need help in time for xmas: new machine

Joined
Dec 11, 2007
Messages
39
Hey folks, so I busted my laptop by dropping it on the floor, I know right. Rather than salvage it, I'd rather get a gaming machine, since I love computer games and have missed playing them. So, I've been doing research on this topic over the web and have come to the conclusion of buying a moderate gaming machine.

Which company would you recommend in building a machine for me (e.g., Falcon, CyberPower, AlienWare, Velocity Micro, etc)?

In doing this, can someone give me some specs on the very basic necessities I will need? I've also been reading up on dual-core vs quad-core processors, and the benefits of having two video cards instead of one. For Vista, it has been said that 2 GB of RAM is good, which the ability to upgrade at a later time, which I am greatly fine with. Also, not sure about SLI vs CrossFire (for graphics cards), but which would you prefer?

So, I guess I am asking nicely, to help out a new comer to the boards and recommend some specs in helping me customize a desktop for my budget, which is around $2000 - 2500 ... if one can be built for less, I'm willing to hear it.

Games I'd like to play: any sports games (fifa, madden, nba, etc)
Action/Adventure/Misc: (tomb raider, hitman, crysis) and any fantasy games that I might get interesed in ...

thanks a lot guys!
 
I would STRONGLY advise picking a couple of companies--such as Puget, Falcon Northwest, and Maingear--and calling in directly to speak with a sales rep. Don't go with the first company you talk with, and don't depend on the internet for all your info (though the forums are a great place to get opinions on different builds). Pick a company that has good overall ratings and stay away from large manufacturers that can't give personalized care.

Discuss your budget and needs with the sales reps, get them to set up a quote, and then step back and compare. Tell them the games you want to play so that they can get a good idea of what you'll need to run them well. The sales reps for smaller builders tend to be enthusiasts, and will help you get exactly what you need in a system.

Take your time so that you don't end up regretting your purchase. This is a major buy for most people, and I think sometimes the tendency is to run with the first quote you get that sounds reasonable.

Remember, these are the people that you'll be dealing with for sales and support, so if you feel pressured or feel like they don't care, move on.

A few words of advice...

For Vista, I consider 2GB of RAM to be the absolute minimum. For better performance in Vista, especially when gaming, you may want to go with a full 4GB.

For your video card, I would say scale it to fit your budget, since they tend to be the most expensive thing (aside from your processor). Whether you go with ATI or NVIDIA depends entirely on personal preference--you'll find that the fans of both types are pretty rabid about their favorite. I personally like the Nvidia 8800GT card or the ATI HD2900XT. Both are 512 cards running GDDR3, and the pricing for either is comparable, and both can be expanded to run in SLI/Crossfire. Truthfully, I would go with one card to start with...that way you can put more of your mid-range budget into a good board and processor.
 
Thanks Heather. That was very helpful. I actually came across an article on components and such from the parent website of these forums [H]Consumer ... anyways, I could sit down and call folks (sales reps), but honestly would like to get the opinions of some of the members of this forum since they seem very savvy in gaming and hardware components.

Does anyone recall that online website that rates these types on online companies?
[edit:] I think it's resellerratings.com ...
 
actually now i'm considering getting a gaming laptop since it will be portable and i don't have a dedicated connection, so i can't go online, unless I hook up to the main source, which is upstairs, whereas I am downstairs. anyone got any good deals on gaming laptops that can play the games I listed? I know Crysis is a head-ache on even desktop machines, but can they be played on laptops with the settings on minimum? I also know the hard drive space will take a huge hit on the laptop. Here is a questionnaire I answered:

1) What is your budget?
1500-2000 (maybe a little over 2000, if it is a great machine)

2) What size notebook would you prefer?
Mainstream; 15" - 16" screen

3) How much memory? How many video cards?
2 GB or more
Can a gaming laptop have more than 1 video card?

4) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?
No preference.

5) What tasks will you be performing with the notebook?
Mainly gaming, but also the usul stuff: internet, IM, movies, office applications, etc.

6) Will you be taking the notebook with you to different places or leaving it on your desk?
Yeah, will carry it around many times.

7) Will you be playing games on it; if so, which games?
Crysis (hopefully!), call of duty 4, bioshock, call of juarez, civ 4.

8) How many hours of battery life do you need?
Dunno, but hopefully more than 2 hours... Would like to use it while I'm in a plane.

9) Do you mind buying online without seeing the notebook in person?
Planning to buy it online.

