Please review my proposed build

[Mansooj]

Howdy.

Been a long time since I've built a new machine, so I spent the last two days solid, reading up on relevant new tech and reviews, here and elsewhere, then sussing out decent price vs hassle options. So, at this point I am begging for some of you smart guys to review what I've laid out as my proposed build and tell me where my mistakes are and/or where improvements can be made while remaining on/near my intended price ceiling.

Ok, first things first. My budget is $1500. I can push a little higher, but I don't think I'll need to, based on my own research. My usage is primarily typical graphics and video work, but nothing professional. My gaming desires are also probably pretty typical: I want smooth FPS with high(est) settings on current and semi-current popular games. I don't play anything competitively, and I'm not concerned with setting records, so "excellent" performance is good for me; "insane" can be saved for those with more money and more time to kill Nazis or level grind.

I want to overclock with stability. Here again, I'm not interested in pushing the envelope beyond what's been deemed reasonable, but do want to squeeze out all the blood that's safe/fairly easy to get to.

I'll continue using W2K Pro, as I'm very used to it and it does what I want. However, I'll be dual-booting with XP, as well, from the start. I'll add in Vista later on when I feel I have a need for it. Early note: I plan on 4GB and I do know that a 32-bit OS will only reach about 3.2GB of it. However, the prices are really good right now, and it'll have more purpose later with Vista.

I'm in the USA.

I think that handles the preliminaries.

Now for the components I have tentatively earmarked. The prices are what I've calculated as my exact costs including shipping and taxes where applicable. I did shop around a bit, but most of my results point back to Newegg, which is fine by me. I'm open to lower-prices from alternative sources as long as the outlet is known to be reliable.

GIGABYTE GA-P35C-DS3R mobo ($179.80 - Newegg)
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 ($296.61 - Newegg)
Thermalright Ultima-90 air-cooler + Panaflo H1A 92mm Fan (BX) w/ RPM Sensor ($69.30 - Heatsinkfactory)
Corsair 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit ($88.81 - Newegg after $40MIR)
PNY VCG88512GXPB G92 GeForce 8800GT 512MB - ($287.77 - Newegg)
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD7500AAKS SATA 3.0Gb/s 750GB Hard Drive ($167.78 - Newegg)
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD3200AAKS 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive ($86.59 - Newegg)
Antec Nine Hundred Case sans PSU ($111.91 - Provantage)
ASUS Black 20X DVD+R blah blah blah DVD burner ($47.40 - Newegg whenever they restock)

I already have an Aspire ATX-520W PSU that was purchased a few months back in anticipation of my 'puter upgrade, which has been in use in my current, older rig. However, at that time, I didn't anticipate having the budget to buy a high-end CPU / GPU nor 4GB RAM for the upgraded rig. That's a much more recent option. As such, I'm very interested to know if the 520W is enough to run this rig properly. My notes say it should be enough under full load and with (at least) moderate overclocking, but I could easily be quite wrong.

The total for this, assuming I bought it all today, comes to $1335.17 which is comfortably under budget, leaving me a little room to consider slightly more expensive options, or additional component(s), if any are recommended. I might have a little more breathing room if Newegg consolidates shipping some, but I'm not sure they do that, and it wouldn't come to that much extra, anyway.

I'll be using the onboard audio as it is especially good (from what I've read) in the Gigabyte mobo I've selected. I already have the other toys (22" widescreen monitor, 5.1 speaker system, rat, keyboard, etc. and so forth) ready to be cannibalized from my current setup.

In case anyone wonders why I have two drives plotted out, it's because I prefer separating my boot/OS drive from a storage/work drive. I intend to use the 320GB as the OS drive, btw.

Thanks in advance for your evaluation/suggestions/etc. I really do appreciate the time anyone spends reading and commenting on my behalf. I really want to make the right decisions and avoid mistakes, and I know you guys will quickly see any red flags I'm not aware of.

