n00b build, opinions plzzz

Status
Not open for further replies.

1greek4u

Solid State Member
Messages
13
I have no brand preference and am 100% open to suggestions from you guys. This will be my first build. Here's what I've come up with after researching today. Please let me know if I'm way off on some of these parts. What would you change?

Prices from NewEgg.com. **Where do you guys order your components from?**


Antec Nine Hundred Black Computer Case With Side Panel Window
$139.99

OCZ GameXStream OCZ600GXSSLI ATX12V 600W Power Supply
$99.99

ASUS P5E LGA 775 Intel X38 ATX Intel Motherboard
$229.99

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor Model BX80562Q6600
$274.99

ZALMAN CNPS9700 LED 110mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler
$59.99

G.SKILL 8GB(4 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1000 (PC2 8000) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-8000CL5D-4GBPQ
$229.98

EVGA 768-P2-N835-A3 GeForce 8800GTX Superclocked 768MB 384-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card (comes with Crysis)
-$50.00 Mail-in Rebate
$589.99

Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer 7.1 Channels PCI Interface Sound Card
$79.99


LITE-ON Black SATA Blu-ray DVD-ROM Drive Model DH-4O1S-08
$199.99


ASUS 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model DRW-2014L1T
$39.99


Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD7500AAKS 750GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$159.99


Fujitsu MAX3073NP 73GB 15,000 RPM SCSI Ultra320 68pin Hard Drive
$179.99


LSI LOGIC LSI20160B-F PCI Ultra160 SCSI 20160B U160 1Ch PCI 32 HBA
$94.99

Microsoft Windows XP Professional 64Bit SP2C
$139.99



Grand Total: $2,523.84


***I'm sticking with:***
Q6600
Case
Cooler
OS
Sound card
Power supply
DVDRW

***Looking for different opinions on:***
Motherboard
Memory (stick to DDR2 though)
GFX card
Blue Ray drive
Hard Drive options (100 bucks just for SCSI card?)
 
First off, cut out that fujitsu ssci hdd and the adapter. The 750GB HDD is plenty, if you really do have to have a 15,000rpm HDD then go for a WD raptor instead:

Newegg.com - Western Digital Raptor WD740ADFD 74GB 10,000 RPM 16MB Cache Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM

but honestly, you don't really need a 15k rpm hdd, the difference isn't that much noticeable, you're actually better off getting two 500gb SATA drives and running them in Raid.

Next, I like the Case and CPU choice, The powersupply and DVD Burner are also good choices. Nice going with Vista, it's cool to see more people trying it.
As for the cooler however, its a good choice, but if you want something a little less expensive, but still a great product then go for the AF7:
Newegg.com - ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler - Retail

For the memory 8gb is too much, since you're running vista 64 bit, you could get 4gb of ram. I recommend these, order two of them for a total of 4gigs:

Newegg.com - Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

For the videocard, if you want that, then its ok but something for cheaper and just as good is the 8800gts G92
Newegg.com - EVGA 512-P3-N841-A3 GeForce 8800GTS (G92) 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail

Last, for the mobo I recommend the Abit Ip35 pro, many people have said its a great board and it has many good reviews. You could OC the q6600 pretty high wit this:

Newegg.com - ABIT IP35 Pro LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
 
I would go with 4gb of crucial ballistix RAM, a 512mb GTS graphics card (eVGA for step up), no blue ray drive (overpriced and why would you want it at this point?), and a seagate 7200.11 rpm HD (size your choice). Other then that it looks really good.

*Edit: Haha I'm too slow I guess.
 
First off, cut out that fujitsu ssci hdd and the adapter. The 750GB HDD is plenty, if you really do have to have a 15,000rpm HDD then go for a WD raptor instead:

Newegg.com - Western Digital Raptor WD740ADFD 74GB 10,000 RPM 16MB Cache Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM

but honestly, you don't really need a 15k rpm hdd, the difference isn't that much noticeable, you're actually better off getting two 500gb SATA drives and running them in Raid.

