I'm so excited I may actually wet myself...

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davidober

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After several (four?) years of struggling through game-playing with a Dell Dimension 8250 with a 9800 Pro 128MB, I finally decided to spring for a truly worthy gaming rig. I'm the kind of guy who notices DETAILS everywhere I go. Details in cars. Details in food. Details in people's houses, details in computer games, etc. So imagine how hard it's been for me the last few years playing video games that I KNOW have so much more to give in the way of detail and color and COOLNESS. I remember playing FarCry for the first time and wanting to cry. I just couldn't play it at its highest settings, but wanted to SO BADLY.

So I resolved to do something about it about two years ago. I made a promise to myself that next time I bought a PC, I would buy the absolute very best processor and video card I could possibly buy, no matter what they cost. Well the time has finally come, and I put the money down on my OverdrivePC last week, and I couldn't possibly be more excited.

Make no mistake, what I am about to do is unadulterated, unabashed BRAGGING. :D

My OverdrivePC Gaming Behemoth:

Cooler Master Stacker 830 (Silver)
Factory Copper Cooler (Air)
Enermax 1000 Watt Power Supply
Core 2 Duo E6600 4MB HyperClocked to 3.4 Ghz (+/- 2%)
eVGA nForce 680i SLI Motherboard (775)
2GB RAM (OverdrivePC does not specify the brand)
nVidia GeForce 8800 GTX
Western Digital Raptor 74GB SATA 10,000 RPM 16MB Cache
Seagate 160GB SATA 7,200 RPM 8MB Cache
Sony 18X Dual Layer DVD Burner 48X CD Burner
Sound Blaster X-Fi Platinum 7.1
Dell 2407WFP (Christmas present from brother-in-law??? If not, I will purchase)
Logitech Z-5450 5.1 Wireless Surround (Christmas present from mom)
Windows XP Professional

I still have a day or two to make changes. Any suggestions?

Thanks for reading.
 
Save some cash on the PSU. That rig won't use more than 500w under full load.

Hell, it wouldn't use anything more than about 420w full load.

Aim for a 600w+ PSU and put the extra cash towards something else.
 
everything there looks good to me except these to items:
davidober said:
Enermax 1000 Watt Power Supply
Seagate 160GB SATA 7,200 RPM 8MB Cache
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i dont think that you would need a 1000W PSU for that, maybe if you had 2 8800GTX's, maybe go for something in the range of 600-750W
also the 160gb hard drive, i think you could go for maybe 1 250gb or a couple of them unless you dont like to have much storage room
 
IMO-

Intel Bad Axe 2 instead of 680i (since non-sli, and if yr thinking in the future i might get another one forget it - because by then the new card would be better the sli setup)

for hdd, raptor 150

apart from that , I'm getting almost the same setup so gaming galor this holiday
 
Arcygenical said:
Save some cash on the PSU. That rig won't use more than 500w under full load.

Hell, it wouldn't use anything more than about 420w full load.

Aim for a 600w+ PSU and put the extra cash towards something else.
Click to expand...

I went with 1000 on the recommendation of OverdrivePC. They said that with the overclocking and the future addition of another 8800GTX in SLI mode, that 1000 is probably a good idea. I will probably get the additional 8800 GTX in about three or four months.

He saved me a bunch of $$$ by letting me know that I did NOT need to go from 2GB to 4GB of RAM, so I was inclined to believe him when he recommended the 1000 watt supply. Do you think he was wrong?
 
dp0001 said:
IMO-

Intel Bad Axe 2 instead of 680i (since non-sli, and if yr thinking in the future i might get another one forget it - because by then the new card would be better the sli setup)

for hdd, raptor 150

apart from that , I'm getting almost the same setup so gaming galor this holiday
Click to expand...

