New Build Ideas

I have a limited time so I'm gonna have to cut this critique short:

Ditch that power supply. The GameXStream is a FSP Episilon based PSU that has out of spec ripple, or voltage fluctuations, at high loads that can damage your PC parts over time. Sure, most likely you won't reach such high loads often but why buy a PSU that has a greater chance of killing your system than other power supplies?

Here are some other recommendations:
Corsair 550VX 550W PSU - $91
Corsair 520HX 520W PSU - $101
Corsair 650TX 650W PSU - $137
Corsair 620HX 620W PSU - $140
 
You do know that you can get that Corsair 520HX for $20 cheaper from Zipzoomfly.com right?

Oh and a much better deal on a hard drive:
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB 7200RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - $60

Are you planning to overclock? Even if you are planning to OC, the Q6600 does not need highly overclockable RAM in order to reach high OCs. Remember that C2D systems perform best when the FSB and RAM are at a 1:1 Ratio:

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

And if you're not overclocking. you seriously won't notice the lower latency in anything other than artificial, canned, and/or synthetic benchmarks. So for either situation I recommend getting this set instead:
G.SKILL F2-6400CL5D-2GBNQ 2 x 1GB DDR2 800 RAM - $50

As for cases, I'm not a particular fan of either the LIAN LI PC-A05B (Too small) or Antec 900 (Too flimsy). I think these two cases are a much better choice around that price range:
Cooler Master RC-690-KKN1-GP ATX Case - $70
Lian Li PC-7B Plus II Silver ATX Case - $80

Though if you want a few more options:
Gigabyte Aurora GZ-FSCA1-ATB ATX Case - $116
Antec P180 ATX Case - $120
Antec P182 ATX Case - $123
Antec P180B ATX Case - $130
Thermaltake Armor VA8000BWS Full Tower ATX Case - $137
Lian Li PC-A16A ATX Case - $150
Thermaltake Armor VA8003BWS Full Tower ATX Case - $150
Coolermaster Cosmos 1000 RC-1000-KSN1-GP Full Tower ATX Case - $156
Lian-Li V1000A Plus II ATX Case - $180
COOLER MASTER Stacker RC-832-KKN1-GP Full Tower ATX Case -$200
Lian Li PC-V1200 ATX Case (Silver) - $210
Lian Li PC-V1200 ATX Case (Black) - $214
Lian-Li PC-V1100A PLUS II ATX Case - $220
Lian Li PC-V1200B Plus II ATX Case - $240
 
I agree with danny, go with the HX620,
Also check into the CoolMaster Stacker 830 Evoultion.
I have it and LOVE it. Has option for 9 120MM fans, I have 8 in mine and it runs very quite. Awesome Case:D
 
You have 2 8800 GTs in your wish list, but P-35 boards (including the Gigabyte you selected) do not support the SLI technology required required to run two nVidia cards in parallel. Given the current mark-up on GT cards (plus the fact that they're hard to find,) and the recent announcement that the current crop of nForce boards (680i/650i -- required to run SLI) don't support Penryn Quads, I would not recommend SLI under any circumstances at the moment.

If you're set on SLI, then you'll need a different motherboard. I would strongly recommend waiting a month until the 780i series comes out, and I would only get one after the first round of reviews and tests show that it's a stable, solid product that can support the next generation of Core 2 CPUs. Even if you don't plan to upgrade the processor, the fact that the best 680i board (the EVGA A1) is currently out of stock everywhere suggests that a product refresh is right around the corner.

Mark.
 
Huh, I don't see any 8800GTs there. He must've editing his list or something.
 
Back
Top