New Gaming build, need help\suggestions

[rockx4]

No set budge, but trying to get the best bang for the buck

So far I'm thinking of getting (though nothing is set, if any of these choices suck let me know):

1: Antec 900 Case
2: Intel Q6600 CPU (planning to OC)
3: EVGA 9800 GTX (currently already have this from May, planning to step up when the new cards are out)
4: EVGA 750i motherboard
5: Vista 64 and XP 32

I'm wondering if 8GB is worth it. But I can't seem to find an 8GB kit that's 1066Mhz. Is getting 2 2x2gb kits fine?

Also have a question about hard drive setup. I currently have a 74gb Raptor drive, which is pretty small for current games (Age of Conan alone takes up 25gigs..). Should I get a 250gig+ 7200rpm drive or get another Raptor? Also if I install the OS's (vista and xp on same drives?) and games on separate drives... does it slow performance?

Any help would be appreciated, thanks

 

[ImDonly1]

8 GB is definitely a waste for gaming. 2 GB I would say is enough, some people also like buying the 2x2 GB kits.

If you install the OS on one drive (lets say the raptor) and games on the slower drive then the OS loads fast from the fast raptor drive but games load at normal speed from the slower hard drive.

 

[chinaman1472]

Change the CPU to the E8400 instead. It's *slightly* better for gaming and most likely a tad cheaper.
Are you going to SLi? If so, then the 750i board is fine, if you're not, then switch to a simple P35 motherboard. The Gigabyte P35-DS3L is around $90, has the basic features, and OCs very well.
Two 2x2GB kits are fine, though DDR2-1000 is enough. Unlikely the extra 66MHz will do much good considering you'll have to max out the FSB at 500MHz before you see the extra put to use. But, the extra $80 for the second kit could be put to better use elsewhere.
It's unlikely you'll notice a performance increase/decrease based on how you install. It's just good to keep data on one and installations on another simply for back up, in my opinion. Pick up the Western Digital 640GB or the Samsung Spinpoint F1 750GB. As fast as the old Raptor drives with less noise, lots of space, and a good price ($100-120).

 

[gwai lo]

If he's overclocking the Q6600, the E8400 won't perform much better in games. Over 3-3.2 GHz, the GPUs will be taking the load, so unless the OP wants to trade 20 bucks for two cores...I'd personally stick with the quad. Better to have the extra cores when you might need it than not have them when you do. No right or wrong here, just opinions. =)

 

[rockx4]

Thanks for the info guys. Yep I do plan on overclocking the Q6600, maybe up to 3.2 or 3.6ghz.

I'll get the 2x2gb kits like you said chinaman1472, if I need more I can pick it up later
As for hard drives I'm still stuck. Should I just toss out my 74gig raptor, and get a 150gig raptor for the OS and games? Also, is it a good idea to have both XP and Vista on the same drives?

Also, what do you guys think I should buy for the PSU? I do plan on going SLi after the new Nvidia cards come out. I'm waiting to step up and probably purchase a second card.

 

[DSF]

I don't know the power requirements of the new cards, but I would think a good 700-750W PSU should handle it no questions asked.

 

[ther00kie16]

GTX 280 is just under 250W (something like 238 so 20A/card at stock) so you'll probably want 50A on the 12V rail to be safe for a single card. And if you plan to SLI 2 GTX 280, then you'll probably want 40A for the GPUs, 20A for the CPU and 10A for others/overhead for a total of 70A on the 12V rail, probably more if you plan on overclocking those beastly GTX 280s.

 

[DSF]

If that's true then you'd have to ignore what I wrote above, but those numbers seem high to me.

Edit: Just looked over in the PSU forums, where jonnyGURU has said 750W will be fine for dual GTX280s. It also confirmed my suspicion that the PCI-e standard can only supply 225W to the card anyway. I don't think graphics card makers would create a card quite yet that was not compatible with PCI-e 1.0 slots.

 

[rockx4]

Anyone know if the Corsair 750w is a good PSU? I see it at zipzoomfly at a good price. http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/...7112&prodlist=celebros
ecs.aspx?IMODULE=BL2KIT25664AR804[/L]

 

[DSF]

Yes, it's good.

 

[ther00kie16]

236W/GTX 280 for 20A/video card. 15A for OCed quad, 10A for OCed dual and you are already at 50-55A. Corsair 750W provides 60A on 12V rail.
With heavy overclocking on the CPU, you'll have only 5-10A for motherboard and other components which gives you no room for GPU overclocking unless you do very mild CPU overclocks.
Someone forking out $1200 for GTX 280 SLI probably will want a super fast PC so no overclocking is out of the question, which means the 60A won't be enough.
Looks like it's finally time for KW power supplies to be useful.

 

[rockx4]

What power supply would you suggest then?

 

[ther00kie16]

OCZ
80A on 12V rail.

 

[DSF]

I would read some reviews on it before you buy a PSU that just has one customer feedback. Not saying it's bad, just saying I'd look at some reviews.