Creative Crit of my first build

[Grimco]

This will be my first build an I thought i'd get some feedback. I've done alot of research and i'm building this for a gaming machine. Any advice or Way to Go's are appreciated.

motherboard: EVGA 122-CK-NF68-AR LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

Ram: CORSAIR Dominator 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

Power Supply: XCLIO STABLEPOWER 850W ATX Power Supply 100 - 240 V UL, CUL, TUV, CB, VDE, FIMKO, DEMKO, NEMKO, SEMKO - Retail

Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz 4M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor - Retail

Graphics card: EVGA 256-P2-N550 -T2 GeForce 7600GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail

Sound Card: Creative Sound Blaster SB0570 Audigy SE 7.1 Channels 24-bit 96KHz PCI Interface Sound Card - Retail

Case: XCLIO A380 Silver SECC 1.0mm thickness ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail

Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar SE WD800JBRTL 80GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache IDE Ultra ATA100 Hard Drive - Retail

DVD-Rom Drive: ASUS Silver 16X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 16X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 5X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM
40X CD-R 32X CD-RW 40X CD-ROM 2M Cache E-IDE/ATAPI DVD Burner

I've chosen the core 2 duo for budget reasons later on I was thinking of going with the core 2 quad. Right now I think it will be a pritty good gaming system but I always like to hear what others think. Thank you

[Cricket]

Your parts appear to be compatible, but are you sure you only need a 80GB hard drive? And since this is a gaming rig don't you want a better video card?

Cricket

[freakitchen]

I'd agree with Cricket's suggestion on the hard drive - but the 7600GT, although not a powerful video card, is a good one to get right now because of the impending change to Direct X 10. It will act as a decent placeholder until the full range of new cards are available from both nVidia and ATI, and you can make an informed decision on an upgrade.

Do you need an SLI motherboard? I'd recommend an ASUS motherboard regardless, and would suggest the P5B series - which is based on an Intel chipset and won't do SLI.

Could try the on-board audio before deciding whether you need to spend the extra on a sound card.

Your power supply is overkill. The Corsair 520w is a very high quality unit, and is a great choice for the potential upgrade to a DX10 card:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139001

FK

[KilluminatiStyle]

That computer would handle MOST of todays games fine with some exceptions(R6 Vegas being one). If you could spend the extra cash on a better GFX card it would be well worth the money but the 7600GT is one hell of a card for the price right now especially if newegg is still selling it for 89.99 after rebate.

I don't think having an 80GB system drive is too big a problem as long as you have something else for storage and don't jam the thing with apps\games. Keep in mind that in order to do a proper defrag there has to be about 15% of freespace available. I rock a 60GB Maxtor in one of my machines and for the tasks that it performs it is MORE then enough. However with games getting larger and larger.... maybe a 120GB would be better.

[freakitchen]

Purely in respect of price per gigabyte - a 250GB / 320GB drive represents by far the best value for money at the moment. Seagates 7200.10 series are the ones to go for.

[Grimco]

At this time I went the cheaper route on the hard drive and the video card for budget reasons. But I did this Thinking I could upgarde in the future. I have an 80 gig HDD now an haven't really had any probs, Also in my current rig i'm running a 6800 ultra I've been out of the loop on video cards for a while now wich card would you recomend keeping in mind i'm an Invidia man 100% . Also I haven't done much reasearch on SLI but various things from this build boast SLI ready and i'd like to get some info on what exactly that is. I belive it has something to do with running double video cards but i'm unsure. This will be my first build but i've done things like changing Vieo cards, Ram, Power Supply, wich has given me some experince so hopfully I can handle building a system from scratch. Thanks for your advice

[KilluminatiStyle]

Originally Posted by Grimco At this time I went the cheaper route on the hard drive and the video card for budget reasons. But I did this Thinking I could upgarde in the future. I have an 80 gig HDD now an haven't really had any probs, Also in my current rig i'm running a 6800 ultra I've been out of the loop on video cards for a while now wich card would you recomend keeping in mind i'm an Invidia man 100% . Also I haven't done much reasearch on SLI but various things from this build boast SLI ready and i'd like to get some info on what exactly that is. I belive it has something to do with running double video cards but i'm unsure. This will be my first build but i've done things like changing Vieo cards, Ram, Power Supply, wich has given me some experince so hopfully I can handle building a system from scratch. Thanks for your advice

The 7600GT won't be much, if any of a performance boost from a 6800Ultra. Toms Hardware has an EXCELLENT page for helping you choose your GFX based on performance. You can select 2 cards from the drop down boxes and then choose the bench you want to see comparisons for. The cards you selected will show up as BLUE.

