My First Build, A little Help...

[Kemo]

Hey,

I'm building my first Computer. It's going to be a Gaming, Photoshop, 3D Max kind of computer. I want it to have really good graphics. Something that can play Crysis well. I'm thinking of staying with Nvidia for Graphics card and Motherboard. Intel for CPU just becasue they have been doing it for so long. I have a copy of Windows Vista Ultimate and a Creative Sound card that I would like to use. I made a list of the things for the build. I would appreciate it if you could tell me if they work together, or if i'm trying to put apples and oranges together.

Power Supply- APEVIA ICEBERG ATX-IB680W-BL ATX12V / EPS12V 680W Power Supply With 3-Color LED Lights 115/230 V CB IEC 950, TUV EN 60950, UL 1950, CSA 950
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817148028

Motherboard/mainboard- Nvidia nForce 680i LT SLI
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...&CMP=SPC-YAHOO

Processor/CPU- Intel Core2 Quad Processor Q6600
http://www.intel.com/buy/desktop/box...U=BX80562Q6600

RAM/Memory- G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231047

Hard Drive/Hard Disk- SAMSUNG SpinPoint T Series HD501LJ 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822152052

Graphics Card/GPU- Nvidia GeForce 8800 Ultra
http://www.nvidia.com/object/buy_now...l?id=8800Ultra

Keyboard- Logitech G11 Gaming Keyboard
http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/ke...s/285&cl=us,en

Mouse- Logitech G5 Laser Mouse
http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/mi...s/359&cl=us,en

Monitor- Westinghouse 22" Widescreen Flat-Panel LCD
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1170290375913

Case- COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW Black Aluminum Bezel, SECC ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119068

DVD/CD Drive- I don't know what to get. Just needs to play and burn CD and DVD

Thats all that I could think of that I would need. Can you please tell me if I'm on the right track? And I'm not sure my power supply is big enough...

Thanks

[Alaron]

Welcome to PCMech. Not a bad start but I have some improvements to suggest.

First, Apevia power supplies are total junk. Check out our brand list here: http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.php?t=131195 The Corsair units are particularly well made.

We discourage SLI because the benefits are not worth the extra cost. Check out the Asus P5B line of motherboards.

You'll need DDR2-667 for a Core 2 Duo.

Samsung hard drives are at the low end of the hard drive list. Check out Seagate 7200.10 drives.

We recommend eVGA branded video cards.

For an optical drive, grab a Retail LiteOn burner that uses SATA.

[minsonngo]

Avoid Apevia PSUs... read about it here: PSU Battle Royale

Here is a good PSU I would recommend: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139001


As for an HDD... take a look at the Samsung 7200.10 drives... they are one of the best.

[Kemo]

What is a DDR2-667? Will an Nvidia card work on a Asus P5B? Can you please esplane the benifits of SLI? And I have never heard of eVGA cards before, why not Nvidia?

[Kemo]

Sorry about all the questions... What is the diffrence between eVGA and Nvidia cards. eVGA just looks like Nvidia except cheeper...

[Staren]

Originally Posted by Kemo What is a DDR2-667? Will an Nvidia card work on a Asus P5B? Can you please esplane the benifits of SLI? And I have never heard of eVGA cards before, why not Nvidia?

Ok one question at a time. DDR2--667 is the speed of the RAM that you want to use for a Core 2 Duo computer. DDR2 is the type, and 667 is the speed that matches the processor.

nVidia is the company that designs and produces the basic microchips for their video cards, the same as ATI does for their Radeon line of video cards. nVidia and ATI don't actually sell direct to consumers. They sell to other companies like EVGA who take the basic design and build the cooling system and the rest of the card around nVidia or ATI designs. You want to buy an EVGA card because they are nVidias house brand. They're the ones that nVidia works the closest with so they usually have the best cards even amung the same model. An EVGA 8800GTS is usually a bit stronger or better designed then someone else's 8800GTS.

SLI is the process of linking two nVidia cards together to share the work in a computer. In theory, it would double the graphics power of a system. In practice it doesn't work that well, and isn't worth the money. IF you have the best of the best of everything else already it's a way to add that last bit of power to a computer, but realisticly it's best to just stick to a single card of the strongest you can get rather then two lesser cards.

[Kemo]

thanks, so the Nvidia motherboard won't work. Now what is the diffrence between the Intel Core2 Duo and the CORE 2 EXTREME QX670? Because I don't want to constantly upgrade my computer, I want the best I can get. And will they work on an Intel Motherboard?

[Staren]

The nVidia motherboard would "work", you don't have to use two cards in an SLI board, but the current nForce motherboards are buggy and annoying to work with (or the reports say). The Core 2 extreme you listed is a quad core rather then a dual core (any processor with a LGA775 socket will work on a motherboard with a LGA775 socket with only a few caveats, brand doesn't matter for compatibility).

That being said, very little software is written to use quad core so the current ones are waste for normal home users. Current quad cores aren't true quads anyway (not even going to bother trying to explain that one yet. You can read up on your own and understand it better). A standard Core 2 Duo (usualy shortened just to "Core 2", they mean the same thing around here) would be more then enough power for most people.

[flanzig1]

Core 2 Duo has 2 CPU processors in one package and the Extreme has two Core 2 Duo units in one package. The quad core CPUs are not worth the money in gaming. There are very few apps that can use 4 cores.
The mobo frpom EVGA will work with Intel Core 2 Duo CPUs but the 680i Nvidia chipset doesn't always play nice with Intel.