Mansooj

 

[oynaz]

This looks like a good build. Assuming a quality PSU, 520 watt is plenty.

If I where you, I would phase out Win2K. It can't really do anything Win XP Pro can't, and support for both hardware and software will only get worse from now on.

 

[Blain]

Originally posted by: oynaz

If I where you, I would phase out Win2K. It can't really do anything Win XP Pro can't

True.
Ol' besty's been good all these years, but it's time to set her out to pasture.

 

[MegaVovaN]

Up to you on Win2K.

According to Newegg your PSU is 35 A on +12. Assuming parts are quality, it is plenty.

Why such an expensive motherboard? IMO $90-130 mobo (based on IP35 chipset) is fine. If you want it's features, your budget is good - you may go for it.

Paying $290 for a 8800GT is MADNESS. Look in Hot Deals or/and ZipZoomFly, I bought my EVGA 8800GT for $250 no rebates from ZZF...
Since you have lots of money left in budget, consider buying aftermarket cooler for 8800GT and overclocking videocard too.

No need for $47 DVD burner either...$25 burner with free shipping is just fine. It may "feel" cheap but should burn as well as other burners. Although DO avoid Lite-On drives, I personally don't like them (one died on me in 2 years).

 

[Mansooj]

Thanks for the replies.

W2K is still in use because it's what I've been using for years. No other reason than familiarity and along the way, I never thought spending money on XP was worth it. However, I've recently adopted a friend's XP material as he's upgraded quickly to Vista, so I'll be migrating to XP little by little to ensure all the old software I rely on (some of which I wrote years ago, and have no desire to rewrite/tweak) is functional under XP. If so, yes, W2K will be entirely phased out. I realize it's already 2 or 3 years beyond it's end of life marker.

The PSU, then, appears sufficient, which is good to hear.

The mobo selection is a result of reading several in-depth reviews of various quality boards, and this Gigabyte one just seemed to impress me more than the others. As a matter of course, I like to splurge a bit on the mobo. One of the kickers was the comments regarding how good the onboard audio was, since although I'm not a true audiophile, I want it as good as possible without springing for a separate card. Plus, there were nice comments about the quality of the components used for the board, and it's performance graph placement vs cost declared it a solid, if possibly not the best price : performance choice. I'll do a bit more checking today on somewhat cheaper boards, though.

"$290 for a 8800GT is MADNESS" -- Umm...yeah, you're probably right. I was planning to shop around and do a little more performance comparison checking before actually committing. This was a choice partly made from quick review summary reading and getting burned out on so much research in one day. I may even shift down to an 8600 if the numbers look good enough in higher-end games. And yes, to the cooler/oc'ing of the card. I had that in mind for a bit later on once I'm comfortable with how everything works together and can go beyond the base build.

Re the DVD drive: I picked that one based on reading customer reviews at Newegg. Virtually all the cheaper drives got several remarks about having some trouble not being able to read media burned by other drives, and/or too many comments about drive death and malfunction. I'm not surprised with "cheap" drives, so angled to a little more middle of the road. This ASUS drive got a lot of good comments, but that was also the last component I looked at last night, and didn't spend much time. As with the vid card, I'm going to jump back into the trenches and do some more reviews reading to try and tighten us those two selections. I've gone with Pioneer burners in the past, with good experience, but I didn't see any listed at Newegg in the "budget" grouping.

Oh, and yes, the LiteOn's, though very popular (possibly due to their relative pricing), had an uncomfortable number of comments regarding noise, sudden death (your 2 years is about 1.5 years longer than most that complained), and problems with expected Lightscribe functionality (though I'm not interested in that, myself). I quickly steered away from them.

Well, it looks like I still have time to get my rebate on that RAM then. Since no negative comments were made on it, I assume it was a good choice.

Thanks again, for the help.

Mansooj

 

[Mansooj]

Hmm. Well, after a few hours of shopping and searching, I can't find either the EVGA or the PNY card at anything substantially less than ~$290 shipped to my personal space.

