Home Entertainment/Gaming PC

[Paisan]

Hi gang,

I have been looking into building my very first system for a couple of months now and have been doing a lot of research. especially on this forum. You guys are awesome for giving so much of your time to us noobs.

I have been gaming for about 15 years now. I can remember back to when a math coprocessor was an upgrade item, hehe. That being said, I have always had the benefit of company machines or hand-me-downs and never bothered to build one from scratch on my own.

NOW IT'S TIME!!

So Im looking at building primarily a game machine. Mostly an MMO'er here, but do play a few of the others as well. I am also moving into a new house, which is rj-45 wired and have been toying with the idea of a home entertainment system as well.

All that being said, here is a list of what I am looking to put together. I know a lot of these components aren't your favorites, but I would like some honest feedback if I am on the right path or not. Also, keep in mind that I am a gadget geek who loves bells and whistles and things that are unique or less common (when I see ads stating "best selling ______ in America" I instantly look elsewhere).


EVGA nForce 680i SLI NVIDIA Socket 775 ATX Motherboard (A1 Version) and an Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.40GHz Socket 775 OEM Processor at TigerDirect.com

Corsair Dual Channel TWINX 2048MB PC6400 DDR2 800MHz E.P.P. Memory (2 x 1024) TWIN2X2048-6400C4 at TigerDirect.com x2

Thermaltake V1 Multi-Socket 775AM2939754 Copper CPU Cooler CL-P0401 at TigerDirect.com

EVGA GeForce 8800 GTS 640MB GDDR3 SLI Ready PCI Express Dual DVI HDTV HDCP Enabled Video Card 640-P2-N821-AR at TigerDirect.com

Apevia Iceberg 680-Watt ATX Dual 80mm Fan 2024 Pin SLI-Ready SATA-Ready Blue Power Supply ATX-IB680W-BL at TigerDirect.com

Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-Fi Elite Pro Sound Card 70SB055000002 at TigerDirect.com

Western Digital Raptor 150GB 10K 16MB SATA-150 OEM Hard Drive WD1500ADFD at TigerDirect.com

Lite-On Super-Multi LH20A1H Lightscribe DVD Burner - 20x DVD±R Burn, 16x DVD±R Read, 8x DVD+RW, 6x DVD-RW, 8x DVD±R DL, 12x DVD-RAM, Internal, Black-Beige LH-20A1H at TigerDirect.com

Acer AL1917WABD 19" Widescreen LCD Monitor - 5ms, 700:1, WSXGA+ 1440x900, DVI, VGA, Black, 300 cdm² ETC17WPA04 at TigerDirect.com

Logitech Z-5500 THX Certified 5.1 500-watt Dolby Digital & DTS Hardware Decoding Speaker System 970115-0403 at TigerDirect.com

Logitech G15 Gaming Keyboard 967599-0403 at TigerDirect.com

Logitech MX518 Gaming Grade Optical Mouse 931352-0403 at TigerDirect.com

Newegg.com - APEVIA X-TELSTAR-BK Black Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer CaseNo Power Supply - Retail

I am using Tigerdirect.com for linking purposes strictly for simplisity purposes. They have a great wishlist system and are well organized.

So this is my first ever posting to a forum for advice as this is the first place I have found where I actually value the opinions of the members. Please be gentle with me

 

[meat_helmet]

Welcome Paisan!

You have a pretty descent build there. You are definately on the right path, as you are picking components which are similar in performance braket (if yo know what i mean).

The first suggestion i would make is a different PSU. It is something that is often overlooked, and is very important. Ive never heard of Apevia, but i would suggest this:

Newegg.com - CORSAIR CMPSU-520HX ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V 2.91 520W Power Supply 100 - 240 V UL, CUL, CE, CB, FCC Class B, TUV, CCC, C-tick - Retail

It comes well recommended from alot of the guys here.

As for the mobo i would suggest the P35-DS3R, but only if your happy not to go SLI. It really is just about the best board out there and i can vouch for it.

Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3R LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

If not that one then the 680i is good, however, the 650i is probably better value.

As for the RAM, crucial an g.skill are good value at the moment (although theyre getting a bit more pricey) and they are worth taking a look at.

Oh and there is a price drop on intel chips on the 22nd if you didnt know, so its a good idea to wait till then to buy the cpu.

 

[veg1992]

Welcome Paisan!

You have a pretty descent build there. You are definately on the right path, as you are picking components which are similar in performance braket (if yo know what i mean).

