Need some advice on these parts

[ra5946]

First of all, I'd like to say hello to everyone. I read these boards almost daily, but have never posted before. Thank you all for being so helpful.



I've built about 5-6 computers, but nothing compared to what my current build will be.

The following items are pricey (to me anyways), so I want to make absoulutely sure I'm not overlooking any small detail that might cause combatability issues.


Motherboard

ASUS P5W DH DELUXE/WIFI-AP Socket T (LGA 775) Intel 975X ATX Intel Motherboard

(I'm planing on setting up RAID 0 on this)


CPU

Intel Core 2 Extreme X6800 Conroe 2.93GHz 4M sharing L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor


Memory

(x2 for a total of 4 x 1GB) CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory

(I'm not planing on overclocking at all. Should I go with cheaper memory?)


Video Cards

(2x) Leadtek PX7950 GX2 TDH Geforce 7950GX2 1GB 512-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card

(Haven't fully committed to Leadtek, any suggestions?)

Thats it. Everything else I got covered hopefully.

I'd appreciate suggestions or reassurance.

Thanks

[flanzig1]

On the memory, get memory that matches the bus speed of the mobo and CPU. Also, start off will just 1 2gig ram sets, not much in the way of apps need more than 2gig and XP can only use 3gigs.

[ra5946]

Yeah, currently all parts run at 1066mhz FSB.

This computer is going to be just for gaming only. Anything else is run on my other comps.
Should I still just stick to 2 gigs of RAM?

[flanzig1]

2gigs is the sweet spot for ram.

[chuck4456]

You need to check RAM voltage above all for compatability. If you examine the facts, and don't want to spend as much money, the E6600 is the best deal - dollar for dollar and performance to performance.

[Mr.Ferrari]

That is one hella of a build, and a GODLY Cpu. A few notes.

Memory: Get some of corsairs DDR2 800 2g kit. Corsair DDR2 800 2x1g No point in more then that.

VGA: Intel chipsets do not run sli. That is a fact you will have to understand if going core 2 duo. As replacement I highly suggest the X1950XTX which has just gotten released.

ONE X1950XTX is not only CHEAPER but it will beat a 7950GX2. And to boot its crossfire capable with your board. Meaning you can have two. And its a single card versus two fused cards.

But get ONE right now and add a Crossfire edition later if you ever do plan on going Crossfire.

HDD: You will also need a HDD. For your kinda budget I suggest a 150Gb raptor for games and programs and a Seagate Barracude 7200.10 drive in the size of your choice as secondary backup.


PSU:
You have also left out the psu. Now before I suggest one, would you like a psu that could handle two cards (X1950XTX) in crossfire? Or do you wish to get a psu sufficent for only once card and your setup righ tnow?

[DarkPacMan77]

... That computer will be capable of time travel ...

[ra5946]

Thanks for the replies. I'm going to change things up.

I'll stick to just 2 gigs of memory.

I already have 2 identical harddrives, SATA II so I'm just going to use those in a RAID 0 setup if I can get it working.

My power supply is a Silverstone 850 watt. I already had that so I was hoping that would be decent enough.

I look into that video card Mr.Ferrari. I hadn't even really heard much about it.

Thanks again

[DarkPacMan77]

don't worry about "hoping that power supply would be decent enough"... it is more than capable.

The card Mr. Ferrari suggested is purty darn brand new. Less than a week old. It is extremely fast... a truly awesome card especially for a single-card configuration. It is the only card on the market that uses GDDR4 memory I believe.

edit: the saphire version of the card is $10 cheaper