Opinion on new build

[Ebnrne]

First off, here's the answers to the sticky thread above...

1. My PC will be primarily used for gaming.

2. My budget is around 2000-2200$ (including taxes and shipping)

3. I'll be buying my parts in Canada (Ontario)

4. No real brand preferences, I like whatever performs the best and has some degree of reliability.

5. I'll be using my own DvD burner/case/monitor/hard drives (2x 74GB Raptors)

6. I have searched and read similar threads.

7. I'll be running the system at stock speeds.

Here's the system I priced out so far, I used canadacomputers.com since its close and the prices are good, if anyone has any other suggestions though I'd be open to checking out some other places, as long as it doesn't cost more in shipping.

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 ($298.99)
BFG GeForce 8800 GTX ($613.99)
Zalman CNPS9500 Cu CPU Cooler ($63.99)
Corsair XMS2 Dominator 2GB Memory ($249.99)
EVGA NF68-A1 SLI Socket 775 nVidia nForce 680i ($249.99)
OCZ GameXStream 700 Watt Power Supply ($129.99)

Thanks in advance!

 

[coldmeat]

check out www.directcanda.com they have free shipping for orders over $300, and some of the best prices in canada

 

[jw0ollard]

Few points:

1) Why BFG? I don't want to trounce on brand loyalty or anything, but I will never buy anything other than EVGA, mostly for the 90-day Step Up Program. Do they not do that in Canada or something?

2) I own a Zalman 9500 and it's LOUD. Way too loud. If your wallet and case can fit the larger, quieter 9700, that's always an option. Although I think it's a little too expensive, and I'd personally go with a Thermaltake Big Typhoon instead.

3) I'd spend a little less on RAM and a little more on a PSU. That GameXStream got a decent review at JonnyGuru, but it didn't do well under heavy load, and it's non-modular design is messsssyyyy. Personally, I'd only ever go with PSUs made by Silverstone (ones made by Entasis or Enhance) or PC Power & Cooling.

4) Edit: OK.. I'd spend a lot less on RAM. $249 CA is overkill. You could spend 50% of the $$$ and get 95% of the same performance.

 

[Sinn707]

Since you are not interested in overclocking E6850 is a better choice for you, 3.0Ghz dual core
will dominate 2.4Ghz quad in all current games. There's no need for any additional CPU cooling
with no overclocking, stock fan will work just fine at stock frequencies. If you still want something other than
stock cooler, check out Freezer 7 Pro from Canadacomputers, for $28 it will do the job much better.

Don't spend this much on the memory, it is aimed towards overclocking enthusiasts who absolutely require it.
You can spend half this much for a very, very nice kit. I recommend the Crucial here. Go with the latest P35 chipset MB instead of 680i, SLI is useless in my opinion due to the extremely rapid growth of vid card power, i.e by the end of this year you should see a single card which performs 3x as fast as 8800 GTX. On that note, I also suggest going with EVGA so you could take advantage of their step up program and get the next monster for only about $150-200.
While the OCZ GameXtreme series is a solid brand, for this money I don't see any reason not to pick a high tier modular PSU, Corsair 620HX is exceptional in all aspects.

P.s - Infonec (located in Toronto, Mississauga and Markham) usually beats Canadacomputers prices by $20 on almost every item, I shop there regularly.

Good luck.

 

[Drexl]

I would agree about the CPU, except that I'd get an e6750 instead. I don't know about Canadian prices, but in the US the e6850 is about $100 more (a 50% higher price) than the e6750 which makes it not a good value in my book. I don't think he would really miss the extra 333Mhz.

 

[nick1985]

Look into a P35 based motherboard

 

[Rage3kMoiz]

Here's my proposed build for you.
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Quad Core Processor LGA775 Kentsfield 2.40GHZ 1066FSB 8MB Retail Box + Corsair CMPSU-620HX 620W ATX Triple 12V 50A 24PIN ATX Modular Power Supply 120MM Fan 2X PCI-E (CMPSU-620HX) Combo - 439.92
EVGA E-GEFORCE 8800GTX 575MHZ 768MB 1.8GHZ GDDR3 Dual DVI-I HDTV Out HDCP DIRECTX10 Video Card - $576.64 after $30 rebate
Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R ATX LGA775 Conroe P35 DDR2 1PCI-E16 3PCI-E1 SATA RAID Sound GBLAN Motherboard + Corsair XMS2 TWIN2X2048-6400C4 2GB 2X1GB PC2-6400 DDR2-800 CL 4-4-4-12 240PIN Dual Channel Memory Combo - $254

It'd give you a much cheaper system and one that'd allow you to upgrade to Penryn and DDR3 as well. You'd also get Quake Wars:ET, Dark Messiah of Might & Magic and GRAW 2 free with those choices. But it's your call in the end.