VeeshanVault

I'm putting together a new system because I have decided that I don't like using the laptop for *everything*. I have the funds to to it, but I'm waiting to see what the holiday price breaks will look like, and also waiting on new technology. So...which of these will be worth waiting for, and which should I give a pass? Is there anything else I should be waiting for?

-Quad-core processors
-DirectX 10 Video Cards
-nForce 590 for Intel

Currently I'm leaning toward waiting for the 590, giving quad-core a pass in favor of lower prices on a dual-core, and getting a usable card for the time being while DX10 problems get worked out.

If it were me, I'd wait until Vista hits the market. I'm not saying you want to use Vista (you might not want to), but at least you'd have the option and you'd be able to read reviews that explain the performance under Vista and who has the best drivers.

I'm sure anything that you build on that level will run Vista just fine, but that's the only reason I can think of to wait any significant amount of time.

Good luck.

Purchased from Newegg:

Case: Cooler Master Stacker 830
PSU: Thermaltake Toughpower 700W w/ Modular Cabling
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6700
CPU Cooler: VIGOR Gaming Monsoon II Thermoelectric Cooler
HDD1: Western Digital Raptor X 150GB SATA 150
HDD2: Western Digital Caviar 500GB SATA 3.0
Sound: Creative X-Fi Fatal1ty (very nice sale right now, btw)
Video: EVGA nVidia GeForce 7900 GTO 512MB (temp until DX10 is stable and well supported)

Waiting for sales:
Memory: 2GB (2x1GB) PC6400 or PC8000 DDR2 (probably Corsair, OCZ, or Mushkin...have heard decent things about G.Skill also)
DVD Burner: Just waiting for a sale to hit, not very particular about the model
KB: Logitech G-15
Mouse: Logitech Cordless Optical Trackman
Screen: Acer AL 2423Wdr 24" Wide LCD
Fans: 4 case + controller

Waiting on *release*:
Mobo: DFI Lanparty nForce 590 Intel Edition (model yet unknown)

With the equipment I was able to find sales on, as well as the specs on the upcoming DFI board, it looks as though I'm primed to try my hand at OCing again, something I haven't done since the Celeron 300 days. all in all I'm happy with what I've managed to find, and am looking forward to putting together my own system again.

It's probably gonna glow like Chernobyl with all the stock LEDs, though I hope to keep it from roaring like a jet engine with some low noise case fans. My girlfriend promised she'd still love me as long as I don't fit it with 22" chrome spinners. [/spoiler]

Traz-KOE wrote: Waiting for sales:
Screen: Acer AL 2423Wdr 24" Wide LCD

My wife has the 2416W. Sucker runs hot and it needs a mile of runway to take off!

Vaemas wrote:

Traz-KOE wrote: Waiting for sales:
Screen: Acer AL 2423Wdr 24" Wide LCD

My wife has the 2416W. Sucker runs hot and it needs a mile of runway to take off!

? I missed the joke/reference if there was one.

I have the 2423Wdr and the 2405WFP side by side and neither seems hotter than the other.

Ys. Small reference to it's 747 size...

Welp, DFI cancelled the 590 series board due to the poor underclocking potential of the C19 north bridge (SPP) chip. nVidia has also pulled the Intel 570/590 line, is replacing the C19 with the newer C55 chip, and rebranding it the 650i/680i line.

Luckily DFI is already putting their 680i board together (since it's really just a 590 with the newer NB chip), so we should expect to see it on the market ASAP.

System update:

Ordered:
KB: Logitech G-15
Mouse: Logitech Cordless Optical Trackman
Screen: Acer AL 2423Wdr 24" Wide LCD + SAMSUNG 205BW Black 20" 6ms Widescreen LCD Monitor
DVD: Samsung 18x DVD-RW w/Lightscribe + 12x DVD-RAM
Fans: Thermaltake 120mm Blue LED x5
Card reader: Sunbeam SP-BA Black Super Panel with 20-in-1 Card Reader (also has 2 fan controls)
Fan controller: VANTEC NXP-205-BK Black Fan Controller Panel
Fan dampeners: VANTEC VDK-120 Fan Vibration Dampener Kit

Waiting on:
Motherboard: DFI's 680i, whenever it gets released
Memory: Trying to decide between fast (DDR2-8500)+ loose timings (5-5-5-15), or less fast with tighter timings (4-4-4-12 or better).

Traz wrote:Memory: Trying to decide between fast (DDR2-8500)+ loose timings (5-5-5-15), or less fast with tighter timings (4-4-4-12 or better).

Go with good timings if you want to live.

Meh, call me impatient, but I did some research and decided to give the DFI board a pass.

Ordered:
ABIT A9WD-Max 975X
2GB (2x1GB) Corsair XMS2 DDR2-800 (4-4-4-12)

The A9WD is getting some very good overclocking reviews. The board looks sleek, has lots of features, and is *available* now. The only downside I've seen so far is that the A9WD has only 1 PCI slot, which is going to my sound card; if I decide to go wireless later I'll have to use an external solution or hope someone has released a PCIe adapter. Also, if I ever decide to go with dual video cards I'll have to switch to ATI/Crossfire or use hacked drivers for SLI. There's an equal chnce, though, that if it's far enough in the future that I'll just replace the motherboard with an nForce chipset.

With the A9WD + Conroe reliably getting 400Mhz FSB *stock* I'll probably run the memory in synchronous mode (1:1 FSB Ratio) and see if I can get away with tightening the timings a bit. I should be able to get 4-4-4-10 easily; we'll see what happens.

I also picked up a lapping kit in case heat becomes an issue; apparently the IHS on the LGA775 chips has a tendancy to be slightly concave, thus reducing the surface area of contact with the heat sink and by extension, reducing the heat sink's effectiveness.

Anyhow, most of my parts arrive tomorrow, with the mobo and RAM showing up early next week. I'll let you know how it goes.