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My build is almost done just want somebody to take a 2nd look

B

bestivo

Junior Member
It's been a while since I built my last machine and haven't been keeping very close attention to what has changed, so just wanted you guys to take a look at this build and see if it's ok/anything missing

Answers from the sticky

1. Use - gaming (mostly wow). I don't need super high details at highest rez. Also some light video editing

2. Budged 1000-1200$

3. Country USA

4. Brand I don't like ATI so nvidia chip for gpu and Intel has better offerings for cpus

5. Parts from old PC - keyboard & mice. Also I have 2 IDE DVD drives, I don't care how fast those are. Is it worth to buy new SATA DVD drive? I know they're cheap but still

6. Read simular treads? - Yes

7. OCing? I will try to OC and see how much extra speed I can gain but I'm fine with running at stock speeds.

8. WHEN Tomorrow. I have most things down, just want somebody to take a 2nd look and let me know if I'm missing something.

Case
Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail 119$ -40$rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16811129021

HDD
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250410AS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM 59$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16822148262

Video Card
MSI NX8800GTS 320M OC GeForce 8800GTS 320MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail 149$ -20$ rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814127328

Power supply
CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply - Retail 109$ -20$ Rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16817139005

RAM
OCZ SLI-Ready Edition 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ2N800SR4GK - Retail 98$ -30$ Rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820227269

Motherboard
DFI LANPARTY DK X38-T2R LGA 775 Intel X38 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail 189$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813136045


CPU
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80570E8400 - Retail 199$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16819115037

Fan
COOLER MASTER RR-CCH-L9U1-GP 92mm Hyper TX2 CPU Cooler - Retail 25$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16835103031


-110$ Rebates
Total 839$



I have few questions.

1. I noticed most people post links to newegg. Is it the best place to buy since you don't need to order from multiple merchants ? Also how is their mail-in-rebate ?

2. The video card is very cheap for a 8800GTS (probably because it has 320 MB) is it a big difference than a 512 MB card ? I think it shouldn't matter too much until you go highest settings with highest details in games right?

3. I was looking online and it says that SLI is supported on some X38 boards which have a special nvidia chip? Does that DFI board i have selected support it ? I've looked around but couldn't really see anything about it. I want to have an option to go SLI road in case I need faster gpu down the road

4. Also I'll get a 22" Widescreen Flatpanel. I can use a company discount and get something from the dell website but I haven't looked into those yet. Any recommendations? Have about 250-350$ left for a monitor.

Thank you



 
A 512mb 8800 GT is a better choice than the 320mb 8800 GTS. I'd even prefer a 9600GT or HD3870 to the old 8800 GTS.

The 512mb 8800 GT has more than just a memory advantage. It's a newer card that outperforms the older one in every area, even using less power, and creating less heat.
 
Ok so I'm looking between 1 of those 2. There is just 5$ difference.

MSI NX8800GTS 512M OC GeForce 8800GTS (G92) 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail 224$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814127325


EVGA 640-P2-N829-AR GeForce 8800GTS SSC 640MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail 229$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814130317

The MSI card has a little faster (stock) clock but the EVGA has more memory. I'm thinking EVGA might be better since I can OC the card probably the the same speed the MSI card is running at.
 
Believe it or not, this is the way the cards break down:
8800GTS 512MB > 8800GT 512MB > 8800GTS 640MB > 8800GTS 320MB

The 512MB cards are built on a newer graphics processor core than the old cards. They're faster clock for clock and also consume less power.

Anyhow, to answer your questions:
1. Newegg is generally the best combination of price and service. Plus they have a large inventory and user-friendly website, so it's convenient to link there. Mail-in rebates aren't handled by the retailer, they're handled by the manufacturers themselves. (Actually by clearing houses contracted by the manufacturers.) Rebates from Antec and Corsair are fairly reliable. No idea about MSI. Just remember to keep copies of everything you send in.

3. SLI is not going to be supported on that board. The number of boards with Intel chipsets that support SLI is minuscule, and they're expensive. Anyway, I wouldn't worry about it because SLI is not a good upgrade path. You're better off just buying a new fast card when it comes time to upgrade. I would go with a P35 chipset motherboard, which would be less expensive and have 95% of the performance.

5. With the money you save on the motherboard you might consider moving to a newer hard drive. The 7200.10s are a generation old. A newer hard drive will not only give you higher capacity, it will be higher performance as well. Two to look at would be the Samsung Spinpoint 750GB or Western Digital Caviar 640GB.

6. A 650W power supply isn't necessary for your setup, but it won't really hurt anything either.
 
The Abit IP35-Pro is currently on sale for $149, and would make an excellent choice for motherboard.
I'd pick the nVidia 9600GT or the ATI HD3870 for video card. IDE optical drives often have problems running off the
(usually J-Micron) IDE controller on P35 boards. So, upgrade to a Pioneer or Samsung SATA DVDRW.
And you could save some money by going with a (quality) 500-550 W PSU.
 
