[tuesdaysgone06]

hello all, i am fairly new at building computers, i just decided that i wasnt going to waste any more money on laptops and such. so my question is: i have a list of my hardware that i am thinking about buying and i would like to know if it will all be compatible with each other. if not let me know please, any help and suggestions would be greatly appreciated. thanks!

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16813131074

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814130312

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16819115017

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16822152052

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16829102014

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16817814014

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820227195

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16811129021


thanks again everyone!!

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The HD3870X2 is going to be released some time on or after the 28th of this month. You might want to wait for that, it beats the ultra in most cases and has a MMRSP of $450, after drivers mature, it should be an excellent card. nVidia is releasing it's card on Febuary 14th, while it'll likely beat ATI's offers, it will also likely be more expensive.

Don't get that motherboard.
If you want a nVidia card get the following
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16813188024
If you want a ATI card get the following
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16813128080

In my opinion, the x38>i780.

Get this hard drive.
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16822148288

If you have speakers that do not have DDL decoding get the following sound card.
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16829102006
If you do have speakers that support DDL decoding get the following card. It's the best sound card on the market right now.
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16829156005

Get this PSU.
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16817256036

Get this memory.
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820146673

Just to give you a heads up, your missing a OS and a DVD drive.
James

[james_8970]

The HD3870X2 is going to be released some time on or after the 28th of this month. You might want to wait for that, it beats the ultra in most cases and has a MMRSP of $450, after drivers mature, it should be an excellent card. nVidia is releasing it's card on Febuary 14th, while it'll likely beat ATI's offers, it will also likely be more expensive.

Don't get that motherboard.
If you want a nVidia card get the following
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16813188024
If you want a ATI card get the following
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16813128080

In my opinion, the x38>i780.

Get this hard drive.
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16822148288

If you have speakers that do not have DDL decoding get the following sound card.
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16829102006
If you do have speakers that support DDL decoding get the following card. It's the best sound card on the market right now.
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16829156005

Get this PSU.
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16817256036

Get this memory.
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820146673

Just to give you a heads up, your missing a OS and a DVD drive.
James

[tuesdaysgone06]

hey man thanks for the reply, do you think i should get the EVGA Ultra instead of the one i had listed above? i mean my budget is around $2500 but i can go a little higher. i am looking for some really high end stuff, but not too expensive for everything you know? i know you get what you pay for that is why my budget is rather high. i want a system that will be mainly for gaming, i wanna be able to run pretty much every game on its highest settings. just out of curiousity why shouldnt i get the striker mobo? what is wrong with the OCZ RAM? and all the others? just wondering out of curiousity like i said. i appectiate your opinion. and i was thinking about running vista ultimate and i was thinking about this DVD drive:

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16827151154

also if i got the ultra card then would it be sufficient enough to run crysis and such on highest settings without SLi? and could you explain a little bit about SLi to make sure i understand more about so i can see whether or not i should got two cards if it is worth it. thanks!!!

[Seltox]

I don't think it's possible to build a rig that can run Crysis on the highest resolution and highest specs right now.

SLI requires two identical cards, and will offer a small boost in performance. In my opinion you will always be better off buying a better single card than running two slightly-less-quality cards. For example, running two 8600's when you could get an 8800 or something. There's this tri-SLI thing happening now I think, but I don't know too much about it.

EDIT: Oh and if you really do want some high end stuff, you could always go for some 1066MHz DDR2 (make sure your motherboard can handle it). DDR3 really isn't worth it, right now at least.

Edited by Seltox, 24 January 2008 - 06:08 AM.

[kamille316]

For the DVD drive, you should get this one instead http://www.newegg.co...N82E16827129009
its cheaper and also a good quality, I've heard that the samsung one can only burn up to 200 discs and then fails after that.

Kamille

[james_8970]

For the DVD drive, you should get this one instead http://www.newegg.co...N82E16827129009
its cheaper and also a good quality, I've heard that the samsung one can only burn up to 200 discs and then fails after that.

Kamille

There are too many DOA on that model, which is why I posted the one from another site, slightly different model.

There's this tri-SLI thing happening now I think, but I don't know too much about it.

Yes, that's with the 780i boards. Only the 8800GTX and 8800Utra can do it at this time.

just out of curiousity why shouldnt i get the striker mobo?

It's really overpriced and has lots a few issues (like any 680i board does). I'd suggest a Intel chipset over a nVidia chipset any day.

Don't buy the ultra, if you don't want to buy a ATI that's fine, just let me know.

As for the memory, I thought it was 2x1GB RAM, which would have been really over priced.
If you want 4GB of RAM I'd suggest this one.
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820231145
It operates at tighter timings and higher frequencies and is the best valued 4GB kit. Keep in mind that a 32bit OS can only use about 3.2GB.

