New Gaming System. Help?

[BoxcarRichard]

Hello all! I am in need of some opinions on how this gaming rig will look/perform. Please leave any comments on what would work best with the set up I have in mind or if I need to make any hardware changes, and please explain why.

Budget: $600-800 ($900 is kind of a stretch for my wallet, but I might make it happen)


Motherboard: XFX nForce 680i LT SLI Motherboard
Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Processor 2.40GHz OEM
RAM: OCZ 4096MB PC6400 DDR2 Memory (2 x 2048MB)
HDD: Maxtor 100GB (from old comp)
PSU: OCZ / GameXStream / 700-Watt / ATX / 120mm Fan / -SATA Ready / SLI Ready / EPS / Active PFC / Power Supply

GPU: I have a few I'm interested in and will probably purchase two of the same one and SLI

-EVGA GeForce 8800 GT Video Card - 512MB DDR3, PCI Express 2.0, SLI Ready, (Dual Link) Dual DVI, HDTV, Video Card

-XFX GeForce 8800 GS Video Card - 384MB DDR2, PCI Express 2.0, SLI Ready, (Dual Link) Dual DVI, HDTV, Video Card

-XFX GeForce 9600 GT Video Card - 512MB GDDR3, PCI Express 2.0, SLI Ready, (Dual Link) Dual DVI, HDTV, Video Card

XFX GeForce 8800 GS XXX Video Card - Alpha Dog Edition, 384MB DDR3, PCI Express 2.0, SLI Ready, (Dual Link) Dual DVI, HDTV, Video Card

-XFX GeForce 8800 GT Video Card - Alpha Dog Edition, FREE Company of Heroes PC Game, 512MB DDR3, PCI Express 2.0, SLI Ready, (Dual Link) Dual DVI, HDTV, HDCP, Video Card


-In need of a good CPU cooler. I've never over-clocked before, but if it can enhance my gaming performance, please recommend a cooler to OC.
-What are your opinions on Vista? I'm conflicted with whether or not to invest in this OS because I hear it has a lot of bugs. Will having Vista enhance my gaming in any way?
-The 4GB of RAM will probably be necessary if I were to use Vista, but if I used XP, would you recommend I still get 4GB RAM?
-The MoBo is XFX. Will Non-XFX GPU's work well with the MoBo, or would you recommend going pure XFX?
-Do you think I should wait a month or two to see if new computer hardware comes out, thus lowering the prices of the hardware I just listed?
-Crossfire or SLI? Is one better than the other?


I apologize for such a long post. This is the first time building a computer and I just want to get everything perfect!

I appreciate any assistance and feedback! Thank you!

 

[Redmo0n]

What are you using the computer for?

Obliviously you are gaming, what games are you looking to play?

Will a 100gb hard drive be enough for you with OS and games, programs and other?

For 4gb of ram you will have to use a 64bit OS. If you can get vista go with that but xp does give slight performance gains, look into the vista v XP thread for more details.

As for your questions i can't give you the best answers so i would wait for someone else.

Also i would choose a different power supply, maybe something like the Corsair hx520

 

[Prototype]

Hello all! I am in need of some opinions on how this gaming rig will look/perform. Please leave any comments on what would work best with the set up I have in mind or if I need to make any hardware changes, and please explain why.

Budget: $600-800 ($900 is kind of a stretch for my wallet, but I might make it happen)


Motherboard: XFX nForce 680i LT SLI Motherboard
Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Processor 2.40GHz OEM
RAM: OCZ 4096MB PC6400 DDR2 Memory (2 x 2048MB)
HDD: Maxtor 100GB (from old comp)
PSU: OCZ / GameXStream / 700-Watt / ATX / 120mm Fan / -SATA Ready / SLI Ready / EPS / Active PFC / Power Supply

GPU: I have a few I'm interested in and will probably purchase two of the same one and SLI

-EVGA GeForce 8800 GT Video Card - 512MB DDR3, PCI Express 2.0, SLI Ready, (Dual Link) Dual DVI, HDTV, Video Card

-XFX GeForce 8800 GS Video Card - 384MB DDR2, PCI Express 2.0, SLI Ready, (Dual Link) Dual DVI, HDTV, Video Card

