First Build

[Getback]

Condor,

It is impossible to have the perfect build. What you started with is great. Believe me, If you buy the most up to date anything it will change in a couple of months. I remember feeling like you at one time, being so confused that you throw your hands up. Like I said my system is very similar to your proposed build. I wish you could sit at my desk and try. It is incredible.

I spent around a $1000 for what would cost me $3,000 to purchase and hey that's a winner in my book. I haven't had one problem, not one single problem. And you're getting more memory than I did.

Soo just dive in there.

Good luck on the build

[BaldEagl]

Condor,

To set your mind at ease I visited the NVIDEA website today.  While they tout the 2.0 compatibility of the newer cards, they also state that they are fully compatible with 1.0.  Furthermore, there are no footnotes to that statement regarding performance degredation so I think you're good to go.

Sorry to have scared you on this.  It was my own mis-understanding (and I thought I had done such a good job of researching all this stuff).

[alskahawk]

 Love the antec 900 case choice. Its a bottom mount psu. Some reviews have reported cable length problems. I didn't have any. Buy a extra 120mm fan for over the cpu. It doesn't include one.

I have a 10k hard drive, it works good. I like 2 10ks in raid 0. And if you have a extra 7.2 lying around use it as a backup. There is a difference with a 10k over a 7.2. But 7.2s are reliable and solid and cheap.

 this site has some hardware stats; http://www.yougamers.com/hardware/stats/3dmark06/alltime/

[HomeBoy]

This has been a most educational thread.  Much thanks to Condor and BaldEagl for hashing out that PCI-e 2.0 business.   That is an issue that is important to understand and especially not overreact to.

Getback said it exactly right too that you can't get the perfect build.  As soon as you make your purchase you'll find that the price of that video card drops by half or some 3.0 something-or-other comes out and you're behind again.  I've always said that you make your best choice and when you submit your shopping cart, you close your eyes, stop researching, and just enjoy the toys!  That's pretty tough to do though.

As for the Antec 900,  I must confess that when Condor showed it to me for consideration, I liked it so much I bought myself one.  I love it.  Yes, Alskahawk is right, there is no fan in the side panel but if you use something like a Zalman 9700 cpu cooler (the best cpu cooler made IMHO), you will neither have room for a side fan nor the need.  There are so many fans in this case already that I've had to place some books on top of mine because it wants to lift off and fly around the room.

Finally, I really think it's worth getting a Raptor for your system drive.  I have run Raid 0 on previous builds and the extra performance is wonderful.  I always felt uncomfortable though about the liability of failure.  So, I went back to a 7200 rpm Caviar drive after that but on this latest build I decided to give the Raptor (I bought a 75GB one) a try.  It really is fantastic.  I noticed an immediate difference.  To me, it is worth the extra money, especially as a system drive.  You can always put a cheap Caviar in as a D: drive to hold all the stuff you download from the I.  Again, just MHO.

Great thread boys! 


BTW, you can see my rig here.

[Getback]

Sweet case! I just took a look at it. Unfortunately, I already built my comp. But hey, $80 bucks after rebate. You are not going to beat that case.

I like this build threads too. I've been tempted to build a 3rd comp. just for Personal finance. However, since I have built 2 in the last 5 months I have to abstain and put my dough where it really needs to go.

[alskahawk]

 Newegg.com has 48 hour sale on computer cases. Antec 900 after rebate $59. Probally going to grab another just for a upgrade on my backup computer.

 I was able to drop the water cooling off my AMD x2 by switching to the 900. Now runs 35c after  many hours of AH.

[Condor]

Looks like I'm almost there with respect to selection of components.  I just ordered an e8400 from NewEgg for $200 (guessing they may sell out fast) so the CPU is set in stone.  Here is what my proposed system now looks like (cghanges bold).

Processor - Intel Core 2 Duo E8400  $200   

Motherboard - Abit IP35 Pro  $135 w rebate  I'm now wondering if this is the best choice for the e8400
The others considered were the ASUS P5K-E at $150 and the Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3 at $90.  Except for some layout issues Tom's hardware gave the Abit a very good review.

Memory - CORSAIR XMS2 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 – 4GB for $56 total
I know 2GB is probably enough but memory is so cheap right now its almost free

Video EVGA 512-P3-N801-AR GeForce 8800GTs 512MB 256  $240    (Decided the GTS was worth the extra $$$)

Sound - Creative X-Fi XtremeGamer  $85

Hard Drive – Western Digital Raptor WD740ADFD 74GB 10,000 RPM 16MB Cache SATA Homeboy convinced me to splurge

PSU – SILVERSTONE ST75F ATX 12V 2.2 & EPS 12V 750W $150

Case – Antec 900 $80 w rebate

Zalman CPU cooler  $53   

Has anyone had experience with an e8400 in the Abit MOBO?  I'm about to push the button on the remainder of the order and would appreciate any additional comments or recommendations, especially on the right MOBO.

Thanks,

Condor

[BaldEagl]

push the button... push the button... push the button

[Condor]

 

[Getback]

Looks like I'm almost there with respect to selection of components.  I just ordered an e8400 from NewEgg for $200 (guessing they may sell out fast) so the CPU is set in stone.  Here is what my proposed system now looks like (cghanges bold).

Processor - Intel Core 2 Duo E8400  $200   

Motherboard - Abit IP35 Pro  $135 w rebate  I'm now wondering if this is the best choice for the e8400
The others considered were the ASUS P5K-E at $150 and the Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3 at $90.  Except for some layout issues Tom's hardware gave the Abit a very good review.

Memory - CORSAIR XMS2 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 – 4GB for $56 total
I know 2GB is probably enough but memory is so cheap right now its almost free

Video EVGA 512-P3-N801-AR GeForce 8800GTs 512MB 256  $240    (Decided the GTS was worth the extra $$$)

Sound - Creative X-Fi XtremeGamer  $85

Hard Drive – Western Digital Raptor WD740ADFD 74GB 10,000 RPM 16MB Cache SATA Homeboy convinced me to splurge

PSU – SILVERSTONE ST75F ATX 12V 2.2 & EPS 12V 750W $150

Case – Antec 900 $80 w rebate

Zalman CPU cooler  $53   

Has anyone had experience with an e8400 in the Abit MOBO?  I'm about to push the button on the remainder of the order and would appreciate any additional comments or recommendations, especially on the right MOBO.

Thanks,

Condor

Me, I have the E8400 on the exact same MB. Mighty Sweet. I know I'm estatic about the performance and I don't use a sound card. Good installation instructions too. The one thing is the MB took 4 pins for an LED and my case only had 2 pins or vice versa. Anyway, didn't really need it.

What a great deal on that chip. I saw that today on NewEgg. I paid 211 + shipping and Newegg is giving free shipping on that item. I almost bought another one.

Good luck with the build.