Can you guys please critique my system. First time builder!!

List the part names here. Newegg won't show that page. It asks for a username and password.

Is it a gaming PC? Any other uses?

Monitor size?

It looks pretty good. I would take a close look, however, at the 4870 1GB card since that is a crossfire board. If you go with the 4870 you will have the option of adding a second card later. You won't be able to add another Nvidia card on that board.

There isn't really any benefit to getting that expensive DDR2 1066 RAM. Get a quality DDR2 800 kit with tight timings that runs at 1.8v. This RAM is awesome and cheap:

G.SKILL PI Black 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820231209 $49.99

You should also get either the blue or black version of that HD. The Green version is slower.

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822136218 $74.99

or

Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822136319 $84.99

For those who can't get to his list, here's a recap:

Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P

Sunbeam CR-CCTF 120mm "Core Contact Freezer" CPU Cooler

Antec EA650

COOLER MASTER Centurion 590

EVGA GeForce GTX 260 Core 216

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz

OCZ Reaper HPC 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR2 1066

Western Digital Caviar Green WD6400AACS

LG 22X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA

Thank you for the quick response. What is your opinion on this RAM. It is ULTRA CHEAP--$20, lol.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820227269

I might get the $75 version of the Hard Drive then, thank you.

I hear that the Core 216 is slightly better than the 4870 1GB. So I think I want that card. Can you recommend me a good board to go with that card; and possibly make it a SLI? I want to play Crysis on High with very nice frames

Thanks!

I see your point. But doesn't that 800 RAM cost the same as my 1066 RAM? So will the tighter timings be better than the speed gain of the 1066? The cost appears to be similar?

Hmmmm....you pose an interesting point about the GPU? So, which 4870 should I get? The 512 MB one or the 1 GB card? AND, what if I DO NOT plan to SLI/Crossfire, and simply go with a single card solution [very likely], then is the Core 216 better? IS that mobo NOT GOOD for Nvidia cards--esp. Core 216?

Thanks for you help!

Here is a new build/wish-list on newegg, can you please critique this for me. You have been very helpful, and I really appreciate your help. I have taken a few of your suggestions and made necessary changes:

https://secure.newegg.com/WishList/ [...] ID=9137871


After ALL combos and rebates are applied the final total is $750.91...AN EXCELLENT PRICE

Sorry, I got it mixed up with another wish-list I made a while back. Ok, here's the re-re-re-vamped one, lol:

https://secure.newegg.com/WishList/ [...] ID=9137871

thx again, man.

oh, thank you so much for all your help! I owe you one

oh, and thank you for posting the components too.

I was looking at some benchmark totals and apparently it makes enough of a difference to warrant the extra cost. The 1gb performs almost as well as the gtx 260 reloaded!! but either way the 4870 is a ballin card

if you are going to get the antec three hundred check out buy it from micro center its like $15 cheaper. their parts don't seem to be cheaper but all of their cases do, strange?

http://www.microcenter.com/single_ [...] id=0283272

You'd lose the ability to add a second card later. I wouldn't do it.

In Crysis, HD 4870 1GB > GTX 260 Core 216 > HD 4870 512MB, at both 1680x1050 and 1920x1200.
http://www.anandtech.com/video/sho [...] i=3415&p=4
All 3 cards are very close anyway.

In Quake Wars, HD 4870 1GB> HD 4870 512MB > GTX 260 Core 216
http://www.anandtech.com/video/sho [...] i=3415&p=6

I don't have CoD benchmarks right now and TBH it's a pain looking for them when I'm at home (on dial-up). I'll let you do that yourself if you want.

Considering that CoD scales extremely well with Crossfire and that SLI motherboards are flaky, I'd suggest keeping your current setup with HD 4870 1GB and P45. Maybe upgrade to GA-X48-DS5 for even better results in Crossfire, but that's about $100 more. It's worth it IMO only if you are almost sure you will add a second card and if you intend to play at 1920x1200. This article shows the difference:
http://www.tweaktown.com/articles/ [...] index.html

I heard OCZ doesn't work well with the gigabyte ud boards. I think gigabyte recommends mushkin, but corsair, gskill and any other known manufacturers should be fine.

I have a similar system, and I get 13000 in 3dmark06 with everything at stock (I got the superclocked version of the gtx260 though). I get 60FPS in Left 4 Dead with everything on high (I think I have vsync turned on though.. since it seems like its locked at 60FPS or something)... either way, it's very smooth -- same with Far Cry 2.

E8400 3.0ghz
EVGA GTX 260 Core 216 Superclocked
640GB WD Caviar Black
650W Corsair PSU
1066 DDR2 Mushkin 2x2gb (I think you only need 800 though.. I only got 1066 because I didn't know any better)
GIGABYTE UD3R
NZXT Tempest (keeps my CPU at 28C idle, never above 40C at full load -- haven't done too much monitoring on that though)

Take a look at this RAM:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820231209
4-4-4-12 @ only 1.8-1.9v. Most, if not all other RAM run at those timings with 2.0-2.2v.