Building a new PC

[AHamick]

Ok, so I am looking to build a new pc in early Jan 2009 and I was looking for some advice on my choices and some help filling in the blanks

Case: CM HAF 932 Link
CPU: E8400 Link
CPU Cooler: Xigmatek s1283 lINK
Mobo: EVGA 750I FTW Link
Memory: 4gigs OCZ Platinum 1066 Link
HDD: SG 500gig SATA Link
Graphics: Undecided between a GTX 260 or getting a lower 9800GT (price)
PSU: Completely clueless (HALP!)
OS: Vista Ultimate

So I think that is everything, if you have any suggestions please let me know. Also this will be my first build so I hope it goes well.

Thanks in advance!

 

[disports]

Are you going to be overclocking? If not, you don't really need the HSF or 1066 ram. Surely you don't need to spend that much on a motherboard either. Asus P5Q Pro, Gigabyte EP45-DS3L, or maybe EP45-UD3R.
Well for one, you could get G.Skill DDR2-800 ram for $49.99 instead.
Any Corsair PSU is nice. The 650TX is selling for $69.99 AR. You probably don't need that much power, but it's so darn cheap.
HD: Spend $5 more and get the WD6400AKS
HSF: If there's a microcenter nearby where you live, that HSF is $14.99 AR if I correctly recall
The GTX 260 216 is nice

 

[Denithor]

I don't want to sound rude, don't take this wrong, but two months in the computer world is a long time. Prices change dramatically, new hardware is released, the entire system we recommend can change in that length of time.

Read the Notice - PC builders and Attention System Builders threads. Answer the questions presented in the first so we know what you want to do with your system and your approximate budget.

 

[AHamick]

Thanks for the replies and the links. I apologize for the vague post.

I will be using this PC for primarily gaming, I have a price ceiling of $900 right now. I will be ordering everything from the US, I even have TigerDirect and Microcenter stores within 20 minutes away. I prefer Intel CPU's and NVIDIA GPU's, I just have had better experiences with them overall in the past. Also, I know little about overclocking and have zero experience in it but I am certainly planning on attempting to OC this PC in the future

I chose the NVIDIA mobo because I had planned on using SLI when my single card started to fall behind rather than buying a whole new one, but I read that I would not benefit much from SLI due to my lower resolution (1440X900 on my 19" LCD Monitor). Perhaps I could convince the wife that a 24-26" Widescreen monitor would double over as an excellent TV for the bedroom as a Christmas gift. Otherwise an ASUS P5 board was my second option

Other than that I hope I covered everything. the biggest part I am stuck on is the PSU, IF I were to still go with a plan to SLI GTX 260's what might be some good PSU's to look into?

Thanks again for all the help

 

[Denithor]

Corsair 650TX or 620HX (if you want modular cables)

That's why we tell people to read the stickies, usually you come back with a much better idea of what to do and how to do it correctly. Such as skipping the pitfall of an SLI/CF upgrade "down the road."

Anything much above a 9800GT is overkill for 14x9. But if you seriously intend to upgrade to a bigger screen shortly go for at least a GTX 260. Look into getting off eBay with Microsoft Live Cashback deal (I got mine for $170 shipped a month ago).

A 27" LCD is just sexy. With a TV tuner card in the rig it can indeed double as a TV. Of course, you could go the other direction, get a good quality HDTV and use it as a monitor. That way the tuner is built-in and you don't have to have it connected to a PC to watch TV.

 

[jeffw2767602]

Ditch the SLI. nVidia chipsets are not as stable as Intel chipsets and the performance scaling is not linear. You would be better off selling your older card for as much as you can get for it and putting those funds toward a single card upgrade. Crossfire is a slightly better choice due to being able to use an Intel chipset, however it still suffers from bad peformance scaling and driver issues.

 

[AHamick]

Well I am still unsure if I will drop the idea of SLI so for the time being I think I will try to plan this build around the use of SLI.

again, IF I were to SLI are either of these two PSU's capable of running two GTX 260's in SLI?

PC Power and Cooling 750W

Corsair 750W

If both a re capable is one better than the other? To my untrained eye there is really little difference, is there any?

Thanks again to everyone for their help

 

[DSF]

There's very little merit to SLi as an upgrade path. It's best used immediately or not at all.

 

[AHamick]

Thanks again for all the help everyone. I am actually within days of finishing my build, I was just hoping to get a few more pointers/suggestions. So far I am getting:

Case: CM HAF 932
CPU: E8400
HSF: Xigmatek S1283
Mobo: EVGA 750I FTW or other suggested
RAM: G-Skill 4Gb (2x2Gb) @ 1066 (purchased)
HDD: Seagate 500Gb (purchased)
GPU: EVGA GTX 260 (purchased, thanks for the live cashback suggestion, 180 shipped for a core 216)
PSU: BFG ES800 800W power supply (purchased)
Monitor: Currently still a 19 widescreen, but I hope to have a lovely 46" LCD HDTV after Black Friday

Now as stated before, I would like to try overclocking this PC, so I figured the 1066 ram and the HSF will be helpful. I am still unsure if I should get the 750I for SLI or just live with one single card.

Are there any sites that show performance ratings for SLI rigs or any general SLI vs single GPU comparisons? My googling has come up with very little or mixed opinions.

 

[DSF]

Look through Anandtech's own GPU section for some benchmarks. (Not the forum, but the articles on the front page.)

On a 19" monitor SLi just isn't worth it. A GTX260 is plenty of power for that.

Even on a larger monitor, SLi is only worthwhile if you're buying both cards up front. As an upgrade path it's inefficient. By the time you're looking to upgrade, two GTX 260s will be inferior to even a midrange card from the next generation. (For example, SLi 7800GTXs are without a doubt less powerful than an 8800GT.) At that point, you're better off just selling your old 260 and buying a brand new card.

 

[Denithor]

Even a GTX 260 will be able to handle most anything you throw at it for 1920x1080 (the resolution of the 46" LCD you plan to get Friday - good luck, BTW).

Ditch the SLI board and get the Asus P5Q PRO + e8400 combo ($235AR) at newegg.

 

[AHamick]

Thanks for the pointers folks, I will be skipping the SLI mobo and getting that combo deal from Newegg you mentioned Denithor, what will save me almost $100.

 

[Blain]

Forget any SLI plans now or in the future based on your $900 budget. Stick with a good solid Intel based P45 chipset MB.
The Asus/E8400 combo would serve you well, and is a reasonable price.