Well, with the exception of a couple of stores I've never heard of (Boomj, with terrible customer feedback, and Nowdirect which has virtually no feedback I can find). ZipZoomFly has the EVGA board you mentioned starting at $289.95, w/out tax/sh.

Buy.com has ASUS, EVGA, PNY etc. listed at good prices ($257.77 with free shipping for the EVGA, for example), but EVERYTHING is out of stock and there's no ETA on restock.

Elsewhere, the total is either equal or higher, so it looks to me like current demand is fixing the prices well above what you paid when you got yours. In fact, I've noted that a lot of component prices have risen in the last few months.

I thought to look at Pioneer burners specifically, this time, and was wondering something. Is there any significant difference between a SATA and EIDE version, in terms of actual everyday use? I burn about 3-5 data disks a week, and am used to burning at 4x to help ensure data integrity, so I'm coming from a very slow perspective already.

Prices don't seem to be all that different, but the tenor of customer reviews seem to be more favorable for the EIDE burners vs the SATAs. Not sure if that's significant.

 

[MegaVovaN]

Prices are up because people are spending gift cards from X-MAS/NY....demand is really high I guess.

There is a GALAXY deal here...
http://forums.anandtech.com/me...=2138938&enterthread=y


As for SATA vs. EIDE I recommend SATA because cable is thin and you are likely to have ONE IDE port on your mobo (hadn't checked though).

There is no difference otherwise.

EVGA for $233 << hot deal or what!>?!?

Galaxy $240-20MIR + 12 ship

Just a quick search for "8800GT" in HOT DEALS forum :laugh:



I haven't bought from these retailers, but ignore people saying "it takes a week to ship" - all retailers do this on New Year, shipping times are FUBARED. I ordered on Dec 28th from Newegg, ZZF and eWiz, and I am getting my parts today and tomorrow...

 

[Blain]

Originally posted by: Mansooj
Thanks for the replies.

W2K is still in use because it's what I've been using for years. No other reason than familiarity and along the way, I never thought spending money on XP was worth it.

Mansooj

You can always set XP Theme to "Windows Classic" and the toolbar to "Classic Start".
I do this with every PC I build.
In Control Panel > System > Advanced > Performance I always set to "Adjust for best performance" (all except "Use drop shadows for icon labels on the desktop".

 

[Mansooj]

Thanks for the heads up. I thought I looked through there, but didn't use the search. Err. Duh.

The $233 EVGA card looks like a nice deal, for sure. It's not the pre-overclocked version, which I"m sure accounts for the lower price. Far Cry is a nice freebie, as well.

I'm not familiar with how this kind of thing works in actual practice...is the card already tested by the factory and found not to be capable of overclocking to any measurable degree, or would a buyer be safe to assume that it can probably be oc'd to roughly equal that of the pre-oc'd version, via proper utilities? That is, the price diff is only important to those who are afraid or ignorant of overclocking, in general.

I really don't need to overclock the video card, but I'd like to know what the idea is now that I'm thinking about it. I'm more partial to the EVGA than the Galaxy, which is probably no surprise.

Comments re NCIX are mixed, but mostly seem positive. They seem to consolidate shipping pretty well (4 items I tagged came to $56 shipping, while individually, they'd be over $100...probably due to them being in the frozen north).

 

[Mansooj]

Originally posted by: BlainYou can always set XP Theme to "Windows Classic" and the toolbar to "Classic Start".
I do this with every PC I build.
In Control Panel > System > Advanced > Performance I always set to "Adjust for best performance" (all except "Use drop shadows for icon labels on the desktop".

Thanks for the info. I've made a note. My remark about familiarity is more to do with how the OS works from a user's standpoint, than the actual visual aspects, but this might help ease me into XP a little faster.

 

[MegaVovaN]

Dog sled shipping is expensive, ya know

As for Far Cry, I don't think it's included.

NOTE: This EVGA part number (ending with AR) does not include any bundled games.

