One Last check up on this new rig.

[barch 88]

Well, in about 2 months I plan on building the ultimate rig.

Heres how it looks:

CASE: http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16811133149

PSU: http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16817103932

MOBO: http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16813131568

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16819103547

VGA(S): (Getting SLI so two of them) http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16814130237

RAM: (2 of them) http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16820145560

HDD(S): (Same ones I have in current rig, looking to go RAID 0 agian w/ them) http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16822144160

SOUND: http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16829102190

DVD: http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16827131264

MONITOR: http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16824009066

MOUSE: http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16826153104

KEYBOARD: http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16823175103


For hardcore gaming of course. How does it look?

Thx, Mike.

[Cricket]

You have the wrong Antec PSU listed. The one you have is the server version, you want this one.

And you might want to get a black Lite-On DVD burner like this one, it comes with Nero burning software already.

Cricket

[628]

In my future SLI, I'm planning on dualing a 7800GT, not a GTX. You can get a GT for a much lower price than a GTX and still get very very excellent results.

[AMDnewbie2005]

^^^ True, plus the G71 is almost out so you could save some money there, also maybe some Overclocking could save you money on the Processor, but maybe you really do want the "ultimate" Also lately people have been having trouble with Antec PSU's hopefully nothing goes wrong

[barch 88]

I been using a Antec in my current build for almost a year now and it has been great.

Im still thinking on 7800GT or GTX, is the only difference clock speeds?

BTW, thanks Cricket.

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by AMDnewbie2005 Also lately people have been having trouble with Antec PSU's hopefully nothing goes wrong

What kind of problems? And where are you hearing this from? Got any links to reviews or forums talking about the problems?

Cricket

[Louds3]

I would ditch the sony burner and get a lite-on or the nec's i hear are nice too. I have a lite-on 1693 it does a nice job, comes with nero and powerdvd. Just in case you haven't noticed that case is gigantic and you need to make sure your power supply has long enough cables to reach everything. don't know much about acer monitor's either, I'd do a little research on that the last thing you want on a performance rig like that is ghosting during your gaming

steve

[Cricket]

I was just looking at that case...yes, it's a full tower and it's huge...but whats the deal with it? It looks backwards and upside down. Why did they do that?

Cricket

[str8spd2001]

A little OT but what would the difference be between the server PSU and the regular one?

[barch 88]

Ok, so I changed my mind a little bit.

I think Im going to go with this case, what do you all think about the pre-water cooling in it?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811133171

Also, I think I may go with 2 of these cards...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130259

This burner alright?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827152055

This Ram (instend buying 2 one gig sticks it comes with 2):

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145575

[Louds3]

that case is probably good, I really don't know much about watercooling though I do think it's unecessary unless you are overclocking and want to get extreme.

Also, IMO two of those cards is overkill. I can't imagine that you would need two $750 cards. Get one and buy another in a year when it's half the price. It's your call though. Right now you have a processor that is $390 and two cards that are $749 each! That's $1888 dollars on your processor and gpu alone! FOr that kinda dough I would get an FX-60 ($1199) and a 7800GTX 256mb ($409 combo price on newegg with an fx-60). Then when your gaming power is lacking (in like a few years!) you can add another gtx. The 4200+ you listed is quite fast but the fx-60 is just lethal from what i've been reading.

that burner is fine but I know the lite-on's come with powerDVD also and they are the same price or a few bucks cheaper.

that RAM looks like, recently read a nice review of it on anandtech. should do you well.

steve

edit: I would consider adding another hard drive for backups, clearly you have a big budget whats another 100 bucks?! Raid 0 as you probably know is a risky operation. and for a machine this expensive you should definitely run it on a good surge protector

[barch 88]

I for sure will consider the FX-60 and the 7800GTX 256 now that I look at it from different perspectives. I already have a copy of PowerDVD from my one burner in this computer.

What kind of harddrive were you thinking for a backup?

I have a great surge protector.

[Louds3]

for the backup hard drive, any drive should be ok. You can find great deals on IDE hard drives right now, and this would be fine especially for backups, or you could get a SATA drive if you wanted. An external hard drive is also a great option for backups. Getting an fx-60 and 1 7800gtx or a 4200+ and two gtx's is gonna give you awesome performance either way. just for the record though, video card's aren't my area of "expertise" and I make these statements based largely on what many other experienced members of this board say.

steve

[barch 88]

How many SATA drives can I put in my computer with that Motherboard? I know the 2 Raptors (I have raptors now) are SATA and I only have 2 SATA slots on my current motherboard. I would want to use SATA with my new Raptors so should I just go IDE with the backup?

