Update: Can't connect to internet on new motherboard.

Have you considered the AMD X4 940 CPU? Same price as the one you have selected. Similar performance, but less power consumption. Something to consider.

Here's some professional benches:
http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=3492&p=18

It's beating out your current selection in Fallout 3 and Left 4 Dead. Pretty even performance in Crysis, but the Q9400 pulls ahead in Far Cry 2. Application benchmarks can be found on previous pages.

I think you'd be doing your system a disservice by not getting a faster hard drive. Not a Raptor, of course, just something a bit better. You'll also get a better dollar to gigabyte ratio if you go larger: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148288

Is there a reason you chose the $210 motherboard? You could probably go much cheaper: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128359

You also have the wrong RAM selected with DDR2 800. You need at least DDR2 1066 with that CPU/motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220315

If you're seriously paying that much for a case you could find one with a bundled power supply and save yourself more money. Here's one from the same brand, same price, but less gaudy, w/PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119183
 
Have you considered the AMD X4 940 CPU? Same price as the one you have selected. Similar performance, but less power consumption. Something to consider.

Here's some professional benches:
http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=3492&p=18

It's beating out your current selection in Fallout 3 and Left 4 Dead. Pretty even performance in Crysis, but the Q9400 pulls ahead in Far Cry 2. Application benchmarks can be found on previous pages.

No real reason just want an Intel.



I think you'd be doing your system a disservice by not getting a faster hard drive. Not a Raptor, of course, just something a bit better. You'll also get a better dollar to gigabyte ratio if you go larger: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148288


I am going to take your advice and get that hard drive.


Is there a reason you chose the $210 motherboard? You could probably go much cheaper: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128359

I want an SLI ready board to upgrade before end of the year. I know that is expensive but I couldn't find the one with SLI for a good price.

You also have the wrong RAM selected with DDR2 800. You need at least DDR2 1066 with that CPU/motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220315

See this is why I am asking these questions. That would of sucked big time.

If you're seriously paying that much for a case you could find one with a bundled power supply and save yourself more money. Here's one from the same brand, same price, but less gaudy, w/PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119183

I want a full tower and I like the style of that case. I actually like a lot of the Lian Li case but there is no way I am going to spend that much on a case.
 
I can tell you from experience that the video card is awesome. Plays most games with ease.
 
There's a very good Lian Li case for around $90. It's a mid-tower, but you almost wouldn't know it once you got inside. edit: That Antec case is nice.

Do you have experience with SLI? I thought the same thing you did in January of 2008. I tried it recently (2x 8800GT 512MBs) and wasn't a huge fan. Too many little issues that you have to deal with. Crashing, often times reduced performance in games with poor SLI support (forcing you to go into the driver settings and disable a card for better performance in specific games). That's if they run at all without graphical anomalies. There are a ton of profiles you have to set up for specific games to eek out the extra performance you'd get from SLI that nobody tells you about until it's too late.

You'd probably be better off getting a higher-end single slot card now than you would by getting a mid-range card and then buying another mid-range card later on. It would probably cost about the same and you'd save yourself from very probable compatibility issues.

Here's a Geforce 285 for $354. It's about what you'd end up spending on 2x 9800GTX+ by the end of the year, and this is guaranteed performance across games that may or may not have good SLI support. It comes with Far Cry 2 and CoD: WaW: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150334

Just to put things into perspective.
 
[quote name='Sokkratez']There's a very good Lian Li case for around $90. It's a mid-tower, but you almost wouldn't know it once you got inside.

Do you have experience with SLI? I thought the same thing you did in January of 2008. I tried it recently (2x 8800GT 512MBs) and wasn't a huge fan. Too many little issues that you have to deal with. Crashing, often times reduced performance in games with poor SLI support (forcing you to go into the driver settings and disable a card for better performance in specific games). That's if they run at all without graphical anomalies. There are a ton of profiles you have to set up for specific games to eek out the extra performance you'd get from SLI that nobody tells you about until it's too late.

You'd probably be better off getting a higher-end single slot card now than you would by getting a mid-range card and then buying another mid-range card later on. It would probably cost about the same and you'd save yourself from very probable compatibility issues.

Here's a Geforce 285 for $354. It's about what you'd end up spending on 2x 9800GTX+ by the end of the year, and this is guaranteed performance across games that may or may not have good SLI support. It comes with Far Cry 2 and CoD: WaW: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150334

Just to put things into perspective.[/quote]

I am going to keep that in mind, I had heard about the SLI problems. Ok I am going with the motherboard you posted earlier.

Also I think I am going to get the Antec 300

Its amazing that the cost has dropped 300 dollars.
 
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[quote name='Sokkratez']Very cool. More money to spend on Steam, and stuff! :D[/quote]

Yeah I switched to a bundle Antec PSU and now I am thinking about that 285 GTX, same one my friend is getting.
 
[quote name='Sokkratez']
You also have the wrong RAM selected with DDR2 800. You need at least DDR2 1066 with that CPU/motherboard
[/QUOTE]
...

On one hand I feel like I should step in and help people out when they get advice like that. On the other its like.. why bother?
 
[quote name='crystalklear64']...

On one hand I feel like I should step in and help people out when they get advice like that. On the other its like.. why bother?[/quote]

Is there something wrong with that ram?
 
[quote name='crystalklear64']...