 

[Mansooj]

I saw that, too, but I think the game is being added "externally" rather than as a bundled item. Not sure why. The box below the card image says that the card specifically comes with the game, and when I tested a checkout, it was listed in the checkout log.

However, since the card is backordered, I'm looking elsewhere.

In fact, I think I'm going to be delaying for a month or so to see if some of the prices for cards and possibly the CPU inch down a bit. I figure I can be patient and shop around for good deals on the "dry" stuff such as the case, cooler and the fan that'll go with it, DVD drive, and one or two other items so I have all that on hand when I pounce.

I'll be getting the RAM well ahead of time and hoping both modules are solid since I don't want to pass up the $40 MIR, making the 4GB Corsair XMS2 <$80.

Buying right after Christmas is probably a poor idea, with all the money that people have from gifts returned or cash received. Just seems like a bad choice of timing on my part. Lots of things are out of stock, as well. I waited years to finally do this, I can wait a bit longer and do some more lernin' in the meanwhile.

 

[mageslayer]

You should get 2 500gb hardrives of the same model and run them in raid instead of a 750gb and 320gb

get a cheaper mobo
get some nice and quiet case fans

You did your research on the rest of the stuff, good luck and enjoy your build.:thumbsup:

 

[mageslayer]

wow you have a 6 year old account and 15 posts welcome back to anandtech.

 

[Doclife]

The only difference between the more expensive P35C-DS3R and its less expensive cousin P35-DS3R is that the P35C can support up to 4GB of DDR3 memory OR up to 8GB of DDR2 memory. With DDR3 memory two to three times more expensive than DDR2 and no performance gain, this feature is definitely not needed. Both DS3R mobo use the same on-board audio chip (ALC889A); thus, you will have the same sound quality from both boards and they are superb.

If you decided to go with the regular DS3R mobo (P35-DS3R), make sure you get revision 2.0. Revision 2.0 eliminates parallel and serial ports in the I/O back plate and replace them with 4 additional USB ports (8 USB ports total). Motherboard normally has only 4 USB ports. I found that this feature is very convenience since I have more than 4 USB devices hook up to my computer at any one time and my printer is also an USB.

Newegg.com does not guarantee that you will receive Revision 2.0; thus, I ended up buying from clubit.com where revision 2.0 is a guarantee


http://clubit.com/product_detail.cfm?itemno=A4830711


My P35-DS3R Rev 2.0 has been running flawlessly for the last 4-5 months and I enjoy listening to music with the onboard sound via the Klipsch Promedia 2.1 speakers.

 

[AnandTech Moderator]

OP,
Check your Private Messages.

 

[Andvari]

OP, I have the same budget and very very similar desires as you.Check out what I am ordering (much of it is the same or similar):

Antec P182 Case - $100
Corsair 620HX PSU - $150
Gigabyte P35-DS3R - $127
Core 2 Quad Q6600 - $275
Two WD 500GB - $200
EVGA 8800GTS 512MB (G92) - $330 (+ Crysis)
G.Skill 4GB DDR2 800 - $100
Samsung 20X DVD Burner - $30
Vista 64 - $112
Freeze 7 Pro - $22

Total: $1446 (after $80 of mail in rebates)


Same budget, mostly the same parts.

The Q6600 is cheaper than you listed. Supposedly it is insanely simple to OC it to 3ghz, which seems to be the common practice. That satisfies both yours and my desire to "safely OC" without pushing any envelopes. It's what I'll be doing when mine arrives. However it's recommended that you pick up a cooler for it. I chose the Freezer 7 Pro, but you can go more expensive or cheaper than that at your discretion. The Freezer 7 has over a thousand newegg reviews and a 5 rating though. Good enough for me!

The new G92 GTS outperforms the GT (for additional price of course) and even the GTX in some cases, but if you care to OC it they supposedly OC extremely well with no need for an additional cooler. By contrast, the GT's run fairly hot typically, and if you want to OC them it's recommended as someone else already mentioned that you get a cooler for it. Plus the evga GTS I chose comes with Crysis, if you care (I don't, but hey free game).

