Income Tax refund in final part suggestions

[hyg71886]

Thank god for tax refunds, I got 2k back and it will be in tomorrow or wensday so I'm using it towards my build. I wanted sum suggestions, should I go with vista or stick with XP, also is ddr2 1066 that much faster then 800 and if so should i get the ram at 1066 or 800 and over clock?

cpu cooler
ThermalRight Ultra 120

case
COOLER MASTER Stacker 830 Evo

dvd
LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA

floppy
MITSUMI Black 1.44MB 3.5" Internal USB 2.0 digital card reader

hd
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 500GB 3.5

vid card
XFX 8800GT Alpha Dog 670mhz XXX 512MB zipzoomfly

psu
PC Power & Cooling Silencer 610

mouse
Microsoft SideWinder HKA-00001 Black or mx518

ram
Crucial Ballistix Tracer 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 zipzoomfly

mobo
EVGA 122-CK-NF68-A1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI (EVGA 680i SLI A1) zipzoomfly

cpu
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz LGA 775 clubit.com

keyboard
Ideazon Merc Stealth Illuminated Gaming Keyboard

ups
Cyber power CP1500va 900w ups

Any suggestions? Also does the pcmech cd guide on here that you buy say how to overclock because I was plaining on buying that. I want to over clock the cpu to at least 3.2 so its on par with the e6750. all suggestions would be greatly appreciated, thanks

[Dave21]

For the ram, get the corsair xms2 instead.

I say go for a asus p5k board unless you are going SLI with the evga mobo.

Go with the new EVGA GTS (G92) card. Other than that, your list looks good.

Most people would say stick to windows xp 32 bit. But if you want to go vista, go with the 32 bit version. Vista will be better for games as it uses the direct x 10.

[hyg71886]

Originally Posted by Dave21 For the ram, get the corsair xms2 instead. I say go for a asus p5k board unless you are going SLI with the evga mobo. Go with the new EVGA GTS (G92) card. Other than that, your list looks good. Most people would say stick to windows xp 32 bit. But if you want to go vista, go with the 32 bit version. Vista will be better for games as it uses the direct x 10.

is the g92 chip the new revision card? I do plan to sli in the summer il try vista cuz i have a free copy

[Dave21]

Originally Posted by Prometheus is the g92 chip the new revision card? I do plan to sli in the summer il try vista cuz i have a free copy

Yea it's the newer card which puts it in front of the GT. http://www.ncix.com/products/index.p...ustomerReviews

I don't recommend going SLI, not work the money for a 30% increase in power. Might as well get a good card now. Or wait for the new 9800 card to come out.

[hyg71886]

but i thought the performance increase wasnt worth the extra money from threads i read? on a side note at least i'll have a month to play with the rig cuz my 360 just died an its a 4-6 week turn around AHHHH!!!!! IM SO PISSED!!!!

[Dave21]

I think it is worth it and you'll be set for awhile unless you plan on upgrading to the new 9xxx series when they are released. You might have been confused between the performance increase of the GTS and GTX. The GTX slightly outperforms the GTS.

[hyg71886]

Originally Posted by Dave21 I think it is worth it and you'll be set for awhile unless you plan on upgrading to the new 9xxx series when they are released. You might have been confused between the performance increase of the GTS and GTX. The GTX slightly outperforms the GTS.

No when the new g92 version came out everyone was saying it wasnt worth it because it was like 100 bucks more then the gt g92, but I'm seeing them around the same price now. Bfg has one clocked at 675 but i want a new game with it to test my rig so il try to get one at at least 670. Thanks. O yeah the monitor is the gateway hd 24in i dont think i put it. Also I dont know if il go sli but if i decide to id like to have the option. Next upgrade is my laptop from toshiba which will be 8800gt sli in april

[Icyman23]

Dave, I thought I told you already...the GT and GTS 512 MB are the same G92 core, one is just clocked higher. The 320-640 MB GTS is the G8x core.

Prometheus, save you money and go for a GT.

You are right, the performance increase is too small. I think Dave is the confused one.

[Dave21]

Yea, I know both the GT and the GTS have the G92 chip, I was just giving him an opinion. Depending on which bundle you get the cards with, the GTS might be worth it as some come with the game Crysis.

Here's a review http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/12/...00_gts_512_mb/
if any one wants to read it. The card I recommend is just an option compared to the GTX where the performance is almost the same and in most cases it outperforms the GTX. Now I know the cost-performance ratio between the GT and GTS is not very appealing since the GTS performs slightly better.

[Katreat]

If you are set on SLI, you really should look at the new 750i and 780i boards. The 680i is getting a bit long in the tooth and the new chips where developed for the faster 1333 FSB CPUs. I know the Q6600 is only 1000 FSB, but who knows, you may want to upgrade in the future. All that being said, I agree with the others and unless you print your own money, or have a HUGE monitor, SLI is not all that hot of an investment.

Kat

[Icyman23]

http://www23.tomshardware.com/graphi...1057&chart=318

I always had the thought that since this guy is going to overclock his cpu, why not overclock his gpu? It's really easy. I've even gotten a stable 641 core and 1032 (2064) memory with my G80 320 MB GTS. (with no volt mods)

Prometheus, I don't under stand the 3.2 Ghz to make it "on par" with the E6750. It is a quad core not a dual-core. In 1 or 2 thread apps, the Q6600 would fall behind a little. In quad threaded apps, the Q6600 would suceed by far.