$3500 budget

[AFgamer]

I'm about ready to come home from a deployment and have a lil bit of extra cash to play with. I plan on building my own computer and this is the first time I am attempting to do so. I plan on doing heavy gaming, some overclocking, research for some of my classes, etc. and dont want to spend over $3500 for it

Thermaltake Kandalf LCS Case
EVGA nForce 680i Motherboard
Intel Conroe E6600 2.4Ghz, 4MB cashe CPU
1 EVGA 8800GTX KO w/ ACS3 cooling GPU
2Gb OCZ DDR2 PC8500 Ram
150Gb 10,000RPM Western Digital RaptorX HDD
PCpower&Cooling Turbo-Cool 1KW-SR PSU
Plextor PX-755SA DVD/CD burner
Soundblaster X-Fi XtremeGamer PCI Soundcard
Logitech G7 mouse and G15 Keyboard
Windows Vista Ultimate

Is what I have come up with after about 2 months of research and the price is about $3200 right now. Just wanted to see if there was something I was missing, something that has lots of known problems with it, if something isn't compatable with something else, etc. Thanks in advance for any advice you can spare.

 

[b1gapl]

Wow that is an awesome system, but you can save alot of money too. First of all, a 1KW PSU is way too much power for your system. I will suggest:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817812004

And I've been hearing the 680i has minor bugs and stuff. Check out the ASUS P5B Deluxe or Gigabyte P965 DS3.

Welcome to TF!

 

[saltynay]

well the raptor is a waste of money you can get nearly the same performance with a Seagate barracuda and tons more gb but your money. the 680i is suppose to have some problems with bugs and incompatibility so i would recommend the Abit Aw9d-max instead. you wont need 1kw!!!!!! 600 watt should be fine or a 550 watt antec truepower trio. the best 2x1gb ram atm is suppose to be by g-skill so you might want to have a look. soundcard is really only for audiophiles but again your choice. get the 64 bit vista ultimate if you have to have vista bt vista is still very buggy i would wait for the first service pack or stick with xp. if you wait until april you can buy the e6420 which will be the best performance/price and a 8950gtx.

Matt

 

[Sora]

I don't like the 680i becuase of it's price and bugs. Look for a cheaper board honestly, or a 975 chipset as it's more stable. Also you do NOT need DDR2-1000 stock memory. Just get these as they will be PLENTY fast enough for your E6600.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820231084
I own that exact same ram and it can max out my E6300 overclock if I used it.

If you want to go with better ram though becuase of your budget. This is all you will ever need trust me...the HZ's are awesome.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820231065

 

[veg1992]

thats a sweet system, that psu is a bit overkill, and i think u can get a quad-core system instead (680i SLI stinks, too pricey and too many bugs) raptor X = too expensive, u get same performance by raid 0ing a hard drive for the same price and tons more storage

 

[saltynay]

everyone else s repeating me lol erm i wouldnt do quad core games and your needs dont utilise it and quad cores atm are bought for bragging rights rather then actual purpose unless your planning on running 12+ applications at the same time i wouldnt bother.

Matt

 

[augest]

I like my 680i, Haven't had one problem with it. I guess I'm a lucky one. Not to many people have had problem's with them on the eVGA forum either. If you having a problem, I'd just RMA! An try your luck again.

The Raptor's are nice. But don't go with the **** windowed. Mine get pretty loud at time's. But they do look neat.

A 1000 watt psu is alittle much. LOL 850 I'd say is max to go with a psu if you want alot of power.

As for quad core, I'm shure they are nice. I paid 512 for my E6700, An in April I would have been able to get the quad core for 530$, Just make's me sick.

 

[Ronnie]

an 850 watt psu is a huge overkill
get a good 550watt psu like an antec true power trio for around 100 bucks

raptors are a waste of space, for the price get 2 250gb seagates and raid them, and you will see a better performance

for a processor get an e6600 for around 320, the price vs performance is the only high end core 2 that is justified

 

[Sora]

Yep either the E4300, 6300, or the 6600 I always say. I would never buy a quad core, extreme or an E6700. Also I would rather have that 40 bucks in ym wallet from the E6400.

 

[asus7300gs]

Very nice setup.

I would choose XP though because it is still compatible with everything. You can buy Vista later when it's stable(r)