First time build - gaming system

[Archetype]

Hello,

Just found this website yesterday and I can already tell that I am going to be using it a very large amount during this process. I just recently found someone who is going to be purchasing my old desktop PC for a very good price (which I would not be able to find elsewhere). This led me to the decision to build my own "super-computer" for a portion of the price I would pay at Dell, or Best Buy.

I used the search feature on the site, as well as browsed the forums over the past two days collecting knowledge and advice on a gaming setup that I had already designed (making tweaks to it based on information I found here). I now believe that I have my setup finalized, and wanted to get some more professional opinions on it.

The system is designed mainly for gaming. I play a lot of F.E.A.R., World of Warcraft, Battlefield 2, etc. In the past I have played more graphic-intensive games then World of Warcraft, and will be moving to a newer one ASAP (E.g. Chronicles of Spellborne, which I have heard will be graphic intensive). Other then that I use it for the standard University tasks such as word processing, burning DVDs, downloading software, etc.

The main features that I am looking for are;

1. I want to be able to use SLI or Crossfire technology in the future
2. Possibly hook it up to my new TV
3. Be able to burn DVDS
4. Be able to play very graphic-intensive games

Overclocking is not very important to me, mainly because I have never tried doing it before. Since this is my first build, I am going to assume it is not the proper time to attempt! Anyway, on with the build!

Case: Apevia Black X-Plorer ATX Mid-Tower Case ($79.99 CDN)

PSU: Antec Smartpower 2.0 SP-500 ATX12V 500W PSU (69.99 AMR)

Mobo: ASUS P5W Deluxe Home Series – motherboard – ATX – i975X ($332 CDN)
(219 AMR)

CPU: Intel Conroe Core 2 Duo E6600 ($438 CDN) (315 AMR)


HDD: Maxtor 200GB 7200RPM Ultra Internal Hard Drive Kit (sale $69.99 CDN)


RAM: Corsair Valueselect 2GB DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) (164.99 AMR)


Pri Optical: Philip's 16X Internal DVD Rewriter with RAM (sale $49.99 CDN)


Sec Optical: Comstar PLatinum USB 2.0 320GB External Hard Drive (sale $149.99 CDN)


Sound Card:


Video Card: ATI Radeon X1950 PRO 256MB Video Card (sale $249.99 CDN) (189.99 AMR)


Speakers:


OS: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium Upgrade ($179.99 CDN)


Extras: Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro (LGA775) ($30-40)



Now, as I am guessing you will have noticed I do not have a sound card or speakers listed. I am going to wait and buy those two components locally on sale at a local Best Buy or Future Shop. I would love any advice anyone has on those components, but I should be able to select them myself.

Finally, I am living in Canada. I have looked at the prices on Canadian sites and compared them to US sites (www.tigerdirect.ca vs www.newegg.com) and have found that American prices should save me a lot of money compared to Canadian prices (even WITH the exchange rate). Also, in Canada we pay 15% taxes (8% Government, 7% provincial) where as in the US it would only be 8% I believe. If anyone has had any experience with purchasing a completely US computer from Canada I would love to hear testimonials.


Thank you very much for your help, and congratulations if you made it this far in the post

[pally01]

Hey Archetype. Not sure where you live in Canada, but I'm in Calgary and just bought a C2D 6600 for $379.00 from here:

http://www.memoryexpress.com/

You may be able to do better too than $438.00 you listed...

[LeftyAce]

MY one comment would be, why SLI? In general, one next generation card can beat out two previous gen cards, so you'd do better to save your money (SLI jacks up the price of the Mobo and the PSU you need) and plan to upgrade one video card more often.

Unless you live in california, you won't pay taxes on newegg at all. Unfortunately, I believe there's no way to get them to ship stuff to Canada.

[glc]

Try www.ncix.com.

The P5W is not SLI, it's Crossfire.

[flanzig1]

Since you said that you won't do OC, could drop the Artic Cooler and use the HSU that comes with the CPU.

[Archetype]

Originally Posted by glc Try www.ncix.com. The P5W is not SLI, it's Crossfire.

Im getting the Radeon X1950 Pro so I was looking for a mobo capable for supporting Crossfire. The reason I was looking at getting a mobo capable of supporting Crossfire was to put one X1950 into the machine and have the ability to add another X1950 in the future if I feel it necessary. Buying a next-gen video card now would require a $600 investment now, as opposed to $250 now, $250 later if I need it. I might not get the same quality as that $600 now, but it would cost a lot less now and later.


Thanks a lot for the replies folks.

[Archetype]

Originally Posted by flanzig1 Since you said that you won't do OC, could drop the Artic Cooler and use the HSU that comes with the CPU.

Thank you, was wondering whether I would need the cooler.

[LeftyAce]

What I meant was, you can get a $250 card now, and in a year, you can spend another $250 for the card that costs $600 today.....it will be faster than the paired X1950s.

[TimPoet]

One of the top rated sound cards out these days is the Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic 7.1.
As for speakers I haven't found a set that I really like.

[doubledragon5]

One think I should mention is by all cost STAY AWAY from tigerdirect.com.. They have poor customer support and real bad quality components.. newegg which you have listed is by far the best in the business....

[glc]

Newegg does not ship to Canada.