[Salmon91]

Hello everyone! I've been looking to buy a new computer for sometime now these are the parts that I think I will be buying, but what I would like is an opinion from u guys. If u could tell me what I could improve or change for something better please do, all suggestions are welcome!

Okay here are the parts:

Case - Thermaltake VH6000BWS 161€ ~ 251$
http://www.thermaltake.com/product/C.../vh6000bws.asp

PSU - OCZ GameXStream 700W 116.4€ ~ 181.5$
http://www.ocztechnology.com/product...dia_sli_ready_

CPU - Intel Q9450 309€ ~ 481.8$
http://compare.intel.com/pcc/showcha...&culture=en-US

CPU Cooler - Zalman CNPS9700 LED 48.90€ ~ 76.25$
http://www.zalman.com/ENG/product/Pr...ad.asp?idx=164

And some thermal paste for the cpu - Arctic Cooling MX-2 6.5€ ~ 10$
http://www.arctic-cooling.com/furthe...0&data=2&disc=

RAM - Gskill 4-4-3-5 PC6400 69€ ~ 107.5$ http://www.gskill.com/en/f2-6400cl4d-hk.html

Graphics card - 8800 gts (G92) 238.90€ ~ 372.5$
http://www.asus.com/products.aspx?l1...03&modelmenu=2

DVD+/-RW drive - Samsung SH-S203D/BEBE SATA 20X DVD+/-RW Black 22.90 € ~ 35.7$

Motherboard - Asus Maximus Formula Intel X38 201.90€ ~ 314.8$
http://fi.asus.com/products.aspx?l1=...89&modelmenu=1

Hardrive - Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 250GB SATA Bulk 3,5" 48.9€ ~ 76.25$
http://www.seagate.com/ww/v/index.js...&reqPage=Model

Monitor - LG L226WTQ-SF 22" 249.90€ ~ 389.69$
http://www.lge.com/products/model/detail/l226wtq.jhtml
__________________________________________________ ___
Total: 1473.3€ ~ 2 297.46$

This computer will be mostly for gaming, and I know about the cpu that it's a quad core and many people have suggested that the e8400/8500 is better for gaming, but I do other stuff besides playing, I also render maps which needs alot of cpu power and new games use all the cores on the cpu, so my mind is made up about the cpu. The power supply is something im not sure about, can it power 2 cards? And what about newer high-end graphics cards? And the thermal paste is this good or should i go for something else? And will the motherboard be able to overclock with 4 sticks of ram?

This will also be my first build, I've changed cpu's before, added thermal paste and pci card to my pc so it shouldn't be too hard building this one. But I have a question about screwdrivers, IF I use screwdrivers that have a small magnet at the tip of the screwdriver, will it damage any components?

So please give me any suggestions, ways to improve (if there are any) and so on. And I don't have any more money to spend than this so if u suggest something don't suggest anything more expensive. THANKS!

(don't look too much at the prices)

[ajrettke]

A few comments...
That's an expensive case...I wouldn't want to spend that much but that's up to you.
The PSU seems decent, but is corsair PSU's available? a 620 would do great.
RAM....100 for 2gb DDR2 800 is pretty high. I would get some loose timing DDR1000 for that price. Tight timings aren't gonna get you any noticeable gain, just a lighter wallet.
Motehrboard....300 for a motherboard is insane...I'd consider P35 based board since your going nvidia and can't do SLi on Intel chipsets anyway and are using single card. (you can also get Xfire on a P35 board). I just don't see what the maximus is really going to give you other than a fancy name and high price tag. Even if you want X38, look at cheaper options.
Those are my critiques.

Avoid using a magnetized screwdriver. You can use it and not damage anything (i've done it) but thats because I was impatient, just get a 5 dollar non-magnetized screw driver.

[Salmon91]

Thanks for your reply !

Corsair HX620W 620W is 142.9€
Corsair TX650W 650W is 109.9€
Corsair TX750W 750W is 124.90€

the 620w is more expensive than the 650 and 750 ones is it because its HX series?

[LilBuddy]

Please tell me that 8800GTS for $370 is for 2....they can be had for around $220 on Newegg.com

[Salmon91]

the prices are way higher in Finland than in the US, so if a component costs 200$ the components costs in Finland 200€ which is alot more but thats how it is.

[LilBuddy]

I would look around for deals on those cards...the 9800's are coming out soon so I think it would be silly to pay $370 for a 8800.

[Salmon91]

I'm aware of the price, and maybe it will go down a bit, but pc components are so much cheaper in the US than in Finland.

[Firestrider]

Wait... I thought a euro was worth like $1.5 usd.. so the euro was worth more; but in Finland they make the prices that were in USD the price in euros without factoring in the exchange rate? So a $250 processor here would cost you 250€ (which is equivalent to $394.68)? But if you bought it over here it would only cost you 158.36€.

[Salmon91]

nah its just that pc components cost more in Europe including Finland, and comparing components between europe and the US, you pretty much could say that the price tag is the same but currency is different. Everything in Finland and most european countries is more expensive than in the US. Do the prices on newegg include VAT?

[TombKeeper]

No, there is no VAT here...it's called taxes here...


You're still getting ripped off... I know someone who lives in Romania (eastern Europe) and parts pricings are similar to here in Canada. Except for video cards, which are a bit more expensive there... But they've joined the EU since I've talked to him about parts there, so maybe they've gone up since then (like everything else the EU touches: gets more expensive).

[Firestrider]

OK, just checking, because the prices you posted in euros is what price I would be expected to pay in USD.

Yeah, a guy from Austria came here and bought a PSP because it was much cheaper.

[Salmon91]

It's just a general thing in most european countries prices are high, i've compared component prices between German, UK and Finnish stores and they are almost the same.

And here i compared the prices on newegg and my components bought from Finland

The case thermaltake armor+
newegg 199.99$
Finland 254$
54 dollars cheaper
27% cheaper


The graphics card
newegg 244.99$
Finland 375.7$
130 dollars cheaper
53.3% cheaper

The cpu cooler
newegg 53.99$
Finland 76.25$
22 dollars cheaper
41.1% cheaper

Mobo
newegg 219.99$
Finland 314.8$
95 dollars cheaper
43% cheaper

ram

newegg 70$
Finland 109$
39 dollars cheaper
55% cheaper

so here we see that the price can differ for some of the components that I'm buying from about 27% to 55% so in general the price is 30-40% more in Finland than in the US

so just think of the euro prices being usd prices.


So lets get back on topic, give me suggestions on what to change or improve(if needed) etc.