Big upgrade - help?

G

GrimWD

n00b
Joined
Dec 29, 2007
Messages
33
Hi everyone.

I'll finally be upgrading my 4 year old P4 laptop to a new computer I plan to build myself (my first self-built pc), and I was hoping you could give me some feed back on the components I chose as well as suggest anything else a first time builder might need.

I had a question regarding the video card - would it be better to purchase an 8800GT and use the EVGA step up to go to the 9800GX2, or should I stick with my friend's X1650 and wait possibly a month or so for the new cards to be released.

I plan on mantaining a single card build, and I was going to jump in for a 3870 X2, but with the in game benchmarks disappointing, I figured it would probably be best to stick with Nvidia. I'll be getting a 24inch monitor, so I plan on having a really powerful single card to run at native resoultion.

I'm a heavy gamer, and very into multiplayer so getting max fps is somewhat important to me.

I'm hoping to really maximize performance through overclocking, so I'm also aiming to have the best possible air cooling performance I can - so I'd appreciate any help in how to achieve this. The tower will sit on my floor, so I've been looking at full towers, and the Stacker appears to have the best air cooling performance.


Here is my wishlist
I'm trying to keep the price under 2500 including the monitor.
 
looks like a solid build. just get the thermalright 120 extreme heatsink instead. search around websites for better deals on all your parts. buy.com, clubit.com, zipzoomfly.com, sidewindercomputers.com, etc. if u have a decent monitor already i would use that for now. i bought a 22' samsung 220wm for only $199.99 on black friday :D much difference from normal retail price.

if you have the patience then dont do the step up, but if u just cant wait then go ahead with the 8800gt.
 
Solid build but I recommend ditching the sound card for now. Try out the onboard sound first and if its not up to your liking, then get the Creative sound card.

Also, you can get the power supply for cheaper here:
Corsair 620HX 620W PSU - $145

I do concur with crhscoog's recommendation for the Ultra 120 Extreme. It cools better than the Ultra 120 and is about the same price. However, newegg doesn't carry that HSF so you will have to get elsewhere:
Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme HSF - $57 & Scythe S-Flex SFF21E 120MM Case Fan - $14

If you're a patient person, like crhscoog said, then just wait. If not, get the 8800GT.

Also, just get one SFF21E for the Ultra 120 Extreme. The S-Flex fans are too expensive to be used as simple case fans. Get these fans instead:
120mm Yate Loon D12SL-12 Case Fan - $3.50
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top