New to building... Need opinions.

[skarekrow]

The basic introduction:

Basically, I have a little over a grand and I am looking into building a Gaming rig and would like some insight on the components I have picked out.
I would like thoughts on the selected components, reviews if applicable and suggestions towards different components if you feel it necessary. I would also like to know if I have over looked anything.
Right now, im not too sure about what case I will be getting, all I know is that im not looking into spending more than $100 on the case itself. Ive been searching for one that has an LCD display as well as fan control and while I have one picked out, it seems that its been discontinued, so im back to square one.
I may just have to suck it up and invest in a bay monitor which can be found here, but will be added later. Right now, im just looking for the essentials.

Any how, Here are the components that I have selected thus far.

Mother Board - XFX nForce 680i LT - $149.99
·Form Factor: ATX
·Processor Interface: Socket 775
·Front Side Bus: 1333 MHZ
·Northbridge: NVIDIA Nforce 680i LT SLI MCP
·Number of slots: 4
·Number of pins: 240-pin
·Max Memory Supported: 4 GB (32 bit) 8 GB (64 Bit)
·Memory Supported: 800MHz DDR2
·Channels: 8

Processor – Intell Core 2 Quad Q6600 - $259.99
·Processor Speed: 2.40GHz
·Interface: 775
·Class: Core 2 Quad
·Core: Kentsfield
·Cache Size: 8MB L2
·Bus Speed: 1066MHz
·Architecture: 65 nm
·Wattage: 95W
·Core Stepping: G0

CPU Fan – Mascool 8W553 -$19.99
·Type: Cpu Fan
·Socket: 775
·Speed: 2400 RPM
·Noise Level: 26.5 dBA
·Heatsink Material: Aluminum
·Bearing Type: Ball
·Voltage: 12V
·Power Consumption: 2.40W
·Life Hours: 50,000 Hrs.

Ram – Corsair – $34.99
·Memory Size: 2x 1024 MB
·Speed: 800MHz PC6400
·Type: Dual Channel DDR2
·Pins: 240

Power Supply Unit – Xion PowerReal 700W - $99.99

• Independent QUAD 12V Rail-Design: offers unflappable & Clean current delivery under heavy load and provide stable voltage output. (Quad +12V combined wattage: 600W(50A))
• Over Current Protection
• Over Voltage Protection
• Short Circuit output protection
• Up to 85%efficiency
• Titanium Nickel Coated Housing
• 140mm Silent Blue LED Fan
• Connectors:
  • 20+4 Pin x1
  • 8 Pin x1
  • SATA x6
  • Peripheral x8
  • FDD x1
  • PCI-E x2

Quad Blue 80MM x2 - $8.00
·Dimension: 80x80x25 mm
·Air Flow: 32.5 CFM
·Speed: 2500 RPM
·Noise: 28.3 dBA (Ultra Quiet)
·Voltage: 12 V
·DCCurrent: 0.13 A
·Power: 1.6 W

Graphics Card – Palit Geforce 8800GT - $299.99
·GPU/VPU: NVidia Geforce 8800 GT
·RAMDAC: Dual 400 MHz
·Maximum Resolution: 2560 x 1600 (Digital) – Dual Link DVI
·Video Memory: 1 GB
·Memory type: DDR3
·Stream Processors: 112
·Interface type: PCI Express 2.0
·Interface speed: 16x
·Connector(s):
oDual DVI
oHDTV/S-Video
oHDMI w/Dongle
·Multiple monitor support: Yes
·Additional features:
oHDCP Enabled
oHDTV Ready
oSLI Ready
oOpenGL 2.0
oDirectX 10
oVista Certified

Hard Drive – Seagate Barracuda - $89.99
·Capacity (GB): 320
·Interface: Serial ATA-300
·Spindle Speed (RPM): 7200
·Buffer Memory: 16MB
·Average Latency (msec): 4.16
·Maximum External Transfer Rate (Mbits/sec): 300
·Data Transfer Rate on Serial ATA: Up to 3000 Mb/sec
·Logical Cylinders/Heads/Sectors per Track: 16,383/16/63
·Bytes Per Sector: 512
·Nonrecoverable Read Errors per Bits Read: 1 in 10E14
·Temperature, Operating (°C): 0 to 60
·Temperature, Nonoperating (°C): -40 to 70
·Shock, Operating: 2 msec (Gs): 68
·Shock, Nonoperating: 2 msec (Gs): 300
·Type: OEM

