Building a Computer

[anguis]

Ok, so, next month I'm going to be making the purchases, and right now I am researching parts to build my new computer.
I basically want to OC this thing on air as much as I can (with perfect stability, of course), and want some feedback on parts I should buy. Any help is appreciated.

Parts: (generalizing at first)
Win XP Pro (have, might dual or tri boot with Vista 64bit and Linux)
22" 226BW Samsung LCD
400GB 7200RPM WD HD (have, might consider getting a 10k, not sure if its worth the cost really)
nVidia 780i mobo
Lian Li MidTower (haven't decided which one)
3GB OCZ DDR2 Dual Channel RAM (not sure)
Sony 20x DVD Burner
EVGA nVidia GeForce 9800 GTX (not sure on brand)
Intel Q6700 2.66 GHz stock (plan to OC to 3.8GHz or above on air)
550-750W PSU (brand? OCZ? Rosewill? ThermalTake? not sure.)
Overall Cost: ~$1500

I don't plan on using SLI for video cards now or in the future, so that could potentially alter my choice of mobos.
Any and all suggestions are greatly appreciated. I want to build this thing solid. I want RAM that will be good for OC'ing as to not bottleneck my CPU. Not too concerned with GPU OC'ing since the current high end cards are pretty damn good stock.
Thanks!

 

[kelccod]

If you cheap but quality computer parts try tiger direct.com ok.

 

[xXxZxXx]

I like BFG video cards as they come with a lifetime warranty.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814143132

 

[anguis]

Also, any input on the video card is welcome. I've heard that 9800 GTX hardly outperforms the 8800 GTS? Is there a better suited card? Again, what I am shooting for is a non-SLI video card with high performance.

 

[Whiffen]

Performance probably goes like this from best to worse.

GeForce 9800 GX2 1gb - 500$ - Crysis high 1920X1200 @ 47.7 FPS

GeForce 8800 Ultra 768mb - 500$ - Crysis high 1920X1200 @ 30.6 FPS

Radeon HD 3870 X2 - 400$ - Crysis high 1920X1200 @ 30.4 FPS

GeForce 9800 GTX 512mb - 300$ - Crysis high 1920X1200 @ 30.1 FPS

GeForce 8800 GTX 758mb - 400$ - Crysis high 1920X1200 @ 26.3 FPS

GeForce 8800 GTS 512mb - 200$ - Crysis high 1920X1200 @ 24.9 FPS

GeForce 8800 GT 512mb - 200$ - Crysis high 1920X1200 @ 24.8 FPS

Radeon HD 3870 - 160$ - Crysis high 1920X1200 @ 19 FPS

Radeon HD 3850 512mb - 180$ - Crysis high 1920X1200 @ 18.9 FPS

 

[anguis]

The 9800 GX2 is tempting..ahh..Im interested in seeing the new ATI cards benchmarks as well.

 

[Matthew DeCarlo]

I'd recommend the ELT500AWT for a PSU and if you can afford it, bump your case up to a full-sized ATX case.

 

[Whiffen]

Fixed up the list.

Along the way I came across this site: http://www.hardware.info/en-US/productdb/bGdk/viewgroup/Graphics_cards/

It's got everything I've ever dreamed of ;DDDD

http://www.hardware.info/en-US/prod...kZJiVmJXKYMg,bGRkZJiVmJXKZMg,bGRkZJiVmJTKZ8g/

Thats a list of the cards compared

 

[hellokitty[hk]]

Um im not sure about this website, but the version at newegg is a slower version.
Also im not so sure you 780i supports this ram.

http://www.clubit.com/product_detail.cfm?itemno=CA4354041

apparently the timmings are 5-5-5-9 !!!!

a q6700? isnt the q6600 about half the price?!!
the q6600 is great but i think the best overclocker cpu is the E4700 with an fsb of 800 and a mult of 13! stock at 2.6ghz i think

Not too concerned with GPU OC'ing since the current high end cards are pretty damn good stock.

try the 9800GTX, it looks good. Also ive heard the cooling for Evga's akibo 8800 is spectacular. Im not sure if its true but they alos claim it has a 65nm GPU core.

 

[Whiffen]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...80+1387927244&Description=780i&name=DDR2+1066

That memory is supported on these 780i boards

 

[anguis]

Im not looking for a dual core. Quad core is what I am getting
The Q6700 price was cut 50% 2 days ago. It is now about 50 bucks more than the Q6600 with a noticeably higher overlocking potential (higher stock and 10x multiplier rather than 9) so I feel its worth the 50 bucks extra.
On another forum someone suggested the ASUS P35 P5K-E which I have also read good things about.

It looks as if the G92 8800 GTS and the 9800 GTX have very similar specs. Anyone know of some reviews comparing these two cards? Keep in mind I will be running things on the monitor's native res, 1680x1050.

