Finally finished my new build.

[CurseTheSky]

First, let me say that I have been holding off for over a year on spending. I really haven't treated myself to more than a couple of CDs and maybe a $20 dinner in the past 12-15 months. Maybe I'm just adding this little blurb to help myself justify what I just spent.

Anyway, I began ordering this a little while after the Core 2 Duo breakthrough. After originally hearing about Kentsfield, G80, and 680i, I decided to hold off until the new technologies came out, to see what they would bring. My original planned build would have included a Core 2 Extreme X6800, Geforce 7900GTO, and 2GBs of Corsair XMS2 DDR800 C4. Thanks to the AT reviews, reviws on other hardware sites, and the helpful users on these boards, I think I've made a few better choices (and maybe some worse ).

The Beast:
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E6600, 2.4GHz - $312.99
Motherboard: eVGA nForce 680i, socket 775 - $269.99
Memory: 2x1GB Corsair Dominator XMS2 DDR2 800, C4 - $255.00 after CD and MIR
Graphics Card: eVGA Geforce 8800GTX - $659.99
Sound Card: Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer Fatal1ty - $115.99 after MIR
Hard Drive: Western Digital Raptor X, 150GB SATA - $229.99
Second Hard Drive: Seagate 7200.10, 320GB SATA - $94.99
DVD-RW Drive: Samsung DVD+RW Burner, Lightscribe - $31.99
DVD-ROM Drive: Sony 16x DVD-ROM - $18.99
Monitor: Samsung 20.1" 5ms DVI LCD - $285.99 after MIR
Speakers: Logitech X-530, 5.1 - Free! (Kept from my other system)
Case: Thermaltake Kandalf LCS - $279.99
Power Supply: Thermaltake Toughpower 750w - $189.99
Keyboard: Logitech G15 - Free! (Kept from my other system)
Mouse: Logitech G7, Carbon Edition - Free! (Kept from my other system)
Total: A lot.

Some things I bought over a month ago, and some prices have changed since then. I'm already happy with what I have, but it'll be another three days or so before I can put it all together. And yeah, yeah, I know. The Raptor X and the X-Fi Fatal1ty are a waste of money, but they were cheaper than I originally planned to spend on similar products anyway. Overall, I'm happy.

Obviously the new stuff doesn't have any consumer reviews yet, so I guess I'll get to be one of the guinnea pigs for the rest of you.

 

[brikis98]

woah. that's a hell of a system there. it'll absolutely scream at stock settings and even more so if you OC it (which you better do w/ that RAM and mobo!).

congrats and enjoy maxing out the settings on every game every made

 

[alimoalem]

that's a pretty awesome gaming rig u got there. 8800GTX for a 20" screen?? i guess the next step up would've been a large increase in price but still...

what got you to go with thermaltake on the case and power supply?

 

[LouPoir]

Nice

 

[LOUISSSSS]

yea why the TT case and power supply? although a lotta people have been on TT's penis on that power supply, with such high end parts why not something like a PCPC or something higher end in quality. same with the case.

 

[Bill Brasky]

Would you post some numbers and pics after you get the parts and overclock? That's one hell of a rig, and I'm pretty envious right now.

 

[pkme2]

I concur too. With such a high end build, you could improve getting a LL
and PSU
but its your rig.
You might want to go 22"/24" LCD while you're at it.

 

[CurseTheSky]

Overclocking is a given. I'll be posting stock, moderate overclock, and highest possible (stable) overclocked settings in the next week or less.

The main reason for the Thermaltake Case is actually the look - I like it a lot. I've had pretty good experiences with Thermaltake in the past (Swing for a small build, Tsunami for my brother's E6600 and P5B-D, and Armor for a friend's build), so I wasn't concerned about quality. The case itself seems pretty solid; I haven't had a chance to try the liquid cooling yet, but from what I've read, it's at least adequate. It was also my first attempt at liquid cooling, so having a pre-configured system (at least until I get the hang of it), pre-mounted (and hidden) radiator, and some of the hoses already strung was a really nice feature for me.

The only two things I don't like about the case are the open vents on top, and the weight of the case. All of the 5.25" bays have dust filters, which, considering the three 120mm fans on the radiator, is a nice feature. My house is extremely dusty, so I find myself blowing out the computer almost weekly. However, the top of the case just has open vents... no dust filters at all. Kind of defeats the purpose, you know? On the other hand, the case itself is not designed for the weak, or the lan-party enthusiast. I've heard of people complaining that their completed system weighed fifty pounds or more in the case. I don't have anything other than the PSU in it right now, and I can say for sure, it's heavy.

On the other hand, I've never really been "in the know" when it comes to PSUs. Hell, just a year ago I thought any PSU that had decent reviews would do the trick. After reading these forums (along with a few others), I've realized that PSUs really are one area you don't want to cheap out on. Before now, I had no idea that PC P&C (among others) were revered as some of the best out there. I just chose the Thermaltake because it was a familiar name, and the reviews that I pulled up make it out to be a pretty solid performer - keep in mind, this was well before I started reading these forums. The fact that it's one of the few Tt's actually recommended for gaming rigs is really conincidental. Basically, I'm lucky I just happened to buy something that doesn't suck.

