Decent system? $600 watercooled E6750 w/8800GT OC

[fkoehler]

Hi All, been out of the OC arena for a while as previous job had supplied me with a Mac Pro quad machine with the X1950 which was good enough to run Stalker.

I am just completing a new build with components bought over Thanksgiving/Christmas and would like suggestions/comments/ridicule....

Chassis: Cyber-Monday NewEgg special- $110 after rebate Gigabyte Merucry3D water cooled
PSU: ePower Jaguar 450w- $25 AR
CPU/Mobo: Fry's special $200 AR Abit IP-35e & E6750
Memory: Fry's special $20 AR OCZ PC2-6400, suggestions on whether its worth upgrading this component
HD: Existing WD500GB SATA
DVD: Fry's impulse buy $45 AR Pioneer DVR-2810 (112D?), needed as XP wouldn't install with HD SATA and PATA DVD
Graphics: Had waited for 3870 to drop, and then the 9600GT came out. Was seriously debating that, or going for the 8800GT for a little more. Found the XFX 8800GT 512MB 670Mhz for $219 AR at NewEgg tonight. Ordered it and then cancelled when the wife found the same thing, but $0 tx, and $0 shipping.

I know Gigabyte's watercooling isn't top of the line, however I expect to do minimal OC unless the water really allows it too remain stable and quiet. The $600 system seems like pretty cheap for mostly decent components aside from the RAM, and one that I can slap a quadcore on later this year or whenever the Penryns get cheaper/faster.

I have a Gateway 21" LCD which I expect to game at 1650x1050 in most games at 76hz.

1. Is the ram speed really going to limit me in OC success?
2. Considering the res I will be using, did I overbuy the video card, or will this suffice if I end up upgrading the monitor?
3. Just curious as reviews are scare, but where does this card stand as far as the GTS and Ultras?
Thanks

Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/XFX-PVT8...-S-Video/dp/B000YB0BRM

 

[fkoehler]

bump, err anyone?

 

[imported_JohnJohn]

go for 3870 x2 thats gr8 i am going with it

 

[Ika]

Your RAM is probably going to be fine. You will probably hit your CPU FSB wall before your RAM craps out. The 8800GT is pretty much perfect for 1680x1050. The 8800GT is about 20-30% faster than the original 8800GTS, slightly slower than the new 8800GTS (haven't read the reviews on it, though), and about 5-10% slower than the original 8800 Ultra (or was it the GTX? it's close).

Your components look great, except for the PSU, which seems like a cheapo model to me (but I'm not a PSU expert). You may want to invest in a better PSU, like a modular Corsair HX620 or something.

 

[Syntax Error]

Originally posted by: JohnJohn
go for 3870 x2 thats gr8 i am going with it

-------------------------
AMD guy

Athlon x2 4800+ OC
DDR2 2GB
3870 soon to be 2X

Then again, his signature does say "AMD Guy". I sense a fanboy.

I'd stick with the 8800GT, a great performer for the price, and it's hard to beat its performance for what you're paying for it, which is considerably less than a 3870X2 but not that much slower than the 3870X2, either. A great value for a video card.

 

[richwenzel]

are you saying you got this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16811233021

for $110???

wow, very nice

as for the cpu, the board you got with the logical cpu upgrade (e8400) would be about $260 AR....So basically, the choice is an e6750 (save $60) vs e84001. I don't think either is bad choice...frankly, the e6750 will probably be the better buy for now...probably wouldn't notice the difference between the 6750 and 8400 and the next upgrade for that board would be a quad down the road or a new board/cpu....

as for graphics card, here is an ice OC 8800gt for 187 after rebate:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814127329...

i dont know anything abour your psu choice, generally $25 psu's are not great, but i don't want to say yours is bad...

 

[fkoehler]

Thanks guys, the 8800 should be here Tuesday.
Glad to hear my mem should be good enough for mod OC. I've just reread the OC sticky in CPU's and am going to start messing with that now.
I agree the psu is one of the cheapest models, however at the time it seemed like the reviews were decent for a normal/standard system.
Guess I'll find out shortly how good it is.

Thanks!

 

[fkoehler]

Heh, it looks like Amazon raised the price on the 8800 I bought for $219 to $304. Not sure if that is because of demand or if they had it too low because of some glitch.
Either way, the system is up and running for test purposes now. I have it at 3600 (450 x 8) at 1.41v and temps seem stable at 41-42c.
Just had to lap the block a fair bit and also touched up the proc again. Hopefully as it cures in the next couple of weeks I'll see the 3-5c drop.

Next upgrade will be a quad later this year. I'm not sure but may need to add an aux radiator to the system.
Appreciate the advice and comments.

 

[MarcVenice]

I found a funny review on that PSU: http://www.extremereviews.net/...125&page=1&type=review

Don't think your good to go now because of that review, because well, that review is crap 😛 Anyways, I can't say much about that PSU, if it blows up on you, please let us know, so others can avoid it 😛 With 28a on the 12v rail it should power your system, and it used to cost 70$ or more. Not sure if that's because it's a qaulity unit, or because of all the leds, the windows and the "AGP Enhance Technology allows you to plug in your high-end gaming AGP graphics card into a special shielded power lead to eliminate ?SNOWING? & ?WATER WAVE? effects."

Anyways, your rig looks good, my advice would be not to cheap out on your PSU again.

 

[fkoehler]

Yeah, I thought I'd gotten a deal because it had previously been $60-70 and was during the Black Friday-Cyber Monday period deals.
Came across that review, and another, both seemed like it was an ok psu. Gotta admit though, I haven't had to buy a psu in 5 years as work was supplying my systems.
So, seeing as many systems similar to mine seem to draw less than 375w actual with Killowatt readings, I didn't see the need to get a 600 watt psu.
Went here: http://web.aanet.com.au/SnooP/psucalc.php
and my system with 8800 should draw ~360 watts maxed out. Getting a killowatt to confirm this, wanted one anyways.
But I'll probably ugrade the psu when I upgrade to a quadcore and set up another system in a Smilodon case I have spare and craigslist it off.

 

[thilanliyan]

Be careful of the waterblock. I had the exact same one (from the Gigabyte Galaxy watercooling kit) and it cracked around where the screw attaches the plastic top to the copper bottom. I also found that temperatures weren't better than a Thermalright Ultra-120.

 

[fkoehler]

Hmm, I will. I expect most any waterblock with the acrylic top is suseptible to that though, right? Either way, even if I ended up needing another block I'm happy.
I just rechecked my receipts and cost with shipping, tax was $452, $50 Paypal rebate, $329 Gigabyte rebate, is a final cost of $73.
Was just looking at some of the high-end aircoolers like the Ninja Scythe, and they're $60 to.
I'm happy now, but I'll come back with my tale of woe if it happens.

 

[MarcVenice]

It's not the wattage fkoekler, many PSU's 'CLAIM' a certain wattage, but actually die a violent death when 'asked' to put out said amount of wattage. You also don't want to run your PSU over 70% of it's maximum rated capacity. But, all in all, despite the bling on that PSU, 60-70$ 'should' allow the manufacturer to build a decent 450w PSU. It's no gaurantee of any sort though. Also, keep in mind that some PSU's are rated at 25c, 30c, 40c or 50c continous. That means that when the PSU heats up it loses some of it's capacity, at 25c a PSU can put out 500w for example, but at 50c it can only put out 400w, understand what I'm saying ? And there's no telling what your PSU is rated at.