Gaming - Video Editing Rig, Conroe E6600 need advice.

[Eternalsin]

Budget 1500 - 2000$

Read a lot of threads on multiple forums but still need help deciding. My PC is going to be used mainly for gaming and for heavy video editing processing like avid, after effects, photoshop etc..I want to look for the best parts for OCing this beast to maximum potential within my budget. Any advice and input would be appreciated. Thank you.

Below is what I had in my mind for my final configuration.


INTEL Conroe E6600 Core 2 Duo Processor 2.40Ghz 4MB S775 OEM
http://clubit.com/product_detail.cfm?itemno=A1938408
359.99$ = It is en route shipping to my house.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Heat sink and Fan

Scythe SCNJ-1000P 120mm Sleeve CPU Cooling Fan/Heatsink - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835185001
49.99$

or

THERMALRIGHT XP-90C CPU Copper Heatsink - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835109122
49.99$

or

ZALMAN CNPS9500 LED 92mm 2 Ball Blue LED Light Cooling Fan with Heatsink - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835118223
51.99

and

Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835100007
5.99$
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Memory

Xtreem 2 Gb Kit DDR2 (2 x 1Gb) 3-3-3-8 667 Mhz
http://www.tankguys.biz/ddr2-3338-p-167...sCsid=bb53788964fd2ee600ed0fd79b8abf14
246.99$
Warranty(?)

or

CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM Unbuffered DDR2 800
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145590
219.00$ - 40.00$ rebate end 8/14/06.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Motherboard

Abit AW9D-MAX - Coming out end of August

or

NF590 boards - Due at the end of August

or

R600 boards, supposely OC beast - September (?)

or

P5W DH Deluxe Socket 775 (Conroe Ready)
http://www.tankguys.biz/deluxe-socket-conroe-ready-p-1675.html
244.99$
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Case

Thermaltake EUREKA VC8000SWA W/Window No Power Supply Full Tower Case (Silver)
http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=CA-VC8000S
135.96$ = Own it.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sound


Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic 7.1 Channels 24-bit 96KHz PCI Interface Sound Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16829102188
121.99$-40.00$ = 81.99$ = Own it.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hard Drive

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS (Perpendicular Recording Technology) 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16822148140
94.99$ = Own it
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CD/DVD Drive

SAMSUNG Black 16X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 16X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 5X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2M Cache ATA/ATAPI DVD Burner With LightScribe - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16827151118
31.99$ = Own it
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Power Supply

FSP Group (Fortron Source) FX600-GLN ATX12V/ EPS12V 600W All-In-One Power Supply 115/230 V CSA,IEC,UL,CE,TUV - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817104014
139.99 - 15.00 rebate = 125.00$

or

SeaSonic S12-600 ATX12V 600W Power Supply 100 - 240V UL, CE, CB, FCC - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817151025
159.99$
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Video Card

eVGA 256-P2-N567 Geforce 7900GT KO Superclocked 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130016
289.99$

or

connect3D 3058 Radeon X1900GT 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 VIVO PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814142068
299.99$ - 100.00$ rebate = 199.99$

or

SAPPHIRE 100150 Radeon X1900XTX 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 VIVO PCI Express x16 Video Card - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102671
374.99$

or

eVGA 512-P2-N571-AR Geforce 7900GTX 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130037
449.99$
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Monitor

SAMSUNG 204B-Black Black 20.1" 5ms LCD Monitor with Height, Pivot, Tilt Adjustments 300 cd/m2 800:1 0.255mm Pixel Pitch - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/CustratingReview.asp?Item=N82E16824001226
345.99$ - 60$ rebate = 285.99$

 

[OSX]

From what I hear, the 204B monitor is okay for extremely fast gaming, but if you're going to do video editing, you might want something else. You can get a ViewSonic VX2025WM for about the same price. Also, if you're not overclocking, ditch the XTREME memory, it's pretty much useless. I would also go for the X1900XTX over the 7900GTX, since I believe that it performs higher. The 7900 runs cooler and uses less electricity, so if that's a concern, go with that. They'll both be fine for gaming.