I believe the only motherboard they offer for SLI is the 680i. I will definitely be moving to SLI in the next six months to a year.
 
davidober said:
I went with 1000 on the recommendation of OverdrivePC. They said that with the overclocking and the future addition of another 8800GTX in SLI mode, that 1000 is probably a good idea. I will probably get the additional 8800 GTX in about three or four months.

He saved me a bunch of $$$ by letting me know that I did NOT need to go from 2GB to 4GB of RAM, so I was inclined to believe him when he recommended the 1000 watt supply. Do you think he was wrong?
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He assumed you were seduced by the SLI marketing scam. In a few months, most likely another card will be available that will beat both in SLI. Never ever have the intention of using SLI as an upgrade path, its not worth the power consumption/price/and performance. SLI is really only good if you buy two of the top cards at the same time.

Get a 800w or lower and just upgrade to a better card later. I'm going to buy a 8800gtx in a few months when the prices go down and after they release the refreshes.
 
couple of questions

1. How much is this costing you?

2. Why are you skimping on the harddrive when you could easily get a 400gb or 500gb for only $50-$100 more which will last you shitloads longer than a measily 160gb?
 
tisb0b said:
couple of questions

1. How much is this costing you?

2. Why are you skimping on the harddrive when you could easily get a 400gb or 500gb for only $50-$100 more which will last you shitloads longer than a measily 160gb?
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1. A lot of money. I know. I know. I could have built a similar system myself and saved A LOT OF MONEY. I'm just not that type of person. I'm the guy who calls a plumber and pays him $80 to do something I could have done in 15 minutes myself. That's just the way I am. I'm not a "tinkerer" know what I mean? I just don't really enjoy doing that kind of stuff. I'm a reader. A thinker. A doer. I'm just not a builder or fixer. Never have been, never will be.

2. Because I'm stupid. I really should upgrade that second hard drive, shouldn't I? Wonder if they'll still let me...
 
davidober said:
2. Because I'm stupid. I really should upgrade that second hard drive, shouldn't I? Wonder if they'll still let me...
Click to expand...

Just give em' a call and I'm sure they'll be more than happy to do it because everyone loves money :)
 
Riddlinkidstoner said:
He assumed you were seduced by the SLI marketing scam. In a few months, most likely another card will be available that will beat both in SLI. Never ever have the intention of using SLI as an upgrade path, its not worth the power consumption/price/and performance. SLI is really only good if you buy two of the top cards at the same time.
Click to expand...

QFT
 
davidober said:
I went with 1000 on the recommendation of OverdrivePC. They said that with the overclocking and the future addition of another 8800GTX in SLI mode, that 1000 is probably a good idea. I will probably get the additional 8800 GTX in about three or four months.

He saved me a bunch of $$$ by letting me know that I did NOT need to go from 2GB to 4GB of RAM, so I was inclined to believe him when he recommended the 1000 watt supply. Do you think he was wrong?
Click to expand...
You don't need 4 Gb UNLESS you are running Vista. That thing is a resource hog!

For Windows XP yeah, 2 Gb seems to be the sweet spot.
 
4GB asks for Windows XP 64 bit version or Vista. 32 bit Windows and 4 GB ram makes You wonder what happend to a ram. Simple said XP canot alocate 4GB. Hence it can't use it.
Vista and 64 bit version can.





MD
 
davidober said:
1. A lot of money. I know. I know. I could have built a similar system myself and saved A LOT OF MONEY. I'm just not that type of person. I'm the guy who calls a plumber and pays him $80 to do something I could have done in 15 minutes myself. That's just the way I am. I'm not a "tinkerer" know what I mean? I just don't really enjoy doing that kind of stuff. I'm a reader. A thinker. A doer. I'm just not a builder or fixer. Never have been, never will be.

2. Because I'm stupid. I really should upgrade that second hard drive, shouldn't I? Wonder if they'll still let me...
Click to expand...

You need to learn to be a tinkerer. End of story. Spend that 1,000 you will save on something like a Dell 3007 monitor or a 7.1 audio setup with a good receiver.
 