As for the monitor (and speakers, while I'm at it), my main focus was on gaming performance. I'm pretty much happy with the size of this monitor, and most of the larger monitors were quite a bit more expensive. I could have bought a 22" widescreen for around the same price, but I heard some older games do not work with odd aspect ratios. The 24" monitors are very tempting - believe me - but I just can't afford it right now. The kept the same speakers mainly because I don't have the cash to shell out for an expensive 5.1 system.

Hmm, I wonder how awesome this thing will look in my cardboard box after I fail to pay rent...

Edit: I am slightly concerned about the RAM though. The Corsair Dominator series APPEARS to be higher-binned, along with their new heatsink / heatspreader design. I know from what I've read that it will at least overclock moderately well (I heard 1066 was possible, not sure about timings). However, from the looks of 680i, it will take whatever you can throw it in the memory department. Though the OCZ Titanium DDR2 1000 or Muskin Redline series could probably take me higher, I was pretty much at the end of my budget. The fact that I could get C4, high-binned memory for $255 was just too much to leave behind. I'll wait and see what becomes of the next few days, I guess.

 

[dBTelos]

The PSU is the best thing Thermaltake has ever made in the power department... the Purepowers are pretty much crap. Familiar name isn't really a good thing to go by though, just look at Mushkin PSUs Anyway, the PSU is probably overkill as it can't handle highend G80 SLi, so something like a Corsair HX520 would essentialy be able to handle similar parts (with higher quality and less money). Good pick none the less.

 

[CurseTheSky]

Like I said, I was pretty much ignorant when it came to PSUs. I'm really glad I "guessed right" and got something that wasn't total crap. To think, I was even bawking at the $190 bottom line... good thing I didn't try to save myself $100 so I could spend more on other components.

"Anyway, the PSU is probably overkill as it can't handle highend G80 SLi"
Can't, or can? The speculations I read said 750w should be enough to handle the 8800GTX in SLI. If it's an amperage issue with this PSU, then oh well, nothing I can do about it now. I just wasn't sure because you have "overkill" and "can't handle" in the same sentence.

I don't really plan on going SLI anytime soon anyway. Paying $1200+ on graphics alone is more than I can stomach, so I'll probably hang on to a single 8800GTX until the 8900 series debuts, then upgrade to an 8900GT or 8900GTS, depending on the performance increase.

 

[keeleysam]

I would have gone with Team Group DDR2, but hey, that's just me.

 

[n7]

Holy shiat nice system :Q

Poor LCD though

I have that one, & let's just say it's not the best.

Originally posted by: keeleysam
I would have gone with Team Group DDR2, but hey, that's just me.

The Dominator series uses Micron D9s, so that Corsair should do just as well as Team Group.
It's the other Corsair that's crap.

 

[CurseTheSky]

I'll probably look into a monitor and speaker upgrade in the next year or so. This thing is a definate upgrade over the Samsung 915N it replaced. Before I was limited to 1280x1024, now I can at least get up to 1600x1200. The color on this monitor is also much deeper and more natural-looking than the 915N (I've run both on identical hardware, and they're worlds apart). For the $280ish that I paid for it, I figured it couldn't be that bad.

 

[NYslipstream]

Looks like a really excellent build there, CTS. I have the same monitor and hard drive, and love both of them equally. I think you're going to be very happy. :beer:

-Slip

 

[xboxist]

I don't understand your monitor selection in conjunction with choosing that videocard. But it's probably trivial in the larger scheme of things. I'm sure you're excited -- enjoy!

 

[Boyo]

Nice system you have there. As for the case, that's always a matter of personal preference so stick with what you like. Not familiar with that PSU so I can't help you there. Great rig though.

 

[CurseTheSky]

Originally posted by: xboxist
I don't understand your monitor selection in conjunction with choosing that videocard. But it's probably trivial in the larger scheme of things. I'm sure you're excited -- enjoy!

Part of the reason is to get both AA and HDR at the same time - which as far as I know, could not be acheived on the Geforce 7 series cards. I will also be upgrading to Vista (eventually), so I figured having a DX10 card would be nice. I've always bought mid-range cards in the past, so I wanted to see what it would be like to actually have the full power in my hands for once.

 

[KeithTalent]

So what's happening with the rig in your sig?

 

[CurseTheSky]

Originally posted by: KeithTalent
So what's happening with the rig in your sig?

Sold it. Made back all the money that I spent on it, minus the cost of the speakers, monitor (anyone want to buy a Samsung 19" 915N analog LCD?), mouse, and keyboard. Not a bad deal.

Sorry to burst your Christmas bubble, but it's hard to refuse getting a full refund for all your hardware a year after your built it.

 

[Skitzer]

So ......... when you turn this beast on do the lights in your house dim? LOL