Need Part Information

[Stg-Flame]

Well, I plan on overclocking as much as possible (GPU, CPU, etc.). Would the Antec be a good choice for an overclocker as well as the parts I have chosen?

 

[MTDEW]

Oh and i have to add this and im hoping it doesnt offend.

You're building a nice gaming rig, but a 19" LCD with a 1440 x 900 resolution is going to DEFINITELY effect how good your games are going to look.

If you cant stand widescreen , i'd get a 20inch that does 16000x1200 at least.

Shame you dont like widescreen, your new pc would be perfect for a 24" widescreen at 1920x1200 rez. :thumbsup:

 

[MTDEW]

Originally posted by: Chaoticpenguin666
Well, I plan on overclocking as much as possible (GPU, CPU, etc.). Would the Antec be a good choice for an overclocker as well as the parts I have chosen?

YES, DEFINITELY, the Antec 900 has some of the best airflow an air cooled case can have.
Ive never had to run the fans in my Antec 900 over their low settings. (the fans have three settings you can choose)

Both the Gigabyte board and the Abit board will be able to do 445fsb easily which is what you'd need to get your e8400 to 4ghz. (9x445)
Both boards will go to 500fsb, so you have "headroom" to go higher if your cpu does it.

You didnt list a cpu heatsink/fan, soundcard , dvd drive/burner , floppy drive (for flashing mobo bios if needed)

 

[MTDEW]

Heres my pc if that helps.
Obviously these are the parts i would pick because i did...LOL

Vista 64 OS
MOBO - Abit IP35-E Mobo LINK
CPU - Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale OEM
HEATSINK/FAN - Tuniq Tower 120 LINK
RAM - Gskill DDR2 1000 LINK (for "headroom" while overclocking the e8400, so i KNOW my mobo and ram will do 500fsb which could take my e8400 to 4,5ghz, which the cpu will never do, so i know i can get the max out of my cpu before my mobo or ram craps out on me)
POWER SUPPLY - Corsair 620HX LINK ( i was going to go with the 520hx but it was advised on here if i decided to go sli or crossfire in the future i may as well buy the 620 to be sure i had enough power later on....which i took as good advice)
SOUNDCARD - X-FI Xtreme Music LINK
VIDEO - Evga 8800GTS 512mb - LINK
DVD BURNER - Pioneer 111D BEEN REPLACED WITH THE DVR-115DBK
HARD DRIVES - Two Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320gb drives (these were brought from my old pc, obviously theres larger drives now that are better "bang for buck")LINK
CASE - CM STAKER 832 - LINK
SPEAKERS - Logitech Z-5500's LINK
MONITOR - DELL 2405fpw LINK Obviously there are now monitors that are just as nice for less, i bought this like 3yrs or so ago when they first came out.
My wife has a Soyo 24" LCD thats very nice for the price, it was $300 on sale at Office max. LINK

So i have
Vista 64
e8400 @ 4ghz
Abit IP35-E
8gb DDR2 1000 ram (overkill i know, but ram is so cheap i decided to max it since i had 4gb in my last pc...LOL)
512mb 8800GTS (overclocked to 750/975/1900)
X-Fi
24" monitor

And it runs any game at 1920x1200 maxed. (except Crysis which of course NOTHING available right now can)


Oh and not all parts were bought from newegg as they dont always have the best prices, newegg was just easy to link to and they have nice pics of the parts.

 

[Stg-Flame]

I just got back and the guy at the computer store refuses to order certain brands.

Here is his list:

Hanns G 22" - $210
Intel CPU - $280
eVGA 8800GT - $260 8800GTS - $375 (he doesn't do OEM kits and Newegg does)
Gigabyte Mobo - $110
NSpire 650 Watt PSU - $80 (1 year warranty and his recommendation)
Crucial Ballistix 4GB - $160 (he doesn't deal with Corsair, Patriot, or G Skill)
Samsung 750GB - $205

For a total of $1,305 as opposed to the $1,434.92 from Newegg.

I was thinking about getting my GPU (8800GTS) from Newegg and getting the rest from the guy at the computer store. Not only does he do a 3-year warranty on everything, unless posted, but he gets everything within 5 days and does not charge for S&H... in a way. He pays for the item and incorporates the S&H into the price.

So the Antec 900 is looking better and I may get that as well.

As for the heatsink and fan... I was under the assumption that they came with the CPU. Not entirely sure since my friend messed with my CPU because I didn't want to screw it up.
The soundcard I don't need. The on-board comes with 5.1 and from what I have heard, a soundcard is only for mixing music or with use of an amp. Something to that effect. My friend doesn't use a soundcard and his games sound awesome.

