Need help with my first build...

[burkish127]

Okay, then help me understand this, because I'm confused.

The 9800gx2 has 512-bit, with 256-bit coming from each card, correct? So if I got two 9600gt's each with 256-bit, what would be the difference?

 

[Sora]

My advice-drop the 780i board becuase SLI is a waste IMO unless you really do buy two of the most expensive cards. Plus i believe the 780i board still has not had great luck with overclocking the the revolutionary P35 boards have.

 

[burkish127]

I made some more adjustments. Here's what I'm looking at now.

Wishlist

I was told Creative and Vista don't get along well, so I switched to ASUS Xonar, what they suggested. Is that a good move?

Also, if I'm going to do SLI, how does 8800GTSx2 sound?
And it seems the only MoBo that's DDR3 is the 790i. Is this MoBo reliable? Or should I go to DDR2 and change everything?

Finally, I switched to the Antec Nine Hundred case. It was the highest rated and most popular mid tower on Newegg. However, it doesn't list what size MoBo will fit. Does anyone know if putting the 790i in here will be a problem?


And in response to Sora, I don't really have any experience in overclocking. I don't know if I'd do it on this machine. Maybe that means I shouldn't even be spending so much? I don't know. I suppose I'll try it eventually once I'm used to eveything.

This is my first build, so I'm not going to be extrememly picky about taking everything to its absolute limit right away. I'll jsut be pleased to finally have a decent machine based on its its components on basic settings. As I said though, I'll eventually try tweaking everything once I'm ready.

Thanks.

 

[burkish127]

*Whoops, double post.*

 

[veg1992]

Those 8800gts' you have suck, they perform worse than 9600gt's, get the G92 GTS

and Creative has made improvements on their Vista Drivers

 

[burkish127]

Alright, so the reviews of the 790i are way too inconsistent for me. So I think I'm going to stick with DDR3 but not get an SLI MoBo. I'll probably wait a year or two and get a more stable SLI DDR3 MoBo then.

In the mean time, what about a P5E3 and a 9800 Gx2? I read that some people are having trouble using the P5E3 with the 9800 Gx2. Is this something I should be worried about? If so, any suggestions for a good MoBo to use with the 9800 Gx2?

Current Wishlist

 

[Prototype]

i think ur wasting so much money for that rig while u can get a better one and cheaper with water cooling

 

[burkish127]

Could I have some suggestions then?

I'm pretty new to this, and I'm not experienced in overclocking and taking a rig to its limits. So my strategy for now has been to build a system that I'm not going to have to toy with much to get great peformance for a long time. I know that's not the most ideal way to go about it, but that's all I know.

If you say I can save money and get a bette rig, I say great. Can you help me out in figuring out what that is?

 

[Iron Feet]

Looking at your wishlist, it looks like you have money to burn which is fine if that's what you want. I personally wouldn't go that route.

Like you, I had no idea what I was doing before reading these forums and gathering information and knowledge from the many helpful people here.

I took my time and spent several months deciding exactly what I needed and wanted. I could have spent double or triple the cost on my build but did I need all that? No. I originally thought about going SLI but for what I'm doing (mainly gaming), a good single GPU is just fine. I saved money right there on a second GPU and SLI mobo. I also stuck with the very reliable windows XP. I have no need for Vista.

Look at the build in my sig and you'll find many others with similar parts and builds. Why? Because its proven to work and work well. I slapped it together in a day and haven't had a problem with it since. Its nothing spectacular but will run all games today easily and I'm sure many more to come in the future. I'm guessing this rig will run fine for a couple years before I have to add any upgrades. And since I caught the bug now, I look forward to swapping out parts with newer or better stuff as they become available.

Same thing with overclocking. I knew nothing at all about it. After spending a weekend doing some research I have this sucker screaming fast and I've learned a lot about OC'ing.

 

[Prototype]

Here is my list for you:

DVD Burner: Newegg.com - ASUS Black 20X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 20X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 14X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe - CD / DVD Burners
Case: Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER Stacker RC-832-KKN1-GP Black Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Computer Cases
HDD: Newegg.com - Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3750330AS 750GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - Internal Hard Drives
Monitor: Newegg.com - SAMSUNG T220 Rose-Black 22" 2ms Touch of Color series Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 DC 20,000:1 - LCD Monitors
GPUs: 2x Newegg.com - EVGA 512-P3-N845-AR GeForce 8800GTS (G92) KO 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards
PSU: Newegg.com - CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply 100 - 240 V UL, CE, CB, TUV, FCC, CCC - Power Supplies
Keyboard: Newegg.com - Logitech G15 2-Tone 104 Normal Keys 29 Function Keys USB Wired Standard Gaming Keyboard - Keyboards
Thermal Grease/Compound: Newegg.com - ARCTIC COOLING MX-2 Thermal Compound - Thermal Compound / Grease
Memory: Newegg.com - G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory
Motherboard: Newegg.com - XFX MB-N780-ISH9 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 780i SLI Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards
CPU: Newegg.com - Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz 2 x 4MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor - CPUs / Processors
OS: Newegg.com - Microsoft Windows Vista 64-Bit Home Premium for System Builders Single Pack DVD - Operating Systems
HeatSink: Newegg.com - Tuniq Tower 120 P4 & K8 CPU Cooler - CPU Fans & Heatsinks

Total Without Shipping & Mail & Rebate: $2,187.87

if you want to get a Q6700 you can. In my list it is a Q6600 Retail but dont get a retail one get an OEM. Also if your missing a mouse, get a Logitech G5. I added a Aftermarket heatsink since u were missing from ur wishlist. ask any question. if you want a cheaper rig i can lower it a bit (there a lot of hardware that i can lower to get u a cheaper rig). If you want a water cooling kit, ask aspire. the os is for 1 use only. maybe someone can help you on the heat sink i just randomly picked one.