There are pros and cons to building. Me, if I have the money and the time (initially building the system, and then any troubleshooting) and I could get what I wanted, I'd pay OPC or something.

Don't let these naysayers get you down. Your computer is going to be un-f'ing-believable and you will wet yourself. :D
 
I suggest changing the brand of DVD burner. Sony has built in copy pretection schemes that make it a whole lot hard to make back up iso's via dvd shrink. When ever I encounter one of these disks, I just have to put it in my othe machine with an older NEC dvd burner and it backup fine.
 
hdds are so cheap right now. why have one 160gb? you can get 2 brand new 250gb hdds from newegg for $160. so through them upgrading from the 160gb to 2-250gb hdds in raid 0 should only cost another bill. i'd also look at an upgraded hsf, like a zalman
 
Riddlinkidstoner said:
He assumed you were seduced by the SLI marketing scam. In a few months, most likely another card will be available that will beat both in SLI. Never ever have the intention of using SLI as an upgrade path, its not worth the power consumption/price/and performance. SLI is really only good if you buy two of the top cards at the same time.

Get a 800w or lower and just upgrade to a better card later. I'm going to buy a 8800gtx in a few months when the prices go down and after they release the refreshes.
Click to expand...
I agree that the PSU is overkill even for SLI, but I wouldn't say SLI is a marketing scam. Hell, if you wait a few months for something to come out, you'll be waiting a few months forever. I'm going to be doing 7900GS SLI... Wanna know why? Cuz it does what I want. Why wait? It's cheap and works. Maybe his 8800GTXs aren't so cheap, but he'll get a good spead bump later down the line for a lot less than buying a new top of the line card.
 
I doubt youll ever need more than 1 8800GTX for a 24" montior.

And by the time you do? There wil be 9800 level cards out (radeon what?!) that will cream 2 8800's in SLI.
 
buffbiff21 said:
You need to learn to be a tinkerer. End of story. Spend that 1,000 you will save on something like a Dell 3007 monitor or a 7.1 audio setup with a good receiver.
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"End of story"? Don't you think that's a little ... I don't know ... dogmatic, maybe? :p

Let me ask you a question: Do you grow your own vegetables? I'm assuming you don't. If you do, then my analogy is for sh*t. LOL

If you don't grow your own vegetables, why don't you? You know where I'm going with this, right? Bottom line: We all choose where and on what we spend our time. I don't like tinkering. I'd rather spend my time doing other things than tinkering. The extra money I spend because I'm not a tinkerer is worth it to me because it frees up my TIME. Does that make sense?

I write. I make short films. I am one of the best golfers in the state of California. Those things take time. Computer tinkering is not one of my hobbies. Playing computer games is. Are we clear now? If not, I don't know what to tell ya. :)
 
tisb0b said:
Quoted For Truth :D
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I just Googled it and it took me to "www.urbandictionary.com." Damn, that's a cool site.

I gotta start usin' that:

"QFT mutha fuckah!" :D
 
davidober said:
I just Googled it and it took me to "www.urbandictionary.com." Damn, that's a cool site.

I gotta start usin' that:

"QTF mutha fuckah!" :D
Click to expand...

She, skip the middle step

QFMFT, works similarly well.
And I DO grow my own vegetables, so...
 
Bad idea about downsizing on the power supply, because it will allow your hardware to function fully, and it will allow you to take advantage of future hardware upgrades.

I think that maybe you should spend extra cash and get a liquid cooling system, instead of an air one, because it will make it a lot quieter.
 
I suggest you get a normal 6600 cpu and OC it yourself. Get better hard drives your going to be out of space in no time. I used over 100gb of my 500gb before I knew it. Make sure you get good ram it will help. You dont need to buy the 500 dollar sticks but at least pick a good brand. WTF is a Factory Copper Cooler. Get something better. Air or liquid is your choice. I would go air. Who cares bout noise in a gaming rig. Mobo is fine. Do not get wireless speakers. Thats just a ridiculous combination. Not sure bout your monitor make sure you get a nice one.
 
