newbie build, gaming rig, 2500-2800 budget

[myosin]

MAJOR EDIT OF FIRST POST:

NEW POST:

MAJOR EDIT (edited out my entire first post because I am about to order my parts)
I am about to order from new egg in the coming week. Can you take a look at the parts and give suggestions. The things I am worried about are HD and Ram compatibility. Will the 512 sticks slow down 1 gig sticks because of the differeance in the pc2 6400 and the pc2 8500.

Will the HD work together, are they of different interfaces?

This is my new list:

Qty. Product Description Savings Total Price
2 LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model LH-20A1L-05 - OEM
Item #: N82E16827106073

$73.98
($36.99 each)


1 Thermaltake Armor Series VA8000BWS Black Aluminum / Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail
Item #: N82E16811133154
$30.00 Mail-in Rebate
$149.99


1 Thermaltake CL-P0401 110mm Full-Range Fan CPU Cooler - Retail
Item #: N82E16835106102


$20.00 Mail-in Rebate
$55.99


1 Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80562Q6600 - Retail
Item #: N82E16819115017


$279.99


1 Crucial Ballistix Tracer 1GB (2 x 512MB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model BL2KIT6464AL804 - Retail
Item #: N82E16820148078
$71.49


1 Crucial Ballistix Tracer 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model BL2KIT12864AL1065 - Retail
Item #: N82E16820148070


$159.49


1 EVGA 122-CK-NF67-A1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 680i LT SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Item #: N82E16813188014


$25.00 Mail-in Rebate
$194.99


1 Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD5000AAKB 500GB 7200 RPM IDE Ultra ATA100 Hard Drive - OEM
Item #: N82E16822136111

$109.99


1 Western Digital Raptor X WD1500AHFD 150GB 10,000 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM
Item #: N82E16822136011


$15.00 Mail-in Rebate
$189.99
1 OCZ GameXStream OCZ700GXSSLI ATX12V 700W Power Supply - Retail
Item #: N82E16817341002


-$10.00 Instant
$35.00 Mail-in Rebate
$149.99
$139.99
1 Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer 7.1 Channels PCI Interface Sound Card - Retail
Item #: N82E16829102006


$79.99


1 Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM
Item #: N82E16835100007
$5.99


1 EVGA 768-P2-N831-AR GeForce 8800GTX 768MB 384-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
Item #: N82E16814130072


$20.00 Mail-in Rebate
$529.99


Grand Total: $2,041.

 

[gizbug]

I'd go with Vista or XP 64 bit.

Buy some Crucial Ballistix PC2-8500 (DDR2-1066)

For HD, I recommend Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB SATA 3.0Gb/s

 

[myosin]

Originally posted by: gizbug
I'd go with Vista or XP 64 bit.

Buy some Crucial Ballistix PC2-8500 (DDR2-1066)

For HD, I recommend Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB SATA 3.0Gb/s

I am going with Vista , just the 32 bit version. Not all programs,games, drivers are Vista 64 bit friendly right now, correct?

You would put that seagate as the second HD?

 

[MarcVenice]

No need for floppy drives, you can just burn a CD or use a usb-stick. Might as well go with 4gb if you are spending that much, who cares you lose a few dollars worth of ram. Besides, nothing wrong with vista 64x, it should be well worth it. If you buy the RETAIL vista ULTIMATE box, you get both versions anyways. This will do just fine: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820145034

Personaly I'd go with a SINGLE gtx, a p35 mobo and the money you save can then be spend in a year to buy a NEW top of the line videocard. Right now you're about to buy 2 top of the line videocards when a new one is going to be released in ample time. That new top of the line card is most likely going to outperform 2 8800gtx's in sli all on it's own. Go with EVGA, perhaps you can use the stepup program by then. With some luck you can get your hands on a x38 mobo instead of a p35, and go SLI with 2 of those new videocards. Now that would be worth it, but only when gaming at 2560*1600 or so 😛

So the basics of your rig are somewhat wrong, based on the wrong assumptions or due to lack of knowledge about newer parts that should come out and the way the high-tech market behaves. It could cost a lot less and still perform very well and do everything you need it to do.

And based on this: http://www.anandtech.com/stora...howdoc.aspx?i=3061&p=5 I would go with the samsung t166 500gb spinpoint.

 

[myosin]

So the basics of your rig are somewhat wrong, based on the wrong assumptions or due to lack of knowledge about newer parts that should come out and the way the high-tech market behaves. It could cost a lot less and still perform very well and do everything you need it to do.

Yeah that is why I am here. I am a major newbie. I would rather not buy another Company made gaming rig.

What is a p35 mother board? Can you suggest one from new egg?

 

[MarcVenice]

I think this is one of the most popular motherboards: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813128050

Same for asus p5k, or abit ip35, for roughly 130$ or so. It does NOT support SLI though, it only has 1 pci-e 16x slot. They overclock LOTS better though with qaudcores. Looks, here's a pretty cool pre-built system, it's from an english site, but it should give you a decent idea, that's all. http://www.overclockers.co.uk/...t.php?prodid=FS-005-OC

It would cost about 1600$ or so if you build it yourself using sites like newegg, clubit, fry's etc. Some components aren't ideal and can be replaced with either better components, or less expensive components yet giving the same kind of performance. Like the pc8500 should be pc6400, the OCZ PSU could be a corsair 520hx, etc.

 

[rowcroft]

If you're just gaming, get a faster dual core processor, you'll get better performance than the quad core (few games can handle the dual cores, I don't think any are optimized for 4 cores). Check out AT's review of the Q6600 for more info.

 

[LightningRider]

A lot of games coming out will use quad's though, there's no reason not to get one when they are so affordable.

 

[myosin]

EDITED MY FIRST POST, please comment