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Hello all, I have an old gaming desktop that just has too many old components and I'm going to basically do a total rebuild of the system. I already have a case, monitor, mouse, keyboard, etc so I mainly need advice/input on the cpu, motherboard, video card, etc. Here is what I am thinking about.

CPU: standard Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 3.0
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819115037

MB: a nice PCI Express 2.0 board, the ASUS P5N72-T Premium LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 780i
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813131294
I'm leaning towards this MB so I have room later if I decide to SLI the system

PSU: PC Power & Cooling S75QB 750W power supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817703009

Memory: 4 gigs of RAM (2 x 2GB)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820145197

Hard Drive: my old, small and slow HD needs an upgrade
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822148288

Video Card: I want something new and powerful
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814143139

Now my main concerns relate to the Motherboard and fitting i. I have my old sound card, a Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Music
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6829102188
and my wireless adapter
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6833124069
to fit in, so I need 2 PCI slots open. I think the gigabyte MB gives me plenty of room, but I'm not positive.

All this from newegg/tigerdirect should run me around $1300 - $1400. Any advice, comments, etc would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for the help.

Message edited by Unlicensed on 06-29-2008 at 07:27:59 AM

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I'd say go with 2 x 2 gb sticks of ram instead of the 4 x 1 to later have the capability of 8 gb

PSU may be overkill ---- Don't know the brand so listen to what others have to say--- just $170 seems high for not going SLI

I'd list the components out instead of just the links --- you will get a lot more response

Reply to bc4

That's great advice on the RAM. I'll change the list and edit it a bit to make it clearer.

Noted on the power supply, I'll do some reading on them.

Message edited by Unlicensed on 06-28-2008 at 11:46:20 PM

Reply to Unlicensed

That is a crazy expensive PSU for a brand which is not top of the line. You should look at PC Power & Cooling (PCP&C) or Corsair, as both are considered to be some of the best built PSU's. Both companies have a 750w PSU for about $110-125 (depend on the current deal). They also have a lower version for less, so you may want to compute the wattage needs of your computer and decide what you need. There are many apps around that can do this!

Otherwise, you can go with a 750w and know it'll last you through several upgrades!

Here is one such example for PCP&C.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817703009

Reply to Alterreality

I would get the ATI 4870 instead of the GTX 260, it's $100 cheaper and almost just as good.

Get a PC Power & Cooling brand PSU, they make some of the best like the one Alterreality posted.

The X48 and nVidia mobos are not necessary unless you're going to SLi/Crossfire so get a P35 or P45 mobo by Gigabyte or Asus.

Message edited by efx92 on 06-29-2008 at 05:24:11 AM

Reply to efx92

I'll change the OP for a 750w PCP&P PSU. I read up on them and they seem to be a solid choice.

I'm not planning on SLI/Crossfire at the moment, but its certainly an option I'd like to keep open in the future, hence the bigger PSU. Perhaps I would be better off with a ASUS Striker II Formula LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 780i http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813131255
which seems to have room for everything and preserves the ability to upgrade later with SLI and a sound card.

As for the ATI 4870, they seem to be great cards. But I have always had less problems with Nvidia than ATI. Besides, any major upgrades will be months down the road, so I'll take the gtx 260 for the moment. Thanks for the help.

Reply to Unlicensed

Well then if you want to leave the option open for SLi then get an X38 mobo.
Everyone says the nVidia chipset mobos are not good for overclocking so I, personally, wouldn't get the 780i.

Reply to efx92

BTW, you can't sli on an X38. You can crossfire though.

Message edited by Shadowthor on 06-29-2008 at 06:17:40 AM

Reply to Shadowthor

Oh really? Didn't know that...

Reply to efx92

Going to update the OP. Deciding to go with a ASUS P5N72-T NVIDIA nForce 780i
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813131294
which gives me plenty of room for adding a 2nd GTX 260 later. Thanks again for all the input.

Reply to Unlicensed

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