SLI, IMO(which has been gathered primarily from the fine folks here at PCMECH) is that SLI just isn't worth all the extra $$ needed for hardware. 1 really good card will work perfectly.


**EDIT**

I just wanted to add that the 8800GS 320MB performs right on par with it's 640MB counterpart and in some cases actually slightly better. I just can't comment on how important the extra video memory may be in the near future for gaming. I think that RIGHT NOW 320MB is plenty. Someone else with more knowledge on this can chime in here.

[Grimco]

I've settled on the EVGA 320-P2-N811-AR GeForce 8800GTS 320MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card - Retail and decided to go to a lower wattage power supply wich I think I have a 650 watt sitting around somewhere. My thanks goes out to everyone for your input

[freakitchen]

Make sure that power supply is a quality ATX2 unit. If you let us know the brand and model we can advise.

I forgot to comment on your RAM choice in my earlier post. The Dominator RAM really is overkill. You can get away with Corsair Value Select DDR2-667 if you're not overclocking. If you did want to try for an overclock, you can get the Corsair XMS DDR2-800.

FK

[Staren]

On the motherboard, we've been hearing some issues with the 680i boards, the EVGA specifically. SLI with current cards just isn't worth it. I'd look at the asus P5B or one of the 975X boards perhaps.

[Grimco]

I'll definatly check out the DDR2-667 and i'll check out those motherboards the power supply's I have are an Aspire model ATX-AS520W and an Enermax EG651P-VE I thought it was a 650 but it turns out its a 550w 650 peak its actually whats in my current system. Great advice from everyone

[Grimco]

From what i've seen the ASUS P5W DH DELUXE/WIFI-AP LGA 775 Intel 975X ATX Intel Motherboard seems to be a pritty good choice fro ram I was thinking the either

CORSAIR XMS2 DOMINATOR 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X2048-6400C4D $315.00
-or-
CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X2048-6400 $204.00

The first one seems to have more features but I dont know if its worth the extra $100 or so?

Thanks for all the help

[freakitchen]

The P5W DH is a very capable board - but it is Crossfire (ATI's dual card technology) compatible, and not SLI compatible. If you're dead against getting ATI video cards, then it's a waste of money. The standard P5B is a great board for the money - it just has the one PCI-E x16 slot.

I'd definitely choose the standard XMS memory.

Of your power supplies - use the Enermax. ASPIRE power supplies are low quality.

FK

[LeftyAce]

*Edit* I was referring to the Dominator Ram...Freakitchen got in before I hit reply.

It's not. And the 800 speed ram isn't worth it if you're not overclocking (At stock speeds, the processor can't talk to the ram that fast), so save some money and get valueselect DDR2 667. If you must spend the dough, spend it on more ram or a larger harddrive.

[Grimco]

Ok after getting alot of great feedback here's my system as it stands-

motherboard: ASUS P5B LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail $119.99

Ram: CORSAIR ValueSelect 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) Desktop Memory - Retail $159.99

Power Supply: CORSAIR CMPSU-520HX ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V 2.91 520W Power Supply - Retail $129.99

Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz 4M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor - Retail $314.00

Graphics card: EVGA 320-P2-N811-AR GeForce 8800GTS 320MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card - Retail $299.99

Sound Card: Creative Sound Blaster SB0570 Audigy SE 7.1 Channels 24-bit 96KHz PCI Interface Sound Card - Retail $27.99

Case: XCLIO A380 Silver SECC 1.0mm thickness ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail $106.99

Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250620A 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache IDE Ultra ATA100 Hard Drive - OEM $79.99

DVD-Rom Drive: ASUS Silver 16X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 16X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 5X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM
40X CD-R 32X CD-RW 40X CD-ROM 2M Cache E-IDE/ATAPI DVD Burner - Retail $31.99

for a grand total of $1270.92 not including shipping

you guys helped me cut a few hundred bucks off this sucker and probably going to perform better to. When my budget allows I thought i'd go to a quad core what do you guys think?