I would like to stay away from external, just to keep desk space open because I plan on putting 2 monitors and 2 towers on this large desk Im getting, so I want to hide the modem and router as it is.

I honestly think the FX60 is pretty badass, but Im still thinking what to go with, 4200 and dual 512 cards, or FX60 and one 256 GTX card...I need more opinions on that...

Should I go head and buy a different heatsink? Right now Im using a Thermaltake heatsink in my 3200 (not the stock one) and it has been keeping the temps at 36-46 in high stress. If so would any heatsink that would work with any Athlon work for the FX and or 4200? OR if I go with this watercooling case I would't need to worry about that . But Im still looking at cases, not 100% sure on the Watercooling one, or go with one and buy a Watercooling kit...hmmm

Anyways, Thanks for the responses so far.

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by barch 88 How many SATA drives can I put in my computer with that Motherboard?

6.

Cricket

[nicolaus corelius]

the new 7900GTX is coming out is february. ill wait for that and then down the road get another one. thats some futureproffing

[Louds3]

you don't need to get a different heatsink since you are going to be buying a retail processor. wait and see if that is adequate before buying a different one, and technically you void you warranty by using anything different than the stock heatsink and fan. I'd agree with nicolaus corelius that waiting for the 7900 may be a good idea at this point.

steve

[blue60007]

I wouldn't wait. I'm not going to tell you to buy now or wait, but I'll tell you this: once the next one comes out, you'll hear about the next great card and you'll want to wait for that one. At that rate, you'll never buy anything.

[nicolaus corelius]

the 7800GTX was released in June. i think the time frame were talking about waiting a couple of days is worth to get the next technology. waiting is foolish for people who cant afford high priced products.

[barch 88]

I also don't want to be one to buy the latest and greatest...I mean look what happened to Xbox 360. People got the "bad" of the bunch.

How much are the new ones going to run anyway?

[jayb1234]

You will need a new copy of windows. The OEM version of XP with SP2 should be fine unless you need some specific feature of XP pro.

You might need a floppy drive during setup to load SATA drivers etc..

[barch 88]

I have a copy of Windows XP Pro I bought for my first build, I have like 3 floppy drives, thats not a problem.

[barch 88]

Ok, I decided Im going to go with the Fx60, dual 7800GT's. Im going MSI all the way too, because I love there D.O.T. technology and my MSI stuff is great now, so I suspect it will be the same, and according to the reviews...sounds like it is still great.

Heres what it looks like.

CASE

PSU

MOBO

CPU

RAM

(2) GPU's

(2) HDD's

External Backup HDD

Sound Card

DVD

I have software (PowerDVD) for the burner.

[glc]

PowerDVD is DVD playing software, not DVD burning software.

[myrgo_31]

man, two GTX's? One will handle any game out there that you throw at it, and two is just overkill. I dont care what game you are playing, two GTX's are a waste of money, seriously, but that is IMO.

[kevinf]

man the FX-60 looks great, hope it all goes well for you, looks like that build will last you a long time

[freakitchen]

Have to say I agree with myrgo's point about your choice of dual 7800GTX. Why not just purchase one now, then add another when your games will make use of it...the card will be MUCH cheaper at that point anyway.

Alternatively, if cash is burning a hole in your pocket, why not go for a single 7800GTX 512MB? That's Nvidia's top card.

Freakitchen

[glc]

It's his money, if he wants to play with SLI, that's his choice.

[barch 88]

Originally Posted by Freakitchen Have to say I agree with myrgo's point about your choice of dual 7800GTX. Why not just purchase one now, then add another when your games will make use of it...the card will be MUCH cheaper at that point anyway. Alternatively, if cash is burning a hole in your pocket, why not go for a single 7800GTX 512MB? That's Nvidia's top card. Freakitchen

If you would continue reading, you see Im getting 7800GT's instend.

[blue60007]

Originally Posted by barch 88 If you would continue reading, you see Im getting 7800GT's instend.

Don't get two 7800GTs - get a single 7800GTX 512. That card will probably outperform dual GT's in a lot of circumstances. Plus, you can add another one in a year or two.