Need it by two weeks from now... So help, please! =]

[FalleNightmare]

I'm going to be going to school for Game Design, and I design a lot in my free time. I have a lot of design programs, and I need a lot of power to keep everything running at least semi-smoothly and my current PC isn't cutting it anymore. I need something huge, something to last longer. Basically these are the specs I'm looking at, and I need to make sure it'll all pan out okay when I get the parts and put it together. I know it might be overkill, but these are the specs I want, and I have the money to put into it, and I want to make sure I'm putting money into something worth buying. If you think I need to change something, and you decide to post, please tell me something that is practically the equivalent, only better, unless you can't. Mainly, I wanna make sure it's all compatible. Any help or say you have would be greatly appreciated.

• APEVIA X-CRUISER-BK Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
  
• Thermaltake TT-8025A-2B 80mm Case Fan
  
• GIGABYTE GA-965P-S3 LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard
  
• APEVIA ATX-AS680W-BL ATX12V / EPS12V 680W Power Supply
  
• Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80562Q6600
  
• CORSAIR 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X4096-6400C5 G
  
• Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS (Perpendicular Recording Technology) 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
  
• Logitech 967692-0403 Beige & Black USB + PS/2 RF Wireless Ergonomics Desktop Comfort Laser Mouse Included
  
• SAMSUNG 18X DVD±R DVD Burner With 12X DVD-RAM Write, LightScribe Technology Black SATA Model SH-S183L
  
• Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer 7.1 Channels PCI Interface Sound Card
  
• Microsoft Office OneNote Home and Student 2007
  
• McAfee Virusscan Plus 2007 3 Users
  
• Thermaltake CL-C0034 Copper Fan&Heatsinks

The budget is about $1500, and this falls about $250 short of that. I can go slightly over. But this is a part of my Student Loan, so I can't freely just fly away with money. I just wanna make sure that, when assembled correctly, it will all play nice and no part will call another one bad names. Help quickly, please. I have college in two weeks, and I need my computer.

This is all NewEgged.
~Eric~

[Alaron]

Good start, I just have a few suggestions.

The most important thing is to lose that power supply. Apevia units are poor quality. Because the primary power draw on a system is the video card, its tough to recommend a unit for you. I don't see a video card listed. The Geforce 8800GTS is a great unit for gaming, but you can bump down to an 8600GT if the budget is tight. We generally recommend the Corsair 520HX or 620HX. They are very high quality. Here is some more info on power: http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.php?t=131195

What Operating System do you plan to use? You'll need a 64bit edition to use all 4GB of RAM.

Swap your burner with this LiteOn because it comes with burning software: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106072

[Cricket]

I agree with Alaron...you need to replace the Apevia power supply and the Samsung optical drive with better products. And if you're getting the retail processor you don't need aftermarket heatsink...use the heatsink that comes with the processor to maintain the 3 year warranty.

I would also look for a larger hard drive since it sounds like you'll need the space.

And please don't install McAfee on your computer...there are better alternatives out there that won't mess your system up. If you don't mind paying, get NOD32. If you don't mind freeware, get AVG, AVAST! or AntiVir.

Cricket

[flanzig1]

Here's my 2 cents worth, I'm thinking that the design programs or some of them aren't compatable with Vista and 64 bit OSes which means using XP Pro 32bit. Then I would start with 2 gigs of ram and add more if the need arises.
Also would look at the Asus P5K series of boards, the P35 chipset is geared towards the quad core than the 965 chipset.
And would add a second HD for data storage.

[FalleNightmare]

Updated Wishlist:

• APEVIA X-CRUISER-BK Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
• Thermaltake TT-8025A-2B 80mm Case Fan
• ASUS P5K-V LGA 775 Intel G33 ATX Intel Motherboard
• EVGA 640-P2-N825-AR GeForce 8800GTS 640MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card
• Thermaltake W0106RU Complies with ATX 12V 2.2 & EPS 12V version 700W Power Supply
• Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80562Q6600
• CORSAIR 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X4096-6400C5 G
• Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
• Logitech 967692-0403 Beige & Black USB + PS/2 RF Wireless Ergonomics Desktop Comfort Laser Mouse Included
• LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model LH-20A1L-06
• Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer 7.1 Channels PCI Interface Sound Card
• Microsoft Office OneNote Home and Student 2007
• Creative Inspire P7800 90 Watts 7.1 Speaker
• Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition with SP2

[alanebro82]

You should probably swap out that power supply again. Thermaltake power supplies are known to be troublesome.

See here for good power supply makers.

Edit: Just noticed that Thermaltake is on the "good" list... but I have had 2 of their units go bad on me. I would steer clear.

[FalleNightmare]

COOLER MASTER Real Power Pro RS-650-ACAA-A1 ATX12V / EPS12V 650W Power Supply

Is that one alright? I need to know by tonight that this computer will be a good machine, a reliable one. My parents need to order it now so I can have it for school, and they demand the final version to be built today.
~Eric~

[The Village Idiot]

On the link that alanebro82 showed it shows coolermaster as an ok power supply, however really i dont know why your ignoring other people, they've suggested Corsair as the brand to go with, personally on a high end system like yours i'd go with the ones highlighted in blue.

