Woo! Another build needed suggestions!

[oddjobguy147]

Hey guys, just wanted to see your opinion on a build I'm getting soon. It's mainly for gaming, but will last for a few years. Any opinions, criticism, suggestions are appreciated.

Motherboard EVGA LGA775 680i ATX $158.99
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16813188019

Video Card EVGA GeForce 8800GTS 320MB $279.99
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16814130082

CPU Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz LGA775 $222.90 waiting for big price drop =]
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16819115003

Hard Drive Disk Western Digital 250GB Sata 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache $64.99
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16822144701

Sound Card Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer $90.99
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16829102006

CPU Fan/Heat Sink Cooler Master 92mm UFO CPU Cooler $34.99
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16835103001

My Dilemma resides between my Power Supply and Memory.

My Specs for Memory are 2GB(2x1GB), DDR2 800, By Corsair XMS or Crucial Ballistics. I've heard much good from both, I have no preference for latency, I just want everyone's opinion.

Now my decision for a power supply is much more important to me. My desired specs are 600w or so (550w is cool), but I'm having a hard time picking between brands. Right now I'm running my Socket478 system on an old 250-300w Eagle Power or whatever Power supply, the video card recommends 400w. Obviously I need a good PSU and quick (even though it's been running just fine since 2003). The main problem, however, is that I'm currently on budget, but I have a feeling I need the power supply ASAP. I'm sniffing around either Antec, Hiper, e-Power, Cooler Master, OCZ and XCLIO. I'd appreciate those because I know they all (for the most part) last long and have honest power supply wattages posted.

Thanks again for any feedback.

[doubledragon5]

I wold go with Antec Earth watt I hear they are fantastic. But for gaming the Corsair are suppose to be highly recommened for that type of system..

[maxnik]

i use Xclio 600W it's excellent.
However lately people like Corsair PSUs - those look awesome. something like this Corsair 620W

[freakitchen]

My suggestion for an alternative, similarly priced motherboard would be the ASUS P5K. Can't beat the stability of an Intel chipset, and the P35 is the latest. eVGA make good video cards, but I've heard mixed feedback on their motherboards.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131180

If you're not overclocking, there's no problem using Corsair Value Select DDR2-667 Memory. If you're set on the DDR2-800, go for the Corsair XMS.

The Corsair 520w power supply is a VERY high quality unit, and would power that system just fine. It's more than adequate for any single video card based system:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...corsair%2b520w

[oddjobguy147]

Thanks, exactly the kinda thing I'm looking from you guys! I'll look into those right away. Keep on bringin' it.

EDIT: About that P5K... does it support SLI? It mentions Crossfire but I didn't catch anything about SLI.

[Jimmy0]

Also just a note - if you are not planning on overclocking then you do not need an aftermarket CPU cooler, the stock cooler provided by Intel will be fine for you.

[oddjobguy147]

Well don't Intel processors tend to be really hot? I was suggested this cooler instead of an expensive Zalman. I don't plan on overclocking really.

[Katreat]

The new C2D processors run much cooler than the older intels. Unless you are over-clocking you should have no problems with the stock cooler.

[freakitchen]

The P5K isn't an SLI board, but I'm really not a big fan of the technology anyway. For a new build - it's flawed. A stronger single video card solution almost always works out for better performance than two lower priced cards - and almost always cheaper. For an upgrade option, too, it's flawed; in addition to the above, the difficulty of finding an identical card to pair your old one with. Your 8800GTS is a strong card that will play games at high settings, when you become dissatisfied with it, replace it.

[oddjobguy147]

Yeah, I don't really plan on SLI, but I'd rather have a mobo suited for nVidia rather than ATI. I'm sure it will work fine, but Almost everyone I know with an intel setup says that EVGA 680i is amazing and runs perfectly; but I'll look further into it. Thanks again for everything.

[andper10]

If you get the Corsair 520 Watt PSU buy.com has it cheaper: http://www.buy.com/prod/corsair-520w...203270716.html . And if you sign up for a Google Checkout account and use it you get an additional $10 off. But beware of Mail In Rebates because they can void warranties. I purchased a 520W Corsair PSU from buy.com recently and they seem like a good company. Mine shipped from Illinois. Like others have said, the stock CPU cooler does fine. I have even heard of people overclocking their CPUs by around 1Ghz and they are still able to use the stock cooler. Enjoy your build!

EDIT: Try out the onboard sound first. If it is good enough for you they you will save some money. If not then just order the X-Fi.

[oddjobguy147]

Well I ordered the XtremeGamer yesterday (the rebate was going on at Newegg). I want the sound card because sound it deathly vital to the games I play (I play Counter Strike: Source mainly, along with many other multiplayers, all of which require precise detection via sound others make). I also recently bought Sennheiser HD555's, which are amazing headphones by the way, which I'm getting the sound card for to use it's full potential.

As for the Corsair PSU, yes, I'm definitely going to look through reliable sites to find the cheapest one, on account I'm a 17 year old still in high school (WOO I'm a senior!), I'm making money, but it's gonna be a while, I can only make so much money so quickly.

[andper10]

Well if you have high quality headphones then a sound card is probably a good idea. I play CS:S often too with a 5.1 Channel Surround System (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16836150049 ) and a fairly cheap sound card (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...haintech%2b710 ) and it sounds great. I'm in highschool too and it does take a while to make money but it is great when you have it all done. You might also want to switch that Hard Drive to a Seagate 7200.10 series because they have a better warranty and are a little faster: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148262 . Also try not to buy parts as you get money for them because you end up having new things come out while you are in the middle of buying parts individually and you end up not getting as good of a deal as you would have if you would have bought it all together. But if you arealdy have another computer that you are just putting that sound card in for now then I guess that's ok.

[oddjobguy147]

Haha yeah it's always good to know when someone knows how it feels to be in my shoes. Anyways, allow me to clarify. The only things I plan on ordering individual were the headphones, soundcard and power supply (power supply is an ASAP necessity).
The HDD looks good, maybe I'll consider that. I like the extensive warranty and I know Seagate's tend to be reliable. However, I don't see too many people buying them (looking at how there is only 1 review on the product as apposed to the 1,000+ on the Western Digital). Is it a recently released hard drive? The other 250GB Seagate isn't rated as well as the Western Digital.

[marine63]

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/Produc...tCode=10005495
550w coolermaster for 35 bucks o-o worth it?

[oddjobguy147]

Meh, Cooler Master isn't so hot when it comes to power supplies for the most part, although a couple of their series are made by real good companies. However, that one does not make the cut, especially for a gaming rig, and longevity in general. But thanks anyways.

[andper10]

Oops, I didn't notice that that Seagate Hard Drive only had one review. It must be a new model with slight revisions or something. This is the "original" one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148144 . Take the newegg reviews with a grain of salt. Some are accurate, but some people just don't know what they are talking about. That's fine if you are just ordering a few things individually. I was just saying that if you were going to order each part individually as you got the money you would not have as good of a computer for the price as if you would have waited until you had all the money (I found this out the hard way). Enjoy your build!

[oddjobguy147]

Well I guess I'll go with the Seagate since it's faster for only a little bit more.
Anyone else have advice for this build?