Hey so I'm building my first rig and could really use some input. I'm not a hardcore gamer, but I do play AoC right now and averaging 5fps on my labtop is just not working out for me anymore. So it's about time for an upgrade that is fairly future-proof. Here's what I'm thinking thus far:
all prices are after instant savings and rebates
OS:
Vista 64 bit
CPU
Q6600 $210
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115017
plan on OC'ing
MOBO
Asus IX38 $190
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813127033
GPU
evga 8800 GTS (G92) 512MB $215
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130325
plan to OC
PS
Corsair CMPSU-650TX $90
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005
RAM
G.Skill 4GB (2x2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1000 (PC2 8000) $85
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231145
I hear the 1000 is better for OC'ing and it's about the same price for the 800 version shown below. Any reason not to get it?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231122
HD
WD raptor 36GB 10000RPM $90
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136054
Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 320GB 7200RPM $70
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148316
I don't need very much space.
Monitor
Acer 22" 5ms widescreen LCD $230
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009094
Heatsink
Zerotherm Nirvana 120mm $50
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835887011
Case
Undecided. Looking for a reasonably priced (<$120) large tower thats decent looking with great air flow. I know the Antec 900/1200 are popular choices and I like this case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811103010
on Newegg but other than the reviews, I have no idea how good the quality is.
Optical Drive
Samsung CD/DVD burner $27
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151153
Total Cost: ~$1377 before tax/shipping and w/o Vista
So I have a few questions here. First of all, I was originally dead set on running an SLI set-up on the idea of "get one GPU up front and second in the near future" but the general opinion seems to be that this is a tragic mistake especially with the new cards coming out in a few weeks. So i swapped the Asus nforce 750i with the X38 and Im sticking with an EVGA GPU so that I may trade-up over these next few months (if its worth it). Anbody actually think sticking with SLI and grabbing another 8800 GTS down the road is a better option?
Second, I have mixed feeling on the Q6600 CPU considering it's rather old technology (65nm & 1066Mhz FSB) and I'm going to be stuck with it for at least the next 2 years. The Q9300 is the next step up but for $65 more.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115043&Tpk=q9300
My question is do you think its worth jumping up in class to the Q9300 and how do they compare when OC'ing.
And lastly for the hard drive, I'm currently planning on running my OS on the raptor and everything else on the Barracuda. I have an external HD so I already have enough space to back everything up. I'm still just not convinced how much a 10,000rpm drive will effect gaming, and do those games have to actually be on the raptor drive as well? because if thats the case, I'll need to drop even more money on a 74GB or a 150GB.
Oh and am I stuck dishing out $240 for Vista? Newegg sells a OEM version for around $100 but I think those require an authentication key to be bought separately right?
Sorry for making it so long! Any input or advice would be awesome, nothing is set in stone yet and I am still open to making changes anywhere on the system. Thanks!
all prices are after instant savings and rebates
OS:
Vista 64 bit
CPU
Q6600 $210
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115017
plan on OC'ing
MOBO
Asus IX38 $190
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813127033
GPU
evga 8800 GTS (G92) 512MB $215
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130325
plan to OC
PS
Corsair CMPSU-650TX $90
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005
RAM
G.Skill 4GB (2x2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1000 (PC2 8000) $85
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231145
I hear the 1000 is better for OC'ing and it's about the same price for the 800 version shown below. Any reason not to get it?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231122
HD
WD raptor 36GB 10000RPM $90
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136054
Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 320GB 7200RPM $70
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148316
I don't need very much space.
Monitor
Acer 22" 5ms widescreen LCD $230
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009094
Heatsink
Zerotherm Nirvana 120mm $50
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835887011
Case
Undecided. Looking for a reasonably priced (<$120) large tower thats decent looking with great air flow. I know the Antec 900/1200 are popular choices and I like this case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811103010
on Newegg but other than the reviews, I have no idea how good the quality is.
Optical Drive
Samsung CD/DVD burner $27
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151153
Total Cost: ~$1377 before tax/shipping and w/o Vista
So I have a few questions here. First of all, I was originally dead set on running an SLI set-up on the idea of "get one GPU up front and second in the near future" but the general opinion seems to be that this is a tragic mistake especially with the new cards coming out in a few weeks. So i swapped the Asus nforce 750i with the X38 and Im sticking with an EVGA GPU so that I may trade-up over these next few months (if its worth it). Anbody actually think sticking with SLI and grabbing another 8800 GTS down the road is a better option?
Second, I have mixed feeling on the Q6600 CPU considering it's rather old technology (65nm & 1066Mhz FSB) and I'm going to be stuck with it for at least the next 2 years. The Q9300 is the next step up but for $65 more.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115043&Tpk=q9300
My question is do you think its worth jumping up in class to the Q9300 and how do they compare when OC'ing.
And lastly for the hard drive, I'm currently planning on running my OS on the raptor and everything else on the Barracuda. I have an external HD so I already have enough space to back everything up. I'm still just not convinced how much a 10,000rpm drive will effect gaming, and do those games have to actually be on the raptor drive as well? because if thats the case, I'll need to drop even more money on a 74GB or a 150GB.
Oh and am I stuck dishing out $240 for Vista? Newegg sells a OEM version for around $100 but I think those require an authentication key to be bought separately right?
Sorry for making it so long! Any input or advice would be awesome, nothing is set in stone yet and I am still open to making changes anywhere on the system. Thanks!