[Kemo]

So there is no reason to get a Core 2 Quad? I'm confused... Which one should I get, keep in mind the programs i'll be using, Crysis, 3d max, CS3, I would rather have too fast than too slow.

What Motherboard and CPU should I get?

[flanzig1]

Would go with the Core 2 Duo E6600 or E6700. The quad core CPU isn't faster, just has more processor cores which games won't use. The parts that affect games is video card first, amount of ram second, and CPU speed third. The importance of the ram and CPU may be different with each game.

[Kemo]

I can't decide on a motherboard.... Some help would be appreciated

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by Kemo I can't decide on a motherboard.... Some help would be appreciated

For a Core 2 Duo computer we recommend something from the ASUS P5B series of motherboards. There are several variants from the basic P5B to the high end ASUS P5B Premium Vista Edition...just look at all the variants and choose the one that fits your needs best.

Cricket

[Kemo]

I've been looking at the vista compadabel asus p5b and it got bad reviews.... What ever it is it needs to be vista compadable. I may have to stay with the nvidia.

[maxnik]

Originally Posted by Kemo I've been looking at the vista compadabel asus p5b and it got bad reviews.... What ever it is it needs to be vista compadable. I may have to stay with the nvidia.

I think I see what the problem is here.
Nvidia makes not only chips for video cards, but also Northbridge chips - part that allows CPU to communicate with video card and memory
The board that you are listing has Nvidia Northbridge, that Nvidia makes specifically for SLI motherboard running Intel CPUs . And that's what still has problems.

P5B motherboards have Northbridge designed by Intel, that have less issues right now.
I would get something like this:
ASUS P5B-E
A lot of people use it and it's somewhat proven to be stable and reliable.

Right now is still not a very good time to run Vista - still a lot of bugs and not all hardware likes it. You actually more likely to have problems with Vista and motherboard with nvidia chipset.

[Kemo]

A couple of the reviews say that is is not as wide as others, will that be a problem?

[HarshWinter]

Originally Posted by Kemo I've been looking at the vista compadabel asus p5b and it got bad reviews.... What ever it is it needs to be vista compadable. I may have to stay with the nvidia.

All the P5Bs motherboards are vista compatible, the visa edition is basically a gemmic. The really differences between them are things like: Firewire ports, overclocking ability, wifi etc. If you dont need these the basic should be fine. (ps: wifi can be added later using a pic slot.)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131030

Originally Posted by Kemo A couple of the reviews say that is is not as wide as others, will that be a problem?

No problem just makes it easier to fit in the case.

[Kemo]

Ok, I think I got every thing, will you guys check over it please?

Power Supply- CORSAIR CMPSU-520HX ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V 2.91 520W Power Supply 100 - 240 V UL, CUL, CE, CB, FCC Class B, TUV, CCC, C-tick
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139001

Motherboard/mainboard- ASUS P5B-E LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131070

Processor/CPU- Intel Core 2 Extreme Quad Core Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...annel&CMP=OTC-

RAM/Memory- G.SKILL 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231122

Hard Drive/Hard Disk- Seagate ST3500641AS-RK 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148221

DVD/CD Drive- LITE-ON Black 20X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 20X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA DVD Burner
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106057

Graphics Card/GPU- eVGA GeForce 8800 Ultra Black Pearl 768MB
http://evga.com/products/moreinfo.as...8-AR&family=23

Keyboard- Logitech G11 Gaming Keyboard
http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/ke...s/285&cl=us,en

Mouse- Logitech G5 Laser Mouse
http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/mi...s/359&cl=us,en

Monitor- Westinghouse 22" Widescreen Flat-Panel LCD
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1170290375913

Case- COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW Black Aluminum Bezel, SECC ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119068

Thanks for your help!

[Cricket]

Everything looks okay to me.

Cricket

[minsonngo]

Looks good. Make sure you get a 64-bit version of Windows to utilize all 4GB of memory you are getting. The 32-bit versions will only utilize 3 to 3.2 GB of ram.

[Kemo]

Ok, 64 it is. Thanks!

[minsonngo]

No problem.

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by Kemo Ok, 64 it is. Thanks!

Be prepared to have "fun" looking for 64 bit device drivers.

Cricket

[Kemo]

uh... maby not 64 bit...

[Mr.Ferrari]

Why not the Q6600 instead? IMO the extreme is a waste of money.

Vista 64-bit is a pain. Especially with new Nvidia DX10 cards. I highly suggest you stay away until atleast first Service pack is released. In the meantime I would get XP with Vista upgrade coupon.

You can still go with 2x2gb if you want, or you could go with quality 2x1gb kit and add another 2gb later when you need it.

And STAY away from the black pearl edition of the 8800ultra. You'll need to add a full water cooling system to use it. In fact stay away from the 8800 Ultra all together. Get the 8800GTX.

[Kemo]

why stay away from the ultra? just too expensive for what you get?

[minsonngo]

Originally Posted by minsonngo As for an HDD... take a look at the Samsung 7200.10 drives... they are one of the best.

I don't know what I was thinking that day... but I meant the SEAGATE 7200.10 drives. NOT the Samsungs.

[Kemo]

its ok. can you tell me what Mr. Ferrire was talking about?

[Mr.Ferrari]

Yes the Ultra is just a slightly overclocked limited edition. Minimal performance increase. Waste of cash.

[Staren]

Originally Posted by Kemo why stay away from the ultra? just too expensive for what you get?

Not so much that it's too expensive for the power you get, which it is, but with the way it's designed it runs very hot. You would need to spend a lot of time looking at airflow and case design (or go to a water cooling set-up) to run the thing. That kind of trouble is not suggested for someone who hasn't done this before.