10) What OS do you prefer? Windows (XP or Vista), Mac OS, Linux, etc.
Vista (Premium or Ultimate?)

Screen Specifics

11) Would you prefer standard or widescreen?
Widescreen

12) From the choices below, what screen resolutions would you prefer?
WSXGA+ - 1680x1050; Wider viewing version of SXGA, good for movie viewing or spreadsheets.


13) Do you want a glossy/reflective screen or a matte/non-glossy screen?
Build Quality and Design

14) Are the notebook's looks and stylishness important to you?
Yeah, up to a point.

15) When are you buying this laptop and how long do you want this laptop to last?
Buying it this month

16) How much hard drive space do you want; 40GB to 200GB?
At least 120 or possibly more?

17) Do you need an optical drive? If yes, a DVD, Blu-Ray or HD-DVD drive?
DVD burner
 
In order to get a laptop that will handle Crysis well, you're probably going to need to raise your budget. The recommended requirements are:

CPU: Core 2 Duo/Athlon X2 or better
RAM: 1.5GB
Video Card: NVIDIA 7800 Series, ATI Radeon 1800 Series or better
VRAM: 512MB of Graphics Memory
Storage: 12GB
Sound Card: DirectX 9.0c Compatible
ODD: DVD-ROM
OS: Microsoft Windows XP or Vista
DirectX: DX9.0c or DX10

Puget does manufacture a laptop that fits those requirements, the D500i, and we also offer a more powerful machine, the D700i, that has 2x8700m GT cards in SLI. This config is going to most likely be above your budget, no matter the manufacturer, but I provided it so that you can see the mid-high range choice that my company, at least, provides.

I hate "pimping" on the forums, but I do want you to shop around, and if I can get you started by at least providing a place to begin, then so be it. ;-) Please shop the competition. I want you to make an informed choice that you'll be satisfied with in the long run.

Heather
 
Since you've come to [H] for advice, might I suggest the most basic: why don't you build your own computer?

You'll find that the majority of questions posted on the [H] General Hardware forum concern people building their own computers. You've come to one of the best websites (and one of the best forum communities) on the topic. There are many guides out there and many people here who will help you get started and show you that building your own PC is a fun, rewarding experience. While it may sound intimidating at first, building your own PC isn't really that hard of a task. Best of all, building your own PC is often far cheaper than buying one from a boutique vendor or from one of the mainstream vendor gaming lines, especially at the high end.

Consider the rig in my signature. I ordered the parts in late February and built it in early March, so it's about 9 months old. It's a high end rig, and all components are still current-tech today, with the exception of the processor (which was replaced in the summer by the E6850 dual core.) Not including the monitor, I paid $2500 (and reused some parts from my old system, such as the second RAID array and the sound card.) Even if I hadn't reused any parts, the system I purchased for $2500 would have been well over $5K to $6K if it came from Dell XPS, Alienware, Falcon, Voodoo, etc.

If you're set on buying form a boutique, then it looks like you are already in good hands. Otherwise, poke around the forums a bit and see what you can learn.

Good luck,

Mark.
 
Thanks Heather and Mark ... but Mark, that would work if I am considering a desktop machine. My first cousin is skilled in this department as well, but he lives all the way in Memphis, whereas I reside in San Diego.

Anyways, the rig you have in your sig is something I am looking into, for a desktop if I go in that direction, but I don't want to bother with putting in a mo-board, etc.

Is there a site where I can get the most basic case, mo-board, 1 graphic card (that I can upgrade to two, when it gets cheaper, etc), say 3 GB of ram or 4 GB of ram, dvd burner (optional, since I have a very good external dvd burner), quad or duo core .... all this for cheap, and then have a big case so that I can add things in at my leisure, such as tv-tuner, etc ... I'd like to stick with getting something pre-made for me, and then tweak it as need be ... any suggestions on my approach?
 
guess not ... i've been surfing on the web for the past couple of days and reading up on gaming PCs and laptops ... its crazy.
 
how 'bout this ....

