Building new rig

[quahitis]

Well, I'm ready to build a new system and I have allotted a budget of $2300-2500, including a monitor(s). This system will be used for gaming and photo editing. I'm currently looking at the following with more room to add

e8400 or e8500
ASUS Striker II Formula LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 780i SLI ATX
EVGA 9800 GTX
Corsair Dominator 1066 - 4GB
WD Raptor 150 x 1
WD 750 GB x 3 (Raid 5)
Silverstone 1000W
LG BlueRay combo drive
Undecided on case
Undecided on monitor

I am definitely looking for comments and suggestions so don't hold back!

Thanks

 

[vict0r]

planning on overclocking real mad etc etc? not planning on overclocking at all?!
do not buy the e8500 ... buy the e8400 , its cheaper

planning on going SLI ?

if the answer is NO , tipex Asus Striker mobo and switch it for a p35 , x38 or x48 mobo.

case , coolermaster 690 is a nice and cheap case


monitor... hmmm i dont know on that one ,someone else can help you

the rest looks nice ...

 

[quahitis]

I'm interested in ocing, but nothing extreme. I agree on the e8400 because the .5 multiplier increase really isn't worth a $100.

I would like the ability to go SLI even if I don't do it from the start.

I like the case you suggested

Do you think the Raptor is worth the money?

I'm thinking dual 20" or 22" monitors

I may have to increase my budget =)

 

[quahitis]

bump

 

[ToxicBanana]

WD have a known problem with raids. (not the RE versions)
and Samsung F1 have trouble with the 780i Chipset.

So my recommendation is go with Seagate


The 9800GTX price is not worth the benefit to a 8800GTS (92) 512MB card.
You do not need a 1000w PSU, 750watts is more then plenty

Save the cash on that for a bigger monitor or another HDD for your raid.

22" Samsung has some nice ones,
24" Dell is what I would aim towards.

 

[UtopiA]

edit, nvm.

 

[coolchu001]

get a Q9450

 

[ToxicBanana]

Gaming nor photo-editing can get a benefit from a quad core.

 

[Dangman]

I would like the ability to go SLI even if I don't do it from the start.

I'm thinking dual 20" or 22" monitors

SLI won't be worth with those monitors. It's around 1920x1200+ (or a 24"+ monitor) where SLI truly proves it's worth. So unless you're getting a single 24" monitor, since SLI will only work with one monitor enabled, not two, don't bother with SLI.

Good quote on SLI:

Just some info on SLI / Crossfire: It's absolutely not worth considering if a) you're gaming at a resolution under 1920x1200 (as you'll see no performance benefit over a single card,) and b) if you plan to buy one card now and another later. SLI / Crossfire as an upgrade path is usually a very poor idea, as by the time you're ready to get that second card, a new single card solution will likely be available that will outperform two of your older cards in tandem. Furthermore, there really is no cost benefit to the SLI Upgrade Route, as any additional cost in getting the new card can be easily mitigated in most situations by selling the original. By avoiding an SLI / Crossfire solution when it will not be of benefit, you gain a cooler running, simpler to maintain system and more importantly, access to a much better (and broader) selection of motherboards.

Though if you're willing to get two cards now, a 24" monitor and an SLI motherboard, I recommend the following:
eVGA 123-YW-E175-A nForce 750i FTW SLI Motherboard - $200
2 x MSI NX8800GTS 8800GTS 512MB PCI-E Video Card - $450 ($225 each)
---
Total: $650 plus tax and shipping

Also, don't bother with the Dominator 1066 RAM. Very overpriced considering you can get DDR2 1000 RAM for about half the cost of that Corsair RAM yet is only 66mhz slower:
G.SKILL F2-8000CL5D-4GBPQ 2 x 2GB DDR2 1000 RAM - $90

Also, the Raptor is not worth it's costs at this time considering that this drive is almost as as fast as the Raptor yet is cheaper and offers more storage:
Western Digital WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - $115

If you really want the fastest consumer hard drive out there, wait for WD's new Velociraptor drives.

And some case suggestions:
Cooler Master Centurion 534 ATX Case - $50
Cooler Master Centurion 532 ATX Case - $55
Cooler Master RC-590-KKN1-GP ATX Case - $60
Cooler Master RC-690-KKN1-GP ATX Case - $70
Cooler Master Mystique RC-632S-KKN1-GP ATX Case - $75
Antec Solo - $78
Lian Li Lancool PC-K7B ATX Case - $80
Lian Li PC-7B Plus II Silver ATX Case - $90
AeroCool Masstige ATX Case - $100
Gigabyte Aurora GZ-FSCA1-ATB ATX Case - $115
Rocketfish Aluminum Full-Tower Case - $120
Antec P182 ATX Case - $130
Thermaltake Armor VA8000BWS Full Tower ATX Case - $140
Thermaltake Armor VA8003BWS Full Tower ATX Case - $150
Lian Li PC-A16A ATX Case - $150
Coolermaster Cosmos 1000 RC-1000-KSN1-GP Full Tower ATX Case - $155
Lian-Li V1000A Plus II ATX Case - $180
Cooler Master Stacker RC-832-KKN1-GP Full Tower ATX Case - $192
Cooler Master Cosmos S 1000 RC-1100-KSN1-GP Full Tower ATX Case - $198
Lian Li PC-V1200 ATX Case (Silver) - 180
Lian Li PC-V1200 ATX Case (Black) - $214
Lian Li PC-V1200B Plus II ATX Case - $215
Lian-Li PC-V1100A PLUS II ATX Case - $220
Lian Li PC-A71B ATX Case - $240

And finally get in on this deal on good quality 750W PSU:
Corsair 750TX 750W PSU - $105

Though if you want a 1000W PSU for braggin rights, get this PSU instead:
Ultra X3 1000W Modular PSU - $200

 

[quahitis]

Thanks for all the input. If I don't go the SLI route which mobo would you suggest?

 

[ToxicBanana]

Asus or Gigabit P35, xxxxxxxx

 

[Dangman]

Thanks for all the input. If I don't go the SLI route which mobo would you suggest?

Some recommendations:
Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3L Intel P35 Motherboard - $90
MSI P35 Neo2-FR Intel P35 Motherboard - $110
DFI BloodIron P35-T2RL Intel P35 Motherboard - $110
Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3R Intel P35 Motherboard - $120
DFI LanParty DK P35-T2RS Intel P35 Motherboard - $140
Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3P Intel P35 Motherboard - $150
Abit IP35 Pro Intel P35 Motherboard - $170
Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS4 Intel P35 Motherboard - $170
Gigabyte GA-EX38-DS4 Intel X38 Motherboard - $207

Just to help you out: If you don't need RAID, more than 4 SATA ports, check out the DS3L. If you need 5 SATA ports, 2 eSATA ports, and a second PCI-E x16 port, then get the Neo2-Fr. If you want heavy overclocking abilities and six SATA ports, check out the Blood Iron. If you like the BloodIron but want significantly better overclock stability, go for the LanParty. If you want 8 SATA ports, RAID, and legacy ports and high overclocks, than the DS3R is a good choice. If you want the DS3R but need Firewire and a second PCI-E x16 port, then go for the DS3P. If you want something that can overclock pretty damn high along with, RAID, eSATA ports and firewire connections, than the IP35 Pro. If you like the DS3P but want better cooling for overclocking, then go for the DS4.

 

[quahitis]

Thanks for all the help!