New build

[Rilo]

Howdy folks,


1. What your PC will be used for? Gaming.
2. What your budget is. $800
3. What country you will be buying your parts from. USA
4. IF you have a brand preference. Prefer Intel CPU and Nvidia GPU
5. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads. Yes.
6. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds. Moderate OC?ing.
7. WHEN do you plan to build it? Within a few weeks.
8. If you intend on using any of your current parts, and if so, what those parts are. DVD, HD, Sound card, Keyboard, Mouse, Monitor.

Not a big FPS fan, mostly strategy games and the like, but recently getting back into flight combat sims. My main reason for upgrading is Over Flanders Fields, a WWI conversion/upgrade of the Combat Flight Simulator 3 engine.

My second build ever, and have been out of the loop for awhile. Still consider myself a noob at this stuff. Looking over the ?Attention System Builders? sticky and through other threads, this is what I?ve come up with:

CPU - E8400
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16819115037 $189.99

Mobo- GIGABYTE GA-EP35-DS3L
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813128337 $84.99

RAM - G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR2 1000
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820231145 $84.99

GPU - EVGA 8800GTS (G92) 512MB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814130325 $199.99 (w/$30 rebate)

Cooling - XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler ? Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16835233003 $36.99

PSU - CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX 550W ATX12V V2.2
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16817139004 $89.99 (w/$10 rebate)

Case - COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP ATX Mid Tower
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16811119137 $84.99

Total: $776.13


I understand the ATI 4xxx cards are coming out, but users/developers of the OFF flight sim I mentioned say Nvidia works best with the sim. I suppose there?s no particular reason I chose the EVGA card other than I already own one of their cards and respect their quality. The ?att. System builders? sticky recommended the MSI version (http://www.newegg.com/Product/...?Item=N82E16814127325) . Am I being silly paying $17 extra for the EVGA?

Also, is the PSU enough? I know many people like to have as much as possible, and that others say that over 500 is overkill for some setups. I was considering the 650W version for $10 more, just to be safe. Any reason I should or shouldn?t?

The case is 8.4? wide? I assume with mobo installed that leaves plenty of room for the heatsink? And anyone with same mobo and HS combo have issues with HS bumping into stuff or covering RAM slots, etc.?

Lastly, I know a lot of people recommend this mobo for single vid card users on the cheap. A couple reviews at Newegg caught my eye, however. A few said the NB was too close to the CPU, hence my question above about problems fitting the HS properly, and another listed under ?cons?: "Current BIOS revisions have a bug where customizations may reset on their own, voltage settings are ignored, features disappear, or other strange issues." Any input on these, or other mobo recommendations?

Thanks all for your input!!!

 

[ther00kie16]

My friend has the Xigmatek on a DS3L so that's not a problem. I also built a computer for another friend with the CM 690 and am confident that it'll have the clearance necessary. If you want a cheap video card, ECS is $160 (+s/h) after rebate but only has 3 year warranty. That power supply is fine for any single GPU except for maybe the new GTXs.
Oh and if you are going to overclock, you can save a lot of money by getting a e7200 which clocks nearly as high as the e8400.

 

[Rilo]

Thanks for the info/advice, ther00kie16. Any other opinions or thoughts from others before I finalize this thing?

 

[engiNURD]

Everything looks good. An alternative mobo would be the MSI Neo2-FR. It has better NB/mosfet cooling to allow better OC'ing.

Oh yah, you should really get the $7 Xigmatek LGA775 retention kit for that HDT-S1283 (bolt-thru kit).

 

[AiponGkooja]

You can get that same case from buy.com for $80 and free shipping.

 

[themisfit610]

It's freaking amazing how much computer you can get for $800 these days ROFL

~MiSfit

 

[Rilo]

Thanks all. I ran across a recommendation in another thread for the modular Corsair - http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16817139001

Was thinking that since I'll have a pretty barebones setup, perhaps this would be a nice way to keep clutter to a minimum. Only concern I've seen in a review was getting a cable around a GTS card from a bottom mounted PSU. Can I assume I'm still safe with this 520W PSU? I think I'll dive into what to really look for in all those PSU numbers (amps, watts, etc.), as I really know very little about how all this works, but in the meantime if anyone could recommend for/against, I'd appreciate it.


The only other bump I've come across is the very recent news of the upcoming 9800GTX +. Based on what little info there is on it, does anyone have any idea if it will provide much performance increase over an 8800GTS? Worth waiting a month for to find out?

Originally posted by: themisfit610
It's freaking amazing how much computer you can get for $800 these days ROFL

~MiSfit

No kidding!!

 

[DSF]

The 9800GTX is already out, and it doesn't provide much over the 8800GTS. I think you're thinking of the GTX280 that just came out. That card is also overpriced for what you get. It doesn't even consistently beat SLI 8800GTs.

 

[Rilo]

Originally posted by: DSF
The 9800GTX is already out, and it doesn't provide much over the 8800GTS. I think you're thinking of the GTX280 that just came out. That card is also overpriced for what you get. It doesn't even consistently beat SLI 8800GTs.

Actually, the 9800GTX+ (so named now) that's coming out next month. Nvidia's attempt to downplay ATI's preview of the 4850. To quote the article (found here) -

"The 9800 GTX+ is a die-shrunk G92 based on TSMC's 55nm process, the same one used by AMD for the Radeon HD 4850. The GTX+ runs at 738MHz/1836MHz (core/SP) up from the stock clock speeds of 675MHz/1690MHz (core/SP). The moderate increase in clock speed (8 - 9%) is one thing, the price point is another: $229."

Firingsquad.com has a comparison between this card and the 4850:

http://www.firingsquad.com/har...850_geforce_9800_gtx+/

 

[DSF]

Ah, I stand corrected. Interesting.

Nvidia continues an unnecessarily confusing naming scheme.