CASE: ($25 off Mail-in Rebate) New! Apevia X-Jupiter Full Tower Gaming Server w/ Temp Display and Fan Control 420 Watt Power (G Type Silver Color with Side-Window)
CPU: (Sckt775)Intel® Core™ 2 Duo E6850 CPU @ 3.00GHz 1333FSB 4MB L2 Cache 64-bit
MOTHERBOARD: (Quad-Core FSB1333) Asus Striker Extreme nForce 680i SLI Chipset LGA775 FSB1333 DDR2 Mainboard
MEMORY: (Req.DDR2 MainBoard)4GB (4x1GB) PC6400 DDR2/800 Dual Channel Memory (Mushkin Brand)
VIDEO CARD: NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT 512MB 16X PCI Express (EVGA Powered by NVIDIA)
VIDEO CARD 2: NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT 512MB 16X PCI Express (EVGA Powered by NVIDIA)
HARD DRIVE: Single Hard Drive (500GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache 7200RPM HDD)
Optical Drive: Sony Q170A 18x Double Layer Dual Format DVD+-R/+-RW + CD-R/RW Drive (SILVER COLOR)
SOUND: Creative Labs X-FI XtremeGamer 24-BIT PCI Sound Card
 
Wait is that a prebuilt PC or a one you're building yourself?

Either way, ditch the Striker. In fact, don't bother with any SLI mobo for now. The current 680i chipset does not support the new Penryn CPUs well hence making the 680i chipset a sort of dead-end in terms of upgrade ability. Wait until the 780i chipset comes out which will support Intel's new Penryn CPUs and have full SLI support.

Also, what size monitor do you have? If your monitor isn't 1920x1200 or larger, then there is no need for a SLI setup.

Some more questions:
- How often do you upgrade?
- Will you be overclocking?
- What features are you looking for in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? SLI? Crossfire? more than 4 SATA ports? Legacy ports? etc.
- What else are you planning to do with this PC besides gaming?
 
Danny,

It was a pre-built machine, however there are numerous options. I want to buy a pre-built machine that I can enhance as time goes on, however as for starters, I am wanting to buy one so that I can enjoy playing video games again, maybe the basic ones such as some resident evil games, sports games (fifa, madden, etc), hitman, tomb raider, etc ...

I'm going to get a small screen for my desktop, but when I play games, I'm going to be using my Vizio 32" flat-screen, as I will have a wireless keyboard & mouse as well as the wireless XBOX 360 controller ...

I'm new to these boards, but I can already tell that about 90% of the people on this board experiment with tweaking, building their own systems; however I honestly just want a machine that I can easily upgrade from year to year, with a great case for expandability, (such things as replacing my dvd burner with a blu-ray dvd burner combo with a dvd burner if they really take off). I just want some advice on a company that I can buy a very great basic gaming rig to play some of the games I mentioned in paragraph 2 and having room to expand as time goes on ... So, I would like a quad-core processor and 2 video cards to start ...

Any advice at all?
 
let me answer your additional questions as well:

Some more questions:

How often do you upgrade?
Well, with this new machine which it seems I will be heavily interested, probably every year or two, as the technology changes.

Will you be overclocking?
I've read quite a lot about this. This is where me building my own machine will fail. I have no knowledge of this and have read on numerous websites that overclocking is a tool used by hardcore gamers to max out some components on their machines, hence leading to smoother gameplay and less latency. The only website or product that I saw (pre-built) machine that offers this is the new gateway machine. It looks great, but doesn't it seem overpriced to you? I know, every machine that is pre-built and geared towards gamers is going to be over-priced; however I honestly want a good machine that I can upgrade as time passes ... anyways, I would be interested in overclocking, but doing it myself? Not so sure ...

What features are you looking for in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? SLI? Crossfire? more than 4 SATA ports? Legacy ports?
Danny, you got me on this one. For a great gaming experience, I've read about CrossFire, SLi, RAID, and honestly I am not sure. What is the best feature that will be easily upgradeable in the future? And honestly, I would go with that ... seems as CrossFire has been out for a while, and SLi is something fairly new, but I could be wrong in my assessment ....

What else are you planning to do with this PC besides gaming?
Just the regular stuff ... internet browsing; downloading music/vidoes, etc; burning dvds; using microsoft word, powerpoint, excel ... that's about it!
 
Generally speaking, smaller vendors like AVA direct tend to have better prices than Alienware or Voodoo.

However, I strongly recommend that you pick up one of the system building guides available at any newsstand (produced, for example, by Maximum PC or PC Gamer.) They provide a good introduction to all of the components that go into a gaming PC. They describe what each component does and how they work together, and how to build (and overclock) a PC. They are written so that anyone with a decent technical competence can understand the articles--no need to know anything about building or overclocking hardware. Even if you still plan to go with a pre-built system, reading one of these guides to understand all of the options available will help you select the best parts for your budget w/o wasting money. Furthermore, coming back with this basic understanding will allow you to take far greater advantage of these forums, which are geared towards people comfortable building their own rigs.

