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Building a new System - Need Advice Please

J

jshabouk

Member
All:

I have received great advice from you all in the past and need to ask once again...

I am building a new high-end system for mostly gaming and video editing and have come up with the following list of components. The only thing I cannot decide on is a motherboard. Here is what I have so far:

New Components from NewEgg:
CPU - Intel C2D E6400 Conroe 2.13GHz LGA 775
RAM - Corsair XMS2 2GB DDR2 800
Case - Sunbeam Transformer IC-TR-B Blue Steel ATX
PSU - RAIDMAX RX-630A ATX12V/ EPS12V 630W Power Supply
Video Cards in SLI Config - 2 x XFX PVT73GUGD3 GeForce 7600GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card
HDD in RAID 1 Config - 2 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3200820AS 200GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
Keyboard/Mouse - Microsoft Optical Desktop with Fingerprint Reader BZ5-00002
External Enclosure for existing 200GB IDE HDD - OKGEAR OK350A Series OK350AU2-B Aluminum 3.5" USB2.0 External Enclosure

Drives being transferred from my existing system:
DVD Burner - LITE-ON 16X DVD±R DVD Burner 1693S
CD Burner/Drive - Plextor 8x4x32

Please feel free to suggest any changes to the list above (it is greatly appreciated). If it is possible to get a good case/PSU in a bundle (and to save a few $$$), I would appreciate a suggestion for that as well. Also, if the motherboard has WiFi, it would be a plus, otherwise, I would have to put my Linksys WiFi card in it as well.

Thanks,
Joe 🙂
 
First off what is your budget?

My personal suggestion would be to go with a different PSU, something from a more reputable manufacturer. Possibly one from Seasonic, Enermax, or FSP. Also I think 630W for that setup is a bit overkill. Here is one at newegg that is only $10.00 more than the one you have picked out but is a better power supply. Enermax Liberty:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817194003

Secondly you are probably better off running a single more powerful graphics card rather than two 7600GT's in SLI. You could go with this 7950GT from Evga for around the same price.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130061


Motherboard all depends on preference, and how much you have to spend so it would be helpful to know your budget and whether or not you plan on overclocking.
 
mc866:

My total budget for this system is about $1300. Right now, I am over budget by about $100, but it is not a real huge issue. I had originally chosen the ASUS P5N32 SLI Premium motherboard to the tune of $216 from NewEgg, but I was reading some reviews of it and was thinking twice. I also heard that two of the SLI cards working together produce more throughput than the single card. I am also not opposed to getting a PSU without the ability to remove any unnecessary cables if it means saving some cash.

Thanks.

Joe
 
Here are the Newegg #'s for reference

Motherboard N82E16813131071
CPU N82E16819115004
RAM N82E16820145034
Tower Case N82E16811166005
PSU N82E16817152026
Video Card (2) N82E16814150182
Hard Disk (2) N82E16822148146
Keyboard/Mouse N82E16823109142
External HDD Case N82E16817348003

 
Originally posted by: jshabouk
I am also not opposed to getting a PSU without the ability to remove any unnecessary cables if it means saving some cash.
Click to expand...

Do you mean modular cables? Cause the Enermax has modular cables also.


Here is an article showing the performance of the 7600GT's in SLI VS the 7950GT, the single 7950GT tends to win out

http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2864&p=11

If you are set on SLI I would probably stay with that Asus board or take a look at one of the other 680i boards. If you don't need SLI I would check out the Asus P5B deluxe
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131045
 
Modular cables...yes...that's it. It is not a necessity because I could care less if the top half of my case is neat.

Is there that much of a difference between the 680i boards and the 590 boards (the board I was looking at)?
 
--- Any case with "Transformer" is going to be junk by default. Lian Li makes very eligant and well built cases, the PC-A05 is an example.

--- Raidmax is one step up from generic, not recommended. Quality is far more important then quantity when it comes to power. Seasonic make some of the best units around and since your specs will never approach 300 watts (load) I recommend the 380 watt S12.

--- I would advise not going with two 7600GTs in SLI and instead going with a single faster card such as a 7900GT or GS.
 
Thanks for all the input. I wanted to get a case with some character to it. Also, I wanted to get a PSU that can be used for future upgrades as well and could adequately handle the power needs. Is there a respectable PSU out there for ~$50-$60 that is close to ~500W?

Also, are there any downsides to going with SLI?
 
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