College Build...critique please...

[rayman2k2]

DVD Burner:
- SAMSUNG 18X DVD±R DVD Burner - $32.99

HDD's:
- Western Digital Raptor WD1500ADFD - $194.99
- Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 Perpendicular Recording Technology) 320GB - $79.99

Video Card:
- XFX PVT84GUDF3 GeForce 8600GTS 256MB - $184.99

Memory:
- CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) TWIN2X2048-6400C4 - $119.00

MOBO and CPU:
- ABIT IP35 Pro - $179.99
- Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 - $319.99

Case and PS:
- Antec Performance One P180 - $129.99
- SeaSonic M12 SS-500HM ATX12V/EPS12V - $129.99


TOTAL: $1,371.92



Obviously, I'm gonna wait for the Q6600 to drop down a bit, but is it a good build regardless? I dont know too much about the current Intel mobo's but I wanted something with SLI so I can stick in a second video card when the time comes...but I've heard good things about the IP35 Pro, which is why I chose it.

Anyways, is the Power Supply good enough? Memory?


I'm mainly going to be using it to watch HD Movies, along with moderate gaming, folding and occasional coding. I'm entering my sophomore year in college and would like it to last until I graduate - if it means anything, I've been using the Dell in my sig ever since April '02.

 

[lt_shiro]

Lose the raptor for Seagate 500GB. Much better valve and get a 8800GTS if you are spending that much on your rig. Also what kind of monitor you plan on getting.

 

[l3ender]

I cringe every time I see a Raptor in a build. What a waste of money for barely any performance gain. I'd ditch that straight away.

You can find much better deals on PSUs, try this one for the same price and if you buy it before the 31st, much MUCH cheaper. Either way, a better PSU for the same price.

I'd also definitely go for an 8800 GTS, especially if you are thinking a little more for the future.

Unless you are going to use stock cooling, don't forget a heatsink.

 

[Mcot]

8800GTS ftw, the 8600 and below are 128bit, which is weird considering even the 7900 id 256bit...

Also, Q6600 seems pointless for what your doing on it. Save some bucks and go with an e6750 or an e6550.

Ditch the raptor too, they don't add THAT much in performance to pay almost 5x the price per gigabyte.

 

[Technoob]

DVD Burner:
- SAMSUNG 18X DVD±R DVD Burner - $32.99

HDD's:
- Western Digital Raptor WD1500ADFD - $194.99
- Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 Perpendicular Recording Technology) 320GB - $79.99

Video Card:
- XFX PVT84GUDF3 GeForce 8600GTS 256MB - $184.99

Memory:
- CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) TWIN2X2048-6400C4 - $119.00

MOBO and CPU:
- ABIT IP35 Pro - $179.99
- Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 - $319.99

Case and PS:
- Antec Performance One P180 - $129.99
- SeaSonic M12 SS-500HM ATX12V/EPS12V - $129.99


TOTAL: $1,371.92



Obviously, I'm gonna wait for the Q6600 to drop down a bit, but is it a good build regardless? I dont know too much about the current Intel mobo's but I wanted something with SLI so I can stick in a second video card when the time comes...but I've heard good things about the IP35 Pro, which is why I chose it.

Anyways, is the Power Supply good enough? Memory?


I'm mainly going to be using it to watch HD Movies, along with moderate gaming, folding and occasional coding. I'm entering my sophomore year in college and would like it to last until I graduate - if it means anything, I've been using the Dell in my sig ever since April '02.

minus one raptor
minus 8600

plus 8800

 

[engiNURD]

I agree, ditch the raptor (yes, I have one; no, I didnt pay for it). My raptor does 78MB/s avg transfer rate, while my 'cuda does 65MB/s. Not bad for less than half the price and double the capacity.

I agree, the 8800GTS would be better for gaming. However, the 8600 would be better for HD content viewing. What size screen will you be watching all this HD pr0n on?

That RAM is expensive. Look for something around $85 for 2GB, DDR2-800. No need to spend extra for tighter timings... you won't notice the difference in everyday usage.

I'd stick with eVGA as the brand, if goin with an NVIDIA card. They have the best warranty. You can OC, replace stock cooler, step up, and have a lifetime warranty.