The two main issues with the configuration you've suggested are the processor and the video card.

An E6850 is a poor choice from a price / performance stand point. The E6750 provides nearly the same performance (300mhz less at stock for $100 less retail,) yet provides the same OC headroom as the E6850. OCing a computer, btw, is a simple to perform task (once you learn the basics.) In most cases, people only OC their processor and FSB (and RAM, if necessary--these are all related) but others will OC their video card as well. All that is required is the purchase of a good air cooler to pair with the processor and the basic understanding of what you are doing (which is easily obtainable from this or similar sites and forums.) The most important point to understand about the E6850 when comparing to the E6750 is that they both have the same OC headroom... such that on a good air cooler, a strong, average E6850 OC is from 3.0ghz to 4.0ghz, and a strong, average E6750 OC is from 2.66ghz to.... 4.0ghz. In the end you get the same performance from either chip, but you pay less for the E6750.

The other issue is the video card. You've asked what two video cards to recommend, which suggests that you've decided to go with an SLI or Crossfire system. The question is not what video cards to get, but whether or not to get two in the first place. In most cases, getting two cards is a colossal waste of money which further limits yearly upgradability. Consider it a mistake unless you are going to game at a resolution above 1920x1200. If you plan to game at a resolution of 1920x1200 or above, but also plan to upgrade your processor in a year, then you'll likely need to wait a month until nVidia releases the 780i chipset (unless you consider ATI Crossfire cards,) as the current 680/650 boards will not support the next generation of Core 2 Quads. If you don't plan to upgrade the processor, but plan to game at 1920x1200, then two 8800 GTs are a good buy, but the ASUS Striker Extreme is a terrible motherboard. It's extremely temperamental and very, very overpriced. The best 680i board has proven to be the EVGA NF-68-A1. Unfortunately it's sold out almost everywhere at the moment, as manufacturing has likely spun down in anticipation of the 780i product refresh.

Lastly, if you are going to get 4 gigs of RAM, you will need to run a 64-bit OS in order to use it all. This may be an issue if you buy from a vendor, as most will not ship or support 64-bit versions of Windows. Regardless, the version of Windows you should consider is Vista x64 (as XP-64 has severe 3rd party compatibility and support issues when used in a home / gaming environment.) If you want to stick with XP, then stick with 2 gigs of RAM.

Good luck,

Mark.
 
That maybe you should just give me a call if you have the time. Even if you don't buy from us, I think I can answer your hardware questions. My main function is technical support, but I can help you figure out at least which direction you should be going in with your budget.

I agree, too, with everyone else. Say no to the Striker board. I'm also really not convinced that you should go with two video cards right off the bat--it's expensive, and you really won't see that much of a difference in 98% of games. The money is better spent towards good memory and a good processor.

My contact info is below.
 
great information Mark. That was very helpful. It seems that getting two video cards is now really retarded to me. Could you recommend the best specs for a new system that I could order from a vendor as the one you mentioned? I want to play around with some of the customizable specs and post it on here. That would comfort me a lot in buying a new rig from a vendor.
 
You should probably hit up Heather for help as well. Even for someone who works at a boutique, she's been very helpful here.

I don't think we can actually recommend a good system from a vendor due to one problem: availability. PC boutiques don't always carry the same parts as each other or the parts we would recommend. So it's a bit difficult recommending a PC when different sites have different parts from what we recommend. Here are a few examples of what I mean:
- Puget doesn't carry the Tuniq Tower, Ultra 120 Extreme or Ultima 90 coolers on their custom air cooled PCs.
- AVA Direct only has DDR3 RAM for their P35 motherboards based PCs,
- Velocity Micro does not easily provide info about what power supplies they use

But an attempt at it anyway:
Q6600 G0 Stepping
Intel P35 motherboard
2GB of DDR2 800 RAM minimum
Corsair 620HX 620W Power Supply. <== If they carry Seasonic power supplies instead of Corsairs, then those Seasonics are also a good choice.
8800GT 512MB or 8800GTS 512MB
 
I agree with Danny.

I can not recommend a system from a vendor as I do not keep up with vendor configurations. Keep in mind, however, that by going the vendor route, you will be paying significantly more money than if you bought the same exact parts and built yourself.

