Building New PC, Opinions?

Dark Zero

Dark Zero

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Well guess I'll add to the new pc build threads. Finally decided to build a new pc in the coming weeks. Give any input or advice, keep in mind that the PC would be built mostly for gaming and I *might* be tempted to overclock sooner or later (nothing crazy). Also if anyone knows if certain things I should wait on, due to soon to be price drops or what not, let me know. If there's anything better then what I choose around the same price range, advice would be appreciated. Other parts not listed I already know what I'm getting ;)



Case: Gigabyte 3D AURORA
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...33013
Cpu: Intel Core 2 duo, E6600 possibly the E6700
Heatsink: Zalman 9700
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...18019

Motherboard: Opinions on the motherboard, hould I go with an Intel chipset or Nforce based?
EVGA - n680i SLI
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...88012 $215
-or-
ASUS - P5B Deluxe
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...31045 $180
RAM
- As for RAM I wouldn't mind running some 1066mhz due to the prices being low, but the evga board seems to support it, but the box says 800mhz supported. Looking at some sites Crucial didn't seem compatible for the EVGA board, any one with first hand experience? Can't beat getting 1066mhz for the price of 800mhz.

1066mhz type
-Crucial 2x1gig
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...48070 $219
800mhz type
-Crucial
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...46565 $139
-Corsair
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...45168 $200
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...45034 $159
Choosing ram sucks :(


Videocard: EVGA GeForece 8800gts 640meg version

Monitor: I might prefer a 19" (non-wide) monitor, which is the best of these two, or feel free to suggest one. Someone suggested a 22" wide-screen as tempting as it seems, I might not have use for such a thing.
-Viewsonic VX922 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/...16375 $244
-or-
-Samsung 931c http://www.newegg.com/Product/...01085 $240

As for PSU, I want a powerful and reliable unit. I was looking at the Corsair unit and the Thermaltake 700w tough power. Should I look at other units that are better or cheaper?

Thanks
 
I will overclock at a later date, not right away though. So just can the 1066 then? Both boards alone offers nice overclocking capabilities.
 
Both monitors I choose have 2ms compared to the 5ms of the Dell, even though that doesn't matter to some. Alot of people say Dell has quality monitors, just looking at other ones for the mean time.
 
If you're going to overclock, you don't need an E6700. You can crank up your E6600 to way over that, so you might as well save some cash.
 
[quote name='Dark Zero']Both monitors I choose have 2ms compared to the 5ms of the Dell, even though that doesn't matter to some. Alot of people say Dell has quality monitors, just looking at other ones for the mean time.[/quote]

I haven't noticed any ghosting issues with my monitor, but I rarely play any speedy FPS games on my PC anymore so who knows :p
 
[quote name='Roufuss']If you're going to overclock, you don't need an E6700. You can crank up your E6600 to way over that, so you might as well save some cash.[/quote]

That's why I said "maybe" for the e6700 :D. I didn't think close to 200$ more for just 200~mhz was worth it anyway over the e6600.

[quote name='SpecTrE3353']I haven't noticed any ghosting issues with my monitor, but I rarely play any speedy FPS games on my PC anymore so who knows :p[/quote]

I play alot of speedy FPS games though, and I even read some people saying there's rare ghosting in the Samsung I linked. But I kind of have a dislike of Dell. I'm not even certain if I should go wide-screen or not.
 
[quote name='Dark Zero']That's why I said "maybe" for the e6700 :D. I didn't think close to 200$ more for just 200~mhz was worth it anyway over the e6600.



I play alot of speedy FPS games though, and I even read some people saying there's rare ghosting in the Samsung I linked. But I kind of have a dislike of Dell. I'm not even certain if I should go wide-screen or not.[/QUOTE]

I'd definitely go widescreen, if you have the chance. I've got a 19" Samsung 940BW, I've got pretty much every decent FPS from the two years, and have never noticed any ghosting.

Haven't noticed any ghosting on my Samsung LCD television, either.

And you can easily push that extra 200 mhz out of the E6600 on just stock cooling... I've got my E6400 at 2.80 ghz right now on stock.
 
[quote name='Roufuss']I'd definitely go widescreen, if you have the chance. I've got a 19" Samsung 940BW, I've got pretty much every decent FPS from the two years, and have never noticed any ghosting.

