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Hi all,
I'm finally building the new PC I set aside money for when DDR2 was released. I like to shop for a while. My primary motivation is that my wife just got a new laptop (Lenovo Y530, BTB), and I can't stand the idea of her having a faster computer than me. It hurts.
Sorry for the long post, you can skip the first half if you aren't looking to kill some time.
**
I do a little bit of everything, with the somewhat notable exception of gaming. I get into gaming for about 20 hours every time a new Need For Speed game comes out, but that's about it. However, I do a bit of coding, a bit of video encoding/rendering, bunches of Photoshop, and some audio recording/processing.
My budget is flexible, but we can call it $600 for the remaining parts. I expect it will deviate some one way or the other.
On a whim, I grabbed the Antec 900 and the 1KW truepower quattro when they were on sale. I'm now thoroughly air-flowed and powered for any build I could afford. I had planned on migrating parts from the dinosaur I nurtured for the last 6 years or so, but an electrical storm killed every single part (with the exception of one HD) in one blow. So, I need everything else.
I enjoy overclocking, and I'm in the fortunate situation where my computer is no longer mission-critical to my work or school, so I will certainly be doing a moderate overclock - more for fun than for real usefulness, and I don't have any delusions of breaking records, so it'll be good solid air-cooling for me.
I've got an old 19" 1280x1024 LCD that I love, and it will be my primary monitor for at least the next 9 months. I plan on upgrading to at least a 24" after that, but not before unless some insane deal pops up.
I haven't decided if I want to grab a new HDD right now, I've got my eye on the 640AAKS. I still have 920GB of assorted slower drives (I believe there's a 320GB 7200.10 that is my fastest) - how much benefit would I see from the 640AAKS? I do a lot of photography/photoshop stuff, and I do hate waiting for my enormous folders to load.
**
So here's my thoughts:
CPU: Q6600
Memory: G.Skill 4GB DDR2 800 (2x2) kit (x2, for a total of 8GB)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...231122&cm_sp=DailyDeal-_-20-231-122-_-Product
Mobo: Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128359
GPU: A little shaky - I was thinking either the GTX260 or one of the 4850s?
EDIT: I forgot to include a HSF - my laptop battery is dying rapidly, but last time I looked, the TRUE was in vogue. I'll be back in the morning to check on that!
The things I'm most worried about are as follows:
1) The memory is rated at a FSB of 400 - that's way above a reasonable 1:1 overclock on the Q6600, right? Am I having a major brain fart here? It seems like 9x333 is pretty popular, and that's way under the limit on that kit. If not, I have no problem upgrading to the G.Skill 1000 for a few bucks more a kit, but there's no reason to toss money away.
2) I'm always unsure about my mobo choice. I think it's just a mental block. But that one gets good reviews, and I like the color.
3) Really, I think it's a function of cost/performance, and software on the GPU. I don't do a ton of gaming, and right now running at 1280x1024 I realize I'm pretty much bush league. Are there any major issues these days with either nVidia or ATI software? I remember back in the day it was hell getting one of them to work, and then 3 years later I couldn't get the other to work, but I'd hope by now they had all the hydravision/nTune/random bloatware crap settled.
Also, I have a strange fetish for this XFX GTX280, and I don't know why. My brain tells me that it's WAY too much GPU for me, but my ego says otherwise.
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/...6&cs=19&c=us&l=en&dgc=SS&cid=30322&lid=680413
Other than that, there's just optical drives and hard drives - if I get a new HDD, it'll most likely be the 640AAKS, and unless there's one optical drive out there that is leaps and bounds better than the rest, I'll grab something in the $20-30 range that gets consistently good reviews.
I'm finally building the new PC I set aside money for when DDR2 was released. I like to shop for a while. My primary motivation is that my wife just got a new laptop (Lenovo Y530, BTB), and I can't stand the idea of her having a faster computer than me. It hurts.
Sorry for the long post, you can skip the first half if you aren't looking to kill some time.
**
I do a little bit of everything, with the somewhat notable exception of gaming. I get into gaming for about 20 hours every time a new Need For Speed game comes out, but that's about it. However, I do a bit of coding, a bit of video encoding/rendering, bunches of Photoshop, and some audio recording/processing.
My budget is flexible, but we can call it $600 for the remaining parts. I expect it will deviate some one way or the other.
On a whim, I grabbed the Antec 900 and the 1KW truepower quattro when they were on sale. I'm now thoroughly air-flowed and powered for any build I could afford. I had planned on migrating parts from the dinosaur I nurtured for the last 6 years or so, but an electrical storm killed every single part (with the exception of one HD) in one blow. So, I need everything else.
I enjoy overclocking, and I'm in the fortunate situation where my computer is no longer mission-critical to my work or school, so I will certainly be doing a moderate overclock - more for fun than for real usefulness, and I don't have any delusions of breaking records, so it'll be good solid air-cooling for me.
I've got an old 19" 1280x1024 LCD that I love, and it will be my primary monitor for at least the next 9 months. I plan on upgrading to at least a 24" after that, but not before unless some insane deal pops up.
I haven't decided if I want to grab a new HDD right now, I've got my eye on the 640AAKS. I still have 920GB of assorted slower drives (I believe there's a 320GB 7200.10 that is my fastest) - how much benefit would I see from the 640AAKS? I do a lot of photography/photoshop stuff, and I do hate waiting for my enormous folders to load.
**
So here's my thoughts:
CPU: Q6600
Memory: G.Skill 4GB DDR2 800 (2x2) kit (x2, for a total of 8GB)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...231122&cm_sp=DailyDeal-_-20-231-122-_-Product
Mobo: Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128359
GPU: A little shaky - I was thinking either the GTX260 or one of the 4850s?
EDIT: I forgot to include a HSF - my laptop battery is dying rapidly, but last time I looked, the TRUE was in vogue. I'll be back in the morning to check on that!
The things I'm most worried about are as follows:
1) The memory is rated at a FSB of 400 - that's way above a reasonable 1:1 overclock on the Q6600, right? Am I having a major brain fart here? It seems like 9x333 is pretty popular, and that's way under the limit on that kit. If not, I have no problem upgrading to the G.Skill 1000 for a few bucks more a kit, but there's no reason to toss money away.
2) I'm always unsure about my mobo choice. I think it's just a mental block. But that one gets good reviews, and I like the color.
3) Really, I think it's a function of cost/performance, and software on the GPU. I don't do a ton of gaming, and right now running at 1280x1024 I realize I'm pretty much bush league. Are there any major issues these days with either nVidia or ATI software? I remember back in the day it was hell getting one of them to work, and then 3 years later I couldn't get the other to work, but I'd hope by now they had all the hydravision/nTune/random bloatware crap settled.
Also, I have a strange fetish for this XFX GTX280, and I don't know why. My brain tells me that it's WAY too much GPU for me, but my ego says otherwise.
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/...6&cs=19&c=us&l=en&dgc=SS&cid=30322&lid=680413
Other than that, there's just optical drives and hard drives - if I get a new HDD, it'll most likely be the 640AAKS, and unless there's one optical drive out there that is leaps and bounds better than the rest, I'll grab something in the $20-30 range that gets consistently good reviews.
