please help.

[xcoreRelentless]

Looking for help on building a new computer. Ive all ready bought a case to start the project: Antec Nine Hundred Ultimate Gamer Case. I all ready know Im going to be putting in an intel cpu, need suggestions or facts about the different cpu types (ie. p4 / dual core / etc... [[need most information about this, Ive neglected to keep up on cpu information and Im lost in the sea of all the new names and types]]) and mobo ideas. I definitly want to go with PCI-Express. As far as a graphics is concerned I was thinking about the ATI X1950XT 512MB or the nVidia EVGA 8800 GTX 768MB, Ive heard that the EVGA card is worth the extra cash it costs. For sound Im thinking about sticking with some sort of Soundblaster set up, their products have been good to me for a while now BUT if there is some sort of card that is ultra awsome sound Id love to hear about it (Ive never really looked into sound cards before). Onto memory (which I also realized Ive fallen behind on after checking out www.outpost.com and seeing something along the lines of DDR2 800). Info about the new types of memory would be great. Also maybe a gigalan card although the one that is integrated into my MoBo in my current computer has been awsome and gets me a connection a little bit above T1 so I wouldnt be turned off to having the LAN integrated into the MoBo on this build as well. Any other ideas or criticism would be much appreciated.

Final Hardware:
- Case: Antec Nine Hundred Ultimate Gamer
- MoBo:
- CPU: Core 2 Duo E6600
- RAM:
- Graphics Card:
- Sound Card:
- :
- :
- :

_______________
Current Computer:
------------------------
- Case: Koolance Water Cooled
- MoBo: DFI LanpartyPro875B
- CPU: Intel P4 478 3.06ghz
- RAM: 2x 512 Dual Channel RD400 Corsair + Heatsink
- Graphics Card: ATI 9800XT 256MB
- Sound Card: Soundblaster Audigy Platinum2
_______________

Ill probably be turning my current rig into a server or something dont really know yet

 

[waytoosmall]

You did not give a budget, but I'll just tell you what most everyone will say.

Cpu--get the Core 2 Duo E6600...period

GPU--Do not buy any expensive card right now unless it is the 8800 series because they are the only dx10 compatable cards on the market and are therefore ready for next gen games. If you don't have the money, buy something like a 7900gs from EVGA, then sell it or utilize their step up program in a few months.

Mobo--I love mine, but if your not going SLI, look into the Asus mobo's, which someone else will surely give the model of. It is still 680i chipset I believe but around $150.

Ram--I love the crucial ballistix I just got, I would recommend them if you are going to overclock, if not, just get some valueram.

Sound Card--Get one of the X-fi series cards. They are top of the line and not outrageously expensive.

If I had time I would go to newegg and get the links for you, but I'm at work. Good Luck.

 

[xcoreRelentless]

Yeah I was planning on going with the EVGA 8800 specifically because of DX10. Like I said its a little bit more expensive but I would have to say that it sounds like a good deal for 100 dollars more. After checking out the Crucial Ballistix ram you talked about on Newegg I found two links of what I think you were talking about:

BL2KIT12864AA1005

BL2KIT12864AL1005

Do you happen to know the difference between the two?

I do want to go with an SLI MoBo and Id love suggestions especially if I am going to go with the Duo E6600.

Thanks a ton for your input waytosmall its greatly appreciated .

Also I checked out the Core 2 Duo E6600 and I was only able to find a 2.4ghz. Right now I have a P4 3.06ghz. Now before I would have figured that the 3.06 was faster BUT I would have to assume that even though the dual core is only a 2.4 it would still be much faster am I correct in this assumption?

 

[b1gapl]

Yes you are correct on your assumption. The e6600 is a heck of alot faster than a 3GHz processor. And you can overclock the e6600 way pay 3GHz, which will be even faster. DDR2 1000 is not the newest ram. 2gbs worth of DDR2 1000 will run you about, $400+.

 

[waytoosmall]

The Ram was 299 when I bought it a week and a half ago. Should still be the same. As for being the newest ram, not sure what you mean. DDR2 ram in general is the newest ram, you can get faster than ddr2 1000 but that ram is extremely overclocking friendly, and costs less than a lot of the higher rated ram. Yes it can be used dual channel.

Check out the mobo I have or just go over to newegg.com, motherboards, then select 680i chipset for all the options. And yes the E6600 will wipe the floor with your p4, and as you can see by my sig, it can go way past 3.04. Once I get all my watercooling equipment, i'll see how far....

 

[Sora]

actully...around 305 if you get G.Skill HZ's which EASILY overclock to way past 600mhz (meaning around DDR2-1200+)

 

[xcoreRelentless]

i edited my 2nd post with links to the memory i was looking at. With a case like the Antec Nine Hundred how much do you think Id be able to overclock the E6600 if all the fans including the two optional ones were installed? Also as you can see from the links 2gigs of DDR2 1000 should only cost around 300$

 

[xcoreRelentless]

So Im pretty sure that Ive figured out all of the hardware for the build. It is as follows:

- Antec Nine Hundred Ultimate Gamer Case

- EVGA nForce 680i SLI ATX MoBo

- EVGA GeForce 8800 GTX 768MB PCI-Express

- Intel Core Duo 2 E6600 2.4GHz

- Crucial Ballistix 2GB DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1000 (PC2 8000) Dual Channel

- Creative SOUND BLASTER X-Fi Fatal1ty FPS 7.1 Channels 24-bit 96KHz PCI Interface Sound Card

So this looks like the hardware Im going to go with. Since the case is all ready purchased Im looking at about 1600$ - 1700$ for the other parts. If someone wouldnt mind double checking the hardware Ive picked out on newegg to make sure its all compatible and everything looks up to par Id be much appreciative. Im planning on getting pictures up as I start to buy the hardware and build up the rig . Ill definitly keep everyone posted on how its going. Thanks again everyone who gave me some feed back today.

PS. If anyone knows of where I can get any of the parts mentioned above for less that neweggs posted prices please let me know. Id love to shave off a few more dollars.