Haven't noticed any ghosting on my Samsung LCD television, either.

And you can easily push that extra 200 mhz out of the E6600 on just stock cooling... I've got my E6400 at 2.80 ghz right now on stock.[/quote]

Can't the e6600 hit close to 3.0ghz with stock cooling and still have room to spare before moving to watercooling? I probably won't push it that far though. So most def I'll get the e6600, its another 200$ to play with. Which of those motherboards would you go with, or have any other opinion(s)? Just hope the Zalman 9700 doesn't hit the heatsink on the nforce northbridge.

As for the widescreen, this probably sounds dumb. But on older games that were pre-widescreen. Does the game stretch to fit the screen, fill it in normally, or has the sides cut off? Guess between the Viewsonic and Samsung they're good choices regardless.
 
[quote name='Dark Zero']Can't the e6600 hit close to 3.0ghz with stock cooling and still have room to spare before moving to watercooling? I probably won't push it that far though. So most def I'll get the e6600, its another 200$ to play with. Which of those motherboards would you go with, or have any other opinion(s)? Just hope the Zalman 9700 doesn't hit the heatsink on the nforce northbridge.

As for the widescreen, this probably sounds dumb. But on older games that were pre-widescreen. Does the game stretch to fit the screen, fill it in normally, or has the sides cut off? Guess between the Viewsonic and Samsung they're good choices regardless.[/QUOTE]

I can't answer about widescreen as I've yet to play a non widescreen game older game, or an older game period ;)

I only have a handful of older games, I didn't feel like dealing with getting most of them to run so I got rid of most of mine.

I've heard of people getting the E6400 up to 3.2 ghz on stock cooling, so getting 6600 up to 3.0 ghz on stock should be easy. I had to get a cooler for mine (forget what I got right now), but that's only because I live in FL at the moment and it gets pretty hot here. You should have no problem with the Zalman, if your case is big enough.
 
[quote name='Roufuss']I can't answer about widescreen as I've yet to play a non widescreen game older game, or an older game period ;)

I only have a handful of older games, I didn't feel like dealing with getting most of them to run so I got rid of most of mine.

I've heard of people getting the E6400 up to 3.2 ghz on stock cooling, so getting 6600 up to 3.0 ghz on stock should be easy. I had to get a cooler for mine (forget what I got right now), but that's only because I live in FL at the moment and it gets pretty hot here. You should have no problem with the Zalman, if your case is big enough.[/quote]

My house gets super humid during the summer, so that's why I'm opting for the zalman cooler. I had my monitor of all things shut down once because it was hot. Since I plan on overclocking might aswell get a nice cooler. I would go for the tuniq tower, but that thing is monstrous and I saw a review that it didn't cool that much better then something half its size.

Guess all I have to decide now is on which motherboard to get, and if 1066mhz ram is worth it (price wise seems it :p). And monitor I'll give a look at those widescreens.
 
I just completed a build that is very similar to what you are looking at. Here are a couple of thoughts for you to consider.
- The Zalman is well worth the money and gives a piece of mind.
- The EVGA 680i MB is very picky about RAM. Make sure that any memory that you want to buy is on their compatibility list. I went with the 800mhz Corsair Dominators. They overclock nicely, and the price is right.
- Also, I would consider upgrading to the "A1" version of the motherboard since it comes with a lifetime warranty.
- NVidea maintains a list of "SLI Compliant" power supplies. Make sure that the one you get will meet your future needs.
- Finally, I bought an Antec P180B for my case. I have been very impressed with the cooling and noise dampening, and would highly recommend it.
 
[quote name='DCriminal']I just completed a build that is very similar to what you are looking at. Here are a couple of thoughts for you to consider.
- The Zalman is well worth the money and gives a piece of mind.
- The EVGA 680i MB is very picky about RAM. Make sure that any memory that you want to buy is on their compatibility list. I went with the 800mhz Corsair Dominators. They overclock nicely, and the price is right.
- Also, I would consider upgrading to the "A1" version of the motherboard since it comes with a lifetime warranty.
- NVidea maintains a list of "SLI Compliant" power supplies. Make sure that the one you get will meet your future needs.
- Finally, I bought an Antec P180B for my case. I have been very impressed with the cooling and noise dampening, and would highly recommend it.[/quote]

Really appreciate that, helps me have piece of mind with some components. How do you like your new rig with the similar specs?