Our cases are similar in function and price, just personal preference there.

My DVD drive is $10 cheaper, with good reviews but maybe not as highly regarded as your ASUS. Either way $20 or $40 won't break the bank so go with what you feel comfortable with here.

Hard drives look good but as someone else suggested, get 2 500gb's. They are cheaper. Supposedly 500gb is the sweet spot at the moment for dollar/gb. Not to mention, if you follow hard drive benchmarks, the 500 WD performs a bit better than the 750 WD, if I recall correctly. Anandtech has an article on it. Comparing a handfull of 320gb-750gb drives for performance. WD's 500gb seemed like the best WD performer, and Seagate's 750 seemed like their best. Here, read this: http://www.anandtech.com/stora...howdoc.aspx?i=3030&p=7 and the surrounding pages in that article. I'm sure these differences would go COMPLETELY unnoticed, but meh, still worth a thought.

Everybody knows Corsair is reputable, so no worries there. I use Corsair in my current PC. That said, I'm gonna give G.Skill a shot this time around. They are also reputable, maybe not quite as much so but still quality. The reason I chose 4gb's of G.Skill over 4gb's of Corsair though, was because Corsair's 2x2gb offerings seem lacking. Weak timings and unlisted voltages? =\ The G.Skill has higher ratings on the egg anyway. Plus, many reviews on the egg claim they use the G.Skill with the same mobos we want. I figured that would be good since some people claim to have memory troubles with the DS3R mobos. Now if you wanted to spend a lot more and pick up 4x1gb of Corsair Dominator, that would be a different story. But for the price/performance differences, I'd go with the G.Skill for 2x2gb.

As for Windows, I'd ditch 2K as well and at least stick with XP. I don't really want Vista, but I might as well get it since I want DX10 and am getting 4gb of RAM. *shrug*

I don't know anything about your PSU, but if others say it's fine then I guess it's fine. I decided to go overkill with a 620 Corsair (fantastic reviews) just for peace of mind.

Last but no least, the mobo. I went with the cheaper version of your mobo, and the only difference as already stated is the lack of DDR3 support. I don't plan on using DDR3, and if you don't either, I suggest you save some bucks on the mobo and get the P35-DS3R. Aside from DDR2/3, they are the same mobo. And thanks, doclife, for the heads up on rev 2.0 of that mobo. I was about to order it from newegg but instead I'll get it from there!



Good luck with your build. The biggest difference in our builds is that I went with some cheaper options than you in a few areas, which allowed me to spend more on the video card and PSU. I'm not trying to sway you to the same parts I picked, just letting you know why I picked them in contrast to yours.

 

[EmoshBZ]

Originally posted by: Andvari
OP, I have the same budget and very very similar desires as you.Check out what I am ordering (much of it is the same or similar):

Antec P182 Case - $100
Corsair 620HX PSU - $150
Gigabyte P35-DS3R - $127
Core 2 Quad Q6600 - $275
Two WD 500GB - $200
EVGA 8800GTS 512MB (G92) - $330 (+ Crysis)
G.Skill 4GB DDR2 800 - $100
Samsung 20X DVD Burner - $30
Vista 64 - $112
Freeze 7 Pro - $22

Total: $1446 (after $80 of mail in rebates)


Same budget, mostly the same parts.

The Q6600 is cheaper than you listed. Supposedly it is insanely simple to OC it to 3ghz, which seems to be the common practice. That satisfies both yours and my desire to "safely OC" without pushing any envelopes. It's what I'll be doing when mine arrives. However it's recommended that you pick up a cooler for it. I chose the Freezer 7 Pro, but you can go more expensive or cheaper than that at your discretion. The Freezer 7 has over a thousand newegg reviews and a 5 rating though. Good enough for me!

