Building new PC, serious time constraint

[spyral]

Hey guys Im from Bombay and am in the states for another 20 days. I wanted to build a new PC and figured Id wait for this trip to buy all the components cuz the stuff you get back home is different/outdated/expensive. So I have about 7 days to make the decision so I can get all the parts, make sure they work and then pack em up.

I bought a Dell 24" LCD back home and thats the only component that is set.

Ive read up quite a bit and have alot of the parts down but Im stuck on a few components. Was hoping someone with more experience and understanding could post their comments.

Ive picked out most of the components from the Conroe guide posted on anandtech sometime ago and am waiting for part 2 but if it dosnt come out before I run out of time, Ill be stuck with half a machine.

Anyways heres the setup so far

Intel E6600
ASUS P5W-DH Deluxe
2GB Corsair PC2-8500C5
Stuck on GFX card..looking at the 1900XT but wondering what the best option would be to max out the performance of the big LCD.

I have 2 old 37Gb raptors which I will setup in raid for the OS and main programs. Have tons of old drives for storage

In terms of cooling components, I have no idea what to get when it comes to heatsinks etc. Same with power supply but am looking for something modular.

Case will be a Lian Li- 6070BPLUS assuming it can fit everything else without difficulty

I have more reading to do for the optical drives but all suggestions are welcome.

Sound cards pretty much narrowed down to the cheapest X-Fi I can find. I have a set of 6.1 Megaworks which I probably wont upgrade.

Think I have everything covered there...please let me know what you guys think.

Thanks

EDIT: Whoops, my budget is 1500 bucks. So if its better to get new hard drives and go with something cheaper on the other components etc please let me know.

 

[Assassimon]

are you planning on over clocking?

 

[Talcite]

Why do you have corsair PC8500?! That's probably 1/2 your budget. It's not needed unless you're seriously overclocking.

What is the ambient temperature where the computer is? Is bombay very hot? You'll need better cooling if it is.

The enermax liberty is a decent PSU, and it's modular. The Seasonic S12 is a nice quiet one. Zippy/emac is a very solid PSU. It's hard to find and quite expensive though. I believe it also only has a single 12v rail, so that's a bit risky.

You should look at the zalman CNPS-9500AT for the cooling. According to THG, it's one of the best, and it's quiet too. I believe thermalright had a HSF that was also very good and cheap in comparason. The model number escapes me at this time.

Pretty much any graphics card that was dual-link DVI will be able to drive the graphics card for everyday use. However, if you want to game with native resolution, you'll need something like the x1900xt. I don't think you could get any better for that budget.

Make sure you assemble and test EVERYTHING before you go. you must do RMAs and exchanges here!

 

[spyral]

On the overclocking, most likely no because I cant afford to mess any of the components up cuz Ill have to wait a few months for replacements. I may try a little bit of tweaking to make sure I dont have any serious bottlenecks but not trying to push stuff to limit.

That said, are the PC8500's not required? should I go with value ram or still get some cheaper performance kits?

In terms of ambient termperature, i cant give you an exact figure but I can say the temp is relatively high. I dont have the AC on all day either so the machine will get hot.

Thanks for the info on the Zalman. Ive had good experience with them in the past and will probably go with the one you suggested for this system. The site dosnt show it as compatible with core 2 d's but im hoping thats just cuz it hasnt been modified to reflect the newest processors cuz it dosnt show compatibility with the mobo either unless the P5W2 and the P5W-DH are the same.

Do I need to replace the heatsinks on my gfx card or northbridge if im not overclocking?

 

[Talcite]

Yeah, then the parts are ok. I'd go with an intel D975XBX though. It's much more stable. The asus is really more for overclocking. Pricing is similar.

PC8500s are definitely not required =D. PC6400 is the high-mid end standard now. You shouldn't have to worry too much about them. I'd say OCZ gold, but they seem to have incompatibility issues at the moment. You can try it though. It's quite cheap.

Since the PC will get so hot, get some case fans to move air through the case. You have to make up for the lost thermal dissipation with increased airflow. I was looking at the lian li site, but I can't tell if the fans are optional or not. If they are optional, then either get some really loud deltas that blow alot of air, or some quiet nexus/panaflo/ADA fans that arn't that loud. It depends where you place your system.

