Computer Build Advice Needed.

[dyzs88]

I am currently trying to find all the parts that I would need to build a new PC setup that can allow me to have a couple different programs running at once, but also allow me to play video games at a high enough settings, and finally not require any upgrades for at least 1 - 2 years.

This is my first attempt at building a PC so I was looking for advice on whether the following parts all come together well, and also wondering how hot, and loud the machine would be.

Processor:
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz 2 x 4MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115017

Processor Cooling Unit:
ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186134

Motherboard:
EVGA 122-CK-NF68-A1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188013

Video Card:
EVGA 512-P3-N801-AR GeForce 8800 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130318

Memory:
(x2) Kingston 2GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) Desktop Memory
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820134192

Memory Cooling:
(x2) VANTEC ICEBERQ DDR-A1A Aluminum Heatsinks
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835110104

Power Supply Unit:
Antec NeoPower 650 Blue 650W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply 100 - 240 V UL, CUL, CE, CB, FCC Class B, TUV, CCC, C-tick
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371010

Harddrive:
(x2) Western Digital Caviar SE WD800JD 80GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822135106

Case:
Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021

CD/DVD:
SAMSUNG 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model SH-S203B - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151153

Sound Card:
Creative Sound Blaster SB0570 Audigy SE 7.1 Channels 24-bit 96KHz PCI Interface Sound Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829102002

 

[PsyKhiqZero]

Personally I think sli is a big wste of time unless you have a ton of money to buy 2 of the latest cards every year or so. I would get a nicer, more reliable intel based motherboard. Also i'd get a different power supply.
spend a bit more and get a good set of ddr2 800 it will allow for a decent safe overclock.
Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128086
CPU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006

 

[mihirkula]

Nice CPU...but:

1) Switch the Cooler to Xigmatek S1283 ... its the boss of coolers out there right now.

2) 8800GT is a good card...but you really should wait for the Radeon 4870 ... its just 2 weeks away.

3) 680i is a very bad investment .... there's a long sad history of SLI and nvidia board drivers..... for the next 1-2 years X38 with Crossfire is a recommended option than SLI ..... why? because the new Radeon cards cost a lot cheaper than the new Nvidia cards and would still give a heck of a performance. Get the Gigabyte GA-EX38-DS4 instead. ($180). X38 has unprecedented overclocking performance too.

Incase you want to go for just single GPU, get the mobo mentioned in the above post.

4) Drop the RAM heatsink...total waste.

5) Switch the PSU to Corsair 650TX/750TX ...its a higher tier PSU than Antec (higher Tier = better). You get the Corsair 750TX for just $100 at buy.com

6) You don't need an extra sound card...your mobo would have an excellent onboard sound card.

 

[jsc]

Some people, me included, have had stability problems with 680i chipsets and C2Q CPU's.

 

[dyzs88]

So a swap of the motherboard to:
GIGABYTE GA-EP35-DS3R LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Dynamic Energy Saver Ultra Durable II Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128086

As thinking about it I honestly don't think I'll have the money to put in more then a single GPU at a time.

Change the power supply to:
CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply 100
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006

Change of the cooling unit to:
XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233003

Drop the RAM heatsinks, and sound card, and wait on the Radeon 4870 and I should be good?

Also one other thing is with this setup will it be a loud machine, or preferable a quiet one?

 

[jpdykes]

I second the gigabyte motherboards. If you aren't SLI'ing today you just won't every do it because there will be a card available for less that out performs a pair of older or cheaper cards.

Also agree drop heatsink for RAM and sound card. Also wait for the 4870's.

Two small hard drives are just going to cause you problems. RAID is generally more hassle than it is worth. It won't give you a massive speed boost with 2 slow, small HDD. I suspect you could pick up a 250Gb at the least for the same money as 2 80Gb's.

Hope that is useful.
Jeremy

 

[dyzs88]

The reason I was thinking 2 harddrives rather then 1 was I was planning on dual booting the computer and having one HDD run Ubuntu while the other HDD ran XP Pro. Or do you think it would be easier to just have one larger HDD that is partitioned?

 

[mihirkula]

Get one single HD... that should save one SATA port .... and less hassle too. Partition it.

Good choice of mobo. But then you don't need 750W for a single GPU setup. Get the Corsair 550VX which is more than sufficient for your rig. $70 at the same site.

 

[jpdykes]

^^ +1

WD drives are good, or a seagate 7200.11 if you can find one in the budget.

I had suggested the 620W version to give some headroom if graphics card power requirements increase again. Don't know what mihirkula feels about that?

 

[dyzs88]

Ah k. So a partition would be better in this case. So something along the lines of:
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250410AS 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148262

Would be good?

 

[jpdykes]

For an extra $30 you can have this seagate 7200.11 drive with 500Gb rather than 250.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148288&Tpk=7200.11%2b500Gb

7200.11 are also somewhat quicker than .10 versions. It also has a large cache which allows for faster access times.


Sorry edit in there.

 

[mihirkula]

Yeah get the 500GB 7200.11 ... its faster than the 250GB one too.

 

[dyzs88]

Alright, cool. Thanks guys for all the help.

I think I'll wait on ordering anything till the Radeon 4870's are released in the coming weeks.

 

[jpdykes]

mihirkula, any comments about leaving some headroom with a bigger PSU?
Dependant on price I suppose?

 

[mihirkula]

mihirkula, any comments about leaving some headroom with a bigger PSU?
Dependant on price I suppose?

You'd hardly require more than 450 to 500W for a single GPU .... every next gen GPU generally consumes LESS power than the prev gen . So the $70 Corsair 550vx is a good buy .. one could use the cash to buy a nice faster GPU. 650W would be just overkill and waste of $$.

 

[pcgamer12]

change ur psu back to antec.

 

[shadowthor]

I would hope it would consume less power with the shrink in manufacturing, but you never know, seeing that some cards need to pci-e plug ins.

 

[chuckm]

Get a corsair power supply from here, the prices may drop next week, but you never know, it may be 2, but they usually get cheaper later in the month. The VX550 would be all you need.
http://www.buy.com/merch/q/mfggid/395/querytype/comp/store/1/als/-1/loc/101/zc01/41281/pageTitle/System+Components/showall.html

 

[mihirkula]

change ur psu back to antec.

Ignore him.

Get a corsair power supply from here, the prices may drop next week, but you never know, it may be 2, but they usually get cheaper later in the month. The VX550 would be all you need.

Strongly agree.

 

[jsc]

The reason I was thinking 2 harddrives rather then 1 was I was planning on dual booting the computer and having one HDD run Ubuntu while the other HDD ran XP Pro. Or do you think it would be easier to just have one larger HDD that is partitioned?

I prefer to have Windows and Linux residing on separate physical drives - but that's just me.

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Corsair PSU's seem to be conservatively rated. One of the tech sites reviewed the 450VX. They were able to pull 570 watts out of it. PSU outputs stayed in spec - voltages, noise and ripple. Efficiency stayed over 80%. Internal PSU temp rose to 48 C.

If the 550VX is built the same way, you're actually getting a 650 watt PSU.

Hard drives - the WD 640 GB drives are also supposed to be pretty fast.

Motherboard - you can save about $30 by going to a GA-EP35 -DS3L if you are certain that 4 SATA ports will be enough.