 

[Bobthelost]

Look at the gigabyte P6965 DS3 or DS4, both are supposed to be very nice OCing boards.

The X1900XTX is the most powerful card out there, but if you want to save some money then get the eVGA 7900GT and volt mod it. eVGA will accept RMAs of voltmodded cards as long as you clean off the conductive pen before it's returned.

PSU: You can get by with a 500W for any of the systems with overclocking. 600w is just going for comfort blanket stuff. Having said that if you're overvolting the ATI card i'd go for that blanket after all.

 

[Eternalsin]

 

[Eternalsin]

From what I hear, the 204B monitor is okay for extremely fast gaming, but if you're going to do video editing, you might want something else. You can get a ViewSonic VX2025WM for about the same price. Also, if you're not overclocking, ditch the XTREME memory, it's pretty much useless. I would also go for the X1900XTX over the 7900GTX, since I believe that it performs higher.

I will be OCing this machine. Between the corsair brand and Xtreme its a pretty tough choice to choose from, i'm not sure how much the Xtreme will yield me in performance. I was looking at the VX2025WM and might consider it. X1900XTX looks pretty favorable atm, although I don't know if i should just go with the 7900GT and then upgrade to the G80 or R600 when they come out.

Look at the gigabyte P6965 DS3 or DS4, both are supposed to be very nice OCing boards.

Reading through multiple forums, the Gigabyte boards seem to work best with e6300 and e6400 allendales. Although i'm thinking about buying a cheap board now and wait until one of the newer boards to come out at the end of Aug or Sept, not entirely sure.

Yea, I was looking for a 600w psu for extra protection. Although I still don't know what to choose for heatsink/fan, memory, psu.

 

[One43637]

have you seen the the Thermalright SI-120 instead of the XP-90C?

http://www.google.com/url?q=http://www....d=2&sig=__9-QS0OJ7Q-6ls5zG5zzUF--niDs=

i would personally go for the Corsair ram. i'm more comfortable with their products and support.

as for the PSU, the Seasonic S12 has been working great for me. it's quiet, and provides me with ample power to run my machine. (Opteron 175, 7950 GX2, 1 raptor, 1 WD250KS). it's also modular. i'm not sure if you have a preference or not, but thought i should throw that out just in case you didn't want modular cables with your PSU.

between the graphics card i would narrow it down to the 1900XTX or the 7900GTX depending on how much money you have left for your budget. like it was mentioned before, the ATI card beats the Nvidia card in most benchmarks, but it also is louder and runs hotter then the 7900GTX.

good luck on your purchases.

 

[Eternalsin]

Thats a pretty nice heatsink the Thermalright SI-120, I think I'll go with that. I'm leaning towards Corsair ram myself, its a pretty safe bet. The seasonic s12 sounds like a good choice too, quiet and powerful. I think i'm gonna go with the ATI 1900XTX, the pricing on it is nice compare to the GTX. Thanks for the help, I think I know exactly what to get now. Ordering the rest of my parts to finish up my system.

 

[gsellis]

STOP! As a video editor running Avid Liquid, I will tell you that extreme over clocking and video editing do not mix. There are encoders that can chock. Plus, video editing can be one of the more stressful apps you can run on a PC. Don't plan on turning this into some major fireball. If you need the speed, buy the fastest you can afford and leave it alone. Or get a dual dual such as the new Xeons at 1333MHz FSB.

Edit - which Avid suite? A Quadro may be better for some of them. Oh, and you have way too little HDD space. Add a couple of 250's at least.

 

[Eternalsin]

I didn't know that gsellis, thanks for the advice. What if I OC it by a little bit but not too much, like raise it to 3.0 ghz? How does the Xeon compare to Conroe for running editing application? Maybe it's probably best for me to buy two PC, one for editing and one for gaming.

I am using Avid Express Pro and using Liquid also but more for effects. I think a quadro is out of my budget, but isn't there a nvidia card that you can soft mod to quadro? Yea I plan on adding more HDD space like x4 320 gb.

Gsellis you spawn more questions for me!!