And just incase you decide to ignore the link here are power supply manufacters that are highly recommended, i.e. your best bet to go with.

Antec
Channel Well
Corsair
Enermax
Enlight
Fortron Source
Enermax
Enlight
OCZ
Fortron Source
Seasonic
Sparklepower

Just take into consideration that the Cooler Master has had no reviews, whereas the corsair has had 185 reviews with 93% saying 5 star on newegg.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...Corsair%2b620w

Don't ignore good advice.

[Jimmy0]

Any particular reason you have chosen the P5K-V? This board has onboard video, but seeing as you have picked out a decent graphics card you might aswell get the plain P5K board.

[FalleNightmare]

Thanks. Anything else I should add/replace?
~Eric~

[Alaron]

The only thing to point out is that with XP Home, you'll only see 3.2GB of RAM, as it cannot use all 4GB. You would need to upgrade to a 64bit edition (of XP or Vista) to use all of the RAM. If you stick with XP Home, you can start with 2GB and upgrade later.

[FalleNightmare]

Hmm... Yeah, that is a really good point. My parents talked to the college and delayed the ordering date. o_O

Still, even if it can't use all four, will it still use as much as it can take from it? Like, if I can keep the 4GB RAM, and not worry about upgrading later, I'd rather do that. But if I have to knock it down, I will. I just wanna make sure. I know it's overkill, but I'm trying to plan for the next few years. So... yeah.

Should I cut the RAM down and upgrade to a larger HDD?
~Eric~

[Alaron]

You can leave it all in there, no problem. I just wanted to point out that if you do that, Windows will only show 3.2GB. If you ever upgraded to 64bit, you would be able to see all of it.

[andper10]

Get this PSU: http://www.buy.com/prod/corsair-520w...203270716.html . Newegg also has it but it is more expensive there. I got mine from Buy.com and they seem to be a good company.

Beware that MIR's void your newegg 1 year replacement warranty. (Here: http://www.newegg.com/Info/ReturnPolicy.aspx#1 [Under the Mail In Rebate Policy])

Enjoy your build!

[FalleNightmare]

So far this is what I have. Every time I remove, add, or replace something on the list, I'm gonna post the entire thing to be looked over. I need to know with absolute sureness that everything will work okay, unless there's a manufacturing defect or something of the sort. I don't want to spend over $2000 on a paperweight. o_O

• APEVIA X-CRUISER-BK Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
• Thermaltake TT-8025A-2B 80mm Case Fan
• ASUS P5K3 DELUXE/WIFI-AP LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard
• EVGA 640-P2-N825-AR GeForce 8800GTS 640MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card
• CORSAIR CMPSU-620HX ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V 2.91 620W Power Supply
• Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80562Q6600
• CORSAIR 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X4096-6400C5 G
• Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
• Logitech 967692-0403 Beige & Black USB + PS/2 RF Wireless Ergonomics Desktop Comfort Laser Mouse Included
• SAMSUNG 206BW Black 20" 2 ms (GTG) DVI Widescreen LCD Monitor
• LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model LH-20A1L-06
• Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer 7.1 Channels PCI Interface Sound Card
• Microsoft Office OneNote Home and Student 2007
• Creative Inspire P7800 90 Watts 7.1 Speaker
• Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition with SP2

Thank you.
~Eric~

[flanzig1]

The one thing is the OS, if connecting to the University network then XP Pro may be a better choice due to the extra networking power Pro has. Check with the U to see if they prefer Pro over Home.

[Jimmy0]

You have picked out the P5K3 which means it supports DDR3 RAM rather than DDR2, if I were you I would just go with a DDR2 motherboard (e.g. the plain P5K)

[shadowpr]

you might be able to save some money by getting a seagate instead of a western digital.

just a few thougths

edit: just realized this was already mentioned ---- also, unless you get a 64 bit os, you won't see the full 4gb of ram.

[alpha33385]

Before you buy any software for your computer, you might want to check if your school participates in something called "Academic Alliance". It's a program that lets students download/get software from Microsoft at really cheap prices. I'm not sure what school you're going to, but a lot of computer related colleges subscribe to this (e.g. a local school in the Seattle area is Digipen). they can get xp pro for free (download) and vista business for like 20 bucks. If you let me know what school you go to, I can check (or google academic alliance).

[FalleNightmare]

You guys? I know I didn't say this, so I don't blame you for not knowing. I'm going to the local community college for a max of maybe a year. This will be my home computer; I won't be dorming or finding an apartment just yet. I wanna have everything in place for my life before I head out and even attempt to live on my own. This is a home computer for design; that's it for the most part. A LOT of design. My HS had some pretty nice computers; dual core and 2GB RAM (considering what we had the year before that). More than three dozen times, my renders would either back-up the system or (on the more simple ones) freeze the computer (causing lost data, obviously). Hence the power I need from this computer; the computer needs to keep up.
~Eric~