Next, I like the Case and CPU choice, The powersupply and DVD Burner are also good choices. Nice going with Vista, it's cool to see more people trying it.
As for the cooler however, its a good choice, but if you want something a little less expensive, but still a great product then go for the AF7:
Newegg.com - ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler - Retail

For the memory 8gb is too much, since you're running vista 64 bit, you could get 4gb of ram. I recommend these, order two of them for a total of 4gigs:

Newegg.com - Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

For the videocard, if you want that, then its ok but something for cheaper and just as good is the 8800gts G92
Newegg.com - EVGA 512-P3-N841-A3 GeForce 8800GTS (G92) 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail

Last, for the mobo I recommend the Abit Ip35 pro, many people have said its a great board and it has many good reviews. You could OC the q6600 pretty high wit this:

Newegg.com - ABIT IP35 Pro LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

+1

but also:

OCZ GameXStreams have ripples on the 12v Rails, so I would avoid that PSU, I'd recommend a Corsair 520hx or hte Corsair 550vx instead
 
no blue ray drive (overpriced and why would you want it at this point?), and a seagate 7200.11 rpm HD (size your choice). Other then that it looks really good.

*Edit: Haha I'm too slow I guess.


lol I didn't even see the blu ray drive there, I don't know though man 199 is a pretty sweet deal. At first I would say no blu ray too but that's because I thought they were like $300, but for $199, that's not bad. Only get it if you have an HD monitor though.
 
+1

but also:

OCZ GameXStreams have ripples on the 12v Rails, so I would avoid that PSU, I'd recommend a Corsair 520hx or hte Corsair 550vx instead

True I mean if you were goingto spend $100 on a ssci adapter then you shouldn't skimp out on the PSU, like vernonng said the corsair 520hx is probably your best bet:

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
 
I agree, for a build like this, go all out on your psu, and everyone is in love with the 520hx.
 
The videocard is overkill for the price. Go with the 8800gts g92. Just keep in mind with that motherboard you can't SLI 2 nvidia cards. You definately wanna get a PSU with more power. 8gb is way too much memory. Your system with never use that much. get 2-4gb max. And the 750gb hard drive alone is fine. Save some money and cut out the scsi adapter and fujitsu drive.
 
Ok guys thanks to your help! I think I have it down to the final configuration. I feel like this setup is WAY better and about $500 cheaper. The final price includes a bunch of accessories I don't have listed here.

Here are some changes I'm happy about:

-I'm going to do dual 150gb raptor drives in Raid 0 with a seperate hardware controller. (instead of the 15k rpm scsi drive with scsi controller and 750gb 7200rpm SATA)
-Switched to Nvidia GTS (g92) and an aftermarket cooler
-Ditched the Blueray player and went with dual DVD-RW drives
-Switched to the Corsair power supply everyone recommended
-Running 4GB DDR 1000 (2x2GB) instead of the 8GB


**(2) LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner With 12X DVD-RAM Write Black SATA Model LH-20A1S
$65.98
($32.99 each)


**Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
$119.99

**(2) Western Digital Raptor WD1500ADFD 150GB 10,000 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive
$339.98
($169.99 each)


**EVGA 512-P3-N841-A3 GeForce 8800GTS (G92) 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card
$359.99



**Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer 7.1 Channels PCI Interface Sound Card
$79.99



**CORSAIR CMPSU-520HX ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V 2.91 520W Power Supply
$124.99



**G.SKILL 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1000 (PC2 8000) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-8000CL5D-4GBPQ
$114.99



**ASUS P5E LGA 775 Intel X38 ATX Intel Motherboard
$226.99



**Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor Model BX80562Q6600
$274.99



**Microsoft Windows XP Professional 64Bit SP2C
$139.99



**3ware 8006-2LP PCI 64-bit SATA 2-port SATA RAID Controller
$125.00



**ZALMAN CNPS9700 LED 110mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler
$59.99



**Thermalright HR-03 Plus VGA Cooler
$59.99

Subtotal: $2,131.80
Shipping: $38.42




Grand Total: $2,170.22
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top Bottom