If you do decide to build, I and many others would be happy to help you along the way.

Mark.
 
Heather, Mark, and Danny have you all covered.

If you're still going for a desktop, and you'll be gaming on the Vizio 32", I think all you need is the 8800GT or an HD3850/3870, since the res on that monitor is only 720p, right? If its 1080p, you'll want the 8800GTS 512MB (updated GTS).

Gaming laptops are too expensive, IMO. But if you're looking for one, check out Sager. My old roommate had one and loved it.
 
Just so everyone knows--because I don't think anyone does--if there's a specific part or chassis you want, we'll get it for you. Just because it's not on the configurator doesn't mean we won't build it. We're pretty unique in that respect. We just built a machine with 4 solid state drives in raid and 8GB of memory running Vista 64. (We're also one of the few companies that do 64 bit operating systems...and Linux.)

I'm more interested in helping people than making a sale...after all, if I wanted to make sales, I'd be working IN sales.

Sager's ok as long as you don't need to send it back to them for repair. I agree, though, you'd be better served by a small form factor desktop than a laptop for gaming...you'll get way more for your money.
 
Keep in mind, however, that by going the vendor route, you will be paying significantly more money than if you bought the same exact parts and built yourself.

Mark.

Absolutely right. You'll see that repeated over and over on these forums, because most people here are enthusiasts who enjoy building their own systems, and have the know-how to fix them should they break.

For customers who choose to buy a PC, the thing you're investing in are the "intangibles" of support and repair. The biggest value of going with any vendor is that you get someone to do all the work for you if something goes wrong. We have the ability to do part replacement within a day or so...and if you've built your own system, you'd have to RMA the part yourself and then wait for them to send one back to you (unless you can convince the company to advance-RMA). We're also a great source of information and support when things are going right and you just have a general question. Or a gaming question.

Admittedly, that kind of service is something that you'll only see at smaller companies.

Try calling Dell and asking them if they know how to get through the anti-gravity portion of Crysis and see what they say..lol.
 
Wait wait wait a minute. So a customer can call you guys up if they're stuck in a particular section of a video game? Sweet! Now thats a pretty high level of service. Also did not know about Puget's willingness to get a custom part. That's pretty great. :)
 
If the director of customer care has time to help customers, play crysis, manage her customer service team, and post on [H], does that tell me something about the quality of Puget's systems? Or does it just tell me she's a damn good manager? :p ... or it could be both, I suppose. ;)
 
Wait wait wait a minute. So a customer can call you guys up if they're stuck in a particular section of a video game? Sweet! Now thats a pretty high level of service. Also did not know about Puget's willingness to get a custom part. That's pretty great. :)

If it's a game we play, we'll help you. If it's not, I'll research an answer. Between all of us, we've played most of the more popular titles (and few that were not so grand...such as Beowulf...ew). We do special requests for parts...if it's out there, and we can get it, we'll put it into a system for you.

Enginurd...very sweet of you. I am extremely fortunate to love what I do for a living, and that makes posting here just part of the fun. If I can help a few people in the meantime, all the better.
 
ok, i give in! ;) many of you said it would happen, but now i need your help. my cousin, who lives in memphis, in a pc guru and he builds his own machines and he built my brothers as well. looks very, very sweet. he's a big, big, big time gamer so i trust him with my gear ... i'll be paying for the system, however will be paying for shipping & handling as well ... blah, but its better than paying $500 extra for a pre-built machine ....

but here is where i need your guys expertise, and i'll have until this weekend to make my decision, because i want him to buy the parts on monday ... anyways, he sent me two specs last night ... take a look:

intel 2x cpu build

Motherboard - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813136037 | Price = 249.99
Cpu - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115003 | Price = 234.99
Cpu Heatsink - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835106061 | Price = 44.99
Memory - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220227 | Price = 129.99
Video - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127314 | Price = 384.99
Hard Drive 1 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136012 | Price = 169.99
Hard Drive 2 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148152 | Price = 239.99
PowerSupply - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341002 | Price = 134.99
Case - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133132 | Price = 119.99
Dvd Burner - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106080 | Price = 29.99

1739.90
__________________________________________________________________________________________

intel 4x cpu build

Motherboard - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813136037 | Price = 249.99
Cpu - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115017 | Price = 279.99
Cpu Heatsink - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835106061 | Price = 44.99
Memory - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220227 | Price = 129.99
Video - http://http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127314 | Price = 384.99
Hard Drive 1 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136012 | Price = 169.99
Hard Drive 2 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148152 | Price = 239.99
PowerSupply - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341002 | Price = 134.99
Case - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133132 | Price = 119.99
Dvd Burner - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106080 | Price = 29.99

1784.09
 
It looks ok, but with a few editorial comments. First, I would go with the Quad setup.