 

[rayman2k2]

dually noted


yeah, i'll drop that raptor then, i always thought there was a decent speed increase, but meh. the hd content will most likely be 720p video, so I dont really need the HD decoding capabilities of the 8600GT, so I guess I'm getting a 8800GTS then huh? I'll also step down to a 6550, maybe even the 6750...

is the mobo good though?


screen is gonna be a dell 2007fpw. also, im looking into HSF's and I'm interested in a Scythe, not sure which one though...

 

[Imitation]

The P35 boards,(IP35pro) CAN'T do SLI. NONE of the intel chipsets can. So don't get that board if you're dead set on SLI later. You'll need an nvidia chipset mobo to do that. The evga 680 boards are your best bet if you're wanting SLI later, the 650i's are decent too, but they might start to bottleneck the 8800's and above. The evga's are pretty cheap though, I'd grab one of those and a E6750.

 

[Actuary]

DVD Burner:
- SAMSUNG 18X DVD±R DVD Burner - $32.99

HDDs
- Seagate 500gb - $120

Video Card
- EVGA 880GTS 320mb - $280

Memory
- 2x1gb G. Skill DDR2 800 - $89

Mobo
- Asus P5N32-E SLI - $210

CPU
- e6750 - $225

PSU
- Corsair 520HX - $125

Case
- Antec Performance One P180 - $129.99

Total - $1,211.99

Add another 500gb drive for an extra $120 and enjoy a terabyte of space if you like. A 640mb video card will cost you $375, or an extra $95.

If you want to save some money you could drop down to a 6550 for $184 and save $41. I'm sure it'll overclock well. Probably could also switch to a different case and save some money.

 

[evilcartman]

Very solid overall. I have nothing to add on top of what others suggested already. Definately go with an 8800GTS...I, personally, would suggest the 640MB version (for a bit more future-proofing) but either one is a huge improvement over the 8600GTS and well worth the difference in price.

 

[engiNURD]

I'll also step down to a 6550, maybe even the 6750...

is the mobo good though?

also, im looking into HSF's and I'm interested in a Scythe, not sure which one though...

Yah, either of those CPUs will be good. They both OC like crazy. However, the E6750 would be easier to OC, since it has a higher multiplier (7x vs 8x).

The IP35 Pro is a great board. If you want to save money and don't mind losing some of those features it offers (mainly uGuru), then the IP35 is good, too. Another good, cheaper alternative is the Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R.

I have the Scythe Ninja Plus Rev.B. People rank the Infinity higher, but for the price of the infinity, I'd go for the Tuniq Tower instead. I believe its on sale at svc.com for nearly the same price as the Ninja, so I'd go for that if its still on sale. I have both, and my Ninja keeps my E6400 slightly cooler than my Tuniq. In all honesty, they're very comparable, and I was too lazy to change out the Ninja back to the Tuniq, lol. The new Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme has been turning a lot of heads lately, but is quite pricey with the addition of a $15 Scythe S-Flex fan.

 

[jucestain]

ASUS Black SATA DVD-ROM Drive Model DVD-E616A3T - Retail
$19.99

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80562Q6600 - Retail
$319.99

G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-2GBNQ - Retail
$88.99

GIGABYTE GA-965P-DS3 LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
$119.99

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
$64.99

OCZ GameXStream OCZ600GXSSLI ATX12V 600W Power Supply - Retail
$109.99

EVGA 768-P2-N831-AR GeForce 8800GTX 768MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card - Retail
$516.99

Grand Total: $1,230.93

If you're in college, you don't need a case. All you need is a cardboard box:

http://img130.imageshack.us/my.php?image=peanutshooter3ne.jpg

From my experience with computers... Focus most of your costs on the CPU and video card. These are the two most important things. But, seriously, you might need a decent case to cool that massive card... I'd reccomend the Antec 900 for pure cooling. But, if looks are important, you might wanna go a different direction. Good luck.

 

[engiNURD]

@jucestain:
A college student doesnt need a quadcore. The 965P-DS3 is old. Go for the P35-DS3R instead. GXS PSUs are supplied by FSP Epsilons, which have ripple, unless I'm mistaken. The cardboard box will get crushed, along with the quadcore inside it, at the next kegger.

