Another new build thread =)

[Caddywompus81]

Hi everyone! First a pre-emptive thanks, this is a fantastic community. I've built a lot of machines in my time, but my time was about 4 or 5 years ago. My desktop is finally at the point where it cannot be viably upgraded. Instead of buying a new system I want to build it. I just want to get overall feedback and input from a community that seems to be really on top of things.

For reference--I am building this PC with longevity. I play lots of games, of all kinds. I will try to run most games on a 24" widescreen so i will look for a computer that is able to handle that workload. As well I would like to watch movies, and listen to lots of music. So, there's a little backround, here's the build!

• Case: Thermaltake Armor Series VA8000BWS Black Aluminum / Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case
  
  Motherboard: EVGA 122-CK-NF68-AR LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard
  
  GPU: eVGA 768-P2-N831-AR GeForce 8800GTX 768MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card
  
  PSU: PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 EPS12V 750W Power Supply
  
  CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6600
  
  Memory: CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X2048-6400C4
  
  HDD: Western Digital Raptor WD1500ADFD 150GB 10,000 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive--x2
  
  OS: Microsoft Windows XP Professional SP2b
  
  Audio:
  Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 4 Pro Sound Card
  
  Misc: Arctic Cooling Silver compoung, ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro CPU Cooler

That is about it. I could definitely use some advice on optical drives and such. I would like to use a RAID0 configuration--I don't need 1 I use an external backup device as preference. Thanks in advance for all your help!

[flanzig1]

Looks top notch. One thing, if not going to do SLI in the future, could down grade to a single PCI-e16 slot and save some money.

[newbuilder14]

Looks fine to me, by the way, the Freezer 7 Pro comes with high grade MX1 thermal compound preapplied.

Have you considered the Asus 680i board(s)?

[Mr.Ferrari]

If your going 680i go with Asus. 680i is still buggy and the only board I would somewhat trust would be the Asus P5N32-E SLI.

You are putting your data at a higher risk with Raid0, if one hard drive ever goes bad you'll loose the data on both. And that combined with the fact that 680i uses a shoddy ULi raid controller, your just asking for trouble. If you want to do raid, do it on a intel chipset.

Your powersupply only has two PCI-E connectors, you need 4 for SLI'ed 8800GTX's. Get one of these instead:
ST75ZF
ST85ZF

[Caddywompus81]

First, thank you all for the very prompt and helpful responses. I have actually had some recent experience with the eVGA Mobo and found it to be fine. If the Asus one is actually up to snuff, then I wouldn't mind looking in to that mobo as well.

SLI is definitely planned for the future (imagine when the 8800's become cheaper). Is Silverstone a pretty quality PSU? I tried looking at brands I was very familiar with. But I definitely trust your judgement.

Mr. F--With today's tech, would I be safe to get lets say a 74gig Raptor, and a 250gig Caviar--just installing major load programs on the raptor? I've run multiple configurations liek that before, does that work well in today's world? Thanks again for all your speedy responses.

[Mr.Ferrari]

Going by pure quality, that Silverstone is of better then the PC P&C.

That would probably be the best setup. You could make the raptor your windows drive and install as you said, your main programs into it. The 250gb would be your secondary. Just one thing, I highly suggest a Seagate 7200.10 series drive instead, it is currently the fastest drive below the Raptor.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148144

[Caddywompus81]

That is the exact drive I have just recently used on a couple of new systems I built. Again thank you so much for the advice and help.


*edit* Stupid question, but are the 12V on those two suggested power supplies able to run the 8800GTX?

[glc]

Those 2 power supplies are certified to run 2 8800GTX's in SLI.

[Caddywompus81]

Originally Posted by glc Those 2 power supplies are certified to run 2 8800GTX's in SLI.

Awesome, I figures as much--hence the stupid question. One more final question. What would you gurus recommend for optical drives? I would definitely like a combo drive--DVD-R/RW, CD-R/RW--as well as a standard DVD drive. Lite-on is usually my choice, but again I live to ask the knowledgebale.

[glc]

Get a retail Lite-On DVD burner and a DVD-Rom of your choice.

[Caddywompus81]

Sorry for the old bump. After reading A LOT of information and doing some extra research--hey grad students research like champs--I am considering holding off on the SLi Mobo.

I do want to keep the PSU but I am interested in looking at another mobo that will be great quality and have the ability to OC. What would you all say to that, saving the 680i upgrade for when its a bit more stable? What suggestions do you have on boards--looking for quality and OC-ability, price not much of an issue? Thanks again!

[glc]

Asus P5B series.

[Caddywompus81]

How does ASUS P5B Deluxe LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard look? Everything compatible? Stable? OC-able? Marry me?

[glc]

Good board.

[Caddywompus81]

Quick question--again--about the P5B. Do I need to look for SATA optical drives, or will two IDE's be fine. I saw the recent post--by glc I believe--saying that intel chipset has problems. About to buy my optical drives, wanted to double check. Thansk so much in advance.

*Edit*Just remembered another important question I had. Which ram is more stable/better for this board--keeping overclocking in mind:

http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16820145034

http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16820145590

Trivial difference...perhaps, but I am very curious. Many thanks again.

[mojo]

SATA optical drives aren't really widely availabe yet, so you'll pay an arm and a leg. IDE is just fine for optical drives, especially since your hard drives are SATA so you'll have that empty IDE controller.

[glc]

mojo, have you read my thread yet?

SATA opticals do not cost an arm and a leg any more. Lite-On has a full stable of them now. I'd get a SATA DVD-Rom and an IDE burner would be fine if you are putting 2 opticals in anyway.

The C4 ram is not in Corsair's compatibility list, but the standard 6400 is. You will never notice the real world difference between C4 and C5 ram. The 965 doesn't benefit from tight timings.

[Caddywompus81]

Thanks glc--so I should search around for a SATA version of http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16827101131 and stick with http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16827106015? Again thanks for all your help and putting up with the questions. I like to be thorough

[glc]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106039

[mojo]

Originally Posted by glc mojo, have you read my thread yet? SATA opticals do not cost an arm and a leg any more.

I haven't, but that is great news. Link to your thread if you notice this post? Otherwise I'll have some fun searching.

[glc]

It's stickied in this forum. You do read sticky threads, right?

[mojo]

Now I see it. I hadn't read that thread yet since I don't use any of those chipsets. I did run into problems though when I built a new computer in June with only 1 IDE controller since I had 2 IDE optical drives and 2 IDE storage drives, but I ended up just getting a $10 PCI card and all was well.

[glc]

Opticals are always hit or miss on 3rd party controllers and cards.