New to the community, need some help

[kingjoel]

THD-500M3 :: Maxtor DiamondMax 21 500GB Hard Drive - 7200, 16MB, ATA-100, EIDE, OEM (1.75 lbs)
In Stock $79.99

B52-8806 :: BFG GeForce 8800 GTS OC Video Card - 512MB GDDR3, PCI Express 2.0, SLI Ready, (Dual Link) Dual DVI, HDTV, Video Card (2.2 lbs)
In Stock $317.99

M17-1861 :: Microsoft Reclusa Gaming Keyboard - USB, Black (4.5 lbs)
In Stock $67.99

S167-4514 :: Sony DRU190A 20X DVD Rewritable Drive - 20x DVD±R, 8 DVD+RW, 6x DVD-R, 8x DVD±R DL, ATAPI/EIDE, Black (1.95 lbs)
In Stock $29.99

TC3J-2341 :: Apevia Black/Black X-Plorer ATX Mid-Tower Case with Clear Side, Fan Controller, Front USB and Firewire Port, PowerUp 800-Watt PSU (21.55 lbs)
In Stock $146.99

MCM-680ILT-Q6600B :: XFX nForce 680i LT SLI Motherboard CPU Bundle - Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Processor 2.40GHz OEM, OCZ 4096MB PC6400 DDR2 Memory (2 x 2048MB) (5.6 lbs)
In Stock $518.99

I'm missing a cooling system which i have no clue which to take. I would mostly like to know if everything in here fits with each other or am i completely off the track. Would you guys change a couple of things around or did i just mess it all up and you would change everything hehe.
Thanks for the help and info!

 

[aevm]

I don't buy Maxtor, I don't buy Sony, and I don't buy IDE in general. Strongly recommend you get a WD6400AAKS or a Seagate 7200.11 instead of the DiamondMax and a SH-S203B instead of the Sony IDE burner.

Good video card.

Cooler:
XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 120mm
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233003

I'd change the case to Antec 900.

Nice bundle. If you want a second video card, I recommend you keep the bundle and add a Silencer 750W PSU or a 620HX. (Check www.buy.com for a good price.)

If you don't want a second video card you can save money by buying a GA-P35-DS3L (or DS3R) and the Q6600 and 4 GB of DDR2-800 separately and a Corsair 550VX PSU.

 

[kingjoel]

I chose the seagate 7200.10 at first but it was saying : Interface: Serial ATA-300 and my mobo says : Hard Drive Types: ATA/100. So i guess those 2 are compatible, just wasnt sure.

I do want another video card but not right now, but i'll be ready for it. The case i chose already came in with a 800 watt power supply so i taught i was good with it.
And i'm using tigerdirect.ca since i live in canada and they don't seem to have antec 900....

So right now it would look like that

TSD-500AS4 :: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 500GB Hard Drive - 7200, 8MB, Serial ATA-300, OEM (1.55 lbs)
In Stock $121.99

S203-8510 :: Samsung 20X IDE DVD Burner - 20x DVD±R, 16x DVD±R DL, 12x DVD-RAM, Black (2.4 lbs)
In Stock $36.99

B52-8806 :: BFG GeForce 8800 GTS OC Video Card - 512MB GDDR3, PCI Express 2.0, SLI Ready, (Dual Link) Dual DVI, HDTV, Video Card (2.2 lbs)
In Stock $317.99

M17-1861 :: Microsoft Reclusa Gaming Keyboard - USB, Black (4.5 lbs)
In Stock $67.99

TC3J-2341 :: Apevia Black/Black X-Plorer ATX Mid-Tower Case with Clear Side, Fan Controller, Front USB and Firewire Port, PowerUp 800-Watt PSU (21.55 lbs)
In Stock $146.99

MCM-680ILT-Q6600B :: XFX nForce 680i LT SLI Motherboard CPU Bundle - Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Processor 2.40GHz OEM, OCZ 4096MB PC6400 DDR2 Memory (2 x 2048MB) (5.6 lbs)
In Stock $518.99

M333-3000 :: ZEROtherm / Butterfly BTF90 / Socket 775/754/939/AM2 / Copper Base / Heatpipes / CPU Cooler (2.15 lbs)
In Stock $60.99

 

[aevm]

Yeah, the problem is that not all PSUs have the same quality, and Apevia is not so good.