WarriorX said:
I suggest you get a normal 6600 cpu and OC it yourself. Get better hard drives your going to be out of space in no time. I used over 100gb of my 500gb before I knew it. Make sure you get good ram it will help. You dont need to buy the 500 dollar sticks but at least pick a good brand. WTF is a Factory Copper Cooler. Get something better. Air or liquid is your choice. I would go air. Who cares bout noise in a gaming rig. Mobo is fine. Do not get wireless speakers. Thats just a ridiculous combination. Not sure bout your monitor make sure you get a nice one.
Click to expand...

The factory copper cooler is a special custom made design for OPC that works pretty well. Look at it this way, overclocking and temps are covered under OPC warranty (assuming you don't fuck with the bios) so even if your cpu is running 70c load and it breaks, you get a shiny new one.
 
You need to OC using bios therefore voiding your warranty right?
Sounds like a waste and a scam. C2d doesnt run 70c. Unless its like 3ghz with no cooler.
How much are these pre hyper clocked chips. Sounds like another scam.
/edit
I looked at this overdrive place and its one of those places that builds your pc. Did a quick build and it was fucking $3500. Could easily build the same thing for like $2500 max buying stuff off of newegg. Its your money but you can save your self a ton buy building your own. Its really not that hard.
 
WarriorX said:
You need to OC using bios therefore voiding your warranty right?
Sounds like a waste and a scam. C2d doesnt run 70c. Unless its like 3ghz with no cooler.
How much are these pre hyper clocked chips. Sounds like another scam.
/edit
I looked at this overdrive place and its one of those places that builds your pc. Did a quick build and it was fucking $3500. Could easily build the same thing for like $2500 max buying stuff off of newegg. Its your money but you can save your self a ton buy building your own. Its really not that hard.
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Before you call it a "waste and a scam," you should read the review of an OPC system right here on this site.

Still, though, you're right. I could have built a system myself for much less money. I have no interest in doing that, though -- it's just not the kind of thing that I do with my time. Call me stupid. Call me gullible. Call me what you will. I have just determined that I would rather spend my time doing other things than building, tweaking, and troubleshooting a PC.
 
Saving a few days on building a computer is better be being 1000+ dollars less in your pocket... I find it fun to build my own computer. I guess its part of being a gaming enthusiast. Do what ever you want with your money, i was trying to give you a second opinion but it seems your set on spending money on a over priced computer that will be obsolete in 6 months or less.
Couldnt find reviews on that cooler though.
 
WarriorX said:
Saving a few days on building a computer is better be being 1000+ dollars less in your pocket... I find it fun to build my own computer. I guess its part of being a gaming enthusiast. Do what ever you want with your money, i was trying to give you a second opinion but it seems your set on spending money on a over priced computer that will be obsolete in 6 months or less.
Couldnt find reviews on that cooler though.
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I wasn't asking for advice on whether or not I should buy it -- I already BOUGHT it. :)

I'm glad you like spending time on building computers. The world needs people like you. heck, if no one liked to build things and only liked to USE them like I do, NOTHING would get done!! LOL.

It's all good, man. I was just tryin' to show off my latest purchase and you had to crap all over it -- but that's okay, I can take it! ;)
 
Ahh ok. Hope you enjoy it then.

