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Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
Model #: Nine Hundred
Item #: N82E16811129021

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EVGA 123-YW-E175-A1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 750i FTW SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
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Item #: N82E16813188026

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EVGA 512-P3-N871-AR GeForce 9800 GTX(G92) 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
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Item #: N82E16814130339

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ZALMAN ZM750-HP Continuous 750W ATX12V V2.2 / EPS12V V2.91 Modular LED Heatpipe-Cooled SLI Power Supply - Retail
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Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80570E8400 - Retail
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Patriot Viper 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model PVS24G6400LLK - Retail
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Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
Model #: WD6400AAKS
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Hanns·G HW-173DBB Black 17" 8ms Widescreen LCD Monitor - Retail
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Pioneer 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model DVR-215DBK - OEM
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Microsoft Windows Vista 64-Bit Home Premium for System Builders Single Pack DVD - OEM
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ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler - Retail
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Subtotal: $1,479.89
 
i would say your hardware is way better than your monitor...


i would either get a less powerful gpu or a nice monitor.... or both...

i recommend the 9600gt especially for a 17" LCD.


it looks like you went over board with PSU for the other components...
 
For a 17" monitor, your setup is total overkill. You don't need SLI, so drop the SLI mobo and go with a P35 motherboard:
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 - $130
Asus P5K-E Intel P35 Motherboard - $140
Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3P Intel P35 Motherboard - $150
Asus P5K-E/Wifi-AP 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 and only need semi-decent overclocking, check out the DS3L. If you need 5 SATA ports, 2 eSATA ports, slightly better overclocking, and a second PCI-E x16 port, then get the Neo2-Fr. If you want heavy overclocking options and six SATA ports, check out the Blood Iron. If you like the BloodIron but want significantly better overclock stability and options, go for the LanParty. If you want 8 SATA ports, RAID, legacy ports and high overclocks and optional eSATA, 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 like the DS3P but need 3 PCI slots instead of the DS3P's 2 PCI slots and like having non-optional eSATA, go for the Asus P5K-E. If you like the P5K-E but need wifi, then go for the P5K-E/Wifi-AP. 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. Do note that the Asus website can be slow sometimes.

Better quality yet cheaper PSU here:
Corsair 750TX 750W PSU - $101

And I concur with Adidas4275. For that size monitor, all you need is the 9600GT.

I rate it a 6/10. Good choice of parts but complete and total overkill.
 
Either drop the GPU down a few notches or get a much bigger monitor.

Also, get a better CPU HSF. I also agree with Danny's recommendation on getting a P35 board and that Corsair PSU instead.
 
I'd get a Q6600 quad core over the 8400.

Today's games don't care much for anything over 3.0Ghz, but the system enhancements you get with a quad core are WAY more visable than a faster dual core.
 
I agree with Adidas4275, Danny Bui, enginurd, and Archaea!

Oh wait, I don't totally agree :)

The eVGA 750i SLI FTW motherboard is actually a great motherboard for overclocking, even if you don't use it for SLI. I haven't found a bad review for that motherboard yet. And it has PCI-e 2.0 which the P35 boards don't.

The 9800GTX is a good card for a 24" monitor. You only need a 9600GT for a 17" monitor. However, if you end up going high-end, the next generation of video cards from ATI & nVidia are being released June 16 - 18, so you could always wait to see how those perform. Or you could get a nVidia card now from either eVGA or BFG Tech, and use their Step-Up programs to get a new card.

Switch your power supply to a Corsair CMPSU-750TX.

Danny Bui forgot his heatsink list!
--------------------------------
Originally Posted by Danny Bui

Here are some recommendations for better CPU coolers:

Xigmatek HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle HSF - $37
Tuniq Tower 120 HSF - $45
ZEROtherm Nirvana NV120 120mm HSF - $50
Thermalright Ultima-90 HSF - $46 & Panaflo FBA09A12M 92mm Fan - $3
Noctua NH-U12P HSF - $60
Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme HSF - $57 & Scythe S-Flex SFF21E 120MM Case Fan - $14

The more you spend, the more cooling you get and therefore higher chance of better overclocks.
--------------------------------

I, too, think you are better off with a quad-core instead of dual-core. You can always get a Q6600 or Q9450 overclocked past 3.0GHz easily. In fact, one of the reviews I read of the eVGA 750i SLI FTW motherboard had a Q6600 overclocked to 3.6GHz easily.
 
AndonSage said:
I agree with Adidas4275, Danny Bui, enginurd, and Archaea!

Oh wait, I don't totally agree :)

The eVGA 750i SLI FTW motherboard is actually a great motherboard for overclocking, even if you don't use it for SLI. I haven't found a bad review for that motherboard yet. And it has PCI-e 2.0 which the P35 boards don't.

The 9800GTX is a good card for a 24" monitor. You only need a 9600GT for a 17" monitor. However, if you end up going high-end, the next generation of video cards from ATI & nVidia are being released June 16 - 18, so you could always wait to see how those perform. Or you could get a nVidia card now from either eVGA or BFG Tech, and use their Step-Up programs to get a new card.

Switch your power supply to a Corsair CMPSU-750VX.

I, too, think you are better off with a quad-core instead of dual-core. You can always get a Q6600 or Q9450 overclocked past 3.0GHz easily. In fact, one of the reviews I read of the eVGA 750i SLI FTW motherboard had a Q6600 overclocked to 3.6GHz easily.
Click to expand...

PCI Express 2.0 cards are backwards compatible with the PCI-E 1.1 (x16) slot. The main selling point of PCI-E 2.0 is that it doubles the available bandwidth for the PCI-E x16 slot from 8GB/s to 16GB/s. However, there is no single card out now that fully utilizes all of the available bandwidth from the PCI-E 1.1 bus.

Also, I think you should get a larger monitor and choose a different board. While the 750i FTW is a good board, you don't need its main feature -- SLI -- and you can find a board with similar features (sans SLI) for less. The P35 (or the upcoming P45) chipset is a good choice.

Why a larger monitor? With your budget, all you need are a few changes and you can easily afford a 19", 20", or even a (cheap) 22" widescreen monitor.

The Xigmatek HDT-S1263 is actually one of the best CPU coolers around. Its price makes it more appealing than the Noctua NH-U12P or the TRUE 120. However, if you're concerned about the HSF fitting inside your case, either get the LGA775 Bolt-Thru kit or consider a smaller HSF like the Thermalright Ultima 90 (with Panaflo 92mm M1A-Z fan).
 
AndonSage said:
I agree with Adidas4275, Danny Bui, enginurd, and Archaea!

Oh wait, I don't totally agree :)

The eVGA 750i SLI FTW motherboard is actually a great motherboard for overclocking, even if you don't use it for SLI. I haven't found a bad review for that motherboard yet. And it has PCI-e 2.0 which the P35 boards don't.


.
Click to expand...

I have to agree here. the EVGA 750i FTW is top notch, EVGA in my expression has great customer service and the mobo has a lifetime warranty. My only gripe with it is that it only had one USB header instead of two.
 
thats almost the same build as i just ordered a few days ago. should be here tomorrow.


E8400
9800GTX
DS3R
4GB GSkill DDR2
600w OCZ GameXstream
22" Samsung 2ms, 10,000:1
Logitech G5 Lasrer Mouse
 
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