Your mobo should also say SATA: 6. I can't find it at newegg but I'm looking at the BFG 680i LT and I suspect it's very similar. That means you can have up to 6 SATA devices, which means narrow cables, no jumpers, faster transfers. You really should try to avoid IDE, it's yesterday's technology.

I guess you're not buying from newegg. Give us a URL where you 're shopping. I think there are better SLI mobos you can get (with a Q6600 and 4 GB of RAM included) for $519.

 

[kingjoel]

The link is tigerdirect.ca
And the mobo does say Serial ATA Headers 6

 

[royalcrown]

STOP, SERIAL ATA and ATA 100 are NOT NOT NOT THE same thing or remotely compatible !!!!

ATA 100 refers to IDE, big fat ribbon cable, serial ATA, little tiny thin cable

ATA refers to ATAPI, which is the electrical and physical interface atandards from way back when.

You want sata 150 or sata 300 (sata 2) interface and here is why:

You have less setup hassles, the cables are much easier to route and you can get longer ones if you need to with no problem.

With ata33, 66, 100 (IDE) you have to set up one device as a master and one as a slave and so forth by setting a jumper on the back of the device, you have to know what kind og cable your using and which part of the cable goes to what drive on what controller.

If you get sata hard drives and optical drives, you just plug each one into it's own cable and it's own socket on the motherboard and your done. Your board has 6 sata connectors according to specs.

 

[royalcrown]

A "gaming" keyboard is not going to help you push the keys any faster, if it was me, I'd save 40 bucks and get a normal keyboard. One of those things you gotta pick what you like though.

Also CORSAIR power supplies have been getting excellent reviews and actuall can run at 100 percent output for short periods, so that says a lot about their quality. Maybe that is a good alternative in Canada ? Make sure you have more than 2 sata connectors on any ps you buy, at LEAST 4, and also a 6 pin, or 2, pci-e plugs !

Good luck with your system

 

[kingjoel]

Ok i've changed a couple of things around and figured out the ide sata thing hehe. The keyboard is just caus i think it looks good. The only thing i just took off the bat is the mobo,cpu,ram bundle which i'm not sure. So here it goes...

P227-1003 :: PC Power & Cooling / Silencer / 750-Watt / Quad PCI-Express / SATA-Ready / Red Power Supply (7.95 lbs)
In Stock $195.99

C283-2032 :: CoolerMaster CM690 ATX Mid-Tower Case (30 lbs)
In Stock $97.99

S203-8512 :: Samsung SH-S203D SATA DVD Burner - 20x DVD±R, 8x DVD+RW, 6x DVD-RW, 12x DVD-RAM, Black (2.35 lbs)
In Stock $42.99

M333-3000 :: ZEROtherm / Butterfly BTF90 / Socket 775/754/939/AM2 / Copper Base / Heatpipes / CPU Cooler (2.15 lbs)
In Stock $60.99

TSD-500AS4 :: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 500GB Hard Drive - 7200, 8MB, Serial ATA-300, OEM (1.55 lbs)
In Stock $121.99

B52-8806 :: BFG GeForce 8800 GTS OC Video Card - 512MB GDDR3, PCI Express 2.0, SLI Ready, (Dual Link) Dual DVI, HDTV, Video Card (2.2 lbs)
In Stock $317.99

M17-1861 :: Microsoft Reclusa Gaming Keyboard - USB, Black (4.5 lbs)
In Stock $67.99

MCM-680ILT-Q6600B :: XFX nForce 680i LT SLI Motherboard CPU Bundle - Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Processor 2.40GHz OEM, OCZ 4096MB PC6400 DDR2 Memory (2 x 2048MB) (5.6 lbs)
in Stock $518.99

 

[aevm]

All right. It's MUCH better now.

