First Post, NEW SYSTEM BUILD HELP!!!

[Invisible]

nah sparkle is ok they are good.

umm psu man, way overkill. get corsair 620hx or got silverstone 750w. Regardless of the amps that is just a big amount of money u could save.

cpu is ok but would aim for qx6850 a lil more but features newer steppings and is clocked higher and higher fsb.

680i is overpriced if u really want sli get 650i, imo get dsr3 or p5k p35 chipset.

only other thing i would say is if ur o/c get gskill HZ or crucial ballistix ram

with the heatsinks, currently the thermalright ultra extreme 120 is the best air cooler. also the tuniq tower 120 is great. as5 thermal paste is good and mx-1 pad is even better

mx-2 is the way to go, it usually comes in at about 8-10 after shipping but worth the extra instead of the AS5

 

[Akubane]

XD Sli is an ongoing argument it seems, but imo id say get the xfx 8800 ultra (or another brand. I just ordered the xfx one today XD) and spend the money you save on water cooling, since the 40%(?) gain from sli wont be noticable with the crazy performance of the ultra anyway. unless you're going to run crysis or somethign on a 30" monitor 2600+ (guess) res maxed out. As for all the apps your running you could also opt for 4gb of ram with the spare money thatll be left over from the sli ultra, even after you've bought watercooling. Just my 2 cents though, im far from an expert lol

 

[SirCyber]

ok someone mentioned the qx6850. I haven't been able to find this particular processor for sale, lot's of hype but no sales. have any idea on where the best place I can find one is? btw, I do most of my shopping off of Xoxide.com - Custom ATX Computer Cases, PC Mods, Computer Case mods, and Modded PC Cases and TigerDirect.com Best Deals - Computer Parts, PC Components, Computers & Electronics . also, nobody seemed to think that the two heatsinks I was thinking about would work or that they weren't worth it. any thoughts on them at all? thanks

 

[lancec2c30]

here is the qx6850.

Newegg.com - Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6850 Kentsfield 3.0GHz 2 x 4MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor - Retail

 

[Akubane]

If you want a heatsink over water, the Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme or the Sunbeam Tuniq Tower 120 are really your only choises if you want top heatsinks. In that order.

 

[Invisible]

q6600 w/water > q6800 w/air
bang for the buck wise

 

[baron5]

q6600 w/water > q6800 w/air
bang for the buck wise

Well most people here have only got their q6600 @ 3.3ghz. I am yet to see any one over 3.5. Correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[Akubane]

Xtreme Low Q6600 G0 Temp on Air !!! (Lots of Pics) - XtremeSystems Forums

q6600 3.7ghz , air. stress tests/benchmarks. lapped cpu and TRUE 120.

(long *** thread)

 

[Nick]

what is "lapping" your heatsink?

 

[b1gapl]

what is "lapping" your heatsink?

It's the process of making the heatsink's surface more flatter, because from the factory, manufacturing heatsinks, leaves a not so perfectly flat surface. Lapping the heatsink, will help make for better contact with the CPU, and lowering temperatures down further. Not by much, but it does lower. Most people don't do this, because of the effort involved, and the result you get. So it's mostly done by enthusiasts.