DFI is definitely an enthusiast's motherboard, but to be honest, I've never, ever used them either personally or professionally.

I don't like Patriot memory. What little I've worked with has had high failure rates.

I do, however, like MSI video cards, and the 512MB GTS series is a great choice.

Good luck!
 
First, please list parts instead of making us click on a bunch of links.


While I love the DFI boards I've had, there's something telling me that you're just spending too much money. Both of you need to ask youselves if you really need all the extra BIOS options that the DFI gives you.

Don't get a e6600. They were good processor in their day, but have been eclipsed by the 6750's. So either get one those or go with the quad.

Ditch the OCZ PSU and its out of spec ripple. Anyway for close to that money you should be able find an HX620.
 
I concur with crashthenet44. The E6600 is very outdated. In fact it was replaced in that performance bracket by the E6750. The E6750 is faster, can OC higher and is cheaper than the E6600:
Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 CPU - $190

That OCZ PSU is a FSP Episilon based PSU that has out of spec ripple, or voltage fluctuations, at high loads that can damage/kill your parts over time. Granted you may not reach such high loads but why buy a PSU that can kill your system? I recommend any of these PSUs instead since they're of much much better quality than the OCZ:
Corsair 550VX 550W PSU - $98
Corsair 520HX 520W PSU - $109
Corsair 650TX 650W PSU - $143
Corsair 620HX 620W PSU - $147
Corsair 750TX 750W PSU - $164
PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Quad - $162
Silverstone SST-ST75ZF Zeus 750W Power Supply - $170

Even if you're going for a high OC, there are much cheaper motherboards out there that perform and OC just as well and high as any $200 motherboard. Remember that all P35 motherboards will be compatible with Intel's new Penryn CPUs, faster more efficient models of current Intel C2Ds. So any of these mobos are good choices:
Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L Intel P35 Motherboard - $86
Abit IP35-E Intel P35 Motherboard - $90
Abit IP35 Intel P35 Motherboard - $120
Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R Intel P35 Motherboard - $130
Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3P Intel P35 Motherboard - $145
Abit IP35 Pro Intel P35 Motherboard - $168
Gigabyte GA-P35-DS4 Intel P35 Motherboard - $175

Just to help you out: If you don't need RAID, more than 4 SATA ports or legacy ports, then the IP35-E is a good choice. If you need legacy ports, than the DS3L. If you need firewire and RAID, than the IP35. If you don't need firewire but 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, then go for the DS3P. If you want something that can overclock pretty damn high, than the IP35 Pro.

Also, there are much better HSF for the price. I recommend any of these HSF instead of that Thermaltake:
Cooler Master GeminII RR-CCH-ANU2-GP HSF - $30
Scythe SCNJ-1100P Ninja HSF - $36
Tuniq Tower 120 HSF - $45
Thermalright Ultima-90 HSF - $46 & Panaflo FBA09A12M 92mm Fan - $3
Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme HSF - $57 & Scythe S-Flex SFF21E 120MM Case Fan - $14

And that's a bad price for a 750GB hard drive since you can now get one for $150:
Western Digital WD7500AAKS 750GB 7200RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - $150

Also, ditch the IDE DVD burner and get an SATA DVD burner instead. It's not faster but it will allow for a much cleaner case and therefore better airflow.

Now the big question: the E6750 or the Q6600? If you're not planning on upgrading the CPU within a year or plan on not upgrading the CPU for a long time, then go for the Quad Core. Reverse of the above, then go for the E6750.
 
I agree with Danny and Crash.

