[Troy]

They both look like good boards to me, I would go for the P35 chipset (Gigabyte) if I was using an ATI graphics card (and this is how I personally would choose it) or the nForce 680i with an Nvidia graphics card (which you have already stated you are getting and Nvidia card).

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Sorry I didn't notice that you moved the topic to the forums, thanks for that, this way everyone will see and learn from our decisions. Anyways I will post my reply here:

Hey,

Sorry for the late reply I had some matches this week so I came home late and couldn't reply because I was exhausted. Ok, so I picked out everything for you and it all comes out to $1,263.94, here are the specs:

Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-P35-DQ6 LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - $229.99 - This is cheaper and better in performance than your original one.

Video Card: EVGA 640-P2-N821-AR GeForce 8800GTS 640MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported - $379.99 + ($30 mail in rebate) - This should be the original one that you posted.

PSU: OCZ GameXStream OCZ700GXSSLI ATX12V 700W Power - $139.99 + ($35 mail in rebate) - This will have enough juice for 2 x 8800 GTXs

Memory: OCZ Platinum 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit - $158.99 + ($35 mail in rebate) - The original one that you said you already have would be a down factor when you Overclock but this one will give you lots of room for Overclocking and its also very much faster, double the speed almost.

CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz LGA 775 - $294.99 - With your budget I think you can go for the Quad core because it is faster and not much more expensive.

CASE: Sunbeam Transformer IC-TR-BA Black Steel ATX Full Tower - $59.99 - This is the cheapest full tower and I think it looks good too, I myself bought this before for my aunt in the states and its huge! Lots of room for SLI upgrade and more.

Well thats all I picked out so far, but with all the mail in rebates and the little money left I think you can buy some more things like maybe another hard drive so that you don't have to take apart your old computer. Let me know of any comments you have on this build and I will make sure you get what you need. Also I would recommend a watercooling kit for you Overclocking, which I would normaly get from Performance-Pcs.com if you are interested I will pick out out the best one for you that fits your budget.

Soorena

Wow Soorena thank you soo much for the detailed parts list, a few questions i have:

- In terms of overclocking, does overclocking only refer to the CPU or is it possible to overclock RAM as well?

- Is the Quad Core necessary right now? i have heard that not many applications/games can take advantage of the quad core. How is the
overclocking with this CPU?

- Ur the first one that has reccomended a FULL TOWER, everyone else reccomended a Mid Tower, why is that?

Is watercooling necessary?? what about adding a heatsink and a cpu fan? Im nervous about watercooling because I have never done a build before and that sounds real risky. For a newbie like me, will installing the watercooling be simple? please suggest a watercool solution that fits the budget.

Wow seems like we're in the same time zone so our replys go quick. Umm I don't know what programs are not compatible with the quad but I think your right about it being too much, go with the E6750 for now. As for water cooling its very simple I will help you in the setup and its is 100% safe because you test it first before you install the Motherboard and all the other parts. Oh I forgot to mention that you can Overclock anything like Video Card, Memory, and CPU. If you go with the first CPU you suggested, the price with all the rebates included will be $1080.94 and for now I would go with a descent watercooling kit like THIS one for now and later on once you need a better one I would suggest getting THIS one.

I recommended a full tower because it is bigger, which is good when you have a big Video Card like the one above and also lots of room for watercooling. Everyone else just suggested Mid-Tower because they are the cheapest, but the one full tower that I suggested was probably cheaper.

Soorena

Thats all I have left in my inbox if I suggested anything else please post it here.

Thanks

Soorena

Edited by SOORENA, 14 August 2007 - 07:50 PM.

[SOORENA]

Sorry I didn't notice that you moved the topic to the forums, thanks for that, this way everyone will see and learn from our decisions. Anyways I will post my reply here:

Hey,

Sorry for the late reply I had some matches this week so I came home late and couldn't reply because I was exhausted. Ok, so I picked out everything for you and it all comes out to $1,263.94, here are the specs:

Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-P35-DQ6 LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - $229.99 - This is cheaper and better in performance than your original one.

Video Card: EVGA 640-P2-N821-AR GeForce 8800GTS 640MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported - $379.99 + ($30 mail in rebate) - This should be the original one that you posted.

PSU: OCZ GameXStream OCZ700GXSSLI ATX12V 700W Power - $139.99 + ($35 mail in rebate) - This will have enough juice for 2 x 8800 GTXs

Memory: OCZ Platinum 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit - $158.99 + ($35 mail in rebate) - The original one that you said you already have would be a down factor when you Overclock but this one will give you lots of room for Overclocking and its also very much faster, double the speed almost.

CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz LGA 775 - $294.99 - With your budget I think you can go for the Quad core because it is faster and not much more expensive.

