[MadRoy]

These are the components I'm currently considering...

Processor Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9650 Yorkfield 3.0GHz LGA 775 130W Processor Model EU80569XJ080NL - OEM ($1,145.00)

M. Board EVGA 122-CK-NF67-T1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 680i LT SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail ($169.99)

Video Card EVGA 768-P2-N881-AR GeForce 8800Ultra 768MB 384-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail ($649.99)

Memory CORSAIR Dominator 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1142 (PC2 9136) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X2048-9136C5D - Retail ($349.00)

Sound Card Creative 70SB046A00000 7.1 Channels PCI Interface Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer Fatal1ty Professional Series - Retail ($135.99)

Case Zalman Fatal1ty FC-ZE1 Computer Case ($359.99)

OS Vista ???

I want to be able to run resource heavy games w/o having to turn down the settings. I also want to not be forced to upgrade this thing in 2 weeks.
I am not totally in love w/ the case but it does come very highly reccomended. I would actually like to find one that has the same features w/o all the fanboy BS branding all over it. Actually I would really like to get a case that will help keep the noise level down. I know there are cheaper cases out there I just don't know what will work best for me. I don't want to spend anymore than I have to on the system, so if you see a way I can get the same or better performance for less please speak up. Also I could use some input on cooling solutions (ex. air vs. liquid). Thanks in advance.

Edited by MadRoy, 09 December 2007 - 05:11 PM.

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HI and welcome to G2G!!

OK you have obviously spent you max budget there, for the case try the Thermaltake Kandalf or Armor, they are huge and allow for later upgrades.Also if you are not planning on overclocking that CPU the motherboard is a little overboard. You can try a P35 mobo if you don't want to SLI in the future and they allow crazy overclocking. Also can you include the site you are buying these parts from I would guess its newegg.com bu if it is something else then please enlighten us.

Soorena

[SOORENA]

HI and welcome to G2G!!

OK you have obviously spent you max budget there, for the case try the Thermaltake Kandalf or Armor, they are huge and allow for later upgrades.Also if you are not planning on overclocking that CPU the motherboard is a little overboard. You can try a P35 mobo if you don't want to SLI in the future and they allow crazy overclocking. Also can you include the site you are buying these parts from I would guess its newegg.com bu if it is something else then please enlighten us.

Soorena

[MadRoy]

Well, I'm not quite at max budget but I would like to spend as little on it as I can. That said I'm not shy about spending the cash on a quality product.

Yes I did get the prices from www.newwgg.com, except for the case which is from http://www.xoxide.co...CFTaEOAody0Mb8A.

Also a couple things that I forgot to put in the first post...
Western Digital Raptor WD1500ADFD 150GB 10,000 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM ($169.00)

I do plan to go SLI in the future so that will be a necessary feature of a main board.

thx for the reply, I'm gonna go check out those cases now

edit: I checked out the cases you mentioned, very nice and saves $100 + bucks, I did a little extra searching and found an LCS Kandalf >>> http://www.directron.../vd4000bws.html, unfortunately they are currently out of stock, but since I'm figuring exactly what I am going to do before I even start ordering stuff it's no big deal really.

Edited by MadRoy, 09 December 2007 - 03:11 PM.

[SOORENA]

OK in that case the Striker Extreme is the better choice although the memory you specified is not compatible with that Mobo. I personally recently had a fried Asus mobo, thats why I don't like recommending them to people.

Soorena

[SOORENA]

Oh also if you wish to watercool you wanna purchase your products from performance-pcs.com as they are the best at computer mods and cooling. HERE is one that I just picked out for you, you don't have to use the chipset block if you don want to.

Soorena

[MadRoy]

Is the memory compatible with the nforce board? How do I find out what memrory modules are compatible with a given M. Board? I looked a little bit but I'm not familiar with doing this kind of thing so I tend to get a bit lost when they start throwing specs at me like they tend to. It's probably something really obvious that I just managed to overlook (can't see the forest for the trees syndrome).

[SOORENA]

You basicly click on the top right hand corner on the specifications tab and in that list its says for example DDR2 800 which is PC 6400, this is for the Asus Striker mobo. I was actually referring to the Asus Striker before, it only supports DDR2 800 so you can go with 2 of THESE which will be almost the same price and it will be 8GB which the max you can have.

Soorena

[james_8970]

That CPU WILL NOT work with that motherboard. I hope you have no ordered your parts yet.
No 680i/650i chipsets will work with Yorkfield (Penryn), aka, Intels new processors.

Get a Seagate 7200.11 1TB drive, forget about the raptors.
If you have money to burn, get watercooling. Though your going to have to be very careful and do LOTS of reading before attempting this.
Whats your budget?
James

Edited by james_8970, 11 December 2007 - 09:58 AM.

[MadRoy]

Yeah I read up on it and noticed that it wouldn't work w/ it. I decided to go w/ a P35 cause I wouldn't get that much of a performance boost w/ SLI.