 

[Actuary]

ASUS Black SATA DVD-ROM Drive Model DVD-E616A3T - Retail
$19.99

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80562Q6600 - Retail
$319.99

G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-2GBNQ - Retail
$88.99

GIGABYTE GA-965P-DS3 LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
$119.99

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
$64.99

OCZ GameXStream OCZ600GXSSLI ATX12V 600W Power Supply - Retail
$109.99

EVGA 768-P2-N831-AR GeForce 8800GTX 768MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card - Retail
$516.99

Grand Total: $1,230.93

If you're in college, you don't need a case. All you need is a cardboard box:

http://img130.imageshack.us/my.php?image=peanutshooter3ne.jpg

From my experience with computers... Focus most of your costs on the CPU and video card. These are the two most important things. But, seriously, you might need a decent case to cool that massive card... I'd reccomend the Antec 900 for pure cooling. But, if looks are important, you might wanna go a different direction. Good luck.

I agree with this guy to an extent, I based my above configuration on you wanting to have the possibility of SLI if you choose. If you never plan to go to SLI definitely get the Gigabyte 965P-DS3. I have it and it's a great mobo.

I'd still recommend the e6750, QuadCore is overkill, not much is going to take advantage of all those cores, it's a waste of money.

He recommended the same RAM I did, so no complaints there.

I'd go for the bigger 500gb seagate drive, more storage is better, especially considering how much college students love media (I've ripped my movies to my hard drives, which is why I have 850 GB of storage).

The OCZ is a good PSU, you won't go wrong with it or with the Corsair one I recommended. The Corsair has 54 amps on 3 rails while the OCZ has 72 amps on 4. Either will meet your power needs.

I don't see the point of spending the extra money on that video card over the 640mb version I recommended earlier.

 

[engiNURD]

If you never plan to go to SLI definitely get the Gigabyte 965P-DS3. I have it and it's a great mobo.

The OCZ is a good PSU, you won't go wrong with it or with the Corsair one I recommended. The Corsair has 54 amps on 3 rails while the OCZ has 72 amps on 4. Either will meet your power needs.

I don't see the point of spending the extra money on that video card over the 640mb version I recommended earlier.

Intel P35 Express >> Intel P965 Express. I agree, the old DS3 is a great board (I have one), but theres no point in buying an old chipset now.

The OCZ one has ripple. The Corsair one you recommended is actually a much better choice.

Theres a significant performance difference between the GTS and the GTX... otherwise, the GTX wouldn't exist.

 

[jucestain]

Yea. The 620HX and 520HX are also highly reccomended (I own a 620HX). They're good quality psu's with modular cables which are nice. The problem is that they cost more. I tried to make pretty much the cheapest configuration (with decent parts, the gamestream seems pretty highly reccomended and from the reviews I read can power an 8800GTX) with the best cpu and video card.

To be honest with you, I haven't looked much into the benchmarks of p35. I'm assuming there isn't any performance gain, there's only the opportunity of upgrading in the future without changing the motherboard. This would be ideal if you plan on upgrading within a year again. But, if you plan on keeping this comp for like 2-3 years, you'll probably just upgrade everything again.

So, on all the parts I picked, yea, you could get slightly better parts for 20-30 more each (which adds up) and see almost NO performance gain. Or you could save money here and there and get almost the same performance.

One of the things you could definitely switch out is the Q6600 with the E6750. I reccomended the Q6600 because it just recently got a price cut and seems like a great deal as well as a high performance cpu. But yea, looking at benchmarks, I think the E6750 might be a better deal.

But yea, at the end of the day, make absolutely sure you get the best cpu and gpu. I tended to overlook this when I built my rig, as I wanted to get the nice D9GMH and tuniq tower and the nice 620hx with modular cables and such. Because of this, I ended up going from an 8800GTX to a 8800GTS in order to save a little on my budget.

