Okay guys I need some advice (pc build)

cgarb84

cgarb84

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Ok guys I'm really conflicted on a few things here. I am currently doing some research on the interwebs on some different pc components. I have a 4 year old pc that I have had really good luck with but I'm ready to take that next step into multi-core processors and DX10 compatible hardware. I am trying to make this thing as future-proof as I can all while spending less than $3000, hopefully closer to $2500. I am conflicted over a few things here.

First of all I will list out the parts I'm leaning towards right now (and the cheapest I can buy them for right now).

Motherboard: Asus Striker Extreme ($310)
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 ($315)
PSU: Thermaltake Toughpower 1200W ($340)
RAM: Crucial Ballistix PC6400 2 GB ($110)
Video Card: EVGA Nvidia 8800 GTX ($550)
Hard Drives: Western Digital Caviar RE 7200 RPM 250 GB [X2] ($150) -------> Running in Raid 0.
DVD Burner: LG ($40)
DVD Drive: Lite-On ($24)
Floppy Drive: Some random shit ($15)
Case: Thermaltake Shark Full Tower ($160)

Total cost for the tower: $2016

Ok so my thought process here is to make this thing super upgradeable for the next 5 years or so. With this setup I'm allowing the future upgrades of 2 more GB's of RAM, Quad Core processor upgrade eventually, and the addition of another 8800 GTX running them in SLI.

Now to the 2 MASSIVE decisions I have to make.

1. Right now I have a standard 19" CRT monitor, native res. at 1600 X 1200. My question is with this new pc aren't I just bottlenecking my pc with a monitor that can only do 1600 X 1200?
So I think I need to upgrade to a new LCD monitor. Should I go 22" or 24". The price difference is substantial but you also raise your max res. from 1680 X 1050 to 1920 X 1200. What should I do, is the $350 price difference worth it?

2. The processor. It's either going to be the Core 2 Duo E6700 or the Quad Core QX6700. The price difference is MASSIVE (about $600). Should I just go cheaper now with the E6700 and upgrade to a Quad Core later? Or should I spring for the Quad Core right away.


I'm afraid with my budget it is going to have to be either the cheaper processor or the cheaper 22" monitor. Which one of these makes more sense to choose right now?

Thanks alot for the help... hopefully. :D
 
Get rid of that motherboard, and go for this one:

ASUS P5K3 DELUXE Intel P35 chipset w/ Wifi, $249.99.

The reason is P35 boards support the upcoming DDR3 memory and the upcoming 45nm Intel processor, so that's one more extra step of future proofing for you.

As for the quad core, I would say go for a nice dual core like E6850 (3GHz) on July 22nd (when the price drop happens) for $266 and get a Quad Core in the future when you NEED it. The Power Supply is overkill, you'll be sufficient with a nice 600W, but for your comfort and future proofing you can get a Thermaltake 850W instead. You'll save about $100 on the motherboard + CPU route, and another $100 on the PSU, use the savings plus whatever you have left toward a 24" LCD screen, or a two 22" LCD for dual monitor display (which I recommend more). For whatever reason you need the floppy drive for, I would opt for this for $4 more.

And I'm positive that you can do a much better deal on the hard drives, with streams of deals popping up left and right lately. You can potentially save $50 on the current plan if you dig for deals. I'm not quite sure why you don't want 2 DVD writers rather than 1 writer and 1 reader. You can just get the LG you picked out and a Samsung DVD writer as your secondary drive. If one goes south you still got the other as backup writer. Too bad HD-DVD and Blu-ray writers are too expensive right now.

$2500 is a lot to spend, but still you do not have to pay much more than you REALLY need, even for future proofing.
 
The reason I was going to go with the 1200W PSU is due to the fact that I will eventually be running dual 8800 GTX's. I don't want to upgrade PSU at all with this thing if I can help it. And about the processor, I am indeed going to wait until late July to do anything, after the price drop. I'm leaning towards a high end dual core over a quad core right now. I just figure I can always upgrade processors later on.

With that processor you recommended to me, is the only big difference between that and the Striker Extreme the supported DDR3 memory? And I noticed that the heatpipe is really close to the first RAM slot. Won't that really heat up your RAM once you get 4 sticks in there?
 