Optical Media – HP DVD1070i - $39.99
·Transfer Rate: 1x CD = 150KB/s (data mode 1); 1X DVD = 1350 KB/s
·DVD+R Write Speed: 20x
·DVD+RW Rewrite Speed: 8X
·DVD-R Write Speed: 20x
·DVD-RW Rewrite Speed: 6x
·DVD Read Speed: 16x
·DVD-RAM Write Speed: 12x
·DVD Access Time: 130 ms
·CD Write Speed: 48x
·CD Rewrite Speed: 32x
·CD Read Speed: 48x
·CD Access Time: 130 ms
·Load Type: Tray
·Interface Type: SATA
·Enclosure Type: Internal


The Mother Board, CPU and RAM all come in a bundle so as to save a little bit of money.
The bundle can be found here.

Also, I realize that I only have two extra case fans, but thats due to having a case picked out that came with two fans already, I will add them as i need them.

thanks to everyone who takes the time to give me their opinion and input... I cant wait to build this thing, but im slightly paranoid about it, So it is appreciated.

[.Ravage.]

Yes, it's a good PC. I'd say wait for the 9 Series GPU's though rather than getting the GT. Especially, the fact that they are just 1 week ago from hitting the stores. Processor a very good choice. Good Motherboard. Overall it's a nice build my friend. What case are you going to use?

[skarekrow]

Yes, it's a good PC. I'd say wait for the 9 Series GPU's though rather than getting the GT. Especially, the fact that they are just 1 week ago from hitting the stores. Processor a very good choice. Good Motherboard. Overall it's a nice build my friend. What case are you going to use?

Im not too sure.
The only case that ive found that ive liked and wasnt pricey (I believe) was discontinued because I cant seem to find it anymore (pictured below), so im still shopping.

http://www.xoxide.com/x-purity-case-lcd.html

[rycexboi]

everything looks decent...except for the PSU 700w is too much for your config..unless your going sli 600w is good enough.

[skarekrow]

everything looks decent...except for the PSU 700w is too much for your config..unless your going sli 600w is good enough.

I was planning on going SLI down the road which is why I choose that power supply, I was thinking at least 650 if I add in the temp monitor (until I SLI).

Will having a bigger PSU than whats needed, harm it?

[Mecha_Daddy]

If you have a Micro Center near by you can get the q6600 for $199.

http://www.microcenter.com/index.html

Other than that everything looks good. I thought I saw one of those bundles on Tiger Direct that had 4gb of ram in it.

Also you can get an EVGA 8800gt for much less than the $300. Check New Egg, for the most part their cheaper than Tiger Direct, on graphics cards anyways.

[RedSand426]

If you have $300 to spend on a video card, don't get the 8800gt. Even w/ the 1gb vram this particular 8800gt has, the 8800gts 512mb will still outperform it. I'd suggest going w/ the cheapest 8800gt ~$230 you can find, or go w/ the 8800gts 512mb ~$289. Both are good cards and well worth the money.

[GuitarrassDeAmor]

You should get an ATI Radeon HD 3870 512mb Like I just did

Also, get a new case...that is ugly lol. If you take the front lights off it will look better though.
Get a Thermaltake PSU, a Samsung HARD DRIVE, Thermaltake CASE FANS, and a ROSEWILL cooler (Only reason because it is cheaper and they I have never heard of that name,..Rosewill has some decent ones for very cheap on Newegg). Also, get a SAMSUNG DVD+-RW. They are better and cheaper. Also, I would get 4gb of RAM.

[.Ravage.]

You should get an ATI Radeon HD 3870 512mb Like I just did

Also, get a new case...that is ugly lol. If you take the front lights off it will look better though.
Get a Thermaltake PSU, a Samsung HARD DRIVE, Thermaltake CASE FANS, and a ROSEWILL cooler (Only reason because it is cheaper and they I have never heard of that name,..Rosewill has some decent ones for very cheap on Newegg). Also, get a SAMSUNG DVD+-RW. They are better and cheaper. Also, I would get 4gb of RAM.

Thermaltake doesn't make the best power supplies.
What would matter if the CD drive is Samsung and Sony? CD Drive is a drive.
He's on a budget with the case.

[GuitarrassDeAmor]

Thermaltake makes amazing power supplies. Also, his was $40 and you can get a Lightscribe Samsung one with free shipping for $31 on Newegg.

