Alright, so I've been a computer enthusiast for about 10 years, have done all my own upgrades and whatnot, fixed most of my own problems, but I've never built a new computer from scratch, and I think it's time I do so, so here I am. Here is the list I came up with before reading over this site and these forums, and the questions/comments pertaining to each piece. Motherboard: EVGA nForce 680i (was planned, but having read the forums, it looks like I may be better off with the ASUS P5N-E SLI, or I also here new mobos are on the horizon, so I may just be better off waiting on this, any info/advice on this appreciated.) Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 (Planning on overclocking though I have no experience in it, of course I know how to, and some of the basics, and have found some useful resources on this forum and others. Is this the processor to buy, then just overclock?) Video Card: GeForce 8800 Ultra (I've heard that people say the Ultra's not worth getting over the GTX, but I don't really know, the benchmarks look good for it, and I'd need a new monitor to make complete use out of it, but more on that later. I'd also considered waiting on this as I'd heard things about the next gen coming out in feb which I'd imagine would drop prices on the Ultra, or allow me to get the new one, and I'd also considered getting 2 of the new 8800 GTS 512's instead of 1 ultra, any advice on that appreciated too.) Memory: Kingston HyperX Memory 2GB (2x1GB) DIMM 240-pin DDR II 1200mhz 5-5-5-15 (Now I'm somewhat lost when it comes to RAM, I've heard DDR2 is still the way to go (over DDR3) but I'm not sure what the speed of it (1200mhz) actually helps in real computing situations, or what latency timings are, any explanations/help on this appreciated.) HD: 500GB Serial ATA 7200 RPM - Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 (Deciding between this or maybe 2x 250gb? I'm not completely familiar with RAID setups and how they work so maybe 1 would be the way to go. This decision was come to just hearing that the 7200.11 was the way to go, any information on why that is would be helpful.) Drive(s): LG H55LK (DVD/CD writer/reader, it seems like a good/fast all-in-one drive, anyone with information on a better idea, please let me know.) Case: Cooler Master CM Stacker 830 Evolution (seems like a good case, and huge from what I read, which is good being it's my first computer I'm building I don't want to deal with any space issues, any other suggestions welcome. It's worth noting that I'd also like to try my hand at some very novice case mod'ing (just lighting and other simple things probably) so maybe a case with a clear panel would be nice.) Cooling: Completely torn here between water and air, water sounds like it would be fun to set-up, and technologically superior, but potentially problematic (and more expensive) while air is very cheap and practically nothing can go wrong. Read the intro to water cooling article on bit-tech, so I'm heavily considering it, any information on good air or water cooling systems appreciated. Display: BenQ FP241W 24" 1920x1200 (I've only had 1 LCD before and it was very shitty, about 6 yrs ago, before that and since I've only used CRTs but they seem to be a thing of the past. I want a monitor that can really make use of all the horsepower of the rest of the rig, as from what I've heard the Ultra really shines most at higher resolutions. I was considering looking for a 2560x1200 monitor but they seem to be 30" minimum and in the $1200 US range at cheapest.) Operating System: Was planning on Vista Ultimate 64-bit, but I don't know very much about the difference between the 8,000 versions of vista. And I'm sure something useful would be to tell you what I'm using it for. I'd use it a lot for gaming, I'm itching to play Call of Duty 4 and upcoming graphically intense games like Age of Conan. I'm also a freshman in college studying 3D Animation so it would likely become a work computer for that as well. One of my main concerns going into this is new technology, I'm afraid I'll spend $1500-$2000 (excluding monitor) on a new computer and the next month all this new stuff comes out and prices drop on everything I just bought. I realize that comes with the territory in computers (and any technology really) but I'd like to still be as well-informed as I can on up-and-coming stuff before I dive into this. Once again, any and all help greatly appreciated. EDIT: By the way, I'm planning on using froogle.com to buy most of the parts.
Welcome to the forums! I'll toss my opinion in here, but someone might come in and correct me later. For your motherboard, I think you'll want a P35 chipset if you're planning to overclock. I've heard good things about the Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3P. The Q6600 is a fantastic processor even at stock speed, but ask yourself if you really want to pay the extra for 4 cores, when most current programs can't use all four and many tasks will be limited by other factors like the hard drives. You won't want an 8800 Ultra (or the GTX, for that matter) unless you're crazy or someone else is paying. The GT is the one to get, with barely less performance for much less money. For RAM, DDR2 is indeed the way to go. DDR3 isn't faster enough to justify the price. In general, you can ignore latency and that type of thing as you'll only be able to tell the difference in artificial benchmarks. Just get a quality RAM from a reputable manufacturer. If you're overclocking, look for OC-tested RAM and you'll probably have less trouble. I would suggest the Samsung Spinpoint 500GB drive. It's quieter than the Seagate, and all the other specs, including price, are similar. I wouldn't suggest RAID0, which is the only way to combine two drives for the total combined storage space, because you may run into issues with corruption, and if either drive dies you'll lose everything. A single drive lowers your chances of failure significantly. For the DVD burner, I'd again go for Samsung's offering, but I think optical drives are all very similar these days. Do whatever seems right. The CM Stacker is a fine case. Water cooling is an interesting experiment but not really worth your time. I've heard of Q6600s hitting 3.5GHz on air cooling with the stock cooler, so water is really a pointless expense and added complexity. If noise is an issue you can upgrade to a good air cooler. My experience with BenQ has been brief but good. If you're looking at 24" LCDs, you should also look at the Dell 2407WFP, but it might be too expensive. However, it is a fantastic monitor. Don't waste your money getting anything higher than Vista Home Premium, as you're unlikely to ever find the difference unless someone points it out to you. Your concern about spending a bunch of money and then having it rendered immediately outdated is justified. Unfortunately, it's also totally unavoidable. No matter when you buy, something better is right around the corner. You can't always keep waiting, so buy what you like and just try to ignore the new latest and greatest. Considering your location, I would suggest buying all your parts at Newegg. You might find some of the prices are slightly higher than froogle, but you'll be able to get all the parts at one retailer and only pay shipping once. And there won't be any concerns of trust; I've spent over $5k at Newegg for myself and others through the years, and they've never once done me wrong.