The new G92 GTS outperforms the GT (for additional price of course) and even the GTX in some cases, but if you care to OC it they supposedly OC extremely well with no need for an additional cooler. By contrast, the GT's run fairly hot typically, and if you want to OC them it's recommended as someone else already mentioned that you get a cooler for it. Plus the evga GTS I chose comes with Crysis, if you care (I don't, but hey free game).

Our cases are similar in function and price, just personal preference there.

I went with the cheaper version of the same mobo, because I won't be using DDR3. I suggest you do the same unless you want to use DDR3, because the mobos are otherwise the same.

My DVD drive is $10 cheaper, with good reviews but maybe not as highly regarded as your ASUS. Either way $20 or $40 won't break the bank so go with what you feel comfortable with here.

Hard drives look good but as someone else suggested, get 2 500gb's. They are cheaper. Supposedly 500gb is the sweet spot at the moment for dollar/gb. Not to mention, if you follow hard drive benchmarks, the 500 WD performs a bit better than the 750 WD, if I recall correctly. Anandtech has an article on it. Comparing a handfull of 320gb-750gb drives for performance. WD's 500gb seemed like the best WD performer, and Seagate's 750 seemed like their best. Here, read this: http://www.anandtech.com/stora...howdoc.aspx?i=3030&p=7 and the surrounding pages in that article. I'm sure these differences would go COMPLETELY unnoticed, but meh, still worth a thought.

Everybody knows Corsair is reputable, so no worries there. I use Corsair in my current PC. That said, I'm gonna give G.Skill a shot this time around. They are also reputable, maybe not quite as much so but still quality. The reason I chose 4gb's of G.Skill over 4gb's of Corsair though, was because Corsair's 2x2gb offerings seem lacking. Weak timings and unlisted voltages? =\ The G.Skill has higher ratings on the egg anyway. Plus, many reviews on the egg claim they use the G.Skill with the same mobos we want. I figured that would be good since some people claim to have memory troubles with the DS3R mobos. Now if you wanted to spend a lot more and pick up 4x1gb of Corsair Dominator, that would be a different story. But for the price/performance differences, I'd go with the G.Skill for 2x2gb.

As for Windows, I'd ditch 2K as well and at least stick with XP. I don't really want Vista, but I might as well get it since I want DX10 and am getting 4gb of RAM. *shrug*

I don't know anything about your PSU, but if others say it's fine then I guess it's fine. I decided to go overkill with a 620 Corsair (fantastic reviews) just for peace of mind.

Last but no least, the mobo. I went with the cheaper version of your mobo, and the only difference as already stated is the lack of DDR3 support. I don't plan on using DDR3, and if you don't either, I suggest you save some bucks on the mobo and get the P35-DS3R. Aside from DDR2/3, they are the same mobo. And thanks, doclife, for the heads up on rev 2.0 of that mobo. I was about to order it from newegg but instead I'll get it from there!



Good luck with your build. The biggest difference in our builds is that I went with some cheaper options than you in a few areas, which allowed me to spend more on the video card and PSU. I'm not trying to sway you to the same parts I picked, just letting you know why I picked them in contrast to yours.

Good post. Thanks.

 

[Andvari]

Another PSU alternative - http://www.pcclub.com/product_...ls.cfm?itemno=A6296671

The Cooler Master Real Power Pro 750. $50 after rebate. Literally the best deal on a power supply at the moment. It has good solid reviews at an unbeatable price. That website was sold out just a couple days ago, and I guess they have some more in stock. I'm still sticking with the Corsair 620 because of modular cables and the fact that I'm impatient, and that Cooler Master "may have some delays" on ordering heh. I need my parts asap! =p

 

[Mansooj]

Wowzers! Thanks for continuing with the replies. Every post is teaching me something, so it's very much appreciated.

