Norville's New Build

[Norville]

Heyas ... I'm just documenting my new build to augment a slightly outdated system that I've been upgrading over the past several months (which I'll still keep for various tasks). I've been accumulating the parts and it is nearing completion, but won't be entirely complete until Vista is released. I'll post some pictures or a link to the pictures when I can. It pretty much is up and running with a Vista RC1, but I'm still having fun adding little bits and pieces ...

If anyone is curious about the video card selection ... it's purely based on me waiting for the DX10 cards to let me get this fun machine up and running.

I first decided on these components to use as my main gaming rig and will probably use it as well as a media center to stream content to my home theater / Xbox 360 / etc. Basically, my higher performance "do all" ... although I'll try to keep the OS clean from unnecessary installs (i.e. like DVD burning which I'll use my current system for).

Case
Thermaltake Mozart TX (Ordered 8/24)
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetai...ductCode=371341

CPU
Intel E6600 (Ordered 10/16)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16819115003

OS
Vista RC1 (Currently Installed)
Windows Media Center SP2 (OEM Pending Install - Upgrading to Vista)

HD-OS
WD1500ADFD Raptor 150 Gig (Ordered 9/6)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16822136012

HD-Mass Storage
WD2500KS Caviar 250 Gig (Ordered)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16822144701

MB
Asus P5N32-SLI Premium 590 (Ordered 10/13)
http://www.excaliberpc.com/ASUS_P5N32-SLI_...-id-569502.html

Video
XFX Geforce 7600GT 256 Mb PCI-E x16 (Orderd 10/16)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16814150182
Note: This will ultimately be replaced by a DX10 card or I will go SLI ... decided on a less expensive route for now.

PSU
Thermaltake Toughpower 750W Modular (Ordered 10/16)
https://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetai...ductCode=371315

PSU Cooler
Stock Intel (for now )

Sound
Creative X-Fi 7.1 Platinum (Ordered)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16829102190

Memory
Crucial 2 Gb DDR2 667 (Ordered 10/16)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16820146567
Note: I went with this as it was certified with my motherboard and had the specs that would optimize the overal system capabilities.

Optical Drive
Samsung DVD DL x18 (Ordered 10/16)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16827151133

Floppy Drive (Ordered 9/6)
Mitsumi 3.5" w/ USB Media Reader
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16821104104

Monitor
Dell 24" Widescreen (Ordered 10/26)
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/product...mp;sku=320-4335

Misc
Thermaltake Rounded IDE Cable (Ordered 9/6)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16812183036

Thermaltake Rounded Floppy Cable (Ordered)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16812183003

Buffalo 9db Antenna (Ordered)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16833162131

Internal USB M to F Extension (Ordered)
http://www.frontx.com/store/order_a.html

Monster DVI - DVI Cable (Ordered)
(via eBay)

Acoustic Research Toslink Optical Cable (Ordered)
(via eBay)

Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound (Ordered)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16835100007

Generic U.FL to TN-TNC female 6" Jumper (Ordered)
(via eBay)

X-Fi Digital I/O Module (Ordered 11/2)
http://us.creative.com/products/product.asp?product=1780

Existing
Netgear WGT 624 V2
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16833122022

Logitech G15 Keyboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16823126179

Logitech MX Revolution Mouse
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList....N=0&Ntk=all

Logitech 5.1 Z680 THX
http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Computer-Sp...r/dp/B00007AKDP

Func Mouse Surface
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16817114307

 

[Norville]

Reserved

 

[Jumping_Bean514]

Looks like your wasting allot of money on stuff that in unnecessary and overpriced. I recommend putting some money into faster ram and you could even get a x6800 if you downgraded your soundcard and speakers.

 

[Norville]

The soundcard cost me $150 and the speakers I had "left over" from my old system (it is under "existing" heading). The E6600 cost ~$300 while the X6800 ~$900 to $1000. While I do have some unecessary or pricey components, it isn't nearly as pricey as some top tier systems.

Regarding the ram, I specifically purchased RAM I knew 100% was certified with that MB as I knew Asus had issues with some untested RAM.

Thanks for taking a gander and evaluating though.

 

[NosBoost300]

awesome rig you got going, geforce 8 will be out soon to complete your build