[BLUEDOG314]

go with what RedSand said on the video card. 1gb is not going to make a difference on that card, just like 1gb didnt make a difference when it was put on the 2900XT. its more of an advertising feature than anything.

also i noticed with the oem q6600 and the cooler you chose (which btw isnt going to be any better than intel stock) you pay 280$. go to the link below and get the retail version with a cooler for $255.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115017

if you plan to overclock you may want a different cooler however.

[GuitarrassDeAmor]

Yeah, the stock coolers aren't horrible. New quads are out Monday though. My dad is getting one!

[skarekrow]

If you have $300 to spend on a video card, don't get the 8800gt. Even w/ the 1gb vram this particular 8800gt has, the 8800gts 512mb will still outperform it. I'd suggest going w/ the cheapest 8800gt ~$230 you can find, or go w/ the 8800gts 512mb ~$289. Both are good cards and well worth the money.

How is the stock cooling on those particular cards? One of the reasons I was looking at the card I had picked out was due to the cooling unit as the reviews said that the heatsink fan kept it at about 30 C.

[BLUEDOG314]

well honestly that heatsink just looks like a regular old piece of aluminum to me. and really ive never heard of a stock cooler keeping a gpu at 30C. i mean i have a G0 q6600 with a zalman 9500 cooler running at full speed and my idle temps are not 30C, so i highly doubt your video card will be.

[Mecha_Daddy]

How is the stock cooling on those particular cards? One of the reasons I was looking at the card I had picked out was due to the cooling unit as the reviews said that the heatsink fan kept it at about 30 C.

My 8800GT's are nice and cool, but I do have a 120mm fan pointing right at them. With the prices like they are you are fine to get either the 8800 or the ati 3870. Whichever one you choose just make sure you get the right mobo to sli or crossfire later if you want to.

[GuitarrassDeAmor]

Yeah. I don't see why any video cards would require after market cooling anyways though.

BTW, where has Appollyons been!? HE needs to see my new build lol.

[Mecha_Daddy]

Ha! Appylons is probably hiding so he doesn't get in the middle of you and Behemeko duking it out over the Ati vs. Nvidia thing. By the way, what happened to him? Watching you two get into it was kinda amusing.

[GuitarrassDeAmor]

Haha. He left because he knew ATI PWNS NVIDIA!

*goes and hides from Behe*

[RotaryKnight]

Yeah. I don't see why any video cards would require after market cooling anyways though.

BTW, where has Appollyons been!? HE needs to see my new build lol.

Overclocking

Also, some people are very picky on temperatures, mostly overclocking people.
I am one, and I would try to never have my cpu be above 50c (or around 120F) and as for GPU, many get WAY hotter then a cpu, even at stock speeds. At full loads they can do 80c+ which can sometimes cause a failure and your pc will either reboot, or the gfx card will reboot its drivers, if it supports GPU recovering.

GPUs are meant to be run under hot condition compared to a cpu......overclockers are just asinine about temp

[BLUEDOG314]

cpu never above 50C? are you talking load, what cooler are you using?

[RotaryKnight]

cpu never above 50C? are you talking load, what cooler are you using?

Ok not exactly under 50c but you strive for it.
Normally its just below 60C that you want. 50c is the "perfect" temp.
And thats at full load.
I was running a Thermaltake CL-P0268 which made my overclocked 4200+ x2 cooled down to a breezy 65C, but me being the dumbass that I am, tried to make it cool even more and the fan stopped working. Never give .5amps more then what the fan is rated at
Right now its at 2.65ghz from 2.2ghz, aiming for that 3ghz mark and cooling will be benificial.

I ordered a Xigmatek HDT-S1283 which is comming by tomor....I mean today......
If you guys need some cpu cooling info just head over to
http://www.frostytech.com/

[BLUEDOG314]

im gonna have to look into that cooler. currently i have a zalman 9500 which i like but its a bit heavy. i always though that an all copper heatsink would be better but i guess not.

[skarekrow]

My fault. I was thinking that he said that it ran at 30 C when in fact he was saying that it takes it down to 60 from 90 which is a 30 C difference.

http://link.brightcove.com/services/...ctid1388819969

[BLUEDOG314]

that was the strangest review i have ever seen. they didnt get real specific about their testing methods which i didnt really like. despite what they say, id stay with a better known brand, and to be honest i would have to see for myself those temps especially saying they got 740 core. the review seemed unprofessional and the guy like didnt know what he was talking about...i was done when some mysterious background voice asked why we dont put ram slots on video cards.