First Timer Rig... Phase 1: Parts

[zahbaz]

Hey. Total nub to the forum... and yeah, I'm planning on going about my first build. My laptop isn't cutting it out for my performance needs, so about time I get a nice desktop unit...something I can use for gaming on a college budget. Really want to try Age of Conan...that game looks sick. I feel out of the loop.

Here's what I'm looking at for my tower:

Mobo
ASUS P5N-D LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 750i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard
Had to think long and hard about this... I was also looking at a Gigabyte board that supported DDR2 and DDR3 ram... I'm unfamiliar with DDR3, if somebody wants to comment. Also, I like how this board has two PCIex16 slots, in case I wish to add a second video card in the future.

VCard x 1
EVGA 640-P2-N829-AR GeForce 8800GTS SSC 640MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card

Processor
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6700 Kentsfield 2.66GHz LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor Model HH80562PH0678MK

CPU Fan/Sink
ZEROtherm Nirvana NV120 120mm 2-ball UFO Bearing / Transparent CPU Cooler
My mobo is coming with a cooling fan...but would that be enough? The case I chose (below), also seems to be well geared for cooling.

Memory
CORSAIR XMS2 DHX 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X4096-6400C4DHX

Hard Drive
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

Power Supply
XCLIO GREATPOWER X14S4P4 750W ATX12V Power Supply

Optical Drive
Pioneer 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model DVR-215DBK - OEM
Does anybody have any Blu-Ray compatible recommendations...? I was curious about this, though I suppose I can rely on PS3 once the MGS4 bundle is released in a few weeks.

Case
APEVIA X-JUPITER G-Type X-JUPITERG-BK Black Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case
I'm going with a larger case... For a first build, I feel the more room to work with the better... And I've heard the 8800GTS cards tend to be large. I like the fans and LCD monitor... can come in handy.


I am so open to questions and comments. I want this to come together smoothly, so please, make suggestions!

Also, just remembered... would this mobo be open to future upgrades? I'm open to upgrading my PC once its built...just don't want it to be immediately outdated. Thanks!

 

[zahbaz]

Forgot to mention...
I'll be running Vista 32 Home Premium

 

[chinaman1472]

Answer the sticky.

Ditch the SLi motherboard if you aren't going to use SLi. No need to pay for things you won't use. Gigabyte P35-DS3L is a good simple basic motherboard.
Get the 8800GTS 512MB instead. The 640MB version is outdated and slow in comparison.
Don't need the CPU cooler if you're not overclocking. If you will be, get the Xigmatek HDT-S1283.
Better power supply, Corsair 450/550VX, or 520HX.

Everything else is fine really, could go for the 640GB Western Digital HD instead.

 

[PeteRoy]

I would go with a case that has an air duct for the cpu fan Air duct cases in newegg

Intel made video demonstrating why air duct case is better

 

[zahbaz]

Well...tell you the truth, I want to use SLI and get two in there... It's just expensive. I thought the option to add another card in the future would be a good idea. Any thoughts? Changed my power supply to the 520hx and vcard to EVGA GeForce 8800GTS 512mb @ 670Mhz by the way. Ditching the fan, too... overclocking is still a future goal.

Pete...the song in that video is hilarious after 1:06 haha. Thanks, I'll check those cases out.


Updated List

Mobo
GIGABYTE GA-EP35C-DS3R LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Dynamic Energy Saver Ultra Durable II Intel Motherboard

VCard x 1
VGA 512-P3-N841-AR GeForce 8800GTS (G92) 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card

Processor
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6700 Kentsfield 2.66GHz LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor Model HH80562PH0678MK

Memory
CORSAIR XMS2 DHX 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X4096-6400C4DHX

Hard Drive
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

Power Supply
CORSAIR CMPSU-520HX 520W ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V 2.91 Power Supply - Retail

Optical Drive
Pioneer 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model DVR-215DBK - OEM

Case
APEVIA X-JUPITER G-Type X-JUPITERG-BK Black Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case
Looking for a potential alternative.

 

[bamacre]

SLI is not meant to be an upgrade path.

Basically, you either utilize it up front, or don't use it at all.

Plus, Intel's chipsets are better than Nvidia's, IMO.

 

[zahbaz]

Then what good is what I'm doing!?!

Haha. Well, best I found out now...

 

[zahbaz]

Finalized List

Thanks to all your input thus far.

Changed processor and case from last edit. Case looks so sexy. Total cost $1209.
Can someone please look this over? I'd really appreciate it. One of my questions...mobo has one PCIe x16 slot...video card is PCIe x16 2.0. I've heard this should be compatible. Am I good to go with this setup?


Mobo
GIGABYTE GA-EP35C-DS3R LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Dynamic Energy Saver Ultra Durable II Intel Motherboard

VCard x 1
VGA 512-P3-N841-AR GeForce 8800GTS (G92) 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card

Processor
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300 Yorkfield 2.5GHz LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80580Q9300

Memory
CORSAIR XMS2 DHX 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X4096-6400C4DHX

Hard Drive
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

Power Supply
CORSAIR CMPSU-520HX 520W ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V 2.91 Power Supply - Retail

Optical Drive
Pioneer 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model DVR-215DBK - OEM

Case
COOLER MASTER COSMOS 1000 RC-1000-KSN1-GP Black/ Silver Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case

 

[DSF]

Looks fine, although the Q9300 wouldn't be my processor of choice for gaming. Higher clocks generally trump more cores, and that trend is likely to continue for at least a little while. Your graphics card and motherboard will work fine together, but I would get the EP35-DS3R, not the EP35C-DS3R. Swapping in DDR3 down the road won't give you any tangible performance gain and you'll be limited to 4GB anyway. By the time an upgrade to DDR3 is cost-effective it's likely that systems will be pushing towards 6-8GB.

Also, if you're not overclocking you could save a little bit of money on the RAM and go with blah 1.8V stuff:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820146731

There's no real reason to spend more than $80 on 4GB of RAM if you're not overclocking right now. If you are overclocking you're going to want RAM faster than DDR2-800 for the chip you chose.