CASE: Sunbeam Transformer IC-TR-BA Black Steel ATX Full Tower - $59.99 - This is the cheapest full tower and I think it looks good too, I myself bought this before for my aunt in the states and its huge! Lots of room for SLI upgrade and more.

Well thats all I picked out so far, but with all the mail in rebates and the little money left I think you can buy some more things like maybe another hard drive so that you don't have to take apart your old computer. Let me know of any comments you have on this build and I will make sure you get what you need. Also I would recommend a watercooling kit for you Overclocking, which I would normaly get from Performance-Pcs.com if you are interested I will pick out out the best one for you that fits your budget.

Soorena

Wow Soorena thank you soo much for the detailed parts list, a few questions i have:

- In terms of overclocking, does overclocking only refer to the CPU or is it possible to overclock RAM as well?

- Is the Quad Core necessary right now? i have heard that not many applications/games can take advantage of the quad core. How is the
overclocking with this CPU?

- Ur the first one that has reccomended a FULL TOWER, everyone else reccomended a Mid Tower, why is that?

Is watercooling necessary?? what about adding a heatsink and a cpu fan? Im nervous about watercooling because I have never done a build before and that sounds real risky. For a newbie like me, will installing the watercooling be simple? please suggest a watercool solution that fits the budget.

Wow seems like we're in the same time zone so our replys go quick. Umm I don't know what programs are not compatible with the quad but I think your right about it being too much, go with the E6750 for now. As for water cooling its very simple I will help you in the setup and its is 100% safe because you test it first before you install the Motherboard and all the other parts. Oh I forgot to mention that you can Overclock anything like Video Card, Memory, and CPU. If you go with the first CPU you suggested, the price with all the rebates included will be $1080.94 and for now I would go with a descent watercooling kit like THIS one for now and later on once you need a better one I would suggest getting THIS one.

I recommended a full tower because it is bigger, which is good when you have a big Video Card like the one above and also lots of room for watercooling. Everyone else just suggested Mid-Tower because they are the cheapest, but the one full tower that I suggested was probably cheaper.

Soorena

Thats all I have left in my inbox if I suggested anything else please post it here.

Thanks

Soorena

Edited by SOORENA, 14 August 2007 - 07:50 PM.

[Troy]

Yes it's much better if you keep everything in the forums instead of PM's, that way everybody can contribute and you get a better idea of an overall picture of what you want your system to be.

Also keeping things posted in the forums might help other people who are looking to buy a similar spec'd computer!

I agree a full-size case is better because there's more room for air-flow, if you set up your fans right then the computer should run nice and cool easier.

[nyboy42]

Soorena,

I am looking to use nVidia SLI, so should i go with gigabyte board being that it was designed for ATI Crossfire? Saying that, how do you rank ATI cards against nVidia? Up until this point i have only dealt with ATI cards myself and havent been too thrilled with drivers and tech support, I always assumed nVidia cards were just plain better. So which board should i go with?

[SOORENA]

I can't seem to find wether the Mobo is SLI or Crossfire. The Asus version is crossfire from one of the reviews apparently. I'm searching right now to see if there is an SLI version of the board. Personaly I prefer nVidia over ATI because of the better drivers and tech support, but Ati cards are cheaper and way more overclockable so thats why I went with them.
I'll tell you if I find anything on the SLI matter.

Soorena

[SOORENA]

Apparently the P35s don't support SLI but only crossfire or I could be wrong since the BLITZ EXTREME from Asus which currently isn't on Newegg has SLI in the name so it should support it but then again in the discription it says that it supports Crossfire at 8x each slot. HERE is the link. And I've never seen a Motherboard that supports both SLI and Crossfire.

Soorena

Edited by SOORENA, 15 August 2007 - 09:49 AM.

[nyboy42]

that being said Soorena, can you please suggest another mobo for my build, one that is SLI ready. Should i stick with the original choice of the EVGA SLI mobo? or can u suggest something better? i really prefer a SLI ready mobo instead of a crossfire.

I personally was looking at the ASUS striker extreme: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16813131074

but i was told by many that it is 2 expensive and there are many boards that are much more cost effective for that type of performance. let me kno wut think. thank you

Edited by nyboy42, 15 August 2007 - 10:07 AM.

[SOORENA]

I have a good feeling about THIS one but I would still wait till I or someone else finds a P35 that supports SLI, because they are the newest and best chipset. Also THIS one should be great because DFI is the best brand known for Overclocking.

Soorena

Edited by SOORENA, 15 August 2007 - 03:06 PM.

[james_8970]

I know this is late, but no P35 chipset supports SLI, nVidea is refusing Intel the rights to the technology (Intel is a creator of the P35 chipset if someone didn't already know this). I'm expecting the same to occur with the upcoming x38 boards.
James