Help a Bro out, New Gaming Rig Idea Ver. 2

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DeepSeaDoc

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Ok first thing first. I want to say thank you to everyone who has helped me in my new rig endeavor. You guys are really great. My first post I was taken to school and with good purpose. So I have taken all the input and reanalyzed everything and this is what I have come up with.

For the CPU I am torn between going Quad or Dual. My thought process is that maybe the new GPU will somehow take advantage of the Quads. Not sure but it is down to these. I here so many different reviews and opinions between these two.

Quad:
Newegg.com - Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz 2 x 4MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor - CPUs / Processors
Dual:
Newegg.com - Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - CPUs / Processors

For Motherboard since I don't want anything to do with SLI it made this choice easy. This motherboard is a favorite for allot of people and with great reviews, and very stable.
Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-X48-DS4 LGA 775 Intel X48 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards

My Cooling solution has changed a couple of times but I think I have settle with this. This should keep everything nice and cool. I chose MX-2 thermal compound over AS5 only because the MX-2 supposedly last like 6 years and dries immediately.
Newegg.com - XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler - CPU Fans & Heatsinks and
Newegg.com - ARCTIC COOLING MX-2 Thermal Compound - Thermal Compound / Grease
With 3 of these to help my case out…….
Newegg.com - Scythe S-FLEX SFF21E 120mm Case Fan - Case Fans

Speaking of cases I really wanted this one but after some good points on price vs. blah blah I will chose the second one. If I weren't married I would chose the first for sure LOL!
Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER Stacker 830 Evolution RC-830-KKN3-GP Black Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Computer Cases
The 900 is a very popular case with amazing reviews and for 89 bones kinda hard to pass up. It's my choice. But **** that Evo looks nice!!
Newegg.com - Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Computer Cases

Next for RAM there were numerous front-runners. It came down to compatibility and performance. Come to find out this particular RAM works amazingly well with the MOBO choice I made. So here it is. Also like the best reviews of all of them. 4 GB for $133 and you get the 3Dmark08 Vantage advanced version for free.
Newegg.com - mushkin 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory

For my PSU, I know allot of people love PC power & cooling and there is no denying there good to go. One problem I had with them was NO modular cabling. So I will stick with my original choice. Only because 3 guys from work have them and Love them and the great reviews and price with Modular cabling!
Newegg.com - XIGMATEK MC NRP-MC751 750W ATX12V Ver.2.2 / EPS12V Ver. 2.92 Power Supply 100 - 240 V cUL, CE, TUV, FCC - Power Supplies

For my hard drive I originally had like 3 total for raid blah blah. After a little schooling from Homebuilt Systems - Tom's Hardware Forums and some enlightenment I will go with just one.
Newegg.com - Seagate SV35.3 ST3750330SV 750GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - Internal Hard Drives

My all in one optical drive choice was a Fan favorite and award winner x 4.
Newegg.com - SAMSUNG Black 20X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 20X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X 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

My monitor solution was not as easy for there is allot of choices and good choices out there. First thing first I will be running standard 1920x1200 resolution. So I will need a minimum 24''. That being said it narrowed the choices down to about 23 total monitors. Then money became a factor. I wanted to stay under $500 and it had to have great color like 16.7 million display colors, which is about standard now. It also had to have good brightness like 400cd/m2. Which is above average. It also had to have contrast ration and response time like 1000/1 and 5 ms. Upon reading reviews the last big one had to be verified that is NO black light bleeding and no dead pixels (which dead pixels can be hit and miss I know). The bonus feature to this monitor is the 178°(H) / 178°(V) viewing angle. Only one that had that under $500. So that is why I went with this one over the second one. Oh it had to have HDMI inputs as well for my PS3. It also had the highest customer satisfaction rating @ 90% with 5 stars.
My choice Newegg.com - NEC Display Solutions ASLCD24WMCX-BK Black 24" 5ms HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor 400 cd/m2 1000:1 Built in Speakers - LCD Monitors
Runner Up Newegg.com - ASUS MK241H Black 24" 2ms HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor with 1.3M Pixel Webcam 450 cd/m2 DC 3000:1 Built in Speakers - LCD Monitors

