Building New PC Have Specific Questions

[TrentJ]

OK so it is time to build a new PC (last build is over 4 years old now). I live in the US and will be purchasing all of the parts from Newegg. Here are my requirements:

- Price range is approximately between $1,500 to $1,800
- PC should be geared towards gaming but just starting to get into video editing
- Plan on doing some modest overclocking of CPU (not trying to set any records)
- I don?t need a silent PC but I don?t want a loud one either
- I will be reusing my Dell 2001FP (hopefully stepping up to 24? Dell in the near future)
- I will be reusing a Zalman ZM-RS6F surround sound headphone for gaming
- I will be running Windows XP Pro 32-bit and at some point Windows Vista 32-bit (probably will do a multi-boot with 2 XP Pros and 1 Vista)

The current parts that I have picked out are:

- Case = Antec P180B $129.00
- Power Supply = OCZ GameXStream 700W $129.99
- Motherboard = Abit IP35 Pro $179.99
- CPU = Intel Q6600 $279.99
- Heatsink = Zalman CNPS9700 $59.99
- Memory = Crucial Ballistix 2x1GB CL4 $74.99
- Video Card = EVGA 8800GT $289.99
- Hard Drive = 2 x WD Caviar SE16 500GB $104.99x2
- DVD Burner = Samsung SH-203B $33.99
- Sound Card = Creative X-Fi XtremeGamer $79.99
- Keyboard = Saitek PZ30AU Eclipse $39.99
- Mouse = Logitech G9 $74.99
- PCI to USB Card = Koutech IO-PU520 $11.99
- Internal Card Reader = Atech Flash Xm-4U 11-in-1 $19.99
- Extra Case Fan for Front = Scythe S-Flex SFF21E $14.99
- Thermal Paste = Arctic Silver 5 $5.99

In general do you see anything that you would change? I know about all of the new stuff coming out in the next few weeks. The only item that I might change is the video card depending on what Nvidia releases. CPU/Motherboard will probably stay the same?but you never know.

My specific questions are:

1. Will this power supply fit well in the case? The power supply is not modular?should I try to get a modular one? If so which one?

2. Will I need any additional power extension cables for this power supply/case/motherboard combination to provide good cable routing?

3. Does this ram work well in this motherboard?

4. What length of SATA cables should I get for the DVD drive and hard drives? Also should I get straight to straight connectors or straight to 90? I plan on getting some of the OKGEAR SATA II cables.

5. How is the onboard audio with this motherboard? Do I need the Creative X-Fi?

I think that is all of my questions (for now). Thanks for your help.

 

[bamacre]

will be purchasing all of the parts from Newegg.

That's your biggest mistake right there.

As for your parts...

- Power Supply = OCZ GameXStream 700W $129.99
Overkill. Corsair 520W would be what I would recommend.

- Motherboard = Abit IP35 Pro $179.99
Pricey, but ok.

- Memory = Crucial Ballistix 2x1GB CL4 $74.99
Nah, get 4GB, check Hot Deals. $78 + shipping for 2x2GB DDR2-800.

 

[cozumel]

Definitely email Antec to confirm the situation whether there will be a problem with the cabling before you buy the Antec/Powerstream. When I was looking for case and emailed them they told me my Noisetaker wouldn't reach.

If you were going to upgrade to Vista sure you would want to go for x64. I can't see the point with x32 when you've got a Quad!!! Make sure it's the SLACR G0 stepping model and not the B3. G0 uses less power and runs less hot.

For gaming the on-board sound will slow the fps. You need either the Creative Sound Balster X-FI XtremeGamer Fatal1ty Pro Series - $135.99 or the Auzentech X-Fi Prelude 7.1 - $189.99. They both have 64MB X-RAM to take the pressure off your main system and will increase fps. The Auzentech is by far the better model as it uses far better components such as solid capacitors as opposed to the cheaper and poorer quality electrolytic capacitors found on the Creative. The XtremeGamer doesn't have the X-RAM 64MB and will also impact on fps and gaming enjoyment.

The Ballistix is a great choice of RAM and uses high quality Micron IC chips.

Mobo isn't my first choice. It is a very nice board but I would have gone with either an Asus or Gigabyte ICHR9 board such as the P5K-E or or GA-P35-DS4 Rev 2.0

Hope this helps.

 

[Roguestar]

Originally posted by: cozumel
For gaming the on-board sound will slow the fps. You need either the Creative Sound Balster X-FI XtremeGamer Fatal1ty Pro Series - $135.99 or the Auzentech X-Fi Prelude 7.1 - $189.99. They both have 64MB X-RAM to take the pressure off your main system and will increase fps. The Auzentech is by far the better model as it uses far better components such as solid capacitors as opposed to the cheaper and poorer quality electrolytic capacitors found on the Creative. The XtremeGamer doesn't have the X-RAM 64MB and will also impact on fps and gaming enjoyment.

Do you have any figures for this?

Given a Core 2 Quad, the amount at which on-board sound uses the CPU is very small anyway, then remember you've got three other cores that most games won't use. Please provide some benchmarks showing the supposed slowdown in games when using onboard sound as compared to a dedicated sound card. I would be interested to see if there was a noticable real-world difference in performance.

 

[cozumel]

Sorry man haven't got any benchmarks. I would suggest though that at the moment the real-life noticeable difference in fps would be negligible tbh. However, if you compare an X-RAM card to an X-Fi card without any onboard RAM there is a 1-5fps difference on most games which really wouldn't be noticed. But games improve, evolve and use more and more system resources. As newer games comeout the X-RAM models will be future-proofing for the future. Please also take into account the definite boost to audio quality that dedicated audio cards offer the end-user. That is real-life and can be heard right now.