, don't think i'll get around to Sli anytime soon anyway!
--I could wait till the 4x, but what about the GT200 in a few months? i was thinking i could just buy the 8800 GTX, then wait till after summer, near the end of the year and upgrade...by the the new gen will be a little cheaper and the 8800 should keep me satisfied for a while, views?

 

[TurinX]

I've updated my mobo, as i'm now not going with Sli, look sound?

 

[stabgotham]

It looks great! I still think that the Cosmos case is too much case for the parts you plan to put in it. I mean, I could definitely see you going that route if you were going SLI or Crossfire, have 4 or more hard drives, and multiple PCI hook-ups, but your going with rather a simple setup that would easily fit into a quality mid-tower such as the Antec 900, Antec P182, Coolermaster Centaurian 5, or any Lian-Li cases (the best of the best in my humble opinion).