Avadirect build---need opinions

P

Panc

n00b
Joined
Aug 23, 2007
Messages
8
I think I'm finally going to pull the trigger on this after debating various companies for an absurdly
long time. I'd really appreciate some informed opinions--

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CUSTOM COMPUTER, Core™ 2 Duo Extreme SLI Performance Series System

LIAN LI, Classical Silent PC-6070Bplus II
ANTEC, TruePower Trio 650 Power Supply, 650W
eVGA, nForce 680i SLI 775 A1, LGA775, nForce 680i SLI, 1333MHz FSB,
INTEL, Core™ 2 Duo E6850 Dual-Core, 3.0GHz, 1333MHz FSB
ARCTIC COOLING, Freezer 7 Pro Quiet CPU Cooling Fan/Heatsink
KINGSTON, HyperX 2GB (2 x 1GB) PC2-6400 DDR2 800MHz CL4 (4-4-4-12) SDRAM DIMM, Non-ECC
eVGA, e-GeForce 8800 GTS Superclocked 576MHz, 640MB GDDR3 1700MHz, PCIe x16 SLI, 2x DVI, HDTV/S-Video Out, Retail
WESTERN DIGITAL, 400GB WD Caviar® SE16 (WD4000AAKS)
SONY, DDU1615/B2S Black 16x DVD-ROM Drive, IDE, OEM
SONY, AW-Q170A-B2 Black 18x DVD±R/RW Dual Layer Burner, EIDE/ATAPI, OEM
MITSUMI, Black Internal 1.44MB Floppy + 6-in-1 Card Reader Drive
MICROSOFT, Windows Vista Home Premium Edition 32-bit, OEM
WARRANTY, Silver Warranty Package (3 Year Limited Parts, 3 Year Labor Warranty)

$1828.82

SHIPPING: $28.05
TAX: $114.30
TOTAL: $1971.17
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I know, the tax sucks, but I'm in the same state(OH) as Avadirect. I priced out the exact same components in their gaming model
but it was about 110 bucks more expensive(even without overclocking). Do you think the gaming model receives more rigorous testing or something?

I might go SLI in the future but I'm not really into overclocking. Does this rig look decent for gaming? Any opinions on that
Lian-Li case? It seems to get good reviews for being well made and quiet.
Also, is the onboard audio any good on that motherboard? I have read that X-fi cards don't play well with Vista.

Thanks
 
The NZXT Adamas has superior cooling to the Lian Li 6070B. That will be very important for your current build and if you ever upgrade to SLI.

Onboard audio is fine for the vast majority of computer users.

Everything else looks solid. Quit waiting and go forth.
 
Thanks for the heads up on that Lian Li case. I guess 80mm fans aren't the way to go. I'll check out that case you mentioned. Got any opinions on the Antec P182 case?
 
The 182 is a well designed case, but you will probably need to install the optional second 120mm fan for adequate video cooling.
Check out the video.
Given the current operating environment, go with a singular card reader versus the card/floppy combination.
 
I don't know how well your PSU will handle SLI. The Corsair HX620 is supposed to be able to drive 2 8800GTX in SLI.

I just got my PC (in sig) from AVA. They did a great job. Go for it!!
 
Mr. Wolf,

That's funny that you mentioned the psu. I changed my mind on that Antec psu a few days ago and decided on the very same Corsair 620 that you mentioned. I think I'm gonna go ahead and order next week.

Maybe I missed it in your sig---what motherboard did you get?

How long did it take from the time you ordered your system to the time it arrived?
 
Panc

My mobo: ASUS, P5B, LGA775, Intel P965, DDR2-800 8GB/4, PCIe x16, SATA 3Gb/s /5, Audio, GbLAN, ATX. It was the default selection. I won't go with SLI on my system. The only upgrade I'm gonna do is the next-gen Nvidia graphics card in a few months. It took about 2.5 weeks from the order date 'til I had it. Good luck with yours!
 
I have heard that the AC Freezer 7 has
a) cooled no better than stock and
b) cooled just as good as any similarly priced cooler

I am building right now and the fact that the b's existed made me switch to a Scythe Ninja Plus Rev B. Granted I'm building on my own and not through Avadirect. Looks good other than that.

I used to live in Ohio, moved to Chicago after I got married/job and couldn't take the OSU fans anymore. I miss the Indians :(

Hail to the Victors.
 
I would change the case as everyone else as said, the 6070 is a VERY old case now, and it always was a bit hot in there. I don't know if AVA offer this, but as they let you have anything that you want anyway, a CM Stacker 830 would be a great case for you. Amazing cooling, and IMO, a pretty good price, it's well worth the money. The processor could be changed to a Q6600, or a E6750, either go up or down, the E6850 is bad value. If the system is going to be overclocked, you have more the reason to move down to the E6750, and the extra 200 mhz won't make any major differences in performance. If the price difference is quite big, I would definitely go for a stock clocked graphics card. If there are any cheaper PC6400 memory options, I would go for them, but otherwise the memory is fine. I do like good value a lot lol. I would also get a 500GB hard drive, only a few dollars more yet they offer quite a bit more space. The Corsair HX620 will easily handle 8800GTX SLI and more, it is capable of 800W.

The Arctic is way better than the stock cooler, but very cheap. Whoever said that it isn't better than stock is an idiot. In fact, Panc, you could follow flipflopsnowmans spec, it is quite similar to yours.
 
Another case suggestion: ThermalTake Armor

I'm very impressed with mine. You want cooling? Check out the 25cm fan on the left side. :eek: The Armor has fans in the front and back, too. It's an excellent case.
 
If you want to reduce cost but want a case with great cooling,check out the Antec Nine Hundred.Low price but loaded with fans.
 
i would have recommended the Antec Nine Hundred, but wire management is a bit annoying. And now I remember that AVA will be building the PC, not him :D
 
I'm leaning towards the Antec P182 case.

You guys think I should go for the Q6600? Is there an advantage at this point over dual-core for gaming?
 
There aren't many games right now that will benefit from quad cores. You will see benefit in video encoding, photoshop, HD rendering, etc from a Quad core. I haven't checked prices lately, but isn't the Q6600 similar in price to the E6750? The Q6600 aslo faired VERY well against the dual core E6850 in this review:

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/core2quad-q6600.html

And if you don't now...the Q6600 overclocks extremely well too.

I guess my recommendation would be go for it, especially if the price is similar...you'll at least have a little future-proofing with a quad.
 
Since both the Q6600 and E6850 are so close in price(about a $10 difference),it seems to be common question.If you're not going to overclock,the 6850 would seem to have the edge,at least in gaming.And it seems to be the general opinion that to do any significant overclocking with the Q6600 you should have a watercooled system,since the quad cores run hotter than dual cores to begin with.
 
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