[silentgoldfish]

My computer has been a real workhorse but despite lots of upgrades, at it's core it's 5 years old now and it's time for a new one. I haven't built a new computer in a while so I'd like to cover my bases to make sure that I haven't forgotten anything major or given myself a bottleneck by mistake before I buy anything!

I'm currently looking at getting:

Intel ATX E6700 CORE 2 DUO /2.67GHz/4MB CACHE/1066FSB/LGA775

Albatron NF650i Nvidia DDR2 GLan SATA RAID 1333Mhz Socket 775 Ultra Motherboard

DDR2 Twin2X 2048MB 240-pin DDR2 XMS2-6400 Corsair(2X1024MB)

Western Digital 500G SATAII 7200 rpm HDD(16Mb Cache)

Western Digital 500G SATAII 7200 rpm HDD(16Mb Cache)

XFX GeForce 8800GTS 320MB 500Mhz Dual DVI HDTV SLI PCI Express Video

Sony AWG170AB2 blk OEM 18X DVD+R/-R DVD-RAM(No Software)

Antec Top Quality Sonata II Quiet Black Case

Keyboard/Mouse/Speakers and Monitor are being brought across from the old one. Anything important I've missed? Any accidental incompatibilities or weak spots?

Thanks in advance!

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Hi silentgoldfish, and welcome to Geeks To Go!

That build is good to go everything should be compatible but I'd wait till James comes around before building that computer, he might have some advice for different parts.

Soorena

[SOORENA]

Hi silentgoldfish, and welcome to Geeks To Go!

That build is good to go everything should be compatible but I'd wait till James comes around before building that computer, he might have some advice for different parts.

Soorena

[james_8970]

Hey,

Get the E6600, the E6700 isn't worth the premium you pay for.
Get the Evga version of the motherboard(I have never heard of Albatron, can you give me a link?) as well as the Evga version of the card, Evga is slightly more usually but the warrenty is much better. Lately there have been many DOA's from XFX.
James

[silentgoldfish]

http://www.albatron.com.tw/ It's from Taiwan.

It doesn't look like Evga's available from my store of choice, could you please tell me which is the safest brand from the ones they've got?

BFG, Gainward, Gigabyte, Leadtek or MSI? (And XFX, of course)

Thanks for the help!

[Titan8990]

I don't know if you are refering to the board or video card. I would go with BFG for the card and Gigabyte with the board. Gigabyte has a nice price/performance ratio. Those would actually be my preference over anything but definitely the pick out of that list. What is your store of choice? Do you live in the U.S.?

You can get a 20X DVD+R/-R for nearly the same price as a 18X. The speed upgrade might not be much but the price difference is even more insignificant.

Edited by Titan8990, 16 May 2007 - 01:42 PM.

[silentgoldfish]

It's a local chain you almost definitely wouldn't have heard of, because I live in Australia

Thanks again!

[Titan8990]

You may want to ask around here for a good website that ships there. Typically local stores charge quite a bit more than online sources. It could be different over there though.

[james_8970]

I have to disagree with titan, get the same company for the video and motherboard. Generally a product will be optimized to work better with another product from the same company.
This is the only UK based site I know of.
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/
Evga is available there. 2nd choice would be BFG then XFX.
James

Edit: What are you planning on for a PSU and operating system also what is the native resolution of that monitor?

Edited by james_8970, 16 May 2007 - 04:02 PM.

[silentgoldfish]

OS will be XP pro, PSU will be a 450W one that comes with the case. Not usually recommended I'm aware, but they bill it as a PSU that's designed to work with the case to be cool and quiet.

The native res of my monitor is 1920x1200; a 24 inch monitor is a splurge from last year that I'm still pleased with!

Online stores are cheaper and that's basically what the place I'm going through is; they just provide the infrastructure for pickup as well as mailing gear out. All up this is going to cost me roughly 1600 US dollars.

[james_8970]

That PSU will not be enough to power the video card nor the system you'll have to invest into one.
That resolution will really push any card on the market today the 8800GTS 640mb version is the bare minimum for that high of a resolution.
James

Edited by james_8970, 19 May 2007 - 01:40 PM.

[silentgoldfish]

Well, got a bigger powersupply and the whole thing's up and running great. Thanks for the help!

[james_8970]

Good to hear, hope you enjoy the rig.
James