New PC build

Aardor · Post by **Aardor** » December 2, 2006, 4:11 am

I was looking at this for a new pc build:

Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E6600
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819115003

I could not justify the price increase for the performance that an E6700 or X6800 could offer. The E6600 can easily overclock to X6800 speeds, whereas overclocking the X6800 does not offer near the performance increase.

I did not choose quad core because I would like the technology to be a little more advanced than it is in it's current state.

Video Card: EVGA GeForce 8800GTX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814130072

The 8800 cards blew my expectations away. This seems like a video card that will last a long time (for a video card), with native dx10 support, as well as a bunch of other technical advances. Eventually plan to pick up a 2nd one for SLI after price drops / This card actually needs to be SLI'd.

Motherboard EVGA NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813188009

The 680i chipset seems to blow away everything else as far as chipset go.

RAM: Crucial Ballistic 2 x 1GB DDR2 1000(PC2 8000) 5-5-5-15
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820146563

Seems like good RAM for OCing/the price. Want to do more research on compatibility with the motherboard.

Case:Antec Performance I P180B
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6811129017

I wanted to go with the Antec Fusion to put the case in my entertainment center, but it requires microATX, and I could not find any motherboards I liked. I own the P180, and absolutely love it, going with black over silver to hide the box in a corner.

Power Supply: OCZ GameXStream 700W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817341002

Has 4 12V rails with 18A on them. Not sure where I stand on the multiple rails with low A vs single rails with high A. I went with OCZ because I have a power supply of their's now, and I love it, plus the psu did very well in review.

Any input/change suggestions on this build would be appreciated. I already have SATA 2.0 HDs for the computer.[/b]

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » December 2, 2006, 4:47 am

Looks like a beast of a system to me.

As you already mentioned, try to research, as much as you can, the memory/motherboard combo and look for other successful OC's with the same combo. You should be able to OC that 6600 up to the performance levels of those more expensive CPUs.

Besides the MB/memory, read as many comments as you can on the graphics card as well. I suggested one awhile back that I hadn't used personally and it turned out to be a dud and had a recall of sorts. (sorry about that!) In general, research as much as possible! : )

Sounds like you've done a good job of that so far though.

Looks good!

Boogahz · Post by **Boogahz** » December 2, 2006, 10:19 am

...will the motherboard's PCI-E slot support the weight of that Video Card?!

Aardor · Post by **Aardor** » December 2, 2006, 4:31 pm

As you already mentioned, try to research, as much as you can, the memory/motherboard combo and look for other successful OC's with the same combo. You should be able to OC that 6600 up to the performance levels of those more expensive CPUs.

Well, after some research, i decided to spend $50 more and get the ASUS 680i (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813131073). All the boards except the ASUS are reference boards, and have problems with the SATA controller if you overclock too high (not sure exactly when it starts happening). Also, the ASUS can overclock a good deal higher (I believe the record OC for an x6800 on air cooling was done using the asus 680i).

I could not find a compatibility list for the mobo/ram combos, but I did read a few forums, and could not find any listed problems for ram with the motherboard.

Besides the MB/memory, read as many comments as you can on the graphics card as well. I suggested one awhile back that I hadn't used personally and it turned out to be a dud and had a recall of sorts. (sorry about that!) In general, research as much as possible! : )

The video card was picked as the best 8800gtx by a few review sites, and I have not read about any problems with it on a few different forums.

...will the motherboard's PCI-E slot support the weight of that Video Card?!

I am not sure if you're serious or not, or if there is something I missed about problems with the 8800gtx's weight. I don't think it would be a problem since most of the weight of the video card will be held up by screws attached to the case, and it will really only be seated in the PCI-E slot.

Should I go for a $200 powersupply to make sure I have enough power for SLI when I add it? I was considering just getting independent video card power supplies when I did that.
I was also looking at:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817256006

For reviews I commonly read http://www.tomshardware.com , http://www.anandtech.com , and for OCing info http://www.overclock.net , but does anyone suggest other review/hardware forums to read?

Thanks for the input.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » December 2, 2006, 4:43 pm

Aardor wrote: For reviews I commonly read http://www.tomshardware.com , http://www.anandtech.com , and for OCing info http://www.overclock.net , but does anyone suggest other review/hardware forums to read?

Thanks for the input.

I'd also search the forums here:

http://www.hardforum.com/index.php?

for additional comments on the hardware you're considering.

Boogahz · Post by **Boogahz** » December 2, 2006, 8:29 pm

Aardor wrote:
...will the motherboard's PCI-E slot support the weight of that Video Card?!
I am not sure if you're serious or not, or if there is something I missed about problems with the 8800gtx's weight. I don't think it would be a problem since most of the weight of the video card will be held up by screws attached to the case, and it will really only be seated in the PCI-E slot.

No, I was not being serious...that thing is friggin' FAT! (not with a Ph)

Aardor · Post by **Aardor** » December 3, 2006, 12:03 am

Decided to go with: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817703006
for a power supply. 61A on the 12V is awesome.

Will post after I get all the pieces, and OC.