I might get the Corsair 620w psu, its SLI certified. I noticed the evga board is picky about ram based on reviews and their forums. I also noticed the a1 is the board that comes with all the cables and lifetime warranty, unlike the t1 is more "bare". The ram I wanted (the crucial) is listed under their 800mhz versions but barely anything in the 1066 range, I would figure getting the faster ram would save one less thing to overclock and frankly for the price after rebate it would seem worth it. Oh well, I basically narrowed it all down other then those last few, just wait a while. Now to order this week or wait til I get back from vacation ^_^.
 
Are you considering Vista, or are you going to stick with XP? I like my new station quite a bit, but I have had a couple of odd problems with it (Vista build). I bought one of the "new" EVGA 680i LT boards instead of one of the ones that you are considering, and I have regretted the decision. Instead of a heat pipe they cut costs by using active cooling on the north and south bridge chipsets. The north bridge chipset fan is easily the loudest component in my case. Go with either of the full fledged boards and you will be fine (they have a different, optional fan, which I have read is virtually silent).

Also, if you end up getting a case with the PSU on the bottom, make sure that all the power cables on the power supply are long enough to reach the plugs on the motherboard. I have an Antec True Power 650 and the 8 pin connector barely reached the plug on the EVGA motherboard. I have room to add another 8800 later, but its going to be a tight fit.

I dont think that the Corsair 620w PSU is SLI certified for 8800 GTS video cards. You should double check Nvidia's SLI website. I may be wrong about this, but I remember seriously considering the Corsair PSU at some point.

Anyway, best of luck to you on your build. The motherboard has a ton of options for tweaking and its a lot of fun messing around with everything. If you have any questions, feel free to post them, and I will try to help you out.
 
instead of plunking down an extra $100 on the e6700 put it towards the Asus Striker Extreme...its very nice to look at;) and can be had for as little as $305 from Buy.com with a coupon

unfortunately i havent had time to fully load up my new build (with the Striker) to see how well it actually works but i am impressed with it so far and i also just got the 22" Viewsonic viewdock widescreen (with the prices you just gotta go with widescreen)...mainly for the ipod dock that my wife wanted...so far so good and was able to get it for $266 (after rebates and coupon), its currently hooked up to my old computer so i havent really tested it as far as games go...
 
[quote name='necrojustice']get some form of the 8800 with 680mb ram[/QUOTE]

I plan on getting the evga 8800 GTS with the 680 megs of ram, I think it comes to around 370$~ before or after rebate. 320 seems too small these days.

[quote name='DCriminal']Are you considering Vista, or are you going to stick with XP? I like my new station quite a bit, but I have had a couple of odd problems with it (Vista build). I bought one of the "new" EVGA 680i LT boards instead of one of the ones that you are considering, and I have regretted the decision. Instead of a heat pipe they cut costs by using active cooling on the north and south bridge chipsets. The north bridge chipset fan is easily the loudest component in my case. Go with either of the full fledged boards and you will be fine (they have a different, optional fan, which I have read is virtually silent).

Also, if you end up getting a case with the PSU on the bottom, make sure that all the power cables on the power supply are long enough to reach the plugs on the motherboard. I have an Antec True Power 650 and the 8 pin connector barely reached the plug on the EVGA motherboard. I have room to add another 8800 later, but its going to be a tight fit.

I dont think that the Corsair 620w PSU is SLI certified for 8800 GTS video cards. You should double check Nvidia's SLI website. I may be wrong about this, but I remember seriously considering the Corsair PSU at some point.

Anyway, best of luck to you on your build. The motherboard has a ton of options for tweaking and its a lot of fun messing around with everything. If you have any questions, feel free to post them, and I will try to help you out.[/QUOTE]


I had to setup Vista on a brand new machine for a friend and I have nothing but hate for it, yes it's pretty, but not for me. Guess they simplified by complicating. So I'll stick to running my XP Pro, maybe down the line I'd get vista, way down the line.

