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Building New Computer Need Help

J

jokerx225

Limp Gawd
Joined
Feb 2, 2005
Messages
193
So heres the deal im building a new computer and i have everything except the motherboard,cpu,power supply so i was wondering if some of you can help me out wit this. Right now im at $3200 and im trying to stay below $4000. I need a good cpu and good mobo to go with it i do alot of gaming,music and dvd burning. hopefully someone can help me out:confused:. Thank you!

Heres my list

CASE
LIAN LI PC-V1000BPLUSII W Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

VIDEOCARDS
2 BFG Tech BFG GeForce 8800GTX 768MB 384-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16

RAM
G.SKILL 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit

HARD DRIVES
Western Digital Raptor WD1500ADFD 150GB 10,000 RPM
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 (Perpendicular Recording) ST3750640AS 750GB 7200 RPM

DVD DRIVES
PHILIPS Black Blu-ray DVD Burner
LITE-ON Black DVD Burner with LightScribe

SOUND CARD
Sound Blaster X-Fi Elite Pro 7.1 Channels 24-bit 192KHz PCI Interface Sound Card

SPEAKERS
Logitech Z-5500 505 Watts 5.1 Speaker

LCD SCREEN
SAMSUNG 204BW Black 20" 6ms DVI Widescreen LCD Monitor with Height Adjustments 300 cd
 
You are WASTING a LOT of money using 2 8800GTX cards for a 20" LCD. You'd need a 30" to use that power. Buy 1 8800GTX or even spring for the Ultra if you really want overkill (1 Ultra is still WAY cheaper than 2 GTXs) and save the money for something else.

As far as the other parts, Abit IP35 Pro Motherboard (only if you take my advice about ditching SLI since this board won't support it), a Intel Q6600 CPU and a Corsair 620HX PSU and you will be styling.

Also, for 4GB of RAM you will need a 64-bit version of Windows. 64-bit XP was not great, so go with Vista.

I'd also hold off on the sound card. Listen to the on-board sound first. It is very good on that motherboard. If you decide you need the sound card, you can always add it later. I don't think you will feel you need it though. On board sound has come a long ways. The Raptors are over priced too. You can get more performance and space out of a pair of 'Cudas in RAID 0 for less money. It almost seems like you were trying to make this machine more expensive. More expensive does not always mean better or faster.
 
If you want SLI the eVGA 122-CK-NF68-A1 or T1 boards are the only way to fly. I do agree that a higher resolution monitor is necessary to make very good use of SLI, though. I love my 204B, but its 1600x1200 res is slightly more difficult to drive than the 204BW's 1680x1040, and I'm having no trouble with a single OC'd GTX. Granted, my GTX is faster than an Ultra at the moment, but even at stock clocks it is enough. I am a very demanding gamer -- lowering settings, any settings, is not acceptable, and so I do keep the second card as an option, but in truth I think a single GTX or Ultra will be enough for the forseeable future, and swapping for a newer card is likely a better plan than a second card when that day comes.

Drop the Raptor, just buy another pair of Seagate 7200.10's for less than the cost of the single Raptor, put them in RAID 0, have 3-4x the space, faster, for less. Yay! You also have plenty of space for drives -- drop the 750GB and get something around the 500GB mark, pay less per GB.
 
I agree with everything Frogger has said. SLI is a complete and utter waste of money on a 20 inch screen. Of course, for $4000, you can build a killer SLI machine with a top end processor and still have money left over for a 24 inch LCD (with a 1920x1200 resolution -- the minimum needed to take advantage of GTX SLI.) That's probably the best route. Being able to realize a substantial performance increase over your old PC is fine ideed, but there really is no nicer, more luxurious upgrade than an upgrade to a larger screen.

With a budget for a super-high end rig, I'd build:

Motherboard: Evga 680i A1. Best SLI motherboard on the market, hands down.
Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 (G0 stepping for maximum overclock)
Cooler: Tuniq Tower with stock fan or Thermalright Ultra 120 with Infinity fan
Videocards: Switch to EVGA for better warranty and step up program (in case the G90's come out before Q1 08)
Hard Drives: Two Hitachi Terrabyte Drives (raptors are a loud waste of money -- large platter drives are nearly as fast.)
PSU: Corsair 620 watt model, or reasonable alternative. You do not need a 1000watt behemoth to power such a rig. Consult PSU forums here, as well as JonnyGuru for reviews.