I may just steal everyone's suggestions whole cloth and pretend it was all my idea. I've learned enough through continued research to see that your ideas are more solid than my initial plans, which is hardly surprising, and will also save cash. Heck, I might just completely steal Andvari's build. 'Cept for the Vista part (just yet), considering I'm a bit of an OS luddite. Maybe including even the PSU since I really like the modular concept, and was sorry I wasn't aware of them mid-last year when I picked up the 520W; and that extra 100W potential might be advisable, just in case. I can xfer my other stuff to a lower-end second machine a bit later on (maybe an E2160 oc'd to 3.0GHz, for big bang per buck on the cheap side).

Re the 750GB hard drive: the prices are fluctuating at Newegg and have just jumped $5. The Gigabyte mobo I had in mind also jumped >$15.00, net. As such, I'm even more inclined to shift plans a bit on both.

I have a few new questions:

I jumped on the RAM already, which upon further reading, might not have been a good idea. I'm not sure the quality is up to snuff with expectations of a high-end CPU/GPU (is the 5-5-5-18 timing too lax?). It's been so long since I built a new machine, and I don't have a history of skimping when I do, but I just said, "Corsair!? That cheap! Sure!" Umm...since then (day before yesterday), I've read dozens of articles on RAM, and although I can't say the variety I bought is expected to be insufficient to the task, I do wonder, especially if I'd like to overclock the Q6600 just a bit. Also, I'm a little worried that the spec sheet states v1.8 while Corsair reps on their own forum suggest running this RAM at v1.9 to ensure stability.

I've also become aware of the question of the B3 vs G0 stepping in the Q6600. Supposedly, B3 runs hotter and might not oc as well. Is this something to worry about with plans for moderate oc'ing and use of a good aftermarket cooler?

Like the mobo revision, Newegg won't/can't guarantee a G0, either. Anyone know a reputable outlet that will guarantee a G0 Q6600? As long as I know about the issue, I prefer to take advantage of that knowledge if it matters at all.

Andvari, I appreciate you laying out your own planned build. The extra detail you provided helps me understand the reasoning and tells me where my own choices were (arguably, if not clearly) lacking. As I said, I may just steal your build (nearly) outright and benefit from your experience. I'm far more interested in a solid, efficient outcome than any sort of ego/pride thing.

As a minor aside, I notice that your totals don't include tax or shipping on items that require it. Most would be offset by the rebates, though. Tax/sh was included in my cost estimates, which is why some of my initial components may have seemed more costly than normal.

Well, I feel confident again. Maybe I won't wait, after all.

Off to read the comments/reviews on Andvari's alternative components.

 

[Doclife]

Originally posted by: Mansooj
Wowzers! Thanks for continuing with the replies. Every post is teaching me something, so it's very much appreciated.

I may just steal everyone's suggestions whole cloth and pretend it was all my idea. I've learned enough through continued research to see that your ideas are more solid than my initial plans, which is hardly surprising, and will also save cash. Heck, I might just completely steal Aandvari's build. 'Cept for the Vista part (just yet), considering I'm a bit of an OS luddite. Maybe including even the PSU since I really like the modular concept, and was sorry I wasn't aware of them mid-last year when I picked up the 520W; and that extra 100W potential might be advisable, just in case. I can xfer my other stuff to a lower-end second machine a bit later on (maybe an E2160 oc'd to 3.0GHz, for big bang per buck on the cheap side).

Re the 750GB hard drive: the prices are fluctuating at Newegg and have just jumped $5. The Gigabyte mobo I had in mind also jumped >$15.00, net. As such, I'm even more inclined to shift plans a bit on both.

I have a few new questions:

I jumped on the RAM already, which upon further reading, might not have been a good idea. I'm not sure the quality is up to snuff with expectations of a high-end CPU/GPU (is the 5-5-5-18 timing too lax?). It's been so long since I built a new machine, and I don't have a history of skimping when I do, but I just said, "Corsair!? That cheap! Sure!" Umm...since then (day before yesterday), I've read dozens of articles on RAM, and although I can't say the variety I bought is expected to be insufficient to the task, I do wonder, especially if I'd like to overclock the Q6600 just a bit. Also, I'm a little worried that the spec sheet states v1.8 while Corsair reps on their own forum suggest running this RAM at v1.9 to ensure stability.