-XFX GeForce 9600 GT Video Card - 512MB GDDR3, PCI Express 2.0, SLI Ready, (Dual Link) Dual DVI, HDTV, Video Card

XFX GeForce 8800 GS XXX Video Card - Alpha Dog Edition, 384MB DDR3, PCI Express 2.0, SLI Ready, (Dual Link) Dual DVI, HDTV, Video Card

-XFX GeForce 8800 GT Video Card - Alpha Dog Edition, FREE Company of Heroes PC Game, 512MB DDR3, PCI Express 2.0, SLI Ready, (Dual Link) Dual DVI, HDTV, HDCP, Video Card


-In need of a good CPU cooler. I've never over-clocked before, but if it can enhance my gaming performance, please recommend a cooler to OC.
-What are your opinions on Vista? I'm conflicted with whether or not to invest in this OS because I hear it has a lot of bugs. Will having Vista enhance my gaming in any way?
-The 4GB of RAM will probably be necessary if I were to use Vista, but if I used XP, would you recommend I still get 4GB RAM?
-The MoBo is XFX. Will Non-XFX GPU's work well with the MoBo, or would you recommend going pure XFX?
-Do you think I should wait a month or two to see if new computer hardware comes out, thus lowering the prices of the hardware I just listed?
-Crossfire or SLI? Is one better than the other?


I apologize for such a long post. This is the first time building a computer and I just want to get everything perfect!

I appreciate any assistance and feedback! Thank you!

How about a 750i? i think it is better than the 680i and the same price range please correct me if im wrong

go with the Q6600 if ur not upgrading soon

2GB is fine right now u can add more later when cheaper

go with a 520HX Corsair

i think u should go with the 9600GT

 

[Invisible]

he's not gonna have room for SLI and Q6600 750i with an $800 budget...

 

[BoxcarRichard]

hey thanks for the replies guys. I just got back from eating dinner. I'm so sorry for not specifying the game I was interested in playing.

I want to get a computer set up for Age of Conan and WAR:Online. Does Vista OS effect gameplay performance at all?


I found all of the hardware mentioned from Tigerdirect. The XFX MoBo, 4GB RAM, and CPU come in a bundle for $399. Some of you might've thought I was buying each part separately. From my ignorant computer knowledge perspective, I figured this combo was a sweet deal. If you guys still think I should go a different route, I'm all ears =)

Oh yes, tigerdirect also has the same bundle as above, but with 2GB RAM for $349.99.

 

[BoxcarRichard]

How about a 750i? i think it is better than the 680i and the same price range please correct me if im wrong

Tigerdirect sells the 680i by itself for $99.99 and the 750i for $199.99. I don't see why the 750i is $100 more expensive except that it has one more PCI slot or something like that.

I have too many questions, but is PCI-e and PCI-e 2.0 the same as PCI-e X 16?

 

[NightSurge]

PCI-e and PCI-e x16 NOT the same. If it just says PCI-e, it is probably referring to PCI-e x1 which is a completely different card interface. PCI-e 2.0 is not even a format, but most likely is referring to the PCI-e x16, because there is both 1.0 and 2.0 versions, PCI Express 2.0 x16 being the newest and better version.

 

[thirdshiftdj]

as far as x64 os' go. Vista 64 is the best one. Way more support than XP x64. Trust me I've used both.

 

[BoxcarRichard]

I've done some research and I am considering a completely different set up now.

Some of the new features:
MoBo: (Both intel X38) Asus P5E LGA $224.99 newegg
Abit IX38 Quad GT 219.99 newegg
CPU: Intel C2D E8400 Wolfdale 3.0Ghz $189.99 newegg
GPU: Option 1
(combo deal newegg)
Two BGH GeForce 880GT 512MB 256 GDDR3 + BFG PSU (650W)
Price: $429.97

Option 2 (will buy another one of this card for (169.99)
(combo deal newegg)
One EVGA GeForce 9600 GT 512MB 256 GDDR3 + RAIDMAX PSU (700W)
Price of combo: $244.98
Price of combo plus another EVGA GPU: like $415

My question is which will perform better SLi? The 8800GT or the 9600GT?
Also, how is my hardware starting to look? =)

 

[Redmo0n]

I'm not sure about them PSU's

I think i heard that 9600gt performs better than 2x8800gt in SLI but single the 8800gt performs better.