I'm new here, but I thought I'd ask what everyone thinks. I'm building a system for approximately 1200-1400. This is tower only, so I don't need to worry about monitors or keyboards, as I already have those, but on part-to-part compatibility, I don't know if everything is compatible, though I have done my best to make it so.
1. CPU: I picked it over the Phenom 9850 BE because of A. price and B. it can be overclocked to well over 3.0 on air, or so I hear!
2. CPU Cooler: I hear the stock is bad, and especially so if I want to overclock.
3. SLI 8800 GTs: It rated it as the best video card solution in the 300-400 dollar range (by Tom's Hardware), so why not?
4. Extra, PCI Card: http://forums.nvidia.com/index.php?showtopic=6269 - This explains the method behind the madness. If it drops my framerates, I'll just drop the monitor while gaming, but I'd like it for walkthroughs and such.
5. Fan Controller: It is cool. I don't know how practical it will be or how much it will help, but if I need to get some dollars back, I'll just drop it.
I /believe/ the PSU is adequate, but if it is not, please correct me.
Lose one of the PSUs and, if you are buying the new computer to play games, consider the Core 2 Duo E8400 which you can most likely O/C to 3.2 GHz on air, costs $20 less than the processor you chose, and will run current games more efficiently than the Quads. If you want to spend a bit more, many users are getting the E8500 up to 4.1 or even 4.2 Ghz with air cooling (costs $70 more than the processor on your list). If you do a lot of multitasking with demanding multimedia applications, get the Quad. If it's for gaming, you can get the Duo now and upgrade to a comparable Quad in the future when games are developed to take advantage of it. By then, it will be inexpensive to do so.
Message edited by Qoatl on 06-22-2008 at 07:16:43 PM
Agreed. With the money you save by not having 2 power supplies you could buy a second hard drive and raid them together.
I don't know how well the memory overclocks but a second option is memory. You sound like you want to overclock so maybe the money you save from the second psu could be put to memory with better timings or better overclock ability.
If you're not going to be able to upgrade your processor for a while, go ahead and get the Q6600 (or Q6700 if you didn't realize you added two PSUs and suddenly find yourself with more money ). Games will start taking advantage of the Quads before too long.
Sorry. I didn't mean to have two PSUs, but newegg lags with updating my wishlists. I meant to get the bigger PSU. I won't be able to upgrade for awhile, hence my selection of a quad core.
Don't SLI 8800GT. Get a P5Q and CF 4850. SLI boards have stability problems especially with RAID. How come everyone here is a stranger...
Ditto this! Read the reviews of that 750i mobo you selected. The 4850 is faster than the 8800 GT. You can also get a P45 mobo now for Xfire.
Here is mine. I am a programmer and gamer. I would rather get a single card with dual GPUs, because they are not limited to the chipset. You can use an Nvidia X2 card in an Intel mobo.
The 4850 isn't available yet, so it's hard to say. Look for it in the next couple of weeks. I would wait for a little more benchmark information to come out and possibly go with the 4850 and get a mobo that will allow you to buy another 4850 in a couple of years when they're cheap and connect it with crossfire (the motherboard recommended by the others above is an example of such a motherboard that is not terribly expensive and has a 1600 FSB). If the 4850 doesn't live up to what you are expecting, you can pick up an nVidia GTX 260 within your price range. The GTX 280 is more powerful but is absurdly expensive.
If you want to spend more money, you can also wait for the anticipated 4870 x2 (assuming they keep the same naming conventions), which will be two of the cores from the 4870 (the higher end card from the 4000 series) together on one card. No idea what that will cost, but, given the fact that the GTX 280 will run $600-$650, ATI will likely want to come in somewhat under that -- perhaps $499. That is entirely speculation, however.
Message edited by Qoatl on 06-22-2008 at 11:07:13 PM
Well, I think that the 4870s will be out of my price range when they do come out. If they do come out before I buy, I'll look at them. I still have a bit before I buy. Alright, updated wishlist here: http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/ [...] stTitle=Pc
This is a link to the mobo you selected (P5Q Pro), if you check the combo, you can get this Mobo + 4850 for 319.99 (saving 30 bucks). Then, if you want to CF them, pick up another card for 199!
Your PSU is an ABS Tagan, which isn't a top tier PSU. You could pick up a PCP&C 750w Silencer for 124.99 after mail in rebates:
). Games will start taking advantage of the Quads before too long.
Read the reviews of that 750i mobo you selected. 
The 4850 is faster than the 8800 GT. You can also get a P45 mobo now for Xfire.