Hey, well it seems to me that I am long overdue for a new computer. My current computer just cant keep up with up with the new games and it is definitely outdated. I would like to get your opinions and/or suggestions on the setup that I came up with. I want to save money wherever possible but I don't want to sacrifice to much performance.

Motherboard
EVGA 122-CK-NF63-TR LGA 775 $158.98

CPU
Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 $222.90
(I have always been an AMD person, but it seems like Intel is the way to go rite now)

Video Card
BFG GeForce 7950 GT $179.99 - $139.99 after mail in rebates
(I have already purchased one and is currently on the way, will get another later)

RAM
OCZ 2GB (2X1GB) DDR2 1066 PC2 8500 $159.99
or
XMS2 2GB DDR2 800 PC2 6400 $131.00
(Is the extra 38 dollars worth the increased speed? 800 does have better timings, but the 1066 would be good for OC'ing)

Hard Drive
Seagate Barracuda 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s $79.99
(Is Sata much faster than IDE? I have a 150GB IDE Hard drive rite now, and if there isn't a really big difference then I would just stick with my current one for the time being)

CD/DVD Burner
LITE-ON DVD-RW $36.99

PSU
XCLIO GREATPOWER 700W $139.99

Case
Gigabyte 3D Aurora $139.99

The CPU is quite a good choice, but be aware that Intel's Quad Core prices are due to drop on July 23, and also their new 1333mhz FSB chips are launching soon.

Your choice of video card is poor however. The 7950GT is a powerful card but its had its day, and you would be much better off with one of these, rather than two outdated Direct X 9 cards.

I also think you should consider a different PSU.

Quote: Originally Posted by Newegg Review of Xclio PSU Also the voltages dont stay constant.

Do you really want to trust high-end, expensive components a PSU that clearly isn't up to the task? This is a much better choice.

The case is decent; I have the newer Aurora 570 and must say it's one of the best looking and best constructed cases I've come across.

My opinions are. Get a different motherboard and get better RAM. Don't bother with SLI.
Newegg.com - ASUS P5K LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail $149.
Newegg.com - Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail $70 AR.

Might get a different PSU aswell
Newegg.com - SILVERSTONE OP650 ATX12V / EPS12V 650W Power Supply 100 - 240 V RoHS, FCC, CE - Retail

Hm, if the quad core prices drop wouldn't that lower the prices of the dual cores as well? Are the dual or quad cores getting the 1333fsb upgrade?

My first choice on the video card was the 8800GTS, but it is twice as expensive as the 7950gt and right now I think that the DX10 cards are to new. I would rather wait awhile on the DX10 cards until it becomes more of the "standard" and there are more choices, and anyways the 7950gt is still a hell of a lot better than my x800gto that I have now.

I will have to take that PSU into consideration, I do want a brand name PSU. What amount of power would you guys recommend for my setup? I am going to do a water cooling setup on my system as well a month or two after its finished, so I need some extra power for the pump.

As for the mother board, I defiantly want to stay with the nForce 680i chipset. The reason I chose that board is because it has the 680i SE chipset which is said to be the best chipset for over clocking the Core 2 Duo CPU.. but only the Core 2 Duo CPU. I want to stay with the 680i chipset because I want to get SLI.

I will have to look into that ram, its a pretty good price.. To bad its only ddr800.

Quote: Originally Posted by xLastShotx What amount of power would you guys recommend for my setup?

A quality 550w would be ok. This is the PSU that I have, would be good enough for any single video card system.
Newegg.com - SILVERSTONE SST-ST56F ATX12V / EPS12V 560W Power Supply 90V ~ 264V (Auto Range) - Retail

Quote: Originally Posted by xLastShotx because it has the 680i SE chipset which is said to be the best chipset for over clocking the Core 2 Duo CPU..

P35 is THE BEST overclocking chipset.

Quote: Originally Posted by xLastShotx I will have to look into that ram, its a pretty good price.. To bad its only ddr800.

You don't have to worry about the Ballistix, it will overclock very nicely. And its an amazing offer.

Quote: Originally Posted by Zaltan A quality 550w would be ok. This is the PSU that I have, would be good enough for any single video card system. Newegg.com - SILVERSTONE SST-ST56F ATX12V / EPS12V 560W Power Supply 90V ~ 264V (Auto Range) - Retail P35 is THE BEST overclocking chipset. You don't have to worry about the Ballistix, it will overclock very nicely. And its an amazing offer.

But the 550W PSU you describe wouldn't be enough for SLI and water cooling together?