James

[tuesdaysgone06]

ok, then i choose the 780i board that you suggested. i feel more comfortable with nvidia cards mainly cause i have never had an ATI. if i shouldnt buy the ultra then what should i get to come close to that power? i want something really powerful you know? and since i was going to get vista ultimate 64 bit would it be fine to run that G-skill RAM along with the OCZ equaling 8GB?

[stettybet0]

You definitely should not get the Ultra. If you want to save a bit of money, but still get great performance, I would go with the 8800GTS 512MB. It is nearly as good as the Ultra, even better in some situations, but a lot cheaper. If you really want to go high end, wait until February 14th for the 9800GX2 to come out, and it will be the most powerful GPU available. Also, if this isn't an imminent build, waiting until August should get you an 9800GTX which is reportedly at least twice as powerful as the 8800GTX. I know some members (*ahem* James) are skeptical of this, but with the 9600GT providing more than a 100% increase over the 8600GT, I don't see why the 9800GTX won't do the same.

Also, I would recommend matching RAM kits for easier overclocking and such.

[james_8970]

and since i was going to get vista ultimate 64 bit would it be fine to run that G-skill RAM along with the OCZ equaling 8GB?

I wouldn't mix and match RAM as there are major differences between the RAM I post and the RAM you posted with could easily cause problems. You won't notice a change between 4GB and 8GB of RAM unless you are editing large pictures in photoshop.

ATI is releasing the HD3870X2 which is better then the Ultra, but 200$ less, if I were you I'd seriously consider it if you are playing at high resolutions. nVidia's offering may be interesting as well, but I have no idea on the pricing of that card nor the performance. If you are not playing at high resolutions then I'd suggest the card below.
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814150261
James

Edited by james_8970, 24 January 2008 - 09:26 PM.

[tuesdaysgone06]

ok, thanks for your replies guys, is my OCZ RAM ok? i wanted to make sure it is good RAM so i dont waste my money. and i will be playing on a 24" lcd monitor so i guess it would be high resolutions, probably a 24 inch sceptre monitor. so in that case would the 8800gts be great for that? would it be worth it to get two and spend the same as i would for an ultra? and also like i was wondering, if i went with an ati card i would have to switch mobo's wouldnt i?

[stettybet0]

If you went with ATI, you wouldn't have to switch mobos, but you couldn't run two of them in crossfire.

Also, I own the 8800GTS 512MB and it is a great card, but you should remember that no card can currently run Crysis on Very High at high resolutions. I overclock my 8800GTS 512MB (I keep mentioning the VRAM amount, as it is very important to get the 512MB, and not the 320MB or 640MB) and my CPU and my RAM, but on 1920x1080 and all Very High, I get about 20FPS.

[james_8970]

If you went with ATI, you wouldn't have to switch mobos, but you couldn't run two of them in crossfire.

Also, I own the 8800GTS 512MB and it is a great card, but you should remember that no card can currently run Crysis on Very High at high resolutions. I overclock my 8800GTS 512MB (I keep mentioning the VRAM amount, as it is very important to get the 512MB, and not the 320MB or 640MB) and my CPU and my RAM, but on 1920x1080 and all Very High, I get about 20FPS.

Yes it would be recommend to change motherboards if you went the ATI route, but the x38 chipset is much better then the 780i/680i chipset anyways.
If you are looking at gaming on a 24" monitor, then you'll want to look at the 8800GTX/Ultra, HD3870X2 (coming out on the 28th, it's going to see quick so you'll have to decide fast) or nVidia's next GPU coming out next month.
James

[stettybet0]

The 8800GTS 512MB can be had for $280. I don't think the slight performance increase of the 8800GTX/Ultra on very high resolutions justifies the price increase, but it's your call. However, production of the 8800Ultra has stopped, due to the 9800GX2 which is coming out in mid-February to take the GPU throne. If you were considering paying for an Ultra, then waiting for the 9800GX2 seems right up your alley. Pricing at this point is unknown, with reports ranging from $450-$900, but right now it's looking like it should be about $600-$700.

[tuesdaysgone06]

i would like to get the 8800GTX since it is $200 cheaper than the ultra. is this a good idea? or is there a card that matches its performance or beats it that i should know about? i mean i dont fully understand the difference between these cards, like the chipset, core clock, memory clock, and such....also another question i was having is say i got an 8800GTS could i SLi it with an 8800GTX? or does it have to be the exact same card?

[james_8970]

also another question i was having is say i got an 8800GTS could i SLi it with an 8800GTX? or does it have to be the exact same card?

Whenever you SLI it has to be the exact same GPU, you can mix and match the manufactures though. On the crossfire side there are a few exceptions.....

i would like to get the 8800GTX since it is $200 cheaper than the ultra. is this a good idea?

If you were gaming on lower resolutions you could game on any card, however I strongly recommend you wait for at least the ATI card to be released next week or wait for the next nVidia card to be released next month. Though if you don't mind gaming on lower non-native resolutions then you could get any high end card.
James

Edited by james_8970, 26 January 2008 - 09:32 PM.