I'm getting the Gigabyte 3d Aurora, psu is located on the top and case is huge! I should plenty of room to crawl inside :cool: I hope I don't end up getting a "new" version of your aftermentioned 680i board.

The Corsari PSU I believe it had the sli/nvidia certified label but I'll double check on from your link to make sure. I know I read someplace that it can handle sli'd 8800gt(?) with room to spare, who knows. If anything I can fall back on a ThermalTake ToughPower 700w unit, unless you can recommend something better then it at that price range.

Appreciate the help, I'll probably start ordering/building in 2 weeks when I return from vacation. I don't want the temptation of ordering parts to sit at home while I'm on an iceberg in Alaska :p.
 
[quote name='Jedi1979']instead of plunking down an extra $100 on the e6700 put it towards the Asus Striker Extreme...its very nice to look at;) and can be had for as little as $305 from Buy.com with a coupon

unfortunately i havent had time to fully load up my new build (with the Striker) to see how well it actually works but i am impressed with it so far and i also just got the 22" Viewsonic viewdock widescreen (with the prices you just gotta go with widescreen)...mainly for the ipod dock that my wife wanted...so far so good and was able to get it for $266 (after rebates and coupon), its currently hooked up to my old computer so i havent really tested it as far as games go...[/QUOTE]


Nah I decided on getting the e6600 and just overclock it and go beyond stock e6700's clock speed. Hell I never thought the $150+~ for the e6700's 200mhz over the e6600 is worth it. I'll just get those 200 mhz and more for free ;)

I was actually looking at the asus striker and commando, but for some reason the p5b deluxe seemed the same/better in some simple way. (i guess price wise)

Let me know how you like the 22" wide screen. I love viewsonic always had quality monitors. But I'm kind of oldschool and see 22" as overkill. Granted it they are sexy monitors at that size but practical I'm not sure don't want to burn my retinas. haha

[quote name='thespillcanvas']If you're planning on gaming on a 1280x1024 monitor go with a 320MB 8800GTS. The 640MB model would give you no improvements, really.[/QUOTE]


Well a bit more ram is always better for the long run I would think, especially with these GFX hungry cames currently and yet to come. 512 on board ram is seeming kind of "common" these days.
 
Widescreen is definitely nice. I have heard very good things about both the Samsung and Dell 20" widescreen displays. I don't know if the Samsung has the hight and pivot adjustments that the Dell has, but that may not matter to you. I have a Dell 2407 and have been very happy with its performance. So I can recommend Dell based on their build quality. Both Samsung and Dell have excellent "dead pixel" policies for an additional piece of mind.

You may want to check out the forums at Hardocp for some good user feedback on monitors. Also, I think that Tom's Hardware has done some shootouts on 20" widescreen displays in the last six months.
 
[quote name='DCriminal']Widescreen is definitely nice. I have heard very good things about both the Samsung and Dell 20" widescreen displays. I don't know if the Samsung has the hight and pivot adjustments that the Dell has, but that may not matter to you. I have a Dell 2407 and have been very happy with its performance. So I can recommend Dell based on their build quality. Both Samsung and Dell have excellent "dead pixel" policies for an additional piece of mind.

You may want to check out the forums at Hardocp for some good user feedback on monitors. Also, I think that Tom's Hardware has done some shootouts on 20" widescreen displays in the last six months.[/quote]


Hmm, I totally forgot about browsing Tom's Hardware for their comparisons. I might just bite the bullet and get that Samsung, guess I have to "get with the times" and go with widescreen :lol: . Guess I can pretend to be 'working' while looking at those sites.
 
I have a 24" monitor and absolutely love it. Can't go back, even to a 20".

Anyway, if you don't plan on a getting a monitor with higher resolution than 1280X1024, there should be no game that you can't handle well even with the 320mb. The only intensive things should be the 1920X1200 stuff or the like.

Also, for power supplies, I went with FPS, which are very reliable and moderate in price. I'm running a e6400 setup with their 450watt PS very stably.

oh yeah and I used a Scythe SCNJ-1100P Ninja Plus Rev B for my heatsink. It's huge, but moderately priced and cools like a champ. Check out a review:
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article251-page1.html
 
[quote name='mofo1115']I have a 24" monitor and absolutely love it. Can't go back, even to a 20".