In your orginal post you did ask for suggestions, i didnt intend to flame you or "crap all over it" as you put it.
 
i have the enermax galaxy 1,000 watt psu.. i have two 7900gto's in sli mode... driving an apple cinema 30" at max res 2560x1600.. my old antec true power 2.0 550watts just shuts off when i play games... i needed that buffer power supply for my sli setup which is overclocked and my oc'ed cpu...

i think if you are gonna be driving a high res monitor getting that would assure you ...that you are getting the power you need... you dont want to get a 700watt powersupply and upgrade to another video card inteh future and have it just shutoff on you when you find out its not powerful enough.. then your gonna have to fork out more cash to get another psu... just get the 1,000 and have no worries :D
 
davidober said:
"End of story"? Don't you think that's a little ... I don't know ... dogmatic, maybe? :p

Let me ask you a question: Do you grow your own vegetables? I'm assuming you don't. If you do, then my analogy is for sh*t. LOL

If you don't grow your own vegetables, why don't you? You know where I'm going with this, right? Bottom line: We all choose where and on what we spend our time. I don't like tinkering. I'd rather spend my time doing other things than tinkering. The extra money I spend because I'm not a tinkerer is worth it to me because it frees up my TIME. Does that make sense?

I write. I make short films. I am one of the best golfers in the state of California. Those things take time. Computer tinkering is not one of my hobbies. Playing computer games is. Are we clear now? If not, I don't know what to tell ya. :)
Click to expand...

1. I dont grow my own vegetabes because i do not eat vegetables. But if i did i could grow them in my back yard. That still is not a very valid comparison because not all vegetables grow in certain areas you know. Computers can function in almost any area.
2. you dont have to like tinkering to actually do it dude
3. i go to school, work full time, play video games, im one of the best guitar players in the state of California, and yet i still find time to do all my computer crap. Think of tinkering as working a side job or sumthing. You dont necessarily have to like to do it, just do it anyways. It took me about a month to brush up on all the elemtns when i first got into computers, knowing whats goin inside your comp is almost essential knowledge these days. (in case something breaks down, YOU built it, so you know whats wrong with it)
 
If I was in your position I'd definitely move up to a larger hard drive. Other than that there isn't much I'd change, except maybe a better cooler ( I don't know much about the stock OPC coolers) but I like my CPU staying cool anyways.

As far as the PSU, if I was planning on getting another 8800GTX ( like you said you were) then I'd keep the 1KW PSU. If you just end up upgrading to a newer GPU later and replacing the 8800GTX then I'd step down to a lower priced 650W-700W unit.

Other than that, there's nothing but jealousy from my end ;) :D. Enjoy!
 
Geo Fry said:
If I was in your position I'd definitely move up to a larger hard drive. Other than that there isn't much I'd change, except maybe a better cooler ( I don't know much about the stock OPC coolers) but I like my CPU staying cool anyways.

As far as the PSU, if I was planning on getting another 8800GTX ( like you said you were) then I'd keep the 1KW PSU. If you just end up upgrading to a newer GPU later and replacing the 8800GTX then I'd step down to a lower priced 650W-700W unit.

Other than that, there's nothing but jealousy from my end ;) :D. Enjoy!
Click to expand...

E-mailed OPC tonight about changing to a larger 2nd hard drive. Hope I'm not too late...
 
buffbiff21 said:
1. I dont grow my own vegetabes because i do not eat vegetables. But if i did i could grow them in my back yard. That still is not a very valid comparison because not all vegetables grow in certain areas you know. Computers can function in almost any area.
2. you dont have to like tinkering to actually do it dude
3. i go to school, work full time, play video games, im one of the best guitar players in the state of California, and yet i still find time to do all my computer crap. Think of tinkering as working a side job or sumthing. You dont necessarily have to like to do it, just do it anyways. It took me about a month to brush up on all the elemtns when i first got into computers, knowing whats goin inside your comp is almost essential knowledge these days. (in case something breaks down, YOU built it, so you know whats wrong with it)
Click to expand...

I'm not tinkerin', and you can't make me!! :D
 
my only suggestion would be saving money on speakers and invest in headphones, but not sure what games/movies it is u play etc...but u could save some $$$ there and put towards monitor or whateva.(as far as headphones, check out the audio subforum, tons of info)

some guys here on forum have the 8800 series cards pushing serious resolutions like 30"inch and up. and those monitors/tv's cost!

all in all if ur set on what ur getting now, CONGRATS on da BADAZZ system.
 
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