[Shaine11]

Hey guys I'm planning on building a new system within the next week or so but i haven't kept myself updated on hardware the past couple years. From my couple days of research I have come up with a build but I need suggestions. I'm planning on spending around $2000 but I can afford to spend a little more if it's necessary. Here is what I came up with so far....


Intel Core Duo E6600 (Upgrade to quad core in the future)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115003



EVGA 680i MB (Plan to SLI in the future) I know a lot of people are running into problems with all the 680i MBs but i believe the BIOS updates will eventually solve all the issues. I also wasnt really considering a 965 or 975 b/c i want SLI and i feel the 680i will be the best investment in the long run. Also the FSB on it says it can go up to 1333 which im not sure but i thought that might be a benefit for future upgrades.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813188009



EVGA 8800GTX

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130072



2 LG 18x GSAH22N (Or should I just get 1 and a DVD Drive? Is it possible or will it be in the future to burn two DVDs at once on the 2 seperate drives?)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827136103



Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1000 (PC2 8000) Dual Channel Kit - (Really open to suggestions on this one. Is it even compatible with the EVGA 680i board? I have read around that if i'm going with a 6600 instead of a 63 or 64 there is no point to get high end ram like this? I also heard that if i buy the 680i MB i might as well get PC2 6400 ram b/c those boards arent seeing a 500mhz OC? As much info on this would be appreciated.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820146563



PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 EPS12V EPS12V 750W (Will this be enough power for a system with a quad core processor and 2 DX10 Video cards in the future?)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817703006



1 Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS (Perpendicular Recording Technology) 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive (Any thoughts on this HD? I also have a spare 74GB Raptor laying around the house which is the HD I plan on running windows off of. The Seagate would just be for storage.) Does raid boost system performance a lot? If so can i raid those 2 HDs? I am not worried about loosing data, only about performance.)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148140



Antec Performance One P180 Silver cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case (I'm not really set on this case but i've heard good things about it. Suggestions? Will i have problems fitting all that in this case? Will I run into problem fitting 2 DX10 video cards in there? Problems fitting a after market heatsync or fan?)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129154




Sound Card (open to suggestions, I'm not a huge fan of sounds except when it is important like how it used to be when listening for footsteps in R6 Raven Shield. I just need something good enough for that sort of thing. I used to have an audigy2 zs which i loved but unfortunatly it went bad. Not really looking to spend more then $100 on this unless you guys think it would give me an edge on things like listening for people on First Person Shooters (R6 Vegas). Suggestions?)



Aftermarket heatsink and fan (open to suggestions) I'm there are problem fitting most on the EVGA 680i MB without modification which i wouldnt be willing to do.



No Water Cooling: I'm pretty new to building systems so putting this together is gonna be enough of a headache without worrying about watercooling which ive never even seen before.



19" Monitor (trying to stay under $300. I was looking at the samsungs 931 and 971 I've also heard good things about the viewsonic vx922. I feel more comfortable buying this at a local store like compusa, best buy, or circtuit city. Hopefully i wont have a problem seeing ghosting like a lot of people complain about. Suggestions please?



So far without the Monitor, Keyboard, Sound Card, heatsink and fan the total is at $1,953.92 from newegg..... By the looks of it i'm going to end up spending a little more then i intended to but i think in the long run it will be worth it.



I have a Copperheard Mouse and I'll find a keyboard that fits my needs. I think that just about covers everything. Let me know if i missed something. Thanks in advanced for taking your time to read this and on trying to help me out.

[fabulouscoops]

Looks like an awesome build.

About the hard drives. You cannot put those two in a RAID array. RAID arrays should be constructed from identical drives. If you had 2 raptors or two perps, you could RAID them but as it is, use the raptor for OS/apps and the seagate for data

Sound cards. Creative X-Fi cards are on sale at Newegg right now. ($66, $90, $106, $129 with huge mail-in rebates)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...SubCategory=57

Edit: That is an unusual case. PSU on the bottom and heat rises. There is a fan and vent at the top, so maybe it all works out with proper ventilation.

[jivetrky]

You could RAID those drives, but you'd probably just be much better off using the Raptor as the system drive and the Seagate as the backup/storage. Maybe if you wanted, you could pick up a second 74GB Raptor and RAID those for a little added performance.

As for sound, if you are looking for good game sound performance, X-fi is your best bet.


And that case should be fine. fabulouscoops: The PSU is in a seperate compartment, so the heat only goes out the back, not up. That is why they did it like that; to keep the heat of the PSU and harddrives seperate from the rest of the system.


For a heatsink, I'd say go with a Thermalright Ultra-120 or maybe a Scythe Infinity. Coolermaster has a new heatsink that will also cool your RAM. Haven't seen reviews on it yet to see how it performs. But it is pretty huge and has 6 heatpipes...so it might be good. But not sure when it's coming, so that's only a possibility.


EDIT: BTW, system looks awesome!

[MrCrowley]

Looks like an amazing build!!


I just purchased the case that you have in mind and have read MANY excellent reviews about it. The only thing that you may want to make of is that that psu will fit in the p180. I have read a few people having issues of the psu not fitting in the space and that some of the wires are not long enough due to it being on the bottom.

[Shaine11]

Does anyone know for sure if the power supply ive chosen would be ok in that case? Also are the EVGA boards any better yet? im still hearing a lot of people complaining about if frying their memory and HDs... Thanks again!

[DietPepsi0219]

ive had the evga board youre looking for about a month now at it has yet to let me down. I love it. This was my first time building a computer and ive had absolutely zero problems with it. The bios is a little bit smaller compared to the old nf4 bios but its still very comprehensive. I plugged all of my hardware in and it booted up without any problems, installed windows without any problems, and is now running my 66 at 2.7 and could go a LOT higher if i wasnt such a pansy scardy cat.

now that i look a little closer ive got the same ram as you listed. Its quite fast and ive got it running at 550 mhz 5-7-7-17 each which is always a plus

[Shaine11]

Still worried if this p180 will fit that 750w power supply and if it will have enough space to SLI 2 8800GTX. Anyone know for sure? Maybe i should go with a full ATX tower aluminum case? Any suggestions?

[Shaine11]

Im thinking i wont be able to fit 2 8800GTX in there. What do u guys think of this case instead? http://www.newegg.com/Product/CustRa...gesize=&Page=2

[jivetrky]

Originally Posted by Shaine11

Im thinking i wont be able to fit 2 8800GTX in there. What do u guys think of this case instead? http://www.newegg.com/Product/CustRa...gesize=&Page=2

That is definitely the case I'd recommend. Someday when you plan to try watercooling, that case will fit just about any setup in it. (some setups require modding of course, but it's a great, mod-friendly case)