I've also become aware of the question of the B3 vs G0 stepping in the Q6600. Supposedly, B3 runs hotter and might not oc as well. Is this something to worry about with plans for moderate oc'ing and use of a good aftermarket cooler?

Like the mobo revision, Newegg won't/can't guarantee a G0, either. Anyone know a reputable outlet that will guarantee a G0 Q6600? As long as I know about the issue, I prefer to take advantage of that knowledge if it matters at all.

Aandvari, I appreciate you laying out your own planned build. The extra detail you provided helps me understand the reasoning and tells me where my own choices were (arguably, if not clearly) lacking. As I said, I may just steal your build (nearly) outright and benefit from your experience. I'm far more interested in a solid, efficient outcome than any sort of ego/pride thing.

As a minor aside, I notice that your totals don't include tax or shipping on items that require it. Most would be offset by the rebates, though. Tax/sh was included in my cost estimates, which is why some of my initial components may have seemed more costly than normal.

Well, I feel confident again. Maybe I won't wait, after all.

Off to read the comments/reviews on Aandvari's alternative components.

Clubit.com generally guarantee revision number on their products. You can buy the Q6600 G0 stepping there. Below is the link.

http://clubit.com/product_detail.cfm?itemno=A1938452

 

[Mansooj]

Thanks for the assist, Doclife. I notice the price is a special promotion (so I have to get my decisions nailed down quickly), and it's only $3 more than I'd pay at Newegg for a version crapshoot.

 

[Roguestar]

Originally posted by: mageslayer
You should get 2 500gb hardrives of the same model and run them in raid instead of a 750gb and 320gb

No. :thumbsdown:

 

[Andvari]

G0? B3? Uh oh, these details slipped by me heh. What happens if my Q6600 from newegg is B3? It arrives Tuesday. I can still OC to 3ghz right?

About the RAM, just because the numbers aren't as good as another piece of RAM, I seriously doubt you'll notice any real world differences. These are the sort of things that will get you a few extra points here and there on benchmarks, but won't be noticeable at all in your daily computing. Take peace of mind in knowing that even if that Corsair isn't the fastest 4gb offering, it's still Corsair, so it should be top quality and they have great customer service if anything were to go wrong.

As for shipping, all those parts I listed I got on newegg for $10 something total shipping, and no taxes. Do you live in a state where you have to pay the taxes?

And by all means Mansooj, feel free to "steal" any or all aspects of my build if you want. I don't mind at all.

 

[Mansooj]

I'm in California, which essentially means I pay taxes for breathing too fast.

I think I misunderstood when reading that Newegg had a presence in 48 states and assuming that meant pretty much everyone paid taxes. I forgot that some states aren't so into the "bleeding the residents dry" as California.

Not much to do about it. But I'll be silently jealous of you.

I've pretty much decided to trim off some of my proposed build and draw up a somewhat less powerful gaming machine and also upgrade my ancient Athlon 1.2GHz system with new core parts and turn it into a file server-esque machine dedicated to my Usenet habit.

Thus, I'm aiming at the E6750 with some overclocking potential (but sticking with the 8800GTS as you suggested). I've come to the conclusion that while the quad core is really nicely priced, I'm not likely to make a lot of use out of the best aspects of it until well after the next generation hits the streets. I'll still have a nice rig for a non-ubergamer like me, and also have a juiced up secondary machine (planning on an E2160 oc'd to 3.0Ghz a bit later when I have the gaming machine going solid).

As for the B3/G0 thing, from what I've read it shouldn't inhibit a reasonable overclock, but might cause issues beyond that. However, I get the impression it's more to do with the heat issue, which, of course, can be mitigated. There are a number of easy to google articles on the topic.