The first suggestion i would make is a different PSU. It is something that is often overlooked, and is very important. Ive never heard of Apevia, but i would suggest this:

Newegg.com - CORSAIR CMPSU-520HX ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V 2.91 520W Power Supply 100 - 240 V UL, CUL, CE, CB, FCC Class B, TUV, CCC, C-tick - Retail

It comes well recommended from alot of the guys here.

As for the mobo i would suggest the P35-DS3R, but only if your happy not to go SLI. It really is just about the best board out there and i can vouch for it.

Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3R LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

If not that one then the 680i is good, however, the 650i is probably better value.

As for the RAM, crucial an g.skill are good value at the moment (although theyre getting a bit more pricey) and they are worth taking a look at.

Oh and there is a price drop on intel chips on the 22nd if you didnt know, so its a good idea to wait till then to buy the cpu.

but he wants that core 2 quad with that 680i, which is why he bought that combo.... now...

unless u want the best combo possible, u should wait til the 22nd, when the q6600 is $266, and u can get a p35-ds3r instead, which is better buy.............

also i agree... apevia are rebadged aspire PSU's which are known to die and kill other components iwth it

 

[veg1992]

also get crucial ballistix ram, and stick with 2 gb and nothing more, buy from newegg instead

 

[Vaanish]

Ok wherther cases are good or not is a matter of opinnon, but i would go with this one:

Newegg.com - Thermaltake Armor Series VA8000BWS Black Aluminum / Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail

or this

Newegg.com - Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

I would also get the Arctic cooling freezer peo 7 or Tnuiq Tower over than the heatsink that you posted.

Get this hard disk it is the fastest 500GB drive out there, and offers much more space for your money than the raptor, for an un-noticable drop in performance.

 

[Sora]

Welcome! I am glad that you can value our opinions becuase we here at TF want to get you the best system and help you save money on your system.

The system you have put together is good however there can be slight changes. As Meat Helmet has stated Apevia are not known for making very good PSU's...actually they are on the list to stay away from. The corsair may have lower watts but it is MUCH more recommended as well as the 12v rails on it are awesome...it could handle SLi 8800GTS's if you really wanted.

The motherboard is ok but we don't recommend the 680i even for SLi as the 650i actually performs better in SLI and is cheaper. Except SLi is not worth it so get the P35-DS3R that meat also suggested. It is a new board but is highly recommended as it supports the upcoming Intel chips as well as is an AMAZING overclocker.

Corsair XMS2 is not recommended either becuasde they are expensive for what you get. We recommend G.skill, Crucial Ballistix, and Patriot Extreme Performance memory. G.skill Is usually the cheapest as they are all the same quality but find whichever is the cheapest.

Have fun building your system and remember when you build it use Newegg!

 

[Swillz21]

Well first thing I'd like to say is that will be a very nice gaming pc. Second of all as far as I know, and there may be a way around it I just don't know, but if your using a 32bit operating system your computer is only going to be seeing 3.25 or so GB or your RAM. Its still nice to have it there for the future though. As for the power supply situation I wouldn't go down in wattage from what you have. You could get one from the same brand as the person above me suggested but I wouldn't go down in wattage like the one posted. Personally I would recommend a OCZ powersupply like this one OCZ SLI-Ready GameXStream 700W

 

[Paisan]

I am definitely waiting till after July 22nd. I will be moving into my new place around the first of August and using rebate cash from that purchase to buy this system.

I definitely want the most bang for my buck and do have limited funds. I just want the best mix of power/growth/flair/value I can get at that time.

I like to do my research early and be ahead of the game when changes come so all your imput is great.

That is sad news on the Aspire/Apevia psu. It sounded good and looks great. I'm sure the Corsair you all like is a great psu, but it is a little too "bland" for my liking so I will have to keep looking for something else which is reliable and at least a little flashy.

As for the mobo/cpu combo. I am looking to utilize the SLI down the road. I know the gains on the second gpu are only 20-40%, but as time passes I will be able to purchase the second one for probably 20-40% less so its an even tradeoff, IMHO.

 

[Swillz21]

Again I strongly recommend the OCZ PSU I posted above. Just about the same price as the Corsair, its a higher watt PSU and has blue led fans to give you the little bit of flashiness you want :happy: , Also OCZ is a very good brand for gaming computers.

 

[ollithemagicbum]

Newegg.com - ViewSonic Optiquest Series Q20WB Black 20" 5ms DVI Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 1000:1 - Retail

i would suggest this monitor because it has a higher resolution, for not that much more $.

if you want the old monitor, you should get the 8800 GTS 320MB, because there is not that much a difference when you play on the resolution 1440x900 between both cards. and it would save you some money.