Home Entertainment/Gaming PC

[Paisan]

Wow, the feedback is coming in faster than I can reply. You guys rock.

That OCZ psu looks pretty good and has a good track record. I think I may switch up to that.

 

[Vaanish]

I have herard that the OCZ has ripplez on teh 12v railz0rz. You better off going wit this-

Newegg.com - XCLIO GREATPOWER X14S4P3 550W ATX12V 550W Power Supply 100-240V / 200-240V UL, CUL, TUV, CB, VDE, FIMKO, DEMKO, NEMKO, SEMKO - Retail

It is not 'flashy' but i would rather hae performance than aeshetics.

Out of interest, are you still going for the original case or the armor?

 

[Bot2011]

That is sad news on the Aspire/Apevia psu. It sounded good and looks great. I'm sure the Corsair you all like is a great psu, but it is a little too "bland" for my liking so I will have to keep looking for something else which is reliable and at least a little flashy.

What do you mean flashy? I think you mean having pretty lights and stuff, which it maybe nice for a bit but I would rather have a top quality psu that I know will last me awhile even with upgrades than to have a cheaper pretty psu that might stay lite up and pretty for a couple months before it stops working and potentially kills your pc.

Please use the PSU guide that Ste created. It will help considerably when looking for a good quality power supply. Who know you may even find one that is not "bland".

http://www.techist.com/forums/f76/updated-power-supply-guide-137927/

As for the mobo/cpu combo. I am looking to utilize the SLI down the road. I know the gains on the second gpu are only 20-40%, but as time passes I will be able to purchase the second one for probably 20-40% less so its an even tradeoff, IMHO.

If you are deadset on upgrading to SLI than I would suggest either of these motherboards:

MSI P6N SLI-FI LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 650i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail Newegg.com - MSI P6N SLI-FI LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 650i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

or this one

MSI P35 Platinum LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail This one supports Crossfire.

 

[Bot2011]

I have herard that the OCZ has ripplez on teh 12v railz0rz. You better off going wit this-

Newegg.com - XCLIO GREATPOWER X14S4P3 550W ATX12V 550W Power Supply 100-240V / 200-240V UL, CUL, TUV, CB, VDE, FIMKO, DEMKO, NEMKO, SEMKO - Retail

It is not 'flashy' but i would rather hae performance than aeshetics.

Out of interest, are you still going for the original case or the armor?

Yes the Xclio Greatpower is a better option.

 

[Paisan]

All good information. I am taking copius notes and looking into all of it.

My original mobo/gpu/ram was an attempt to keep manufacturers and rated components as close as possible so I don't run into a situation of having tech support pointing fingers at the other component IF I run into a problem.

I am open to changing out any and all components. Bells and whistles are not at the top of my list by any means, but I do want to find the best balance of performance/reliability/growth/flair/value (probably in that exact order), without building a system that is "cookie cutter." I don't mind paying a little extra to get some flash as long as I am not sacrificing quality.

Also, gaming is my main purpose of this near future build, but I also want to make sure I am building something that can play my movies on a hidef tv and be my surround sound system as well. Or am I asking too much from a single box?

 

[Vaanish]

Okay I take it that you want to storethe movies on the PC? If so, definately drop the raptor and get the samsung 500GB. The raptro will simply not have enough storage for the HD movies.

 

[Bot2011]

Not at all.

If that's the case than go with the DS3R mobo, grab a evga 8800gts 320mb, cruicial ballistix ram ddr2 2x1gb kit. That will handle plenty for atleast the next year or 2.

While you cannot SLI with the DS3R you can always upgrade to the new 9 series next year when the prices drop. The DS3R has been proven to majorly overclock CPUs consistently. It is also future proof as it will handle the next generation CPUs. Best bang for the buck right there.

Don't skimp on the PSU. The Xclio Greatpower will be a nice PSU you can hardly go wrong with the Corsair 620HX as it will definately future proof you.

Go with a RAID 0+1 setup and pick up a couple 320gb Seagates or if you are not fond of RAID than pick up a 500gb seagate.

Since you are going with the q6600 get a Tuniq Tower 120 as it is the prefered option when dealing with quad-core CPUs.

I am not familiar with the case you chose, but I would go with a coolmaster, lian li or antec nine hundred case as you need to have very good airflow to keep the overclocked components cool. Those cases provide the best cooling on the market right now.

 

[veg1992]

Not at all.

If that's the case than go with the DS3R mobo, grab a evga 8800gts 320mb, cruicial ballistix ram ddr2 2x1gb kit. That will handle plenty for atleast the next year or 2.

While you cannot SLI with the DS3R you can always upgrade to the new 9 series next year when the prices drop. The DS3R has been proven to majorly overclock CPUs consistently. It is also future proof as it will handle the next generation CPUs. Best bang for the buck right there.

Don't skimp on the PSU. The Xclio Greatpower will be a nice PSU you can hardly go wrong with the Corsair 620HX as it will definately future proof you.

Go with a RAID 0+1 setup and pick up a couple 320gb Seagates or if you are not fond of RAID than pick up a 500gb seagate.

I am not familiar with the case you chose, but I would go with a coolmaster, lian li or antec nine hundred case as you need to have very good airflow to keep the overclocked components cool. Those cases provide the best cooling on the market right now.

nicely said but raid 0+1 needs 4 drives

 

[Bot2011]

nicely said but raid 0+1 needs 4 drives

DOh. Had a brain fart. Good catch. Go with RAID 1

 

[Vaanish]

DOh. Had a brain fart. Good catch. Go with RAID 1

No i would suggest raid 0, as raid 1 is only really needed in situations where data is really important., such as businesses.