The Butterfly is a great cooler if you also have wallpaper with pink rabbits and flowers on the walls. That is, it has average cooling performance and it's cute. Way too expensive for the performance IMO. Unfortunately, tiger direct doesn't have any decent coolers on the list - or at least nothing I'd buy myself. Are you willing to buy your cooler from ncix instead? This thing is fantastic, for example:

http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=27130&vpn=NH-U12P&manufacture=Noctua
Noctua NH-U12P LGA775 AM2 Heatsink Heatpipe Cooler W/ NF-P12 120MM Fan -12.6-19.8DBA, $60

It's just as good as the current champion of air coolers, the Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme, but it's cheaper and comes with a great quiet fan.

The bundle is actually not so great because you're stuck with an old chipset. Also, 680i LT is not the same as 680i, it's the "lite" version. If you don't mind spending $141 more, you can get these instead:

XFX nForce 780i 3-Way SLI Motherboard - Intel Core 2 Quad Q6700 Processor 2.66GHz OEM $590
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3854886&CatId=2406

Corsair Dual Channel TWINX 4096MB PC6400 DDR2 800MHz $70
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3228139&CatId=3412

This should overclock higher than the Q6600, btw. The Q6700 has a multiplier of 10, which helps.

 

[Shadow703793]

P227-1003 :: PC Power & Cooling / Silencer / 750-Watt / Quad PCI-Express / SATA-Ready / Red Power Supply (7.95 lbs)
In Stock $195.99

C283-2032 :: CoolerMaster CM690 ATX Mid-Tower Case (30 lbs)
In Stock $97.99

S203-8512 :: Samsung SH-S203D SATA DVD Burner - 20x DVD±R, 8x DVD+RW, 6x DVD-RW, 12x DVD-RAM, Black (2.35 lbs)
In Stock $42.99

M333-3000 :: ZEROtherm / Butterfly BTF90 / Socket 775/754/939/AM2 / Copper Base / Heatpipes / CPU Cooler (2.15 lbs)
In Stock $60.99

TSD-500AS4 :: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 500GB Hard Drive - 7200, 8MB, Serial ATA-300, OEM (1.55 lbs)
In Stock $121.99

B52-8806 :: BFG GeForce 8800 GTS OC Video Card - 512MB GDDR3, PCI Express 2.0, SLI Ready, (Dual Link) Dual DVI, HDTV, Video Card (2.2 lbs)
In Stock $317.99

M17-1861 :: Microsoft Reclusa Gaming Keyboard - USB, Black (4.5 lbs)
In Stock $67.99

MCM-680ILT-Q6600B :: XFX nForce 680i LT SLI Motherboard CPU Bundle - Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Processor 2.40GHz OEM, OCZ 4096MB PC6400 DDR2 Memory (2 x 2048MB) (5.6 lbs)
in Stock $518.99

Consider changing the HSF to this:
Xigmatek HDT-S1283
its ~$40 and #2 at Frostytech http://www.frostytech.com/top5heatsinks.cfm#INTELHEATSINK

Also unless you need SLI drop the 680i and consider a X38/P35. Also make sure the 8800GTS is the newer G92 core and not the older one. Also consider a 8800GT (G92).

Good choices on HDD (if possible get a 7200.11 HDD), PSU, Keyboard.

 

[kingjoel]

Now it looks like that...