Anyway, if you don't plan on a getting a monitor with higher resolution than 1280X1024, there should be no game that you can't handle well even with the 320mb. The only intensive things should be the 1920X1200 stuff or the like.

Also, for power supplies, I went with FPS, which are very reliable and moderate in price. I'm running a e6400 setup with their 450watt PS very stably.

oh yeah and I used a Scythe SCNJ-1100P Ninja Plus Rev B for my heatsink. It's huge, but moderately priced and cools like a champ. Check out a review:
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article251-page1.html[/quote]

Actually that Scythe model was in my top 3 choices for a heatsink. It was the Zalman 9700 (copper), the Tuniq Tower, and that specific Scythe.

After looking at the reviews from Tom's Hardware on 20"widescreens (even though its few months old) making me reconsider, but I'll probably just get the 20" I linked. Just you know, change is hard to do but then you look back and no regrets (I hope).

PSU I'll still look around, I might actually find a reliable performer for a bit cheaper, who knows. Ram I might get the 800mhz dominators and overclock them slightly.

To be honest, out of all the builds I ever did over the years I was never tempted to overclock until now, just seems right. I just hope I don't fry something HA! :bomb: Actually I was always tempted to overclock my current machine but its so damn old I never bothered. Irony building great PC's for friends and family while leaving myself with dated hardware :/


*edit* Mofo, since you have a large monitor. Shed some light on this as the only games I tried on widescreen were racing sims. FPS games, such as FEAR;etc. In widescreen presentation, how does it look? In normal monitors the weapon would be on the corner of the screen, is it the same on widescreen or does widescreen aspect just add more "world" (level view) on the sides? Sorry if that sounds odd.
 
[quote name='Dark Zero']

*edit* Mofo, since you have a large monitor. Shed some light on this as the only games I tried on widescreen were racing sims. FPS games, such as FEAR;etc. In widescreen presentation, how does it look? In normal monitors the weapon would be on the corner of the screen, is it the same on widescreen or does widescreen aspect just add more "world" (level view) on the sides? Sorry if that sounds odd.[/QUOTE]

I might be wrong, but I think the widescreen aspect just adds more "world", similar to how a widescreen DVD adds more picture. I actually don't remember the placement of my weapon in Fear or anything, so it obviously wasn't a big change or else I'd remember it ;)

And what are you doing with your current machine? If your just junking it, might as well practice some overclocking :lol:
 
[quote name='Roufuss']I might be wrong, but I think the widescreen aspect just adds more "world", similar to how a widescreen DVD adds more picture. I actually don't remember the placement of my weapon in Fear or anything, so it obviously wasn't a big change or else I'd remember it ;)

And what are you doing with your current machine? If your just junking it, might as well practice some overclocking :lol:[/quote]


I might do that, overclock a mighty 5mhz!1one!! I'm familiar with it, just never actually 'did' it you know? So I'd just want to do it the most efficient and safe way on my new machine, don't want to fry it right away ;) I'll just read up on it or get help from first hand core2duo users.

[quote name='Zoglog']The only PC monitor you will need

http://www.westinghousedigital.com/details.aspx?itemnum=44[/quote]


HA! You mean "the only [insert usage] monitor you'll ever need". I could imagine the size of the start menu on that thing, size of my head!

I figured it might add more world, ha might be strange adjusting myself to it for the first time. Unless it looks great and I don't feel the difference at all. Guess I might lock down on the 20" widescreen Samsung for now. All this talking is making the wait suck......
 
[quote name='Dark Zero']I might do that, overclock a mighty 5mhz!1one!! I'm familiar with it, just never actually 'did' it you know? So I'd just want to do it the most efficient and safe way on my new machine, don't want to fry it right away ;) I'll just read up on it or get help from first hand core2duo users.

I figured it might add more world, ha might be strange adjusting myself to it for the first time. Unless it looks great and I don't feel the difference at all. Guess I might lock down on the 20" widescreen Samsung for now. All this talking is making the wait suck......[/QUOTE]

It looked great and I didn't feel the difference at all, to be honest. I've played 4 or 5 games with widescreen and while I could *see* the difference, I never felt like it was uncomfortable or anything like that.

