My Gaming PC

[kozo786]

Hi, this is my first homebuilt pc. I''m trying to build it for future upgrades, but the only game I have right now that is gpu/cpu intensive is oblivion. The other games are easy to run. Anyway, could you tell me if their are any compatibility issues, or if I should change any parts completely. Also, what exactly is the difference between OEM and retail.
Here are the specs.

SILVERSTONE ST75F 750W ATX 12V 2.2 & EPS 12V Power Supply 115 - 240V - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817256009

ASUS P5E Deluxe LGA 775 Intel X48 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131317

Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Wolfdale 3.16GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115036

CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145034

EVGA 512-P3-N873-AR GeForce 9800 GTX+ 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130376

Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer 7.1 Channels 24-bit 96KHz PCI Interface Sound Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829102006

Western Digital Caviar SE WD1600AAJS 160GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136075

Pioneer Black 20X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 10X DVD+R DL 20X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 40X CD-R 32X CD-RW 40X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 20X DVD±R DVD Burner - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827129026

Antec P182 Gun Metal Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129025

OS - Windows XP Home

Any suggestions will be helpful. Thanks in advance.

 

[Lavacon]

I would switch out the 9800GTX for a Ati 4850. You have chosen non sli mobo so I would definitely get the ATI card so you can xfire your system eventually. Besides, for the most part, the 4850 Beats the 9800gtx+ and for 155$ After MIR. I would also consider getting a different hard drive. I think you should get into something a bit newer. A seagate Barracuda 7200.11 is a good choice. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148288

I am sure there are many more choices under 100$ , but I have had good luck with that one. 500gb for 80$ and good performance to boot. Other then that it all looks pretty good.. well... the OS should be XP pro if going xp

My .02

 

[Zenthar]

I was just wondering why you are buying an XFire board with an Nvidia card?

 

[Lavacon]

I'd also consider one of these PSU's

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703009

For about the same money you can get a Corsair or PC Power & Cooling PSU @ the same 750w. Both brands are highly suggested.

 

[kozo786]

I am hoping to keep the nvidia video card, so could you give me any suggestions for compatible motherboards around 200 or 220 dollars.

Of the two PSUs, I'll use the corsair.

Thanks for the advice.

 

[Zenthar]

It's not incompatible, it will work, but I thing most of the 200$+ you are paying for an X48 board is for dual-card support (in this case, crossfire), but you will not be able to add a second GTX+ card since NVidia uses SLI. I think you could either get an Nvidia board, or simply choose a P43/P45 board with a single PCI-E slot (~100-150). Moreover, if you are not planning on dual-cards, you can probably drop the PSU to 550-600W.

 

[Lavacon]

I don't wish an Nvidia chipset upon even my worse enemy...

You want to future proof to a extent, I'd say x38/48 with an ATi card and then add another later. 4850 in xfire beat 9800gtx sli hands down and for less cash

 

[Zenthar]

Depending on the budget a P45 (support XFire in 8x8x mode) could be a viable solution based on this article. The biggest difference seems to be at lower resolution and in general, the difference between the P45 and X48 seems to be around 2-3% (for a general price difference of around 100% ).