On one hand I feel like I should step in and help people out when they get advice like that. On the other its like.. why bother?[/QUOTE]

For the sake of spreading truth (and also not being a dick) you probably should. I don't understand what bad advice I gave; the motherboard I recommended says the memory standard is DDR2 1066.

edit: perhaps I worded it wrong. When I said "that motherboard", I wasn't referring to the one he had selected, but the one I recommended. I should have been more clear. I was doing a lot of back and forths between tabs, and edits.
 
I super RAGE when people recommend stuff for the wrong reasons, because the average guy asking to crit his build usually knows the basics and nothing else and it just helps circulate the wrong information.

I didn't even say anything about the case so I gave myself +2 brownie points for that.


Divide your CPU FSB by 2. Thats the minimum memory speed you can use. 667 in this case with that processor, so you could even cheap out. There is a reason ddr2 800 gets recommended for everything, because unless your CPU has FSB of 1600+ you're good to go. Motherboards can support lower speeds. Look up the motherboard itself on the manufacturer's website to see a list of all supported RAM.

Oh and let me add, its the minimum for 1:1.
 
Okay, now everybody knows.

Until recently I wouldn't go for or recommend board with a DDR2 1066 standard because the memory is more expensive. I'd opt for DDR2 800 and find a different board. But now DDR2 1066 is priced better, almost as well as DDR2 800, so I'm not sure how much it matters. I wasn't aware until now that you could use RAM below the standard; I'd just go by the standard before. I think that's reasonable.

About the case? I hope you don't think I was actually recommending a $160 case. That's ridiculous. I was putting it into perspective that he was already paying too much for one and not even getting a power supply with it. The $60 Antec case that he chose is a good buy.
 
I am glad I learned that about RAM. Something I completely didn't know. Thank you to the both of you. Once I get the final specs figured out I will post in this topic again.
 
[quote name='crystalklear64']Now the reason this will make me rage is because 2 weeks from now, someone will ask the same things that I have been posting about for 4 years.[/quote]

I will watch for it and answer it for you.
 
I second the motion on the HD, I know 250 Gigs seems large, but once you start installing games it will fill up. You can get a really good bang for your buck in the 500-750 gig HDs right now.
 
[quote name='crystalklear64']Now the reason this will make me rage is because 2 weeks from now, someone will ask the same things that I have been posting about for 4 years.[/quote]

Seriously? You that big of a nerd? I'm pretty sure I never got mad about someone asking a question about a computer. Or mad about anything as silly as that at all. You sound like you need to grow up and not in the literal sense, seeing as you've been here for 4 years and all...
 
If you want to game and overclock, skip the quad core. Go with the best C2D you can afford.
Games generally only use 1 core. Heat is a big issue with OCing. 4 cores make 4x the heat. Ergo, you can over clock more with a dual core chip due to less heat.
Additionally, you specifically state you want to overclock, but I don't see an aftermarket heatsink anywhere. Intel's heat sink will keep your CPU from melting at stock, but I wouldn't trust it much more than that.
On my core i7, the stock heatsink at stock speeds was about 40 idle and 70 under load. Over clocked from 2.66 to 3.2 it jumped to 50/90. That's "bad".
I slapped on my TRUE120 and my temps went to 28 idle and 49 load.
The TRUE is pretty much the top of the line in air cooling. Don't get the copper. It's more expensive, HEAVY, and not much better than the standard. Only get the TRUE Black if you like black, there's really no difference.


Go with this HDD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319&Tpk=WD6401AALS
It's a 640GB. It's more than twice the size of yours and performs almost on par with raptor drives (not velociraptors).

Last week newegg had 9800GTX2s on sale for LESS than the 9800GTX. I almost got one, but I'm just going to go to a 295 at some point. Look for the 9800GTX. You should still be able to find them for about the same price. However, why not just go with a GTX 260 core 216 for about the same price?

Newegg is generally pretty good, but NCIXUS.com can really whoop them on video cards and monitors. Same card, $40 cheaper: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319&Tpk=WD6401AALS

Or, you can go with this card for $50 more that will absolutely sodomize the 9800: http://www.ncixus.com/products/?sku=36241&promoid=1001&vpn=896-P3-1255-A1&manufacture=eVGA

But what do I know?
 
Update 2/24:

Well I just bought my computer, here it is:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145184

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116488

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236050

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136153

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133074

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128359

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150329

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115131

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148288

The reason I order today was because Newegg happened to have a 24 hour sale that included my processor, power supply, similar monitor and video card. So I got like 100 dollars in instant savings plus over 100 dollars in mail-in rebates. Total shipped was 1120.83.
 
Did you install the drivers ? For some Motherboards, NIC needs drivers as Vista/Xp doesn't auto support them. If you can I would go the MB makers site and Find the lastest drivers but if you can't just use the ones on the CD.

If that doesn't work, it may need a Bios update for one reason or another.

This is taking in account that you installed everything right. Like plug in the ethernet cord and set up the router if you don't have it auto.

Here is GB site of your MB - check which one you have, there seems to be 2, V1 and V1.1. Check the pictures or your manual.

http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/Motherboard/Products_Overview.aspx?ProductID=2921
 
Yeah your mobo should've came with a drivers cd and if so you can install the drivers from there. Otherwise you'd have to download it. I keep an old ethernet card plugged into my motherboard all the time now in case I need to reinstall everything so I could obtain drivers such as this.
 
I did install the drivers it came with but nothing, just says I'm not connect. I am going to try a bios update and lan driver update from the site.
 
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I don't know what happened but it works now. I didn't install anything. Whatever atleast it works, I am off to buy the full tower I should of got in the first place.
 
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