New Build - Suggestions

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UncleDavid218

2[H]4U
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Jan 16, 2006
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So I am certainly not new to this, however, I am looking for a very high performance machine while getting the best for my money. I think this is a well rounded setup. You will notice the lack of a video card or CPU - this is intentional. I am waiting for Penryns to become widely available and am also waiting on 9800GT/Xs to be released (which should be shortly). This is basically what I have found. Please note that I am not going to overclock much if at all. I've been there and done that (watercooling, etc.) but just want a solid PC that can also play high definition content on my Dell 2007WFP. SLI is a possibility in the future BTW. I will be running Vista Ultimate 64-bit.

Zip Zoom Fly said:
PC Power and Cooling 750w - $149.90
Corsair XMS2 4GB PC2-6400 - $111.90 - $40 mail in rebate = $71.90
ASUS P5N-T Deluxe 780i - $199.99
Zalman CNPS9700 - $59.99
Click to expand...

Newegg said:
2 500GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 32MB cache - $219.98
Pioneer Blu-Ray Reader and 12X DVD-RW SATA - $174.99
Click to expand...

Total: $876.75
Click to expand...

I am also going to pickup an Antec P182B however there are no places with outstanding deals on them (Newegg had them for $80-something last week). I may get one at my place of work (Best Buy) depending on the employee discount price and availability.

Basically, after browsing the hot deals forum I'm pretty sure these are the best deals around. If anyone has any suggestions to cut the costs further without sacrificing much I am all ears! Thanks.
 
Well personally I don't think 9800gtxs in sli would be a very efficient use of your money, but if you can afford it, more power to ya.

are you planning on raiding those seagates?
 
Unless you are getting a 24 inch or larger LCD monitor in the near future, SLI is not a good option. You'd be better off buying a high-end video card every 2-3 years.

Truthfully, I'd wait until after the new Penryn processors and 9800-series video cards become widespread before even starting a wish list. There may be many changes that occur during now and when you finally decide to order everything... and, hopefully, prices will come down a bit more.
 
As far as SLI goes I want to keep my options open but I am and always will be a big fan of having one powerful card.

The Seagates will be used in a RAID 0 configuration as I have a server with 1TB of storage already.

I'm just not sure if there's anything else I'm missing as far as deals go. I've got good, high quality hardware, I think, without spending more than I need to.
 
I'm going to reiterate what tirades just said but in a different way:

Markyip1 said:
Just some info on SLI / Crossfire: It's absolutely not worth considering if a) you're gaming at a resolution under 1920x1200 (as you'll see no performance benefit over a single card,) and b) if you plan to buy one card now and another later. SLI / Crossfire as an upgrade path is usually a very poor idea, as by the time you're ready to get that second card, a new single card solution will likely be available that will outperform two of your older cards in tandem. Furthermore, there really is no cost benefit to the SLI Upgrade Route, as any additional cost in getting the new card can be easily mitigated in most situations by selling the original. By avoiding an SLI / Crossfire solution when it will not be of benefit, you gain a cooler running, simpler to maintain system and more importantly, access to a much better (and broader) selection of motherboards.
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In addition, current Nvidia SLI chipsets for Intel motherboards are not as stable or reliable as their Intel counterparts. So unless you're planning on getting a 24" monitor within the next year or so, I strongly recommend going with a mobo based on the P35 chipset since they are usually more stable, reliable, and run cooler.

Oh and ditch the Zalman. I recommend the following HSF since they cool significantly better than that Zalman:
ZEROtherm Nirvana NV120 120mm HSF - $50
Thermalright Ultima-90 HSF - $46 & Panaflo FBA09A12M 92mm Fan - $3
 
Danny Bui said:
I'm going to reiterate what tirades just said but in a different way:



In addition, current Nvidia SLI chipsets for Intel motherboards are not as stable or reliable as their Intel counterparts. So unless you're planning on getting a 24" monitor within the next year or so, I strongly recommend going with a mobo based on the P35 chipset since they are usually more stable, reliable, and run cooler.
Click to expand...
Alright, fair enough. You made a good post with valid points so I shall reconsider. What are your suggestions then?

Does something like the Abit IP35 Pro seem like a good choice? It looks to be quite popular and is also quite cheap.
 
Not the IP35-Pro. IIRC, the IP35-Pro has problems with current Penryn CPUs. Dunno if those problems were ever fixed with some BIOs updates. If you're set on that mobo, do some research on it and see if those problems were resolved.

Here are some other mobo recommendations:
Abit IP35-E Intel P35 Motherboard - $90
Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L Intel P35 Motherboard - $90
MSI P35 Neo2-FR Intel P35 Motherboard - $112
DFI BloodIron P35-T2RL Intel P35 Motherboard - $120
Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3R Intel P35 Motherboard - $122
DFI LanParty DK P35-T2RS Intel P35 Motherboard - $140
Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3P Intel P35 Motherboard - $151
Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS4 Intel P35 Motherboard - $180
Gigabyte GA-X38-DS4 Intel X38 Motherboard - $207

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 like the IP35-E but need legacy ports, check out the DS3L. If you need 5 SATA ports, 2 eSATA ports, and a second PCI-E x16 port, then get the Neo2-Fr. If you want heavy overclocking abilities and six SATA ports, check out the Blood Iron. If you like the BloodIron but want significantly better overclock stability, go for the LanParty. If you 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 and a second PCI-E x16 port, then go for the DS3P.
 
Alright cool. I think this setup looks pretty good:

Abit IP35 Pro
2x 2GB Corsair XMS PC6400
2x Western Digital 640GB SATA RAID0
LITE-ON 20x DVD-RW SATA with LightScribe
LITE-ON Blu-Ray ROM SATA
Antec P182B
750w PC Power and Cooling
Zalman CNPS9700
VistionTek 650 Pro HDTV tuner PCI-e

Most of the IP35 + 45nm issues have been worked out and continuing BIOS updates should solve those problems. I love Zalman so I'm going to stay with them even if it is a little expensive. I know 750w is overkill but that's a really good deal so I'll stay with it.
 
Its not just about the price, with the Zalman... its the performance you get for that price. You'll be able to OC higher with a different, and possibly cheaper, cooler.
 
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