A good quality 850W PSU is plenty for a SLi 8800GTX setup. One of my friends has this setup and the Thermaltake 850W works nicely for him. The extra $100 for the 1200W is sort of a waste. Experienced users (in more technical forums) will laugh at people thinking SLi setup will need 1KW PSU. I know it's nice to have 450HP on a car you take to the freeway, and it's nice to have 1200W, but you're just paying more for something you will not use to full extend.

Get a case with good cooling and you shouldn't have to worry about anything 'heating up'. You can always get the memory fan that sits on top of the memories and cools them down. As for a case, I would recommend the Antec P182 for better cooling design as well as better cable management over the CoolerMaster Shark.

As an option you may want to look into a 3rd party CPU cooler, something like a Tuniq Tower or Thermaltake V1. There are plenty good ones out there, but again this is optional and just to cool your CPU further during hot summer days.

The P35 supports DDR3 and the upcoming "Penryn" 45nm processors, as well as 12 USB 2.0 ports, and 6 SATAs.
 
Having a high end PSU won't hurt, so go for it. And a high end dual core should be plenty good for awhile.

And as far as the monitor. Bigger the better. Right now I ma just using a 19" widescreen LCD display running 1440x 900. And every time I see a bigger one I wish I had it. I keep on seeing deals for a 22" samsung and am so tempted to get one, and I find myself looking at bigger monitors all the time. So what I'm saying is if you can afford the 24" go for it. Trust me, if you get a 22" you will see a 24" and wish you had it.
 
There are 28" and 30" LCDs out.... you could get a 24" for 1080p native support. Two 22" will get you more desktop estate as well as other creative usages, but no 1080p.
 
So when you run two 8800 GTX's in SLI mode they won't use close to 1000W's of power? Everywhere I look it seems the recommended watts for a single 8800 GTX is around 500W. In SLI mode do they not require as much power as if you just added 2 cards together (500W X2)? Oh, and about the case, I'm kinda looking for a full tower case, I think the Antec one you recommended is a mid-tower.
 
If you are any good at overclocking, just get an E6600 and overclock it and save some money, there is no reason at all to get an E6700.

Hell, my E6400 is running at E6800 speeds (a little higher, actually).

The rumors are that the quad cores and other chips will be seeing a MASSIVE price drop in a few months, so I'd wait. There are no games that even come close to requiring a quad core, now or in the future.
 
I'm with SOS... 1.2KW is sort of over doing it. Yes, it's nice to have a few extra watts (I try and stay at 100 watts above what I need) around but that's just too much even for dual 8800GTX. Now, if you were going to Crossfire 2 HD 2900XT, that might be another story. I'd say 800 watt should be plenty for you.

The 500W recommendation isn't for just one 8800GTX... a PS does power other things you know.;) That 500W PS recommendation is for your entire system... meaning that they recommend you have 500W at least to power everything in your system and still have enough to power the graphics card.

SOS is also right in thinking about DDR3 support in the mobo. Sooner or later, DDR2 will be out of favor and DDR3 will move in so you might as well be ready for it.
 
I think only the difference of one 5.25" bay sets apart the Shark as full tower and the P182 as mid tower. They're both the same height. The Shark is a good case by all means, just that the P182 is a better at airflow design and cable management setup, while the Shark is aluminum and has a removable motherboard tray. Both great cases to consider for anyone.
 
Ok thanks for the help so far guys. While doing some research on the interwebs for pc stuff I got wind of the new line of 8900 Nvidia cards coming soon. Have any of you guys heard any news on a possible release date for these, or at least an announcement from Nvidia? It might be in my best interest to see what happens with those cards before I run out and buy a 8800 GTX.
 
Don't wait. You could be waiting forever since new technologies and better hardware come out every month. Get the best your money can buy (July is a very good time for a lot of hardware), and don't think about 8900GTX or the 9 series coming out. Nobody knows for sure when they're coming out (8900 is nothing more than rumor at this point, and has been for the past 4 months), so you'll just be dry waiting until release dates and prices are confirmed by nVidia. Get the 8800GTX now if you really want it.
 
