Planning on building soon

[jalpaugh1978]

Ok, I plan on building soon and looking for some advice on my build. I'm not a big overclocker but I probably will some. Anyways this pc will be built for gaming(FPS, RTS etc) as it's main use. For the CPU, I have narrowed it down to the Q6600 and the E8400. Which one is better for gaming???. This is the MOBO that I've been looking at http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128359 . Also would DDR2 800 memory work for my needs?? Since I will be getting a copy of Vista Ultimate 64bit would it be overkill to get any more then 4GB of memory or would that be plenty...Also, I will be air cooling the cpu and was wondering what the best cooler would be(as I said,I will be overclocking some). Also, would the Corsair 650tx be a good PSU for what I will have. Only only one video card and one HDD will be in this pc. As far as the gpu goes, I'm an nVidia guy, was looking at either the GTX 260 or GTX 280. Also,I was just wondering if a sound card would be a waste or not. Thanks for the help...

 

[shortstuff_mt]

For a mostly gaming computer, the E8400 would probably be the better choice.

The GA-EP45-UD3 series of motherboards are awesome!

DDR2 800 is all you need. Pick up a quality kit that has tight timings and runs at 1.8v.

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/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231209 $49.99

4GB is plenty. With the low price of RAM, you could pick up 8GB.

XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233003 $36.99

XIGMATEK ACK-I7751 Retention Bracket - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233019 $8.49

The Corsair 650TX is a good choice for that build.

I'd just use the onboard sound to start. The onboard sound on the new motherboards is pretty good. You can always add a sound card later if you need to.

 

[jalpaugh1978]

Hey thanks shortstuff...I was also looking at the tuniq tower...how does that compare to the Xigmatek cooler...

 

[aevm]

They're pretty close, and both much better than yor current Freezer 64. They're both huge. The Xigmatek is quieter, IIRC. You may also want to look at Tuniq's newer version, called Core Contact Freezer.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835207004

BTW, careful with big coolers. Here's a comment from Newegg, about the Core Contact:

Pros: I have a q6600 at stock speeds, with the stock cooler it idled at 33-34c. I installed this and its down to 23-25c idle. A very nice cooler for a very nice price, and it comes with quality thermal paste.

Cons: Its big. I had read other reviews saying its big and to measure your case and I didnt think anything of it. I have an antec 900 case and an asus p5q pro motherboard and this was really, really hard to install. I had to take out a stick of ram and I had to put the fan on the cooler after I had it secured in order to install it.
Even then I felt like I was about to snap something.

Other Thoughts: Even with the trouble installing it, it cools too well to take away an egg.

Shortstuff's build is very good.

Maybe replace the PSU with this one because it's $20 less after rebates and a bit more powerful:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341011&Tpk=S75CF

 

[jalpaugh1978]

Thanks guys for the help. Here's what I have come up with with your help.

GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3R LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813128359

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115037

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

CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005

XFX GX260NADBF GeForce GTX 260 Black Edition Core 216
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150330

I'm pretty sure about the parts above...Still up in the air over the cpu cooler. Leaning toward the Tuniq just because of the blue light...lol, I like blue and it would go with my case in my sig. Also what about the Vigor Monsoon http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835702007 , any good??? For the HDD I thought about this Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250410AS 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148262. I can get Vista Ultimate 64 combo'ed with it and get $50 off... I know I listed a GPU already but I was wondering if the gains up to a GTX 280 or 285 can be justified by the price...Thanks again guys....