I'm going to build a new system starting next week, so i'm just finalizing the specs before i order. Please dont feel that if you respond you have to answer all the questions. You can definitely try to take the questions on one at a time.


First off, here are my specs: (this is not a question of compatibility)

Dual evga gtx 260's (no web address because they dont release until june 26 or 27)

Antec twelve hundred ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811129043 )

coolermaster 1000w psu http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817171022

Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 Yorkfield 2.66GHz http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] &Tpk=q9450

OCZ Reaper HPC 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820227289

Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3500320AS 500GB 7200 RPM http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822148288

Sony NEC Optiarc Black 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827101131

bluegears b-Enspirer 7.1 Channels 24-bit 192KHz PCI Interface Sound Card http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6829127002

mother b- eVGA 132-CK-NF78-A1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 780i SLI ATX http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] VGA%2b780I

Microsoft Windows Vista 64-Bit Home Premium for System Builders Single Pack http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6832116204

XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] bHDT-S1283

Arctic Silver CMQ-22G The high-density, ceramic-based thermal compound http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835100012


XIGMATEK ACK-I7751 Retention Bracket http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835233019

Saitek PZ30AU Black 104 Normal Keys http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6823175103

Logitech G5 2-Tone 7 Buttons 1 x Wheel USB Laser 2000 dpi Mouse http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6826104076

Dell 24" http://www.costco.com/Browse/Produ [...] 80&topnav=


Here are my questions:

1. Is there a way to test my power suppy unit (psu) BEFORE i run the smoke test to make sure that its reliable? (smoke test- the period during a computer build when, having the motherboard plugged into the components and psu, the builder powers up the pc for the first time. Commonly the time when people pray like hell that no smoke starts coming out of the case accompanied by the distinct smell of frying silicon)

2. During the smoke test, could i leave out: the sound card, one gtx 260, one of the sticks of ram (leaving 2gb). The reason for leaving these out is obvious: if the psu fries everything, i'd rather not fry ALL the components that took me most of the summer to earn money for. (I had to lifeguard for 2.5 months [400 hours!] this summer to afford this pc, so please don't think i'm some rich kid whose parents buy him a fancy computer just because he asks for one.)

3. If i leave out the components listed in #2, then should i just install vista immediately and then put in the components after vista is installed, or should i install the components left out during the first smoke test, and THEN install vista.

4. I'm 99% sure that the answer to this is yes, but is the psu enough to power 2 gtx 260's?

5. Any final pointers or tips for building the computer? This is my first build, so its both exciting and scary. I would really hate to fry my hard earned computer.

yes it would be better not to add so much stuff to your system at first boot. in case something is wrong, you will have less to play around with.

Dual 260s is a bad idea. $800 for a video card setup that under performs big time.

I would wait in the same time frame and look at 4870 CF. In some tests ONE 4850 bests 260, so at $600 4870 CF looks to be a kickass setup.

That, and with cf, you won't have to deal with a crappy nvidia chipset motherboard.

You have a sucky monitor. Get the 2408WFP, don't get the 6-bit entry model...

Exactly

hey again.... i'm not wanting a flamewar. If you all could show me benchmarks showing that the new ati cards perform better at 1920x1200 with 4x aa, ill be convinced. Besides, the gtx 260sli doesn't perform that badly. From what ive heard, it can run crysis with 4x aa at 1920x1200 with 30fps or more. Thats not too shabby. Also, i forgot to mention this, but im under a time constraint. I have a 2 week window to build this thing. My stupid cousins are coming over along with a long list of other constraints that create this limited window. The day i was planning on building the computer happens to be the day after the gtx 260 comes out. (That was not arranged. I've had that order date planned for 6 months, looooong before the release date was announced.) The gtx 260 sli may not be the revolution i was hoping for, but its pretty good (in my view, its the best choice out at the time of ordering, which will be next weekend. sli gtx 280's are better in performance, but geez...... who the heck has $1300 to blow on JUST THE DARN VIDEO CARDS!!!!!) GTX 260's in sli should definitely be able to run most games for the next year and a half. (by which time, there will be a new card out that will crush any card out at the moment.) In 1.5 years, i will upgrade, and be good for another 1-1.5 years. In 2.5-3 years from now i will probably build a new pc, so the gtx 260 seems to fit well into this plan. Since most games out now are based off the 360 and ps3, i seriously doubt there will be a problem of being graphically left in the dust by new games. (of course there will always be the next crysis type game that will squash any current hardware, but those are few and far between.) As long as i will be able to max far cry 2, spore (shouldn't be any problem there!), and fallout, i will be very happy!

Also, why are you bashing the 780i? thats not a bad board.....

I would go for another power supply, something like PC Power & cooling or a Corsair or any other brand of good repute. Unless I am much mistaken, Coolermaster is not particularly known for its PSU. This built is gonna cost quite a few bucks, skimping on the PSU is not a good idea.

well guys.... here's i think im going to stick with the original specs with one minor modification..... im going to use a corsair psu (link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817139007) thanks for all your help.

Because nVIdia's Intel chipsets are terrible Jed. Just search this forum for the loads of issues they have. Intel and nVidia does NOT like each other and it shows through very well in the chipsets. They don't overclock well, have data corruption problems, and still do not work properly with SATA optical drives.

Intel chipsets do NOT suffer from these problems. They overclock much better, do not have the weird problems nVidia chipsets have. Trust me I am not the only one that dislikes nVidia's chipsets. I hear discontent from customers on an almost daily basis.

Remember since most monitors can only display 60 FPS, anything over 60 cannot be seen by the eye and is just gravy for the benchmark tool (higher the better right?).

GTX260 in SLI will indeed run anything you want, but you are spending $800 for a setup that does not perform much better than current cards. Think about this 8800GT SLI ($400 or so investment) handily beats GTX 260 in most benchmarks. 9800GTX Tri-SLI makes it look terrible. You can get THREE 9800GTXs for $200 less and come out ahead in the numbers games.

200 series cards are not a good value in any capacity. I am not anti-nVidia, I have been using their cards for years, but the 200s are stinkers from a value prospective. If you have the money to burn, sure go ahead, but it is not a very sensible choice in my judgment.

Example:
http://www.anandtech.com/video/sho [...] =3338&p=14