Is the p35 compatible with SLI? I was led to believe only nForce is compatible with SLI.

I know you said you our on a budget, but if i was to recommend a PSU i would have to go with this one here at zipzoomfly, as this has been recommended to me by some of best guys here on pcApex and these guys know there stuff when it comes to having some great hardware.

Big Thanks to Solid Necro and Twizted for all there help on making me get that PSU you guys are rock solid..

I would suggest a Western Digital drive instead of the Seagate. In my experience the WD's are quieter and make less vibrations.

I would also suggest a Samsung burner instead of the Lite-On. The Lite-On drives work fine but are typically much louder. The Samsung burner is only an 18x but from what I read, you wont notice any difference with the 20x Lite-On.

I have a Samsung 18x burner myself and love it. It burns a 4.7 gig DVD in roughly 6 mins. but note that some brands of 16x DVD's wont let you burn at 18x where-as some will. I believe memorex is one that will.

Quote: Originally Posted by xLastShotx But the 550W PSU you describe wouldn't be enough for SLI and water cooling together? Is the p35 compatible with SLI? I was led to believe only nForce is compatible with SLI.

I did 7900GS SLI + E6600 on that PSU. No P35 doesn't support SLI, but there not going to be selling 7950GT's for much longer. So when you come to upgrade 8800's will probably be in your price range. Thats just my opinion.

Alrite heres my revised parts list, tell me what you think.

Motherboard
EVGA 122-CK-NF63-TR LGA 775 $158.98

CPU
Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 $199.61

Video Card
BFG GeForce 7950 GT $139.99

RAM
Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2X1GB) DDR2 800 PC2 6400 $114.99

Hard Drive
Wester Digital Caviar 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s $74.99

CD/DVD Burner
Samsung DVD-RW $37.99

PSU
OCZ GameXStream 700W $139.99

Case
Gigabyte 3D Aurora $139.99

$203.29 saved off of initial setup.

Quote: Originally Posted by xLastShotx My first choice on the video card was the 8800GTS, but it is twice as expensive as the 7950gt and right now I think that the DX10 cards are to new. I would rather wait awhile on the DX10 cards until it becomes more of the "standard" and there are more choices, and anyways the 7950gt is still a hell of a lot better than my x800gto that I have now.

DX10 cards have been out for 8 months. They are proven in DX9 games, and will give you some futureproofing when DX10 games hit us this winter. I don't know how much of a gamer you are, but if you want to be stuck running games in DX9 mode...fair enough. The 8800GTS may be around twice the price of the 7950GT, but it's also about twice as powerful.

IMO, you're better off just getting the best components you can when you build a PC...otherwise you'll just end up upgrading everything a couple of months later. I built a whole PC back in November, but because I erred on the side of budget I've replaced everything now apart from the CPU and disk drives.

It really depends on how much gaming you want to do....

Anyways it's your PC...the 7950GT will do fine for now...but that's just my £0.02.

Quote: Originally Posted by reflux IMO, you're better off just getting the best components you can when you build a PC...otherwise you'll just end up upgrading everything a couple of months later.

I totally agree. That's why I got the 6600 Core 2 Quad and the eVGA 8800 GTX for my newest rig..........Now I won't have to upgrade for awhile....except for another vid card so I can run SLI.

I figure I can always sell my 7950gt's later to make up a little money, it isn't going to go out of date to quickly it is one of the top 10 best cards out right now. Anyways any more suggestions for the rest of the build? I already bought the graphics card so telling me how much better the 8800gts is from my 7950gt isn't going to help much, I am already aware of it being twice as good.

Quote: Originally Posted by ranger1033 I know you said you our on a budget, but if i was to recommend a PSU i would have to go with this one here at zipzoomfly, as this has been recommended to me by some of best guys here on pcApex and these guys know there stuff when it comes to having some great hardware. Big Thanks to Solid Necro and Twizted for all there help on making me get that PSU you guys are rock solid..

GET THAT PC POWER AND COOLING!

The reason for this is simple..it's SINGLE RAIL!

SLI does not play well with multi rail PSU's, a multi rail PSU has a limit of around 20-28 amps on EACH 12v rail..if you cards pull more than that, and they will...it won't run right!

Quote: 8. ARE MULTIPLE 12-VOLT RAILS BETTER THAN A SINGLE 12-VOLT RAIL?

Quote: With all the hype about multiple 12-volt rails (ads claim that two rails is better than one, five is better than four, etc.), you’d think it was a better design. Unfortunately, it’s not!