Can you wait a few months before building this system? If so, wait for the Yorkfield chips that are due out in Q1'08, particularly the Q9450.
 
enginurd, unfortuantely no, i cant ... i need a machine as i don't have anything right now ... using my roommates pc ... so anyways ...

okay guys ... i'm gonna go hit up a bar here in diego and i'll be back later on, but i took everyone's comments/feedback into consideration and here it is ... i wanna buy everything from newegg and i'm gonna buy when i come back from the bar, so take a look ... and no i won't be drunk and fat finger something! ;)

Motherboard - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128059 | Price = 96.99
Cpu - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115017 | Price = 279.99
Cpu Heatsink - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835106061 | Price = 44.99
Memory - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220227 | Price = 129.99
Video - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130312 | Price = 359.99
Hard Drive 1 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148144 | Price = 64.99
Hard Drive 2 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148151 | Price = 289.99
PowerSupply - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371010 | Price = 139.99
Case - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133132 | Price = 119.99
Dvd Burner - http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16827135156 | Price = 39.99

i know some of you don't like me getting an extra heatsink, but i want it ... even tho i don't need it! ;)

so what you guys think?
 
$5 more and you can get an extra 70GB of storage:
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB 7200RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - $70

Speaking of storage, that's a bad price for a 500GB drive. Especially, as I showed earlier, you can get a 750GB drive for the exact same price:
Western Digital WD7500AAKS 750GB 7200RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - $150

It's not like we don't want you to get an extra heatsink. We just think that the HSF you chose isn't worth the price since there are much better choices out for around the same price. The Tuniq Tower 120 cools significantly better than that Thermaltake heatsink. And it's the same price:
Tuniq Tower 120 HSF - $45

From what I can see, that power supply is actually pretty decent. Seasonic made, good efficiency under high loads. You can get that power supply for $25 cheaper over at ZipZoomFly.com.
 
thanks danny for all your help, as well as the others ... here it goes:

final specs: changed heatsink, hard drive 1 & 2, memory ... ready now!

Motherboard - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128059 | Price = 96.99
Cpu - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115017 | Price = 279.99
Cpu Heatsink - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835154001 | Price = 44.99
Memory - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145176 | Price = 139.99
Video - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130312 | Price = 359.99
Hard Drive 1 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136074 | Price = 79.99
Hard Drive 2 - http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16822136131 | Price = 149.99
PowerSupply - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371010 | Price = 139.99
Case - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133132 | Price = 119.99
Dvd Burner - http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16827135156 | Price = 39.99

Subtotal: $1,450.91 (after instant savings, as quoted in my shopping cart on newegg)
 
Ditch the RAM. There's nothing about that Corsair RAM that makes it worth that price. You're just paying more for the memory heatsink. That's it. Even with overclocking planned, any cheap set of DDR2 800 RAM is all that you need to OC the Q6600. Remember that C2D systems perform best if the FSB and RAM are a 1:1 Ratio. Hence why any cheap set of DDR2 800 RAM will be enough:

Q6600:
Multi x FSB, RAM Speed = Clock Speed
9 x 266Mhz, DDR2 533 RAM = 2.4Ghz <== Stock Speeds
9 x 333Mhz, DDR2 667 RAM = 3.0Ghz <== Good OC
9 x 400Mhz, DDR2 800 RAM = 3.6Ghz <== Excellent OC

So I recommend getting this set of RAM instead:
G.SKILL F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ 2 x 2GB DDR2 800 RAM - $105
 
yo yo this is my cuz mempho_to_deigo i will be build this pc for him, didnt know he had posted this on here lol
 
Are you going to build it then ship it to him? If so, you might not want to install the Tuniq Tower, lol. Actually, I'd suggest getting the Ultima90 instead, since its easier to install and cools just as effectively as the Tuniq. Then, when you ship the system, you can leave it uninstalled, and he can install it when it arrives. The Ultima90 is MUCH easier to install than the Tuniq.
 
Are you going to build it then ship it to him? If so, you might not want to install the Tuniq Tower, lol. Actually, I'd suggest getting the Ultima90 instead, since its easier to install and cools just as effectively as the Tuniq. Then, when you ship the system, you can leave it uninstalled, and he can install it when it arrives. The Ultima90 is MUCH easier to install than the Tuniq.

naw we went with the thermaltake instead
 
links without names... :rolleyes: :confused: :eek: :mad: was too lazy to check those two listed in the earlier post, lol. the recent one had the tuniq listed.

Now... to rephrase, since I think the cousin missed my point...

Are you going to build it then ship it to him? If so, you might not want to ship the system with a heavy CPU HSF installed, as it may come lose during shipment.
 
lol... I clicked it... its the big typhoon... not a great cooler, but whatever. It was a good cooler back in the day, but there are better choices now, IMO.

I still think its too heavy to leave mounted when shipping a system. ;)
 
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