The DVD Drive, I was going to go with another Plextor. I don't know if I need more than one since I use Virtual Drives.

The Floppy Drive, I can just take from my current PC.

Anything else I am missing?

 

[MTDEW]

Nope, you're looking good.
Glad to see a 22" lcd.

If you get a retail cpu , it will come with a heatsink and fan, but the stock Intel heatsink and fan wont keep your cpu cool enough once you start overclocking. (you can try, but you'll most likely run into heat issues before your cpu hits its overclock limit)

Plextor drives are nice, thats all i used to buy, but i tried an NEC once that was less than half the price of the plextor and performed just as well, so ive never paid the premium for a plextor since...Ive owned NEC, Sony, Pioneer, Lite On and Samsung DVD/cd burners and to be completely honest NONE of them ever gave me a lick of trouble...i was happy with every one. (and believe me, im picky!)

Not sure about the Nspire PSU, never heard of one or had one, so i cant comment on that.

I'd say thats going to be a nice gaming pc.

 

[Stg-Flame]

I have never even looked into heatsinks or CPU fans, so I am unsure what would be good to get.

Other than that, I think I will be sticking with this setup.

 

[MTDEW]

The Tuniq Tower I listed above will do a great job while overclocking.

 

[MTDEW]

The stock Intel cooler that comes with the e8400 is crap.

At least get one of these if you dont wanna spend too much and the Tuniq Tower is too pricey.

Consider these the BARE MINIMUM you'll need for overclocking.

Freezer 7 pro link

Sunbeam 775 link

Rosewill RCX-Z775
link

 

[Stg-Flame]

Hanns G 22" - $210
Intel CPU - $280
eVGA 8800GT - $260 8800GTS - $375
Gigabyte Mobo - $110
NSpire 650 Watt PSU - $80
Crucial Ballistix 4GB - $160
Samsung 750GB - $205
Heatsink + Fan - $30
DVD Drive - $??
Floppy - $9?
Case - $120

I am back around $1,400.

 

[chinaman1472]

1. Which Intel CPU are you getting? The E8400 should NOT cost you $280. If you're getting the Q6600, you may want to opt for an E8400. The performance is nearly identical for gaming and the E8400 should OC a lot more, and it should run less than $240. $40 when you're spending $1400 may not seem a lot, but $40 is about a tank of gas .

2. You can get 2 500GB HDs for the same price as that 1 750GB HD. Even Newegg right now as 750GB Samsung HD for $150.

3. DVD Drives are all about the same. Should run you about $30.

 

[Stg-Flame]

Originally posted by: chinaman1472
1. Which Intel CPU are you getting? The E8400 should NOT cost you $280. If you're getting the Q6600, you may want to opt for an E8400. The performance is nearly identical for gaming and the E8400 should OC a lot more, and it should run less than $240. $40 when you're spending $1400 may not seem a lot, but $40 is about a tank of gas .

2. You can get 2 500GB HDs for the same price as that 1 750GB HD. Even Newegg right now as 750GB Samsung HD for $150.

3. DVD Drives are all about the same. Should run you about $30.

On the first page, I have all of my parts in-depth. I am getting the e8400, but to get it shipped to a local computer store and then buy it retail will cost me $280... according to the owner. I am considering getting most of my parts from the local store because they all come with a 3-year warranty, except the PSU, and for some of the parts like the monitor, are much cheaper.

 

[Stg-Flame]

One quick question, would this case be able to hold all of my parts? I really like this case in terms of looks, ventilation, and room for upgrading (water cooling, SLi, etc.). I am unsure if the parts I have chosen (4 sticks of RAM, GPU, Mobo, etc.) will all fit inside.

Aside from the case, I am almost positive that I have my list. The only other things would be the possible swapping of parts if I order them through the local computer store (G Skill for Crucial, Corsair for NSpire).

 

[MTDEW]

Yes, all your parts will fit into the Antec 900 case just fine.

 

[Stg-Flame]

Awesome. I think I have my list. The only thing now is to decide what I should have the local store order for me (for least cost) and if the other parts would be worth swapping for.

 

[Stg-Flame]

This last post will be mainly for me. Rather than scour this entire topic for my parts for comparison, I am compiling a final list to compare prices so I can decide which parts I want to buy and from where I wish to buy them.

