Building New Computer

[LittleEnglish]

UPDATED LIST FURTHER DOWN

Alright, I'm going to be building my first computer here so stay with me. I've done lots of reading/research before picking these parts so hopefully they are compatible and of good quality.

I'm trying to keep the build under $2000, but as always, cheaper is better!

Mainly I'm going to be using this computer for gaming, some 3d modeling, basic internet/Microsoft office, music, watch movies. I'm a ME major so I'll need to also run some scientific programs. I'll be taking this to university with me when I go back in January so I really need it all up and running by then, but the earlier the better. I can hold off on specific pieces if something drastically better is on the horizon though.

I am planning to OC it slightly. I don't want to mess around too much with voltages, I'm not experienced enough. From what I gather the Q6600 runs quite hot so I'm trying to account for that.

On to the build:

Case: Antec P182 Gun Metal Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower $170

Motherboard: ABIT IP35 Pro LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX $180

Video Card: ASUS EN8800GTX/HTDP/768M GeForce 8800GTX 768MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP $570

Power Supply: CORSAIR CMPSU-520HX ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V 2.91 520W $125

CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz LGA 775 $315

Memory: OCZ Platinum Revision 2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) $120

Optical Drive: Western Digital Raptor WD1500ADFD 150GB 10,000 RPM Serial ATA150 $195

Optical Drive: Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s $110

Optical Drive: SAMSUNG 18X DVD±R DVD Burner With 12X DVD-RAM Write, LightScribe Technology Black SATA $37

CPU Cooler: Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme $65
Along with Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound

All this adds up to just around $1900. I'm not sure if I need the Raptor, seems kinda like an extra expense. Maybe someone can shed a little more light on the situation. If I don't go for the Raptor (or even if I do), are the ones I've selected the best in their price range?

I'm also not sure if the case is the best choice but it seems like there are just so many high quality cases it comes down to a matter of preference.

What about the OC'ability (is that even how you say it?) of the board/RAM I selected? Yay, nay? It seems as though 3.0 GHz is not asking too much of the chip especially if I have the Thermalright Ultra-120x sitting on top.

I'm also going to be purchasing a new Monitor at some point soon. I would highly doubt I would be getting anything bigger than 24". Is the GTX overkill for something like that?

I know I asked a lot of questions and I'm sure I'll think of more.

Thank you for any insight you can provide me.

p.s. Awesome site, lots of informative articles.

 

[fredhe12]

Nice looking build! Hard to find fault with it and looks like you've done your homework. Enjoy and welcome to the boards!

 

[fredhe12]

Sorry, double post.

 

[coldmeat]

i just bought a Q6600 and plan on overclocking it to 3.0Ghz on a P5K deluxe, and from what i understand it is fairly reasonable to expect an overclock like that, especially if you got a G0.

and i just bought a 8800gtx for a 20" monitor, and i dont see it as overkill, especially if you want high settings.

and dont forget that the thermalright ultra-120 extreme doesnt come with a fan

and you may want to upgrade to the corsair 620HX just for some headroom. better to be safe than sorry

 

[Piuc2020]

Actually, aren't 8800 Ultras like 30 dollas more? Also I would recommend getting an EVGA card just so you can step up to the new nvidia cards coming out this November which are supposed to be quite the performance beasts. Other than that yeah its a pretty good build. You can get a 620HX from ClubIT at the same price.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814130090 - thats an evga 8800 Ultra for just $30 more, since it has step-up program, most likely you won't have to pay much (if anything) for the new 9800GTX coming in November which, judging by previous generation performance gaps, will be considerably faster than the Ultra. Be sure to read up on EVGA's step up program.

http://clubit.com/product_detail.cfm?itemno=A6200027 - And this is a Corsair 620HX for the same price as the 520HX.

Yeah apart from that, its nice, be sure to OC your Q6600. Make sure your ultra 120x and 8800 GTX/Ultra will fit on that P182.

