Need an honest assessment of this build

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rcnjsn9

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ok, so about a week ago, I posted on here with about 5 computer options of which I should choose from http://www.techist.com/forums/f76/i-need-help-picking-gaming-computer-159472/. I went with the unanimous choice, and took the advice of the posts in the thread on upgrades. Now I'm curious if there is anything else I should alter.

Here is the build as it stands now.

Eagle Tech ET-CAV2-WOP-SL Silver 1.0mm Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3R LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard

EVGA 320-P2-N811-AR GeForce 8800GTS 320MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP
Ready SLI Supported Video Card

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250820A 250GB 7200 RPM IDE Ultra ATA100 Hard Drive


LINKSYS WMP54G 32bit PCI2.2 Wireless-G Adapter

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 G0 Stepping Kentsfield 2.40GHz 8MB L2 LGA 775 Processor Retail BX80562Q6600 SLACR
ClubIT Product - Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 G0 Stepping Kentsfield 2.40GHz 8MB L2 LGA 775 Processor Retail BX80562Q6600 SLACR

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
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

SAMSUNG 18X DVD±R DVD Burner With 12X DVD-RAM Write, LightScribe Technology
Black SATA Model SH-S183L - OEM

CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel
Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X2048-6400C4

but ive bought this as a possible upgrade for RAM:

G.SKILL 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory
Newegg.com - G.SKILL 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

WINDOWS XP SP2 (should I upgrade to Vista 64-bit? I've had problems running some programs that dont seem to like Vista too much)


The parts with links in them are the upgrades recommended by this community (hopefully you all didnt point me in the wrong direction! lol). Also, I could use some help with overclocking.....I'm a computer techie nublet, and couldnt even begin to tell you how I would go about overclocking something.

I dont play alot of DEMANDING games, but I would like to get a build that could last me at least a year and run pretty **** decent for me. Games I play now are BF2, Warcraft III: DoTa, CoD:4 (although the frame rate seems off, and no idea what to set it to). Will possibly be branching out to other games as they release, but as of right now these are the games I'm playing, and it's running Bf2 fine with the setup I bought it with, havent put in the Q6600, PSU, or upgraded RAM yet.

Any help again is greatly appreciated!
 
i would change GTS to 8800GT appart from that looks ok appart from you got 2 lots of ram Corsair and G.Skill. :p

basics of overclocking is you go into the Bios (press delete on bootup).. and move some sliders up(clock speeds etc), but at abit at a time.. voila overclocking.

As i said looks pretty solid build, yet i think the GT will last you longer. Also are you sure you dont want to have SLi option(2xnvidia Gcards) on the motherboard? as the 8800GT dont cost a fortune.. later down the line when games become more demanding.. you can just buy another Gcard cheaply and get upto 50% improve in game performance. Saving you having to upgrade from scratch again. Its up to you.:D
 
so which RAM is better? Corsair or the G-Skill? I mean its 4 GB of G-Skill as opposed to 2 of Corsair. Or should I have gone with Ballistix?

Also, which motherboard would be recommended? Again I'm looking to go with the best there is, or at least that will last me for awhile.

And I'll be trying the overclocking later and will try and post if I have problems!

Thanks!
 
you need a p35 chipset to support the new 45nm's and for SLI and 45nm support youll need a x38 chipset
 
No point in wasting cash on the DS3R when it doesn't look like you'll be using the RAID and extra SATA ports... might as well go with the cheaper DS3L which is 100% identical minus RAID and some SATA ports.

I'd also change that hard drive for a SATA hard drive. Remember that modern motherboards only have one IDE channel and it's kind of a pain to get your optical drive and hard drive on one standard-sized IDE cable. And because it's newer, SATA is faster and more reliable anyway, and can even be cheaper.

And forget Vista for now. I've argued this multiple times before: it's buggy, DX10 isn't worth the marginal improvement in visuals, and definitley not worth the 15% - 20% decrease in performance (ie. framerates). Totally not worth it. Stick to XP, and since you're sticking to XP, stick to 2GB of RAM instead of 4GB. It's overkill, not neccesary at all. It's for heavy multi-tasking and even under XP 2GB is plenty for even the heaviest multi-taskers.