Thanks for the tips. I changed the video card, power supply & HDD. The abit P35 pro board looks good but it's only 20$ cheaper (160$) than the X38 board (180$) I had selected so I'm thinking to stay with that. I saw there were a lot other P35 boards for less than 100$ but not sure which are good


Current setup:

Case
Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail 119$ -40$rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16811129021

HDD
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM 115$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16822136218

Video Card
MSI NX8800GTS 512M OC GeForce 8800GTS (G92) 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card 225$ -30$ rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814127325


Power supply
OCZ StealthXStream OCZ600SXS 600W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply - Retail 80$ -25$ Rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16817341010


RAM
OCZ SLI-Ready Edition 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ2N800SR4GK - Retail 98$ -30$ Rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820227269

Motherboard
DFI LANPARTY DK X38-T2R LGA 775 Intel X38 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail 189$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813136045


CPU
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80570E8400 - Retail 199$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16819115037

Fan
COOLER MASTER RR-CCH-L9U1-GP 92mm Hyper TX2 CPU Cooler - Retail 25$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16835103031


-125$ Rebates
Total 934$
 
I don't see a need for the x38 chipset. I'd stick to a gigabyte/asus p35, the e8400 is a good choice- overclock it until it squeals. If you're going to go x38 chipset, you might as well get ddr3 support... which is a bit overkill

good case pick (might get a bit dusty)

might want to upgrade your cooler to a thermalright ex-120 w/ a scythe kaze fan, or the zerotherm 120 (was recently tied with ex-120 in many tests, lower price) http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16835887011 , or the arctic cooling freezer 7 http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16835186134 if you're going to stick to the hsf budget of mid 20's

you might want to consider another look at the HDD selection. if you're going to stick to your budget, you may want to invest in one of the new WD velociraptors. the faster spindle speeds beat some SSDs, so you're loading times for levels will decrease an appreciable amount. If that is a bit too hardcore- check out something with a 32mb cache- http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16822152100 - for example.

I'd stick to a 9600gt or 8800gt. palit has a good one for both, evga is also good. I don't like xfx- they run hot, the fans suck, etc etc.

If you're going to overclock, get ddr-1000 or 1066 or 1200mhz memory- because you'll need memory to keep up with the fsb, otherwise you'll end up having to do a lot of math with dividers! lol.

for the psu, I'd get an 80+ certified one. You won't need more than 400watts if you're not doing sli (esp w/ 45nm cpu). The 80+ certified ones will save power (so money + the environment), typically provide more stable voltage (good for pressing overclocking), are cooler, and quieter too. Antec has a 500W one for the same $89 you will already spend --> but no rebate to send in!

acer makes good flat panels. make sure you get something that is hdcp compliant- because between the gfx card and monitor both supporting hdcp, you are litterally a $140 drive away from watching blu-ray movies.

a note about OS's:
4 gigs is a wast in 32-bit, just get three (unless you get a 1gb gfx card)
xp will not natively support dx-10, or things like blu0ray should you chose to delve into that later on
vista isn't so bad anymore... so don't be afraid if of it if you want 4gb of ram

good luck
(and get some mx-2 thermal paste for the cpu, and arctic ceramique for redoing any company's nb and sb chips)
 
Originally posted by: Comdrpopnfresh

I'd stick to a 9600gt or 8800gt. palit has a good one for both, evga is also good. I don't like xfx- they run hot, the fans suck, etc etc.
Click to expand...
What are you basing this on? With the exception of one or two EVGA models, EVGA and XFX both use the same stock cooling.

Edit: popnfresh's suggestion about RAM is valid, but there's no need for anything over DDR2-1000. Also, I have to argue against buying 3GB of RAM. 4GB won't hurt anything in a 32-bit OS, and it's there in the future if you move over to 64-bit. RAM is cheap enough nowadays that the difference between 3 and 4 gigs is only $10-20.
 
Originally posted by: Comdrpopnfresh
XFX has a tendency to put stock coolers on without pwm control, or any throttling- and not mention it. I bought a highly rated xfx 8600gt off of newegg for my cousin, and was ashamed of the noise it put out. I'm not going to flog a dead horse- you can read here if you you'd like to.http://forums.anandtech.com/me...id=31&threadid=2139229
Click to expand...

Interesting, I've never heard of them doing that. I have full control of the fan on my XFX 8800GT. Something to look out for in the future I guess.
 
I will stay with the p35 mother and E8400. I posted the wrong motherboard (the X38 version instead of the P35 one)

The artic cooling freezer 7 looks good. I'll switch to that. thanks.

I saw the review for the velociraptors and they look sweet. Even the regular raptors are kinda expensive per GB. I might get a 2nd HD if I need more HD speed down the road. Also I was looking at this review and it looks like the WD drive is a bit better than the Samsung (although with a little less space) http://www.anandtech.com/storage/showdoc.aspx?i=3269


PSU and memory I'll probably keep the same but I'll double check tomorrow.

The 8800 GTS is faster than both 9600 GT & 8800 GTS and with better cooling so I'll stick with that (even thought it's a bit more expensive)

I'll run 64bit Linux half of the time and for windows XP 800mb is not much waste (since I'm not buying ddr3 ram). I'll probably switch to Vista 64 at some point.


I'll double check everything and put an order in tomorrow. Next up check on LCDs starting with acer 🙂

thanks all

ps i'm not buying anything from xfx if i can pick very simular product from msi & evga
 
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