 

[Whiffen]

http://www.hardware.info/en-US/productdb/compareproducts/bGRkZJiVmJbKZcg,bGRkZJiUmJTKZMg/

The 9800 GTX will be slightly faster, if you feel the 0 - 5 FPS boost is worth the 100$ go for it xD

 

[anguis]

From what I am seeing, the price vs performance is very much in favor of a card like the BFG 8800 GTS 512mb ($215 after rebate) vs 300+ for the 9800 GTX. And like you said, the minimal FPS gain is not worth that extra 100, at least not in my opinion

 

[wolfram]

You really can't go wrong with any of those two cards But I'd recommend the 8800GTS 512.

 

[hellokitty[hk]]

the price was sliced? oh well theirs no reason not to get the q6700 10x mult is well worth the extra $50

I remember the 8800gtx is $300?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...048+106791921+1067924921&name=GeForce+8800GTX

it is...almost isn't it?



9800GTX $260 with mail in rebate: it says it has 678 core clock?! 675 is standard...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814134043


Ive always been confused with all the letters and crap in the names. All i know is that GTX is most expensive.
what do the letters mean? isn't the GTS just a GT with a couple more stream processors?

oh right, im pretty sure the 9800GTX is more powerfull than just 5 fps better...
seriously, 65nm core, (no one cares about that in a gpu ) almost 700 core clock and fast 2200 memory. Its not just hardware too it does perform a nice bit better.

 

[anguis]

Most of the advantages of the 9800 GTX are not performance-wise, like previous new series were. The advantages come in things like, quieter, cooler, etc.
http://www.hardocp.com/article.html?art=MTQ4MSwsLGhlbnRodXNpYXN0
good review ^

 

[anguis]

So here is a revision that you can add more comments/suggestions to:

Parts (2nd state):
Win XP Pro (have, might dual or tri boot with Vista 64bit and Linux)
22" 226BW Samsung LCD (yes I am sticking with the 22". Close to 200$ cheaper than the 24" that interest me) - $250
400GB 7200RPM WD HD (have, use for storage)
640GB 7200RPM WDCaviar HD (OS, programs install, C drive) - $110
ASUS P35 P5K-E Motherboard - $150
Lian Li ATX Full Tower (maybe Mid, due to price, but Full is desired) ~ $200
CORSAIR XMS2 DHX 4GB - $104
Sony NEC Optiarc Optical Drive - $30
BFG/EVGA GeForce 8800 GTS (G92) 512MB - $250
Intel Q6700 2.66 GHz stock (plan to OC to 3.8GHz or above on air) - $270
CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX ATX12V - $90
XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler - $37
Estimated Current Cost ~ $1500

 

[anguis]

I'd recommend the ELT500AWT for a PSU and if you can afford it, bump your case up to a full-sized ATX case.

I notice a large increase in price on the Full Lian Li towers vs the Mid Towers. Is the difference worth it? What would I be getting out of the increase in size? Lower idle and load temps?

 

[mailpup]

It is potentially cooler but it depends on the fan setup and other factors. You also get more bays for more hard drives, optical drives or whatever. In full sized cases sometimes cable length is an issue, especially for the power supply. For data cables you can just buy longer ones but some power supply cables are a bit shorter than others. It is usually not a problem with mid-tower cases.

One thing I wanted to point out is you don't indicate which, if any, of your hard drives and optical drives are IDE or SATA. I believe your motherboard only has one IDE/PATA controller which means you can only connect two IDE devices. The rest have to be SATA unless you buy and install an IDE controller card (PCI or PCI-E). Something to be aware of.

 

[anguis]

Thanks for the info. I will clarify a bit. The optical drive and the hard drive I have and will get are all SATA.

Parts (3rd state):
Win XP Pro (have, might dual or tri boot with Vista 64bit and Linux)
22" 226BW Samsung LCD (yes I am sticking with the 22". Close to 200$ cheaper than the 24" that interest me) - $250
400GB 7200RPM WD HD (have, SATA, use for storage)
640GB 7200RPM WDCaviar HD (SATA, OS, programs install, C drive) - $110
or 2, 250GB Caviars under RAID (SATA) - $130
ASUS P35 P5K-E Motherboard - $150
Lian Li ATX Full Tower (maybe Mid, due to price, but Full is desired) ~ $200
or a Stacker or Cosmos
CORSAIR XMS2 DHX 4GB - $104
or GSkill 4GB ?
Sony NEC Optiarc SATA Optical Drive - $30
BFG/EVGA GeForce 8800 GTS (G92) 512MB - $250
Intel Q6700 2.66 GHz stock (plan to OC to 3.8GHz or above on air) - $270
CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX ATX12V - $90
Noctua NH-U12P High Performance Cooler - $45