First Ever Build - Constructive Criticism Much Appreciated!

[habs33]

This system will be a multi-purpose rig however it will mostly be used for gaming:

Motherboard: XFX MB-N780-ISH9 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 780i SLI Intel Motherboard http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813141005
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
Video Card: EVGA 640-P2-N829-AR GeForce 8800GTS SSC 640MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130317
RAM: CORSAIR XMS2 DHX 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145194
Hard Drive x2: Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3500320AS 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148288
Power Supply: ABS Tagan BZ Series BZ800 800W ATX12V / EPS12V Patent Piperock Modular Power Supply 115 - 230V ± 10% tolerance http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817814014
DVD-R: SAMSUNG Black 20X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 20X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151153
Heatsink/Fan: ZALMAN CNPS9700 LED 110mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118019
Thermal Compound: Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835100007

Total Cost on New Egg including tax (New York State suuuucks) and shipping: $1,295.01

Already Have:
Case: Antec Nine Hundred (80 bucks on Ebay brand new including shipping)
Monitor: Samsung 26" LCD 720p TV (will hook up using HDMI)

So this is what I've come up with so far. A couple things to note, I plan on OCing my Q6600 to 3.2GHz. Also, I plan on having my 2 500 gig HDDs in RAID 0 configuration. I also plan on adding a sound card and another 8800GTS in SLI in the near future.

I was also wondering how the 26" LCD TV would compare to using a standard LCD monitor.

Any input will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Oh Snap]

The TV will probably look pretty crummy compared to an LCD monitor.

 

[1971Rhino]

Get ready for a bunch of people to tell SLI isn't worth it.....and to wait until the next nVidia cards ship.

I also agree with Oh Snap. You're machine would do way better on a 24" or higher monitor with a higher resolution than your LCD TV is capable of.

 

[Shadow703793]

RAM, CPU, GPU,HDDs, DVD RW looks good.

Swap the CNPS9700 to a XIGMATEK S1283
http://www.frostytech.com/top5heatsinks.cfm#INTELHEATSINK

PSU is very good, but imo, it's an overkill. Get a Corsair 550 or a PP&C 610/750. (PP&C 750 if SLI)

Unless playing at 1600*1200 or higher and/or with high detail, you won't gain much with SLI. Also makesure that the GPU is the G92 based 8800GTS. Also wait until the G2x00 card are released.

 

[geotech]

Drop sli, get a 8800gts 512mb

 

[Physicz]

yea, your power supply is a big over kill, most likely get a pc power and cooling 610 to have a little head room to upgrade after an SLI,

also dont get the old 880GTS that has 640mb ram since it has an already outdated gpu core the g80. go and find a nice 8800gts 512mb with a G92 core since it has far better performance.

also consider ramping that antex ninehundred case up with scythe Sflex fans, just to keep those 2 hot gpus nice and cool, along with the rest of the case

or wait for Nvidias new cards the GT260 (not rly sure of name but along the lines of that)

yea get a better moniter tv thingy, since 720 isnt really HMDI. go for a mid 1600 res moniter.

 

[Steven Bancroft]

For sure drop the GTS 640MB and go with the newer 512MB version. If you're willing to wait a couple weeks, checkout the benchmarks for the new GTX280 and ATI cards.

If you're set on SLI, 2x GTS 512MBs will cream 2x GTS 640MBs.

I have the same mobo and CPU as you plan on getting you should not have a problem hitting 3.4ghz to 3.6ghz if you're going to overclock.

 

[habs33]

Great advice guys. Thanks.

I'll definitely wait now until the new nVidia and ATI cards come out. If the price on the 9800 gx2 drops a bit, then I may end up getting one of those. If it doesn't drop enough to my liking then I'll probably just get the 512MB 8800GTS and go SLI later if I feel the need.

As far as the PSU goes, it may be overkill, but I like the way it looks, it's modular, and I'll never have to worry about whatever hardware I decide to throw in there.

Finally, I'll probably get a 24 inch monitor seeing as I'll only be able to get 1360x768 res on my LCD TV. Again, thanks to everyone for their input.