Quote: Here are the facts: A large, single 12-volt rail (without a 240VA limit) can transfer 100% of the 12-volt output from the PSU to the computer, while a multi-rail 12-volt design has distribution losses of up to 30% of the power supply’s rating. Those losses occur because power literally gets “trapped” on under-utilized rails. For example, if the 12-volt rail that powers the CPU is rated for 17 amps and the CPU only uses 7A, the remaining 10A is unusable, since it is isolated from the rest of the system. Since the maximum current from any one 12-volt rail of a multiple-rail PSU is limited to 20 amps (240VA / 12 volts = 20 amps), PCs with high-performance components that draw over 20 amps from the same rail are subject to over-current shutdowns. With power requirements for multiple processors and graphics cards continuing to grow, the multiple-rail design, with its 240VA limit per rail, is basically obsolete. PC Power and Cooling is once again leading the industry. All of our power supplies now feature a large, single 12-volt rail. The design is favored by major processor and graphics companies, complies with EPS12V specs (the 240VA limit is not a requirement) and is approved by all major safety agencies such as UL and TUV.

Power Supply Myths Exposed!

If you cheap out by 30$ now with that OCZ, when you go to add your second card, and it won't run right...your gonna be mad and end up replacing it anyways!

Iti s available in black too, if you don't like the copper one.

Also, you didn't mention any cooling..if you want to get the best overclock from your CPU, the stock cooler won't cut it, check out the Thermalright Extreme 120!

AnandTech: Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme: Is More Better?

AnandTech: UPDATE: Thermalright Ultra-120 eXtreme - Retail

hmm, does new egg or tiger direct sell that PSU you guys are recommending? I couldn't find any good specs on it so I was having trouble comparing it to the other PSU's. As for cooling I plan to keep the stock cooling and waiting a month and getting water cooling.

There are only a few alternatives:

Silverstone has a 750 watt single rail PSU for 179$

Output

+3.3V@28A,+5V@30A,+12V@60A,-12V@0.5A,+5VSB@4 .0A

Newegg.com - SILVERSTONE DA750 ATX12V / EPS12V 750W Power Supply 100 - 240 V - Retail

Or one that is 560 watts for 137$, but it might fall short for a pair of high power video cards like the 8800 series.
+3.3@38A,+5V@40A,+12@38A,-12V@1A,

Newegg.com - SILVERSTONE SST-ST56ZF ATX12V / EPS12V 560Watts Power Supply 90V ~ 264V (Auto Range) - Retail

The PC Power is 209$ at New Egg, ZZF is alot more reasonably priced!

+5V @ 30A
+12V @ 60A (Powerful Single Rail)
-12V @ 0.8A
+3.3V @ 24A
+5VSB @ 3A

Newegg.com - PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Quad (Black) EPS12V 750W Continuous @ 40°C (825W Peak) Power Supply 100 - 240 V UL, ULC, CE, CB, RoHS - Retail

Quote: Originally Posted by $SOLID$ Necro GET THAT PC POWER AND COOLING! The reason for this is simple..it's SINGLE RAIL!

Roger that! From personal experience, only a few months ago, I "upgraded" my PSU to a newer model (the old Diablo II was finally dying) I picked up an Ultra XConnect. Sadly, it was bad out of the box, despite some decent reviews around here. But after *much* follow-on research (yes, I should have done the research first) I learned about things like power conditioning, and the benefits of single-rail PSU's. Anyone has any questions, read my experience in Choosing a Power Supply. Also, Solid has a great thread called How to Choose a Good Power Supply.

End of story: picked up a PC Power & Cooling, and have had a great experience ever since.

I've heard good things about Silverstone as well, for many of the same reasons.

-godling

I read many articles on "single rail vs. dual rail" and "what to look for in a psu" today. After I learned lot on what to look for and made a notepad of all the key points and what to avoid, I went on to compare all the PSU on NewEgg that met the basic criteria (active PFC, 75% efficiency or better, 500watts or better, $90 - $160, etc.). Once I tabbed all of the psu's I proceeded to eliminate them one by one whenever one fell short of another. After I eliminated all but one I ended up with the one I posted last, the OCZ GameXStream 700watt , It seems to come out on top within that price range, the main reason I believe its better than the others in that price range is it supplies 18amps to four 12volt rails and has an excellent inefficiency rating. Even though it doesn't have one very powerful rail it makes up for it by spreading the load evenly to all the major components. I did here many bad things about the dual 12v rails, but I never read one bad thing about four 18amp 12v rails.

Let's hope your system does not require a 20-amp line anywhere ...



-grim