[quote name='TheClassicObserver']something you may want to look at if you still think you need a 1.2kw psu.
i calculated your new build and came out with 480w for everything including the second 8800 gtx in sli.

http://www.extreme.outervision.com/PSUEngine[/quote]


Thanks for the link. That seems like a pretty decent little tool. I came up with about 542W when i ran it on my planned pc.
 
[quote name='SOSTrooper']Get rid of that motherboard, and go for this one:

ASUS P5K3 DELUXE Intel P35 chipset w/ Wifi, $249.99.

The reason is P35 boards support the upcoming DDR3 memory and the upcoming 45nm Intel processor, so that's one more extra step of future proofing for you.[/quote]


So I've been looking on Asus' Website at this board and it looks really nice. I do have one question though. I really like Nvidia cards alot (I've had problems with ATI in the past) and have had really good luck with them so staying with Nvidia is kind of important to me. It says this board supports ATI's Crossfire tech. So that means that I could only run Crossfire on this board and not SLI right? This is kind of a big deal to me so that's why I'm asking. Feel free to explain how this works in detail. I consider myself to be pretty pc capable but some of this newer stuff is a little over my head at this point.
 
Yeah, a mobo can only do one or the other but it will work fine with any branded single card solution.

As for the graphics card, as already mentioned, don't wait... it's usually not worth it. As soon as the 8900 comes out, there will be something else announced and you'll start kicking yourself thinking you should've waited. Just buy it now and don't wait unless there's a mass price drop announced.
 
[quote name='cgarb84']Thanks for the link. That seems like a pretty decent little tool. I came up with about 542W when i ran it on my planned pc.[/QUOTE]

It's always a good idea though to get more W than you need... you'd rather have too many then not enough. I'd say 800 should be good.
 
[quote name='cgarb84']So I've been looking on Asus' Website at this board and it looks really nice. I do have one question though. I really like Nvidia cards alot (I've had problems with ATI in the past) and have had really good luck with them so staying with Nvidia is kind of important to me. It says this board supports ATI's Crossfire tech. So that means that I could only run Crossfire on this board and not SLI right? This is kind of a big deal to me so that's why I'm asking. Feel free to explain how this works in detail. I consider myself to be pretty pc capable but some of this newer stuff is a little over my head at this point.[/QUOTE]


You're right, I overlooked that nVidia drivers don't support SLi on Intel chipsets. Perhaps the Asus Striker 680i SLi is your best option if you really do SLi in the future.
 
I've decided that I am going to stick with Nvidia cards. I looked at the 2900XT a little but the 8800 GTX still kicks its ass. It looks like I have to make a choice between Nvidia cards and DDR3 RAM support. I think its in my best interest right now to just go with a DDR2 supported motherboard and wait on the DDR3 RAM for a few years. It sucks because I would like to buy a motherboard that supports DDR3 but Nvidia seems to be slower adapting the newer RAM versus ATI's approach. I think I'm probably going to go with a 1000W PSU unless I change my mind. I would like to have alot of freedom later on when it comes to upgrades without having to worry about upgrading my PSU. I might have to add some extra cooling if I plan on OC'ing my shit anyways. Right now I like the Corsair Dominator PC2-8500 RAM for my rig. Is this RAM a good choice?

My main decision to make now is about my monitor. Like I said before, I have a 19" Dell M992 CRT right now and am looking to go widescreen. I saw that some people have suggested dual widescreen monitors, that would be nice, except for the fact that I barely would have room for 1 on my desk at this time. Right now I like the Samsung Syncmaster 244T 24" LCD. It is expensive for me but I think it would last me for a long time. Anyone have any better suggestions for a monitor under $700?

Thanks again for all the help so far.
 
Well, for a $150 memory, it better be damn good. It'll go well w/ your system no doubt.

Based on some reviews, it seems like Dell 2407WFP is a better LCD than Samsung 244T. Both have pretty much the same inputs and features, and around the same price. If you get lucky on a Dell deal, you can snag that LCD for around $550 - $600 during sale.
 
Ok thanks, I will have to check that Dell monitor out.


EDIT: After looking at that Dell 24" I have to say I like it a little more than the Samsung Syncmaster 24" I had been looking at. I'm not going to buy anything for at least a month yet (after Intel price cuts) so hopefully I can score some deals on some of this stuff.
 
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