A406-1028 :: Xion II Black ATX Mid-Tower Case with Clear Side Front USB and Audio Ports and 450-Watt Power Supply (19.95 lbs)
In Stock $73.99 $73.99

O261-7406 :: OCZ Vendetta CPU Cooler - Socket, 754, 775, 939, AM2 (1.9 lbs)
In Stock $48.99

C13-6082 :: Corsair Dual Channel TWINX 4096MB PC6400 DDR2 800MHz Memory (2 x 2048MB) (0.2 lbs)
In Stock $69.99

MBM-780I-Q6700A :: XFX nForce 780i 3-Way SLI Motherboard - Intel Core 2 Quad Q6700 Processor 2.66GHz OEM (5.95 lbs)
In Stock $609.99

E145-8832 :: EVGA GeForce 8800 GT Video Card - 512MB DDR3, PCI Express 2.0, SLI Ready, (Dual Link) Dual DVI, HDTV, Video Card (1.95 lbs)
In Stock $189.99

S203-8512 :: Samsung SH-S203D SATA DVD Burner - 20x DVD±R, 8x DVD+RW, 6x DVD-RW, 12x DVD-RAM, Black (2.35 lbs)
In Stock $42.99

TSD-320AS :: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB Hard Drive - 7200, 16MB, SATA-300, OEM (1.45 lbs)
In Stock $89.97

M17-1861 :: Microsoft Reclusa Gaming Keyboard - USB, Black (4.5 lbs)
In Stock $67.99

My HD is sata-300 how do you know if your mobo is compatible with sata-300? Caus my mobo says ata/133...guess it means it can use old 133 IDE and any sata? Will this video card suffice for now with games like crysis or age of conan? Right now the price is 1347$ canadian with tax and shipping.

 

[aevm]

No worries about the HDD/mobo you've picked there, they are compatible. Both say SATA in the specs, and these days that means SATA 2, SATA II, SATA 3GB, SATA-300, etc etc they all mean the same thing. Yes the mobo also supports IDE disks (ATA/133, whatever) but that doesn't mean you have to buy disks like that. You're better off with SATA because it's faster and has no jumpers to mess up and has no wide cables to block airflow.

A 450W power supply is too small for two 8800GT cards + overclocked E8400. I'm also not convinced that the Xion II can handle cooling properly for two single-slot 8800GT cards. The eVGA 8800GT is single-slot, which means the heat remains in the case because there is no hole through which it can be pushed directly out, like with dual-slot cards. Now, you should use single-slot cards IMO anyway because with dual-slot cards you'd block the PCI slots, but if you do that you better have a case with excellent cooling.

I think the CM690/Silencer 750W combo was great. Maybe Antec 900 too. Why did you switch to this Xion, budget limit?

A single 8800GT can play Crysis nicely. OK, not at 1920x1200 with all the eye candy on, that's where the second video card is needed. Still, with a single card you should have a good experience at 1280x1024 or so. Age of Conan will also be a demanding game, but I think it will be less demanding than Crysis. Keep in mind there are already games more demanding than Crysis, e.g. Frontlines.

 

[kingjoel]

Well i went with the xion II caus there's no Antec sadly on tigerdirect. The fast one i could get is this one on ebay http://cgi.ebay.ca/ANTEC-NINE-HUNDRED-900-Gaming-Computer-Case-BRAND-NEW_W0QQitemZ250245850899QQihZ015QQcategoryZ80168QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

And that PSU comes in with the xion so i would off changed it with my 560 High Power one i already have. So now i've changed back to the CM690/Silencer 750W combo. Unless there's anything a lot better from tigerdirect.ca.

 

[aevm]

Well, you've got a very nice PC there now.

Maybe a better hard disk? The WD6400AAKS is $135 at tigerdirect. Compare that to $90 for a 320GB disk, it's much cheaper/GB. It's also noticeably faster in operations with large files (loading game levels, editing videos) because it has a higher platter density.

I see there's a rebate at the eVGA 8800GT at Tiger Direct now, and you are allowed to get two rebates if you buy two cards. Not bad at all, only $160 for a card that's still in the top 10.
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3538922&CatId=3670