My Build. Let Me Show You Them.

[DasSmoof]

Okay, bad joke.

Anyway, I'm NEEDING a new computer ASAP, because as of right now, I'm stuck using an old P3 with 160megs of ram and it'd ridiculously slow with XP. But anyway, here's what I was thinking of picking up in probably about two weeks or so:

Core 2 Duo E4300 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115013
G.Skill 2gig DDR2 800 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16820231098
Fortron 700W PSU http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817104015
Now here's where I'm torn. I'm debating on the motherboard.
This looks nice http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128042
The Gigabyte GA-956P-DS3 (Rev 1.3) and there seem to be some decent beginners guides to OCing on Legion Hardware with this specific board and CPU Combo. However, I'm finding it a bit lacking because I'd ideally like to have an SLI board, for the future. So I've come upon this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130082
MSI P6N SLI-FI
How is the overclockability on this specific board? More over, do you think it would be worth it to get an SLI board? I'd be running an 8800GTS 640meg (usually running at 1440x900) which is plenty fine for now. But my main concern is down the road to make the system last a little longer. Would it be worth it to go with the SLI board for future upgradability with another card, or should I just opt for the tried and tested Gigabyte above?

I'm looking to get some real speed out of the C2D. I need something on the cheap that can be reasonably fast and in addition, I'm also a novice overclocker as well. Also, assuming it is suggested that I go with a single card solution in the Gigabyte, should I downgrade the PSU? Perhaps go with a 600W or so?

Thanks.

 

[996GT2]

Hmmm...you don't really need a 700W Power Supply at all, but since it's not that much more expensive than say a Corsair 520 I would stick with it.

Go with the DS3 for the mobo if you want to seriously overclock; it's among the better P965 based boards

SLi is definitely not worth it unless you MUST have the absolute fastest Dual 8800GTX setup. Otherwise, by the time you choose to upgrade, getting an outdated and matching card will probably not even get you as much performance as just buying one newer, next-gen card. Your 8800GTS will last you a long way, and when it's time to upgrade you will be better off just replacing it with a newer generation card rather than another 8800GTS (it will be old by then).

You should also get an aftermarket heatsink. Try the Tuniq Tower 120 for great cooling or the AC Freezer 7 if you want to save some money. If you go for the AC Freezer, do not remove the MX-1 thermal paste that is pre-applied since it's better than AS5.

Hope that hlelps...everything else looks pretty good

 

[DasSmoof]

Very helpful, thanks much for the suggestions. Once I can afford it, I'll be ordering all this here and I'm HOPING that I'll really be able to overclock this sucker.

 

[gib4501]

IF you can swing it i would go with 4gb of ram if your going to run vista 64, especially for future games and considering memory is so cheap right now. I know my next box i get is going to have 4gb in it.

 

[Roguestar]

Originally posted by: 996GT2
Hmmm...you don't really need a 700W Power Supply at all, but since it's not that much more expensive than say a Corsair 520 I would stick with it.

Go with the DS3 for the mobo if you want to seriously overclock; it's among the better P965 based boards

SLi is definitely not worth it unless you MUST have the absolute fastest Dual 8800GTX setup. Otherwise, by the time you choose to upgrade, getting an outdated and matching card will probably not even get you as much performance as just buying one newer, next-gen card. Your 8800GTS will last you a long way, and when it's time to upgrade you will be better off just replacing it with a newer generation card rather than another 8800GTS (it will be old by then).

You should also get an aftermarket heatsink. Try the Tuniq Tower 120 for great cooling or the AC Freezer 7 if you want to save some money. If you go for the AC Freezer, do not remove the MX-1 thermal paste that is pre-applied since it's better than AS5.

Hope that hlelps...everything else looks pretty good

:thumbsup:

Good advice.

I'd say try and get the DS3 revision 3.3, not 1.3.

 

[DasSmoof]

Originally posted by: Roguestar

Originally posted by: 996GT2
Hmmm...you don't really need a 700W Power Supply at all, but since it's not that much more expensive than say a Corsair 520 I would stick with it.

Go with the DS3 for the mobo if you want to seriously overclock; it's among the better P965 based boards

SLi is definitely not worth it unless you MUST have the absolute fastest Dual 8800GTX setup. Otherwise, by the time you choose to upgrade, getting an outdated and matching card will probably not even get you as much performance as just buying one newer, next-gen card. Your 8800GTS will last you a long way, and when it's time to upgrade you will be better off just replacing it with a newer generation card rather than another 8800GTS (it will be old by then).

You should also get an aftermarket heatsink. Try the Tuniq Tower 120 for great cooling or the AC Freezer 7 if you want to save some money. If you go for the AC Freezer, do not remove the MX-1 thermal paste that is pre-applied since it's better than AS5.

Hope that hlelps...everything else looks pretty good

:thumbsup:

Good advice.

I'd say try and get the DS3 revision 3.3, not 1.3.

Where can I find one? Newegg doesn't seem to have any beyond the 1.3, as well, what are the differences? Last question: Is OCing really THAT bad? I'm a novice, but I've learned quite a bit just by reading and I'm hoping to OC this rig to at least 3.0GHZ, but I'm constantly getting informed by people (not on this forum), that I ought not to overclock. No specific reason, but I'm assuming they're taking it from the standpoint of it being bad for the hardware. But, my whole goal with this rig is to buy something on the cheap (currently computerless) and make it into something pretty powerful that can play the latest games for a while. Hopefully more than a year and a half.

Originally posted by: gib4501IF you can swing it i would go with 4gb of ram if your going to run vista 64, especially for future games and considering memory is so cheap right now. I know my next box i get is going to have 4gb in it.

I'm sticking with 2gigs for now, mainly because I'll be running XP for a long while until everything really gets sorted out with Vista and it becomes a viable gaming platform. When that point comes, I'll buy another 2 gigs of the G.Skill. That's my plan for now at least. I might be able to swing 4gigs, but I think I'd rather put the money into another SATA HDD right now, because I have three HDD's and one is an IDE. After having my two SATA drives for a while, I just cannot stand having a huge hulking cable right in my case, marring the beauty and airflow

Edit: Unless I'm just being dumb and this is the Rev 3.3 board? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128012