Hanns G 22" Monitor - $210 Retail $250 Newegg Retail
Intel C2D e8400 3.0GHz CPU - $280 Retail $240 Newegg (Out of Stock) Retail
eVGA/XFX GeForce 8800GT 512MB - $260 Retail $240 Newegg** Newegg
Corsair 520W PSU - $125 Newegg Newegg
GigaByte P35 Mobo - $110 Retail $90 Newegg Newegg
G Skill 4GB RAM - $160 Newegg Retail
Crucial 4GB RAM - $160 Retail $190 Newegg
Samsung 750GB HDD - $205 Retail $150 Newegg Newegg
Antec 900 Case - $120 Newegg TBA
Tuniq Tower Heatsink - $?? Retail $45 Newegg TBA
NEC Floppy Drive - $?? Retail $8 Newegg TBA
Sony NEC Optiarc DVD Drive - $?? Retail $18 Newegg TBA

Retail $~1305 | Newegg $~1636 | Separated Price $~1385

I don't think I am missing anything here and I am only undecided on two things.

The PSU and RAM. The local store has the cheaper, more powerful PSU, but I have never heard of NSpire before. Corsair is a bit more expensive for a less powerful PSU, but I know Corsair produces good products. I might go for the cheap one at the moment, but still unsure.

The RAM seems pretty much up to price. Both brands have very similar statistics and I have heard good things from them both as well. I might go for the Crucial for convenience purposes.

The DVD Drive should be fine. I am not sure since I completely forgot about them until my final list was compiled.

The Floppy Drive is cheap one way or another and I doubt I will ever use it. I don't see a reason to get one at this point in time, so I might just hold off until I absolutely need one.

If anyone sees anything that I should modify or wishes to toss out some opinions about the list, please do.

Also, a massive thanks to everyone who helped me with this list. With my friend at a different college, I was unable to consult him like I normally do. I feel that I have exactly what I was looking for in terms of performance and cost (although I wish it weren't more than $1300).

Thanks again!

**Free Company of Heroes w/ XFX | Superclocked eVGA same price as XFX for 50MHz core speed over XFX

 

[Roguestar]

Never heard of NSpire. I'd say stick with the Corsair as it's great quality. It's modular too.

 

[Stg-Flame]

That's what I was thinking. Besides, the local store only offers a 1-year warranty on the PSU, but a 3-year on everything else. I might as well fork out the extra $45 for a more reliable PSU.

After doing some research on the Internet, I found four sites that don't even carry the NSpire 650W anymore due to bad reviews and lack of sales.

As for the RAM, I think I am going to go with the Crucial. I have seen fantastic reviews for both G Skill and Crucial, so it seems like it is just down to price. The guy at the store was telling me that G Skill, Patriot, and Corsair are too unreliable in terms of compatibility and performance, but I have only heard and experienced good things about those three brands.

 

[Roguestar]

If price is no difference, and brand reputation is the only thing seperating them, I'd go for Crucial any day. Their quality is excellent, and their customer service and returns are great too should something go awry.

 

[Stg-Flame]

Damn... change of plan. I have only $1,000 to spend now. Looks like I have to revamp my list, yet again. There was a mix-up with one of my scholarships and the Financial Aid Office didn't think to get a hold of me until today.

I can stretch the limit to $1,250, but that is the most I can afford.

I will be filling out my FAFSA to see if I qualify for additional funds. If I qualify this semester, I might have to hold off until March or April before I can upgrade.

 

[MarcVenice]

You could easily shave some money of the ram: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820231122 'Smaller' HD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16822152052 Cheaper 8800GT: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814127329 Cheaper case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16811119137 We there yet ? Cheaper CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16819115031 will still overclock to 3.0ghz or higher. Cheaper PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16817371007

Done ?

 

[Denithor]

Yeah, order the parts directly instead of through some local computer shop and save a fair bit of cash. You can easily build a kicking system for $1000.

Might take a look at the In Win cases at Newegg. Average about $65-75 with a backup 350W powersupply thrown in free (nothing wrong with them, just too low in power for higher end systems).

 

[Stg-Flame]

Well, unfortunately, I think I am just going to hold off on the new computer for a bit until I can scrape the money together. Maybe after I fill out my FAFSA and find out if I will get anything there or when my Income Tax comes in.

Either way, I want to stick with my original setup (maybe go with a lower HDD [500GB] and get a second one later). Hopefully with the new nVidia 9 Series out, the 8800GT's price will drop. Thanks for the alternate suggestions, I will look into those when it comes time to actually press the "Order" button at Newegg.