Ressurecting a Hobby: The Dream Build

Just some history, when I was 13 years old I built my first computer, this forum was my crutch for advice and I couldn't haven't done it without the help. Now I'm 20 in the Marines and find myself bored with virtually no bills I know, it's really nice. So I'm ressurecting my old hobby. Except this time I'm fulfilling my dream from when I was 13 of building an absurd setup. I've been out of the loop for 7 years and my only recent knowledge stems from PC Magazines and online reviews. Primary use will be gaming. If you see anything blatantly wrong or think there maybe a better alternative, let me know. Shooting to have this done by the end of August Heres the Setup:

Cooler Master Centurion 590-- Already Purchased. Aesthetically it pleased me, the ample cooling and reviews stating the "roominess" were a good boost to the reasonable price. I'll be purchasing 2-4 extra 120mm fans for this also.

ASUS P5N72-T Premium LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 780i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard Originally I liked the Asus Striker 2 extreme. When I came upon this I noticed it is basically the predecessor and pretty similar for a good bit less.

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz Basically picked for the reviews I've read on it.
ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler

EVGA 512-P3-N801-AR GeForce 8800 GT x 2 The Video Cards are where I am having trouble. I want to run Dual and take advantage of the SLI. Not to sure on which one to go with. I'd prefer to stay at less than $200 a piece. Reccomend me some please.

CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) I'll be buying 2 sets of these for a total of 8g.

Seagate Barracuda 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Don't need a ton of space at all I've never broken the 100gb mark on any computer I've owned. Still looking at the WD Raptor 150gb though.

COOLER MASTER Real Power Pro 650w Also Having trouble on this, Please voice any concerns. Not certain on the 20 and 24 pin main connections or what I need to support dual 8800s.

I would try and find a good clocking batch of Q6600 if possible. (737B, etc.)

I would also get a better heatsink than an Artic 7 for a Quad.
Say a ZeroTherm or a ThermalRight Ultra Extreme

Regarding your video and motherboard... I would wait 2 weeks to see how the HD4850 performs compared to the 8800GTS, unless you are running 1920x1200 you shouldn't need SLi.

Ram is fine, lots of good 4GB kits to choose from.

PSU depends on your GPU set-up, but I am still a strong proponent of Corsair HX620W

HDD I would go with a WD6400AAKS, FAST, roomy, and cheap. The 320GB version of it is not as fast, or you can try going with a single 320GB platter HDD.

I'll have to read up on the different batches for the Q6600. Is there a specific way to know when they would carry certain batches? All I remember from back in the day is that peoplewould just post when there was a good batch available.

As for the Video I was planning on purchasing those last so sometime in august. I'll keep an eye out on the hd4850. Right now I only have a 19" widescreen but eventually I plan on uprgrading to either a dual monitor setup or a 24"+ Display. I have a small barracks room so it will serve as my TV and DVD Player also. I also forgot to mention I'll be buying a TV Tuner card for it.

Ryank327 said:

I'll have to read up on the different batches for the Q6600. Is there a specific way to know when they would carry certain batches? All I remember from back in the day is that peoplewould just post when there was a good batch available.

As for the Video I was planning on purchasing those last so sometime in august. I'll keep an eye out on the hd4850. Right now I only have a 19" widescreen but eventually I plan on uprgrading to either a dual monitor setup or a 24"+ Display. I have a small barracks room so it will serve as my TV and DVD Player also. I also forgot to mention I'll be buying a TV Tuner card for it.

Click to expand...

Depending on your budget and upcoming results, you'll have to do digging for GPU info. Prices are jumping around and new cards are being reviewed.

CPU you would have to buy used, but it makes the difference between 3.6 and 3.2Ghz on a good voltage. Just make sure it is G0 stepping.

I'd go with a Corsair 650 or 750 over the 620...they both should be cheaper.

by the end of august, you'll be able to get (hopefully) 2 x 4850s or 4870s, and they should perform better than the 8800GTs in sli.

Ryank327 said:

ASUS P5N72-T Premium LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 780i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard Originally I liked the Asus Striker 2 extreme. When I came upon this I noticed it is basically the predecessor and pretty similar for a good bit less.

Click to expand...

I'd wait a bit, EVGA is coming out with a 780i FTW which is supposed to be a pretty decent upgrade to that board. They aren't giving any real predictions as it's past the projected date already, but they are saying "soon".

After much contemplation and research I decided to buy the Motherboard and Video Cards Last(Late August) I also Plan on buying either dual 4850s or 4870s depending on the price to performance comparison on them. For the CPU cooler I stumbled across this http://www.overclockers.com/articles1421/ and am interested in it. Still not set on it though.

If you really want SLI go for it, but lots of single card solutions beat out 8800GT's in SLI. The GTX260 looks to be great bang for the buck out of the newer GT200 series, otherwise the 8800GTS is still a great card. Plus with ATI's new offerings coming out soon as well so depending on your timeframe, it might be smart to take a look at what you really want. Plus all those single cards will pretty much wreck anything that isn't Crysis on a 19" monitor.

Also you might consider a E8500 if you are going for a gaming rig, or Q9450 if you want a quad.