The most efficent and safe way of overclocking is just doing it through the bios at tiny increments at a time ;)
 
[quote name='Roufuss']It looked great and I didn't feel the difference at all, to be honest. I've played 4 or 5 games with widescreen and while I could *see* the difference, I never felt like it was uncomfortable or anything like that.

The most efficent and safe way of overclocking is just doing it through the bios at tiny increments at a time ;)[/quote]

Of course, thats the way I plan on doing it. I just need to go download the tools/tests to test the system for stability. I might take a bit more of a jump in the beginning since C2D can dish out alot easily then slowly go from that point. I know the e6600 can handle alot, but I want the PC to last me awhile so don't want to over stress it so early.
 
[quote name='Dark Zero']Of course, thats the way I plan on doing it. I just need to go download the tools/tests to test the system for stability. I might take a bit more of a jump in the beginning since C2D can dish out alot easily then slowly go from that point. I know the e6600 can handle alot, but I want the PC to last me awhile so don't want to over stress it so early.[/QUOTE]

Here are the tools I used.. let me see if I can remember them, because I don't have them atm:

CPU Z
Memtest
Orthos
Speedfan

... probably some others I can't remember. CPU Z and Orthos were excellent though. I used Speedfan to get my temps, mostly, and right now at 2.8 I'm running the same exact temps I did at 2.13.
 
[quote name='Roufuss']Here are the tools I used.. let me see if I can remember them, because I don't have them atm:

CPU Z
Memtest
Orthos
Speedfan

... probably some others I can't remember. CPU Z and Orthos were excellent though. I used Speedfan to get my temps, mostly, and right now at 2.8 I'm running the same exact temps I did at 2.13.[/quote]

Thanks for the list. I use CPU Z once and while just to mess with things and memtest I'm familiar with aswell. Might aswell start getting the tools to prep myself. Even though I'll wait awhile for the thermal paste to cure properly before diving into overclocking. Atleast in that meantime I can use the PC before I blow it up :lol:. I forget what tool they use over on Tom's Hardware, I have to go take a look as they like it alot.

I'll probably just get close to 3.0ghz and be happy with it, unless the speed bug bites harder.
 
Yea, I went up to 2.8 ghz because that was more than enough right there. I used Arctic Silver 5 for my themal stuff, it worked out pretty damn nicely.
 
[quote name='Roufuss']Yea, I went up to 2.8 ghz because that was more than enough right there. I used Arctic Silver 5 for my themal stuff, it worked out pretty damn nicely.[/quote]

I have a brand new tube from a previous build I never got to use, so I'm saving money already! You let it cure for 200hrs before you overclocked or just jumped right in?
 
[quote name='Dark Zero']I have a brand new tube from a previous build I never got to use, so I'm saving money already! You let it cure for 200hrs before you overclocked or just jumped right in?[/QUOTE]

I just jumped right in, like I said before the temps didn't move an inch from 2.13 to 2.8 so I'm not too concerned.

I am getting ready to move too, and I'm going to have to reapply the shit after the move because the 1400 mile car ride will probably shake some things around and I'd rather play it safe than sorry, so I just went ahead and started OC'ing now to test it out.
 
[quote name='Roufuss']I just jumped right in, like I said before the temps didn't move an inch from 2.13 to 2.8 so I'm not too concerned.

I am getting ready to move too, and I'm going to have to reapply the shit after the move because the 1400 mile car ride will probably shake some things around and I'd rather play it safe than sorry, so I just went ahead and started OC'ing now to test it out.[/quote]

Better playing if safe then being sorry, not like it takes much effort to re-apply. No sense ruining new equipment based on something so minor right?

You know, you are kind of convincing me to jump right in aswell. I did notice the temps don't jump much from reading around, so why not? Might aswell enjoy the PC after all the OC'ing quirks are handled rather then do it after getting use to it stock.

Well guess I have most of the parts decided on then. Just read a bit more on the motherboards and ram and I'm settled. Unless I should look at non-sli based boards? ahh I'm making it harder then it needs to be :/

I'll blame you Roufuss if I don't like the 20" widescreen, ha just teasing. I hope I like it.
 
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