 

[coldmeat]

Originally posted by: Piuc2020
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814130090 - thats an evga 8800 Ultra for just $30 more, since it has step-up program, most likely you won't have to pay much (if anything) for the new 9800GTX coming in November which, judging by previous generation performance gaps, will be considerably faster than the Ultra. Be sure to read up on EVGA's step up program.

have you ever used the step-up program? ive read about it on other forums and found that lots of people are dissapointed with the amount of money that they have to pay just to step-up for a slight increase

 

[MarcVenice]

Why the abit p35 pro ? Does it have something the asus p5k does not, something you need? If not, the p5k comes for 40$ less and is a pretty good overclocker. The psu should be less expesensive, at least for under 100$. It will be PLENTY of power for your rig, no need to get a 620hx.

Rest of your rig looks very good. One option is to buy a 8800gts 320mb from EVGA, and use the stepup program in 3 months. By then the newer nvidia cards should be out, and the cash you save now from 570$ to 270$ will buy you a very nice card. Wether that be a newer generation dx10 card, or a 8800gtx, it should be coming cheaper by then.

Only thing I would do is get 4gb of ram.

 

[Piuc2020]

If you use the step-up to upgrade from a 8800GTS to a 8800GTX, EVGA is going to rip you off and the performance benefit will be little.

They charge you the difference in MSRP, I'm guessing the 9800GTX MSRP will be about $650, 50 dollars is not a big price to pay for the HUGE differential in performance new generation cards bring.

The other option of course would be waiting until November to build your machine.

 

[LittleEnglish]

I was just reading up a little bit about EVGA's Step-Up program and it seems like a pretty good deal, that is assuming that the next gen cards are coming out within 90 days of purchase. As I said in my orginal post, the latest I can build this computer would be the end of December but I'm just getting so anxious.

As for prices, I haven't really shopped around yet. I was more concerned if everything would work together, enough space in the case, etc.

Thank you to all the help you're giving me. Keep it coming.

 

[LittleEnglish]

Another question:

How do I know if I'm getting a g0 Q6600 before purchasing?

 

[LightningRider]

On most sites, you don't. Often once you buy they will show you the product code and if it says SLACR at the end then you got a G0. Some places offer the B3's 10$ cheaper though.

 

[LittleEnglish]

Updated List:

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/product/...p?item=N82E16819115017 Quad Intel Core2 Quad Q6600 2400MHz - $295

CPU Cooler: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...t%2bUltra120%2bExtreme Thermalright Ultra120 Extreme - $65

Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...&Tpk=Abit%2bIP35%2bPro]Abit IP35 Pro - $185

Memory: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820146565 Crucial Ballistix 2 GB - $110

Hard Drive: http://www.newegg.com/product/...p?item=N82E16822136073 Western Digital Caviar SE16 500GB - $110

DVD: http://www.newegg.com/product/...p?item=N82E16827151141 SAMSUNG 18X DVD±R DVD Burner - $34

Video Card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814130072 eVGA Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTX - $530

Power Supply: http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/...jsp?ProductCode=373100 Corsair 520 HX - $105

Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...29025&Tpk=Antec%2bP182 Antec P182 - $160

OS: http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/...jsp?ProductCode=604698 Windows Vista 64-Bit Home Premium - $110

TIM: http://www.newegg.com/product/...p?item=N82E16835100007 Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - $6

These prices reflect without any mail in rebates and the total comes to:
$1710

With mail in rebates and accounting for shipping costs/tax, the total comes to:
$1660 (haha, it's lower)

-------------
Questions/Comments:

1. Now, I'm still not completely sold on the Motherboard. It seems like everyone has a different opinion on which is best. I've narrowed it down to:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...&Tpk=Abit%2bIP35%2bPro Abit IP35 Pro
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813131181 Asus P5k3 Deluxe
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813128048 Gigabyte GA-P35C-DS3R

These seems to be the best currently for OCing and features. As I said before, I'm looking to OC from 2.4 to around 3 GHz. I'm not that experienced and I don't want to push it. I really need some help deciding which.

2. Also, I've dropped the Raptor, I really don't think I'll need it for $200. 500GB is fine for my needs at the moment and I can always pick up another one easily. The one I've selected is OEM, will that be a problem or should I pick up a Retail version?

3. I'm still trying to shop around for prices. Most of my purchases will probably come from Newegg. I've never ordered from ZipZoomFly before. Are they recommended?

4. I've heard that the P182 is relatively large inside. I should have no problem fitting the components that I've selected, right? What about the heatsink + fan (which I have yet to put on my list) and monster Video Card? On some reviews on Newegg people definitely have put 8800 GTX's in there but sometimes had to move HD cages, etc.