[Katreat]

Before you order, I think you need to get the hard drive and DVD in SATA for the P5B. I am basing that off what others have written so hold on for a few more posts to varify that before you order.

Kat

[Mr.Ferrari]

Wait so you already have an Enermax 550w? If so, you can still use it.

Definately opt for a Sata version of that hard drive. And skip the cheapo sound card. Your motherboard's onboard sound will be equivalent to it.

To answer your initial question, the only time that the extra memory on the video card will come in handy is if you play at very high resolutions.

Also swap that asus for a lite-on dvd drive.

[Staren]

Originally Posted by Katreat Before you order, I think you need to get the hard drive and DVD in SATA for the P5B. I am basing that off what others have written so hold on for a few more posts to varify that before you order. Kat

That's correct. The IDE controller on the P5B isn't ideal. I would switch to the following hard drive and DVD drive just to be safe.

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 (Perpendicular Recording) ST3250620AS 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148144

Liteon SH-16A7S 16X Serial ATA DVD±RW Drive
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/Produc...uctCode=175515

[Grimco]

really good stuff

I went with the suggested:
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 (Perpendicular Recording) ST3250620AS 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

and: Liteon SH-16A7S 16X Serial ATA DVD±RW Drive

the hard drive was the same price and the DVD drive was just a few bucks more but definiatly no biggie and I think I'll go with the Enermax for now since I already have it

I've never ordered anything from zipzoomfly but i'm more than willing to give'em a try. I've ran outa questions you guys are great! My thanks to everyone.

oh and i'll go with the onboard audio for the time being also

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by Grimco Ok after getting alot of great feedback here's my system as it stands- motherboard: ASUS P5B LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail $119.99 Ram: CORSAIR ValueSelect 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) Desktop Memory - Retail $159.99 Power Supply: CORSAIR CMPSU-520HX ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V 2.91 520W Power Supply - Retail $129.99 Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz 4M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor - Retail $314.00 Graphics card: EVGA 320-P2-N811-AR GeForce 8800GTS 320MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card - Retail $299.99 Sound Card: Creative Sound Blaster SB0570 Audigy SE 7.1 Channels 24-bit 96KHz PCI Interface Sound Card - Retail $27.99 Case: XCLIO A380 Silver SECC 1.0mm thickness ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail $106.99 Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250620A 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache IDE Ultra ATA100 Hard Drive - OEM $79.99 DVD-Rom Drive: ASUS Silver 16X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 16X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 5X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 40X CD-R 32X CD-RW 40X CD-ROM 2M Cache E-IDE/ATAPI DVD Burner - Retail $31.99 for a grand total of $1270.92 not including shipping you guys helped me cut a few hundred bucks off this sucker and probably going to perform better to.

Wow, big changes. That's a nice looking rig now.

Originally Posted by Grimco When my budget allows I thought i'd go to a quad core what do you guys think?

I think it's a non-issue...no one really knows much about the Quad Core processors yet and they may not perform any better than the Dual Core processors at this point. I'd take a wait-and-see approach for now...more doesn't necessarily mean it'll be better.

Cricket

[Grimco]

I just got all my parts I got everything squared away only my Enermax power supply has a 20 pin connector I was certin I checked it but I must not have what do you guys think of:

ENERMAX EG651P-VE FM(24P) ATX 550W Power Supply 90V~135V AC or 180V~265V AC UL, cUL,TUV, DEMKO, NEMKO, SEMKO, FI - Retail

its 550W and I believe 650 peak and +3.3V@36A; +5V@36A; +12V@36A on the rails
so it seems like a pritty good choice thanks for any input

[Alaron]

That Enermax is no good for today's PCI-E rigs. Its not ATX 2.0 and only has a single 12V rail. I'd grab that Corsair 520HX from your previous list. They work very well with 8800 cards.

[Ryker]

I have a clio A380 and no way can I get the LEDs or fans to work, beginning to thimk I've been had.

[freakitchen]

Ryker, please start your own thread for your question. And when you do so, please give us some more information to work with!