The zalman is compatible. The sockets are exactly the same, and so is the mounting. The only difference is the cpu, which actually generates much less heat than the previous prescott generation, so it can handle the heat well.

The vid card stock coolers usually are loud and suck. If you want to replace it, I'd say get artic cooling silencers. http://www.arctic-cooling.com/vga2.php?idx=90 This one is designed for the x1900s. Check compatibility if you can. There is no absolute need to change the cooler though.

The northbridge should be ok. They generally don't get too toasty.

 

[jackschmittusa]

Aren't you going to need export papers for the rig?

 

[spyral]

Thanks for all the info guys.

Ive read in a couple of places that the Intel board is stable and a better choice for someone who isng going into hardcore overclocking. I will probably go with that option as opposed to the ASUS.

Are arctic coolers generally better than other brands. Im taking back an artic for the 9800 for a friend that busted his stock fan back home and he has good things to say about em too.

Are they better than say zalman etc? or just basically quieter and therefore preferred?

As for the export papers, i got that end covered

 

[Talcite]

Yes the arctic coolers are better than most brands. zalmans are very quiet, but generally don't dissipate as much heat as AC products. zalmans are also really expensive. I'd say the arctic cooling one is the best choice. You have to factor a bit of extra headroom since it's so hot in bombay.

 

[spyral]

Alright so I did a bit of reading on the vga coolers and I see a general preference towards zalman 900 compared to the arctic accelero both in terms of cooling and noise. However. this was mostly through reviews from sites ive never seen before and peoples posts on forums so Im still undecided.

I did make a change in my case choice and I think Ill be going with the Lian Li PC1200 Plus II. I had really liked the 6070 after seeing it in use and coulda used the extra noise reduction in my college apartment but back home the noise reduction hardly matters and the extra cooling I can get from the 1200 would help.

Ive also narroed down the PSU to the Corsair HX620. Read good things about it, and one of the posts on AnandTech said that its made by Seasonic. Meets all my current and most likely also my future needs for a while at least.

Also got my budget up to 2k and my new list now looks like

Intel E6600
Intel D975XBX
ATI 1900XTX
Corsair XMS2-6400
Zalman 9000 CPU Cooler
Zalman 900 VGA Cooler (maybe)
Corsair HX620 PSU
Lian Li PCV1200B PLUS II
Logitech G15 keyboard
Logitech G5 mouse
Sound Blaster X-Fi

Now my question is, will all this fit in the case without trouble? Im especially concerned about the PSU because Ive read about other Lian Li cases with similar internal structures having a cramped PSU area and other problems with modular PSU's. If someone has had trouble please let me know.

Also, if anything else looks out of place, please let me know too.

Thanks alot for the help guys.

 

[Operandi]

If you like the PC-6070 maybe you should take a look at the PC-V1100.

The Corsair is a very good PSU since it's built by Seasonic but it's far more then you actually need. I believe there is a 500-500 watt version that would do just as well and save you a bit of money.

The Intel board has very good audio onboard, I wouldn't waste any money on a Creative sound card.

 

[spyral]

There is a 500W version of the PSU but the reason I went with the 620 is that I read about how ATI is planning on introducing a 3 GPU system where 2 work in Crossfire and 1 can be a dedicated physics processor (something along those lines...dont quote me hehe)

If thats the case, when some of my friends come down next year I can have em bring back a new mobo and a couple new gfx cards that I can then run in crossfire and use the current 1900XTX as the 3rd card.

Ill prolly need the extra power then. But this leads me to my next question which is will the 620 be enough then? Or am I better off going with the 500 and then getting another one with the new components?

Also with the cases, I actually prefer the look of the 6070 to the 1100 and its basically a similar concept. The reason I went with the 1200 is for the improved airflow. But im not completely set on this either...the dust filters on the 6070 appeal to me because stuff back home does catch dust quickly. I normally have to cover all my stuff like printers etc with the plastic cover to keep the dust out.