My gaming rig build: what do you think?

Edit: updated cooling

-Antec P182
-ASUS P5B Deluxe (or a DS3 or P35.. still debating - whichever is going to save me some $ while being a good OC performer)
-CORSAIR CMPSU-520HX
-EVGA 8800GTS 640MB
-E6420 (plan to OC to 3/3.2ghz)
-Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2 800
-2 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 (for Raid 0)
-Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme
-Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM
-Arctic Silver ACN-60ML (2-PC-SET) Thermal material Remover & Surface

$1382.90 (not taking into account the MIR's, like the $70 Crucial MIR)

Thoughts?

I am not worried about building for the future, I could swap the mb for a P35 I am sure, but I'd rather wait until Penryn's are affordable as well as DDR3 before making that move.

This build should last me for a couple years???

And should I be able to OC and increase the FSB with memory at 1:1 ?

a build lasts forever... errr... well, only until your enthusiasm gets the better of you and you fork out more money. It may last you 5 years... it may last you only 1 year. LOL.

Your build looks pretty nice.

I would go with a DS3R (p35) Thats what I am saving my pennines for right now actually.

You can hit 3.2 with that setup without even overclocking your ram at a 1:1 divider. And with that ram and that heatsink 3.4 - 3.6 should be very doable.

I would think that rig will last you 2 years without much problem.

CrazyIrish said:

I would think that rig will last you 2 years without much problem.

Click to expand...

*cough* 2 years? *cough*

I agree with White Pawn. Could last you 5 years or your craving may get the better of you first (heh heh). Otherwise...sweet setup for ~$1300 AMIR!

Edit: What kind of display are you planning on with this bad boy?

Obviously money and how much you use your pc (and what for) play a major factor, but in my experience 3-4 years is usually the max I can stand.

Yeah well all I hope it that it lasts me a couple years as far as being able to play the latest FPS games with decent settings (crysis, bioshock, etc.)

I own the 906BW Samsung 19" widescreen. My first flat panel and widescreen, love it. Sure I could have gotten the 22 or 24" 926BW, but for me this is plenty big.

So 1440x900 is my max res.

The rig my leg is resting on is four years old, and runs great minus the sluggishness of an old system. The hardware should last about ten years (except for the HDD, which usually get three). I don't think you want a computer to last forever, with the fluid state of technology you are going to want to replace it, be it fully or a gradual update cycle is up to you.

The 8800GTS and WXGA+ should work well together.

Morvak said:

Yeah well all I hope it that it lasts me a couple years as far as being able to play the latest FPS games with decent settings (crysis, bioshock, etc.)

I own the 906BW Samsung 19" widescreen. My first flat panel and widescreen, love it. Sure I could have gotten the 22 or 24" 926BW, but for me this is plenty big.

So 1440x900 is my max res.

Click to expand...

Hard to keep the upgrade bug away for very long. That 8800GTS will do very well on that res. I never recommend 22" panels... either 19", 20", 24" or more. 22" is kind of a 'cheater' size IMO. Same res as a 20" just bigger

OK so here is my final updated rig:

I won't be running SLI, don't need Wifi (P5B deluxe), or firewire, or Raid.

- E6420 (OC to 3/3.2ghz)
- Gigabyte 965P-DS3 or ASUS P5B or P5B Deluxe (without wifi)? I am not concerned with future proofing, so I don't need the P35 unless it will enhance OC and RAM performance?. I will upgrade to the Penryn's and all that when the DDR3, G90 and Penryn's are affordable.
- G.skill DDR2 800 (so I can OC at 1:1 by just increasing CPU FSB - and this RAM instead of Crucial Ballistix DDR2 800 because I hear G.skill better OC'er ?)
- 8800 GTS 640
- Corsair 520HX
- Thermalright 120 extreme
- WD Raptor 75gig (honestly, that's all the space I need, i'm don't have a large multimedia collection and I only play maybe 2-3 games at a time or so)
- P180b (same as 182 except case appearance, save some $)
- Vista Home Premium
- Arctic Silver 5
- anti-static wristband
- i have a cdrw that barely gets used except to install games or burn music once in a while for the ride to work.
- do I need anything else? This is my first ever build. I'm currently making a list of the OC software I need to test the rig.

All I want is a decent system to play the latest games for the next couple/few years at close to max settings as possible on my 1440x900 19" monitor.

I'm having a hard time finalizing my mb decision. Really appreciate advice on this especially. Thanks!!

That system should be rockin like dokken.

Dokken? Not Slayer or Pantera??

I just was reading how the DS3 nb and sb get real hot.. is that an issue? I'm almost tempted to get an ASUS P5B deluxe or something.

I only plan to OC the E6420 to 3/3.2ghz. Will I be OK with the 965P DS3 ?