That monitor is great. An ultra is a tad slower that two 640 mb gts in sli, so i'd go for sli gts 512, that motherboard, although from my experience an easy to use overclocker, it has issues with 4gb of RAM(ddr2 800)(underclocking is necessary, i'm running it at 667), just a disclaimer. Bit did some reviews on CPU coolers Cooler Master coolers(with a table comparing to the other previously tested coolers) http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2007/11/19/cooler_master_hyper_tx2_and_212/1 I agree with crazybob about Newegg. I've spent about 2 grand there, my whole computer in my sig is from there. Great site.
Thanks very much, I'll definitely look into getting all the parts from Newegg, appreciate the responses so far. Heres a dumb question. What do I actually need for a very efficient air cooled system? I know the CM Stacker has something like 9 slots for 120mm fans, then you need a heatsink for your cpu like the ones Brett89 linked, but is there more? In that link they talk about a "northbridge heatsink"? So do you need several of these in different places?
The northbridge is just a single specific component, responsible for connecting things like the PCI bus and RAM to the processor. It'll already have a heatsink on it, although it might be small and loud - in that case, you can upgrade it to a good quiet or passive cooler for under $30. As far as efficient air cooling, you don't really need much. The cooler that comes with Core 2 processors is good enough for most purposes, but if you're exceptionally concerned with noise you can upgrade it. Other than that, try to install fans such that air moves from the front and bottom to the top and back of the case. And you don't need very much; if you stick with stock speeds you can get away with a single quiet fan in the case, plus the CPU and PSU fans. If you have thermal issues, just add a fan or two - don't just assume you're going to need epic cooling and install fans in all the slots unless you really don't care about noise, though.
With the kind of motherboards you're looking at, semi-decent passive heatsinks and heatpipes will already be installed on the north/southbridge and the voltage regulators.
I'll drop in a quick note (whilst tequlia is awesome, it does hinder typing speed) that if you're going for (possibly) two nvidia cards you need a nvidia chipset, the above mentioned P35 chipset will not allowed you to use sli! RwD
How about the Asus P5E LGA 775 Intel X38 (long enough name?) anyone heard anything about it? I noted PCI Express 2.0 x16 (2 slots) now I assume that means it can hold 2 nvidias... but is it compatible? Then a friend of mine was trying to talk me into the ASUS P5K3 DELUXE/WIFI-AP, problem being that it wants DDR3 RAM, and also I'm reading that it does NOT support SLI, and so I kind of assume that answers my question about the P5E, hmm? Also anyone know anything about the ASUS Striker Extreme LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 680i? (problem is again, the 800mhz memory) But, I don't know that thats actually a problem. Edit: One thing kind of limiting my selection of motherboards is that I (for no reason really) was planning on putting 1200mhz DDR2 in, which it seems hard to find a board that supports it (and has all the other stuff I need). Seems like the norm is 800, are their any significant advantages with the 1200mhz? Edit2: Anyone have any advice on a power supply?
Firstly no, only nvidia chip set motherboards support SLI, well for now atleast. Secondly the striker's what i'm going for. And finally, when they say they support only up to 800MHz, thats just covering their a$$, my current mobo only 'supports' 667, but i've had it runnning with 900MHz RAM speed. So don't worry about it, although 1200's quite high, is that worth it?
i thought the 680i chipset isn't going to support the 45nm chips from intel? corsair or seasonic are great as said above. seasonic make the parts for corsair.
^ they are both great PSUs, mainly because Seasonic makes the most popular Corsair ones anyway, the HX range. The Seagate drives are faster than the Samsung, but it depends on your use. With Vista at the moment, my Seagate gets very irritating, but with the new SP, there should be less hard drive accessing. The new 780i boards are here soon, if you want an SLI board, wait for these, otherwise, a P35 board. You have chosen a good processor, but the new Peryn chips are coming, and will be better overclockers. You have chosen a great monitor as well. Air is the way to go with cooling. Consider a cheaper case if you want to save some money, a CM690 or P182. The memory you have chosen is expensive. Don't bother with it, get some 800 mhz Geil, Gskill, or OCZ.
Thanks everyone for the immensely helpful responses. So I'll probably wait for the 780i boards, and maybe the new chips on the processors, but what will the price difference be? I'll go for some cheaper memory as well as suggested, and look into the corsair/seasonic PSUs.\ Edit: Anyone know if the 780i boards will be DDR2 compatible? Or is everything moving to DDR3?
They will be DDR2, with the newer 790i boards being the same but DDR3. Nobody will budge from DDR2 for the next year or more, as DDR3 is just not good enough for the money yet.
Almost forgot, I read your post again and noticed RAID setups being mentioned. You would not want to go with a RAID 1 setup - this is where you backup the main drive with an identical drive. You might not want to go with RAID 0 as it is more expensive and has a higher risk. Stick with the single hard drive TBH.