Ok the only thing I have left out of this equation is my GPU. I originally was going to go with one 9800GX2 but started thinking and reading others reviews and decided to wait the 2 weeks for the next Gen ATI 4870 and Nvidia GT200 Series cards. So it will be one of those for my GPU. I check everyday to find any info on them that will help me in finalizing my system. With everything above w/out a GPU I am sitting at $1,497.87. So wont be a bad little system under 2k. Lets hope the wife sings off on it hehehehe.

Again this wouldn't be possible if it wasn't for you guys and all the help you have given me. I am currently In Afghanistan so the waiting for the next Gen cards to come out will be easy lol. But I will be prepared once I return to the states the good Lord willing!!

Thanks,

DeepSeaDoc :eek:
 
Sorry I have no real information on your build but I just wanted to tell you to stay safe on your tour!
 
Q6600 is fine

Case is up to you

I do not recommend paying that much for an x48 board, why not get a Maximus Formula or Asus P5E and flash it to a Rampage Formula

As for that Power Supply I do not know if Xigmatek is a good company and if you're friends were just lucky

TX-2 is better than MX-2, get the Xigmatek Rifle

Since you really want Vantage and that RAM is decently spec'ed, its equivalent to DDR2 800 @ 4-4-4-15, so thats fine
 
Q6600
X38
Xigmatek HDT-S1284
GIGABYTE 570 Full Tower or your choice
mushkin 4GB (2x2GB) DDR2 800
Corsair 750TX
Seagate 7200.11 750GB
 
Q6600 is fine

Case is up to you

I do not recommend paying that much for an x48 board, why not get a Maximus Formula or Asus P5E and flash it to a Rampage Formula

As for that Power Supply I do not know if Xigmatek is a good company and if you're friends were just lucky

TX-2 is better than MX-2, get the Xigmatek Rifle

Since you really want Vantage and that RAM is decently spec'ed, its equivalent to DDR2 800 @ 4-4-4-15, so thats fine
I will check out TX-2 never even herd of it as well as the Xigmatek Rifle. As far as the MOBo, the big reason I was looking at the Gigabyte one was its reviews had 92% 5 star sat and very stable/compatable. I have thought about the Rampage not sure about flashing the ASUS P5E tho...? But now I am pondering getting the Q9450 vs Q6600 vs E8400 vs E8500. This article really makes me think about going Quad.
CPU3D.com - Dual Core vs Quad Core; Which is Better?

Great article! What to do what to do!!
:confused:

DeepSea
 
In Q3 the Q6600 will be cheaper. Q9450 will be discontinued and will be replaced.

Between the E8400 and 8500, I would pick the E8200. Since they are all the same except the multiplier.
 
45nm's aren't worth looking into because it can't overclock due to a low multiplier and a low FSB Hole

As Prototype said all the 45nm's out right now will get discontinued, to be replaced with high Multiplier 45nm chips so that people actually buy them!

But if you want a Dual-Core right now, I recommend to not spend more than $200 on one, get a e7200, which overclocks well, and is pretty cheap
 
Buy a used e6600 on ebay for like 120 bucks.

Cheap, decently high speed, 9x multi, overclock nicely.

Problem solved.
 
I just want to thank everyone for the help all together! I am leaning with the Q6600 unless something drastic happens in the next 2-3 weeks withe new release of GPU cards and processor price's.

So with the Q6600 my question now becomes do I need to think my mobo situation thru again. Is there a Mobo that is recomended sprcificly for the Quads? I have also noticed people have the hole memory thing down to a science on which to get with a certain Mobo and processor. Is that something that I will need to change as well, with the change from a E8400 to the Quad Q6600? I know I am nukeing this to death. :eek:

Can anyone else vouch for the TX-2 thermal compound as the one to get?

Thanks again for the help,

DeepSea;)
 
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