Everything else from your build looks good, except the X-Fi, which still has driver problems with Vista x64. Note that you'll need Vista x64 in order to utilize 4 gigs of RAM. XP-64 isn't really a good option due to a host of compatibility issues and very poor hardware and software support. 32-bit Windows (XP or Vista) will leave you limping with 2.5 gigs of RAM (due to the RAM in your video cards.)

Of course, if you're stuck on a 20 inch monitor, then you should absolutely drop SLI video cards. Get a P-35 Abit IP35 Pro motherboard instead and a single GTX or Ultra card (although you can even get by with a GTS 640 today.)

Mark.
 
I don't agree with Mark that you want the Corsair 620HX and GTXs or Ultras in SLI. At all.

The thing only has 2 native PCIe power connectors. It's a rebranded Seasonic, people, it's not magic, so /please/ stop treating it as such. Is it a great PSU for a high end single card system? Yes. Is it a poor choice for a high end SLI system? Also yes.

Silverstone, Etasis, PC Power and Cooling, the Thermaltake Toughpower line, Enermax, Seasonic themselves... find any high wattage supply (700+ ideally) with 4 native PCIe power connectors from any of these companies, pay a little more, get a lower power bill and longer component life. The loading curve is a bell curve. You don't really want to load your supply past ~65-76% of its rated capacity ideally, ever. If you do efficiency tends to go down fast. Lower efficiently means more heat and a higher electrical bill (pulling more power at the wall to produce the same amount of DC, costing you more) and shorter component life. It's not worth saving $50-60 now for that. Yes, I know that some supplies have fairly flat curves after a certain point -- the Corsair rebranded Seasonics are not among them. They take a pretty considerable nosedive after about 65-70% load.

I am not advocating some 1200watt leviathan that's 2x the length of a standard supply or anything of the sort, I'm just saying, the Corsair supplies are not the end-all-be-all, and sometimes they don't cut it. Period. Will it run? Sure. Would I do it? Obviously not.
 
I'd trade out that Samsung monitor for this NEC 20WMGX2. It's a vastly superior AS-IPS panel (essentially the last of it's kind, especially at that price point), and has the most gorgeous display I have ever seen. This is coming from someone who just made the switch from CRT to LCD, out of necessity, and I'm incredibly happy with it.

Most importantly though, that monitor will soon (and I mean soon) be replaced by a terrible 20' TN panel. So I would jump on it now. Plus, you can take advantage of the $100 (!) MIR.
 
If you are going all out like that I suggest you follow the above advice and cut down 1 video card and still get the EVGA A1 to T1 board with a ThermalTake Toughpower 750W+ or PC Power and Cooling with quad PCI-E connectors. Then when you get a better monitor with a higher resolution get the extra GTX and you will be flying.

Processor either a E6850 if you aren't over clocking or the Q6600 G0 steeping if you are. Don't bother with extreme processors.
 
jokerx225 said:
Right now im at $3200 and im trying to stay below $4000.

LCD SCREEN
SAMSUNG 204BW Black 20" 6ms DVI Widescreen LCD Monitor with Height Adjustments 300 cd
Click to expand...

Honestly WTF? I would spend 1/4 of that budget on a nice LCD.
 
As everybody else has said, you are wasting a lot of money on that setup. One 8800GTX by itself can easily handle a 30 incher (at low settings though), so getting an SLI setup for a 20 incher is not gonna work. Get the GTX, and buy a 24 incher, and buy the Abit IP35 Pro (or EVGA for SLI). As for the PSU, you really don't need anything more than a 500 W, so buy the Corsair VX450. Honestly, that will be plenty. But, if you plan for SLI, get the Corsair HX6620, it isn't actually a 620W power supply, it is about 750W, just rerated and marketed at 620W to be quieter.
 
Do you have those parts already, in hand? can you return any of them? Because I agree with everyone else... that $3200 wasn't spent wisely, imo.

Ditch/Return that blu-ray drive. Its not worth its price. Wait a year or so until its more mainstream, and the media is cheaper.

To answer your question:
$300 - Q6600
$220 - 122-CK-NF68-A1
$200 - PC P&C Silencer 750 Quad
======
$720 + tax and shipping

Now, to take advantage of those graphics cards, return that LCD monitor and Blu-Ray drive for at least a 24" LCD, or better yet, a 30" LCD.

Also, return that 750GB and pickup two 500GB drives instead. Then return the Raptor and pickup two 250GB barracudas for a RAID0 array.
 
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