I'd also suggest ditching the case, but that is a matter of preference. The case of my former system was hardly as flashy as the one you chose and I eventually regretted getting such a blingy case.

Really the best thing you want is a case with good cooling without goin over $50-$100 (spending more is dumb) for this I suggest either the Antec 900 or Coolermaster CM 690. The 900 has slight blingyness, so it's a comprimise. I'd check it out, unless the case you chose is really cheap, like $20, but then you'd have to question the quality of such a thing (trust me, I've seen my share of really bad cases that crumble the moment you take them out of the box)

Also, consider getting a heatsink for that Q6600, either a Tuniq or Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme, whichever you find for cheaper.

And, I agree with every other response in this thread. Definitley invest in some Crucial Ballistix. Absolute best ram money can buy. If you can't find a deal on those, OCZ Reapers or Titaniums also go for cheap, but keep the Ballistix in priority.
 
I don't know my build works great with 64 bit Vista Ult. I think DX10 is also worth it in games like Bioshock, Crysis, etc

No offence man, I think plenty of people will disagree with you.

I'm not saying that games aren't playable under Vista, but you do lose out on performance because Vista is quite bloated compared to XP.

Plus, you can hack the Very High settings in Crysis to run under DX9, and screenshot comparisons have shown there is incredibly little difference and that the 'Very high' settings run much smoother under XP.
 
you need a p35 chipset to support the new 45nm's and for SLI and 45nm support youll need a x38 chipset

eh? 680i supports it ASUSTeK Computer Inc. -"Support Intel® next generation 45nm Multi-core CPU" also isnt X38 crossfire only? :eek:

yee. what the other guy said change that IDE harddrive to a SataII harddrive.

Finally if you are overclocking the cpu.. best get a nice cooler like recommended above.
 
No point in wasting cash on the DS3R when it doesn't look like you'll be using the RAID and extra SATA ports... might as well go with the cheaper DS3L which is 100% identical minus RAID and some SATA ports.

I'd also change that hard drive for a SATA hard drive. Remember that modern motherboards only have one IDE channel and it's kind of a pain to get your optical drive and hard drive on one standard-sized IDE cable. And because it's newer, SATA is faster and more reliable anyway, and can even be cheaper.

And forget Vista for now. I've argued this multiple times before: it's buggy, DX10 isn't worth the marginal improvement in visuals, and definitley not worth the 15% - 20% decrease in performance (ie. framerates). Totally not worth it. Stick to XP, and since you're sticking to XP, stick to 2GB of RAM instead of 4GB. It's overkill, not neccesary at all. It's for heavy multi-tasking and even under XP 2GB is plenty for even the heaviest multi-taskers.

I'd also suggest ditching the case, but that is a matter of preference. The case of my former system was hardly as flashy as the one you chose and I eventually regretted getting such a blingy case.

Really the best thing you want is a case with good cooling without goin over $50-$100 (spending more is dumb) for this I suggest either the Antec 900 or Coolermaster CM 690. The 900 has slight blingyness, so it's a comprimise. I'd check it out, unless the case you chose is really cheap, like $20, but then you'd have to question the quality of such a thing (trust me, I've seen my share of really bad cases that crumble the moment you take them out of the box)

Also, consider getting a heatsink for that Q6600, either a Tuniq or Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme, whichever you find for cheaper.

And, I agree with every other response in this thread. Definitley invest in some Crucial Ballistix. Absolute best ram money can buy. If you can't find a deal on those, OCZ Reapers or Titaniums also go for cheap, but keep the Ballistix in priority.


wow, nice and informative post man, thanks! now here is response......

First of all, the computer came already built minus the Q6600, Corsair PSU, and the extra 4 GB of RAM (which I guess I'll send back now, lol). So the case came with it. Why did you regret such a "blingy" case?

And I couldnt seem to find any mobo's earlier at work that would work with the Q6600. I probably just wasnt looking well enough while at work. Any suggestions?

THANKS again!
 
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