Thank you for all your help so far.

 

[LittleEnglish]

I would love to get a little more feedback on this.

Thanks.

 

[LightningRider]

Well I don't think there's much more to say. Everything looks good. The only thing you might want to get is 4GB of RAM. It's not really necessary right now but I can tell you I use Vista 64 Ultimate and I definitely go over 2GB of RAM usage. DDR2 prices will be slowly on the rise as DDR3 moves in to take over so if you want to upgrade later, it may be more expensive.

One other thing though, do you really need the Raptor? Seagate is releasing the 7200.11 series drives very soon and they should equal if not out perform the Raptor in some areas judging by the supplied specs and you'll end up with a lot more space, at a lower cost to boot, if you get the 500GB flavour. Personally I'm using my old IDE hard drives until they release. You can read up on them on the Seagate site.

Anyways, other than that I think it's a pretty solid build and you should be happy with it. Might wanna get a sound card in the future for your games.

 

[LittleEnglish]

Originally posted by: LightningRider
Well I don't think there's much more to say. Everything looks good. The only thing you might want to get is 4GB of RAM. It's not really necessary right now but I can tell you I use Vista 64 Ultimate and I definitely go over 2GB of RAM usage. DDR2 prices will be slowly on the rise as DDR3 moves in to take over so if you want to upgrade later, it may be more expensive.

One other thing though, do you really need the Raptor? Seagate is releasing the 7200.11 series drives very soon and they should equal if not out perform the Raptor in some areas judging by the supplied specs and you'll end up with a lot more space, at a lower cost to boot, if you get the 500GB flavour. Personally I'm using my old IDE hard drives until they release. You can read up on them on the Seagate site.

Anyways, other than that I think it's a pretty solid build and you should be happy with it. Might wanna get a sound card in the future for your games.

I took the Raptor off my Updated Build list.

 

[d3n]

I agree on the Seagate Drives.

I have to wonder about the need for the quad cores. I think the Core2 Duo 6750 would be a better bet. It uses the 1333 FSB which is guaranteed to get you more FPS than the 1066. Also the Quad cores will be sitting idle for the foreseeable future.


If you encode I would say go quad, if not I think your FPS numbers would be better served with a 6750.

Edit: Of course over clocking the e6750 would be on my list of to dos. It is apparently very capable. I think there are different yelds however, a G0 and a B3. The G0 is a new batch that has a 95w core rating while the older B3s run at 105w I think. The lower power seems to lead to better OC's.

 

[theYipster]

You should be able to get that Ballistix RAM for under $100 if you shop around. I would also suggest going 4 gigs while DDR-2 can still be had cheaply, especially if you're running 64-bit Vista.

As for the motherboards, the ABIT IP-35 PRO is quickly becoming the favorite of the P-35 generation (just as the Gigabyte DS3 was the favorite of the 965s) because it's feature filled, well laid out, and most importantly, because it overclocks better than the rest. If you'd like to spend a little less, then the Gigabyte DS3R is an excellent runner up. In my opinion, both are better than the ASUS P5K Deluxe.

Quads are the way to go if you're going to do any video editing, image processing, HD video playback, software development, or any CPU heavy task (CAD work is another example.) The vast majority of games do not make use of four cores today, but more will in the future. If you're not going to OC, then don't worry about it and get the quad. However, note that an E6850 or E6750 will OC higher than the quad, and thus will provide you with better performance in games and other programs that don't use four cores. A good E6850 should hit 4ghz with good cooling, and a good E6750 should hit 3.6ghz. Getting a Q6600 to 3.6ghz on good air or water is very difficult, especially if the chip isn't of the G0 stepping.

Mark.

 

[rhk0327]

$2000 for a build it yourself computer is bleeding edge expensive. I would spend half that (except maybe on premium parts not quickly outdated e.g., case and powersupply and possibly monitor) and and build another computer 3-4 years down the line. I believe this to be more wise because you'll end up with a much better computer 3 years from now and wont' be spending the bleeding edge premium.

You should check out the hot deals forums to pick up some of the parts like the case, powersupply and memory. If you're not in a rush you could save alot. They had p180s (but people were getting p182s) for like $70 bucks awhile ago.