Here's a link to the stuff I think I'm gonna go with...
https://secure.neweg...711430812012965
case is here...
http://www.xoxide.co...-ve2000bws.html

I also read several reviews that said that the Creative Labs sound cards had serious compatibility issues w/ Vista so I ditched it in favor of a card that is supposed to work alot better. I'll prob go w/ Vista Ultimate 64 for an OS.

Budget is around 3 grand, but I might decide to go over budget if there's something that I "just gotta have". I haven't ordered anything yet, I want to get a final build list together before I start blowing cash and make sure that it will all work together. I've learned the hard way to research pretty intensely before buying stuff. Plus it makes it easier if you have a plan laid out before you begin construction IMO.

Edited by MadRoy, 11 December 2007 - 12:56 AM.

[SOORENA]

That motherboard WILL NOT work with that motherboard. I hope you have no ordered your parts yet.
No 680i/650i chipsets will work with Yorkfield (Penryn), aka, Intels new processors.

Get a Seagate 7200.11 1TB drive, forget about the raptors.
If you have money to burn, get watercooling. Though your going to have to be very careful and do LOTS of reading before attempting this.
Whats your budget?
James

I think you mean memory, lol. Anyways do you mean mine isn't compatible or his that he suggested? And for 3 grand you can build a super computer.

Soorena

[james_8970]

Wow.....
The CPU WILL NOT work with that motherboard.
No 650i/680i motherboard will work with Yorkfield.

Can you please give me the links to all the individual parts, that link you have provided us doesn't work.
James

[SOORENA]

I have made a wishlist on Newegg but for some reason I can't make it public here is the page anyways:


Thermaltake Armor Series VA8000BWS Black Aluminum / Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail

$129.99

Update ASUS P5E LGA 775 Intel X38 ATX Intel Motherboard

$229.99

EVGA 768-P2-N881-AR GeForce 8800Ultra 768MB 384-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail

$659.99

OCZ OCZ1000PXS ATX12V / EPS12V 1000W Power Supply - Retail

$309.99

Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9650 Yorkfield 3.0GHz LGA 775 130W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80569QX9650 - Retail

$1,295.00

Crucial Ballistix Tracer 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model BL2KIT12864AL1065 - Retail

$259.98

Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST31000340AS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

$299.99

ASUS 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model DRW-2014L1T - Retail

$37.99

Microsoft Windows Vista 64-Bit Ultimate for System Builders Single Pack DVD - OEM

$179.99

Subtotal: $3,402.91

Wow.....

James I think this is the bigest budget so far, lol.

Soorena

EDIT: Ok nevermind the wishlist is public now, HERE is the link. If it doesn't work its called 3G Gaming Rig, you can look it up in the public section.

Edited by SOORENA, 12 December 2007 - 08:13 AM.

[james_8970]

Alright, just because this is a large budget, doesn't mean you need to get them to spend as much as possible

Here are some better parts at a lower price point.
Different OS
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16832116202

Different, cheaper but much better PSU
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16817256034

Better memory, lower price point, two sets of these would be a good deal.
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820146118

Get this processor, while the processor Soorena mentioned is indeed more powerful, it's really overkill and offers no where near the gain in performance the price suggests (if you can overclock, then there isn't much of a difference at all as no games will require that much CPU power for a long time to come).
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16819115017

This case will serve you much better.
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16811119103

Do you plan on overclocking?

Then it comes to the motherboard. The 680i will support SLI but it will not support any yorkfield processors, the x38 supports Crossfire (no SLI) but it supports yorkfield. It's up to you were you want to go, crossfiring two HD3870's wouldn't be a bad idea either as Crossfire scales better in games when compared to SLI (though not significantly better).

Unless you have 5.1 (or 6.1 or 7.1) surround speakers, a sound card is necessary. Though if you are an audiophile, I recommend on of the newer sound cards that ahve been released.

James

Edited by james_8970, 12 December 2007 - 10:52 AM.

[MadRoy]

Vid Card http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814143107

Processor http://www.newegg.co...N82E16819115026

Memory http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820227269

Sound Card http://www.newegg.co...N82E16829271002

I seem to have forgotten to add the Mboard to the list, don't really have time to look it up right now, I finally get to go back to work after 2 weeks off (enforced medical leave). I would have replied sooner but was at Dr.'s office getting all clear to return to work. Thanks for all your time and input guys. This is definitely more complicated than I figured it would be to start with but at least I'm learning a thing or two.

[james_8970]

I'd switch to this memory if you want 2GB sticks, you don't have to deal with mail in rebates and it's a bit better RAM.
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820231122

If you want a high end sound card, spend a few more dollars and get this one. Again, it's not needed unless you are an audiophile, have 5.1+ speakers or like to do video editing.
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16829156005

If you want to use more then 3.3 GB of RAM, your going to need to look into a 64bit operating system.

This is definitely more complicated than I figured it would be to start

Thats why we are here
James

Edited by james_8970, 12 December 2007 - 03:01 PM.