First Build!!! Advice wanted

[Durftard]

tracers and normal ballistix are the same except for the LEDs. the tracers were on sale, so thats why i suggested them. go with the 2x1gb pc6400 ddr2 crucial ballistix.

 

[Sora]

Honestly unless your planning to SLI two 8800GTS 512's then just go with this PSU.

CORSAIR VX550W 550W Power Supply CMPSU-550VX Power Supply Retail at ZipZoomfly

It has PLENTY enough watts to handle a heavily overclocked Quad-Core, a single 8800GTS 512, a few hard drives, a optical etc. Honestly it probably could do SLI barley but I just wouldn't recommend it. It will save you some money by going with one. Or the Rosewill RP550-2 is a great PSu for around 57 bucks and it will have enough power for that build as well.

Newegg.com - Rosewill RP550-2 ATX12V v2.01 550W Power Supply 115/230 V CSA,UL,TUV, FCC - Retail

 

[cinaibur]

So you really think I'll be cool with a 550watt PSU? I plan on clocking my CPU and my GPU, running 3 hard drives, and 2 dvd drives.

What do you guys think about G.SKILL and and OCZ memory?

 

[900RR]

Yeah the modular looks better but is it worth the extra money, IMO no. I'm not trying to create a masterpiece or anything, performance is all I really care about.

The $40 ballistix tracer is exactly the same as the regulare ballistix except for the color and LED's. Ballistix has a very good reputation for overclocking so I would say go with that over G.SKIL and OCZ

The only reason to go with vista would be for the DX10 but is it worth $113 if you can get XP for free, IMO no. If your strapped for cash, leave vista till later.

 

[cinaibur]

I just don't want to cheap out on the power supply. I hear that's what a lot of people wind up having as the weak point of their system.

 

[Sora]

watts are not what is important!!! It's the amperage on the 12v rails!! understand that please. The RP550 puts out 35A of clean power to the 12'v rails. A Q6600 at even 3.6ghz (which is pretty high) will take around 17 amps and an 8800GTS 512 overclocked a bit should take anywhere from 115-160 depending on your overclock meaning a max of 16 amps most likely. The drives take about 1 each and in the end you should be consuming around 35 amps with your Q6600 at that speed which yes is tight for the RP550 however Q6600 at a more reasonable 3.2ghz takes around 5-6 less amps and will give you enough room for that cheap PSU.

The VX550 has 42 amps on the 12's which is more than plenty though

When you hear of someone "cheaping out" on a PSU that usually means they bought a budget PSU that wasn't much money that sucked. At the higher end of 100+ it's pretty hard to find a total "crap" PSU expect maybe for Apevia lmfao. At the lower line you just have to know the good ones. The RP550-2 is in no way a bad power supply, don't call it cheap call it budget becuase it's as stable as $100 PSU's for 57 bucks and puts out more than enough power for the average system. I have one in my system and everyone knows I would not put a part in my system I did not trust. I know whats good for the money...ask anyone.

 

[900RR]

I just looked at the CM Stacker... holy god, 4 120mm side fans?!?! LOL WTF>! I wonder if the Tuniq will fit in there, with or without fans, I suppose at worst you'd only have to lose 1 fan, leaving 3 others... ahahahha holy crap that's a lot of fans
Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER Stacker 830 RC-830-SSN3-GP Silver Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail

I might just go with that

 

[cinaibur]

just curious. What do yall think about this CPU cooler. I haven't heard anything about it and just saw it.

Techgage - Ultra ChillTEC CPU Cooler

 

[cinaibur]

I just looked at the CM Stacker... holy god, 4 120mm side fans?!?! LOL WTF>! I wonder if the Tuniq will fit in there, with or without fans, I suppose at worst you'd only have to lose 1 fan, leaving 3 others... ahahahha holy crap that's a lot of fans
Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER Stacker 830 RC-830-SSN3-GP Silver Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail

I might just go with that

I just don't want to spend that much on a case. Even though it has a rebate. $160 is still a lot on the front end.

 

[900RR]

$160 is a lot, but you could just order the case and immediately send off for the rebate, then when you get your $60, put that towards other stuff... who knows how long it would take to get the $60 back though right...

As for the CM 650 Pro power supply, it has 3, count em, 3 12v rails at 19a each, for a total of 57 amps!