 

[SippieCup]

ASUS Black SATA DVD-ROM Drive Model DVD-E616A3T - Retail
$19.99

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80562Q6600 - Retail
$319.99

G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-2GBNQ - Retail
$88.99

GIGABYTE GA-965P-DS3 LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
$119.99

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
$64.99

OCZ GameXStream OCZ600GXSSLI ATX12V 600W Power Supply - Retail
$109.99

EVGA 768-P2-N831-AR GeForce 8800GTX 768MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card - Retail
$516.99

Grand Total: $1,230.93

i like this too, also check the hotdeals section for some of this stuff. you can get lucky.


the only thing i would change is the hard drive, i'd go with the 500GB one, its 40 bucks more and gives you twice the storage. then for the case, you can geta P182B for like 50 bucks if you check the right places. once again, [H]otDeals comes in handy.

 

[silent-circuit]

Reiterating:

GameXStream line is a bad idea -- has out of spec ripple, there are far better choices. Get a 700+ watt supply if you plan to go SLI in the future -- yes, the 620HX will allow you to run even GTX's in SLI, but you'll be close to its rated capacity under load. Efficiency will go down, meaning more heat and a shorter component lifespan. No reason to risk that when you can get a higher rated supply for another $20 or so.

The 680i is only a good idea if you want SLI. Go with a P35 based board if you don't want SLI -- ideally /not/ an ASUS, as they cost more and have horrible customer service. If you get a 680i, the eVGA 122-CK-NF68-A1/T1 is the only way to go.

Buying anything less than an 8800 GTS right now if you want to game on PC is a poor plan. Ideally you'd want a GTX or Ultra. A GPU upgrade will give you /far/ better performance than a $200 Raptor HDD. Drop the thing and put the money in to your graphics card, and you should be much happier with the end result.

What size/resolution screen will you be using?

 

[Dangman]

What size/resolution screen will you be using?

Answer:

screen is gonna be a dell 2007fpw.

Anyway, a college student needs to save money for books, no? So here's a list of where to get some of the recommended parts here at a good price:

Corsair HX520 520W PSU - $100 <= Get this if you're on a tight budget
Corsair HX620 620W PSU - $147 <= Get this if you want your system to last a bit longer without having to upgrade the PSU

Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 CPU - $209 <= Get this if you're on a tight budget
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 CPU - $289 <= Get this if you're gonna be doing any serious encoding or rendering. Might be helpful with compiling code but not too sure about that. Future games may use all four cores.

Antec P182 ATX Case - $125 <= Surefire way of getting a P180 with all of the new revisions.

EVGA 640-P2-N821-AR GeForce 8800GTS 640MB PCI-E Video Card - $375 <= If you're planning to play DX10 games like Crysis or Bioshock, this card is the minimum you'll need for DX10 gameplay.

 

[rayman2k2]

Okay, so here's what I came up with:


DVD Burner:
- SAMSUNG 18X DVD±R DVD Burner - $32.99

HDD's:
- Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 500GB - $119.99

Video Card:
- EVGA 8800GTS 640MB - $374.99

Memory:
- G.SKILL 2x1gb DDR2-800 - $89.00

MOBO and CPU:
- EVGA 122-CK-NF68-T1 - $189.99
- Intel Core 2 Duo E6750- $229.99

Case and PS:
- Antec Performance One P182 - $169.99
- CORSAIR CMPSU-520HX - $124.99

Total: $1,331.92



These are newegg prices, and I should be able to get it lower if I shop around, but how's it looking?

 

[l3ender]

Looks like a good build

 

[silent-circuit]

Either get a 700+ watt high quality PSU or drop the 680i for a P35. No reason to have to sell your PSU and buy another if you ever decide to add another GPU, and it'll be all of $20-30 different now.

 

[engiNURD]

Your original board choice was better, imo, since you don't seem to need SLi.

 

[jucestain]

Yea, really, drop the mobo. Get the cheaper ds3 or the p35 gigabyte offering and spend the extra money towards an 8800GTX. Higher end motherboards offer almost no performance gain (except some overclock better, but you aren't trying to overclock). So, spending 190 on a motherboard is pretty much a waste unless you're really set on going with SLi.

Honestly, from what I've seen, SLI never seems to be a good deal unless you want THE best performance for the current generation video card. Usually a single next gen video card will beat the previous gen video card in SLi. SLi also requires a high wattage psu like silent-circuit said. But, the 520HX can handle a single GTX.

Everything else on that list looks great. But...

I cannot stress this enough, get the GTX.