Building a new rig, what do you think?

[Bryce]

So, it's that time again to build a new rig. I'm thinking of using some parts off my current one, my graphics card really, but everything else will be new. What do you think of it? Suggestions on it? Know of something just as good that could get the price down some? Here it is.

I've got an MSI GTX260 Core 216, would that work well with the EVGA one or should I just spend the extra money and get matching cards?

Motherboard: Newegg.com - EVGA 132-CK-NF79-A1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 790i Ultra SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards
Processor: Newegg.com - Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 Yorkfield 2.83GHz 12MB L2 Cache LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops
Memory: Newegg.com - OCZ Reaper HPC 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1800 (PC3 14400) Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory
Graphics Card: Newegg.com - EVGA 896-P3-1257-AR GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 Superclocked Edition 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards x2 in SLI
Hard Drives: Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Hard Drive - Internal Hard Drives x4 in RAID 0 or 1
Power Supply: Newegg.com - CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX 850W ATX12V 2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply - Power Supplies
Case: Newegg.com - Antec Twelve Hundred Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Computer Cases
CD/DVD Burner: Newegg.com - LITE-ON Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA CD/DVD Burner - CD / DVD Burners
Cooling System: Newegg.com - Swiftech H20-220 Compact CPU Water Cooling Kit - Water Cooling
Monitor: Newegg.com - Acer X223Wbd Black 22" 5ms Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 2500:1 - LCD Monitors x3

When I get this I'll be adding 3 more of the monitor I just bought to put those graphics cards to good use.

If you know of anything that would be better or something that could bring the price down please tell me.

 

[ou_phidelt]

So, it's that time again to build a new rig. I'm thinking of using some parts off my current one, my graphics card really, but everything else will be new. What do you think of it? Suggestions on it? Know of something just as good that could get the price down some? Here it is.

I've got an MSI GTX260 Core 216, would that work well with the EVGA one or should I just spend the extra money and get matching cards?

Motherboard: Newegg.com - EVGA 132-CK-NF79-A1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 790i Ultra SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards
Not crazy about DDR3 on 775. The price difference isn't as bad but your still looking at around 2-3 times the price for a fraction of that in performance difference.
Processor: Newegg.com - Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 Yorkfield 2.83GHz 12MB L2 Cache LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops

Memory: Newegg.com - OCZ Reaper HPC 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1800 (PC3 14400) Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory
See above on DDR3 thoughts. Other than that not a fan of the huge heatsinks, to many potential clearance issues.
Graphics Card: Newegg.com - EVGA 896-P3-1257-AR GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 Superclocked Edition 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards x2 in SLI
see below
Hard Drives: Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Hard Drive - Internal Hard Drives x4 in RAID 0 or 1
Consider matrix RAID and those things will really fly.
Power Supply: Newegg.com - CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX 850W ATX12V 2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply - Power Supplies

Case: Newegg.com - Antec Twelve Hundred Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Computer Cases

CD/DVD Burner: Newegg.com - LITE-ON Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA CD/DVD Burner - CD / DVD Burners
I prefer Samsung as they tend to be much quieter with similar performance.
Cooling System: Newegg.com - Swiftech H20-220 Compact CPU Water Cooling Kit - Water Cooling
Pushing the low end for a quad. I would really suggest going with a 120x3 to cool that thing.
Monitor: Newegg.com - Acer X223Wbd Black 22" 5ms Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 2500:1 - LCD Monitors x3

When I get this I'll be adding 3 more of the monitor I just bought to put those graphics cards to good use.
This could be an issue. see below.

Unless the drivers have changes SLI does not allow for using multiple monitors. So if you go the SLI route you are going to be limited to a single monitor. Crossfire does allow for multiple monitors so if this is an important issue you may consider getting rid of you 260 and switching to ATI.

Another option is to run the cards out of SLI as individual cards. As long as you didn't need to power of both cards together this would allow you to use the multiple monitors. If you go this route I would change to an X48 chipset for better overclocking. You could also use a much cheaper card for the secondary monitors.

 

[johan851]

It looks like you have a pretty nice system - I'm confused as to why you're doing a complete upgrade. Do you really need a new motherboard, power supply, and case? It almost seems like you're spending money just to spend money, and I'm not sure if you'll see much of a difference from a lot of the new components you're buying.

 

[ou_phidelt]

It looks like you have a pretty nice system - I'm confused as to why you're doing a complete upgrade. Do you really need a new motherboard, power supply, and case? It almost seems like you're spending money just to spend money, and I'm not sure if you'll see much of a difference from a lot of the new components you're buying.

If he wants i7, he's going to need a motherboard. His current powersupply would be borderline for an OC'd i7 and SLI. Also with SLI that case would be a bit cramped.

Now will he notice a lot of difference with the upgrade, if its a gaming system no he won't at that resolution. If he is using it to encode media then yes. Maybe he just wants to upgrade to a new platform, nothing wrong with that. Some folks can afford to upgrade just for the sake of upgrading(it must be nice too), nothing at all wrong with that.

 

[Bryce]

I was thinking of upgrading, but then I'd figured I might as well go ahead and get an i7 system. But yea, I would upgrade, anyone got any suggestions on it so I can see the price difference?

The rig is in my sig.

 

[johan851]

If he wants i7, he's going to need a motherboard. His current powersupply would be borderline for an OC'd i7 and SLI. Also with SLI that case would be a bit cramped.

Now will he notice a lot of difference with the upgrade, if its a gaming system no he won't at that resolution. If he is using it to encode media then yes. Maybe he just wants to upgrade to a new platform, nothing wrong with that. Some folks can afford to upgrade just for the sake of upgrading(it must be nice too), nothing at all wrong with that.

Well...sure. I just feel like it wouldn't be much of an upgrade for what it's going to cost. That's all.

 

[ou_phidelt]

I was thinking of upgrading, but then I'd figured I might as well go ahead and get an i7 system. But yea, I would upgrade, anyone got any suggestions on it so I can see the price difference?

The rig is in my sig.

Nothing really. Unless you want to encode a quad would benefit you but for gaming your pretty much set. You could upgrade the GPU but what you have is plenty for current games and your resolution. Maybe an SSD for an OS drive. Either Intel X-25, OCZ Vertex, or Supertalent ME of what is currently on the market.

 

[Bryce]

I was thinking of getting another GTX260, but that would require a new motherboard that had two pci-e x16 slots. And I'm not sure what one I could get to keep the same hardware. And I am looking at getting a SSD for the OS drive.

Also, why does my second display always change resolution when playing games? I start Crysis up and the second monitor will go crazy and be like 800x600 or something. Any way to fix that?

 

[johan851]

I was thinking of getting another GTX260, but that would require a new motherboard that had two pci-e x16 slots. And I'm not sure what one I could get to keep the same hardware. And I am looking at getting a SSD for the OS drive.

Also, why does my second display always change resolution when playing games? I start Crysis up and the second monitor will go crazy and be like 800x600 or something. Any way to fix that?

Are you running Crysis or whatever game at the same resolution as your desktop?

 

[Bryce]

Yes I am. The monitor I'm running Crysis on is 1650x1080 or something and the second display is 1280x1024.

 

[ou_phidelt]

I was thinking of getting another GTX260, but that would require a new motherboard that had two pci-e x16 slots.
You are going to need an SLI motherboard. Other wise you could sell you current card and get a pair of ATI cards for crossfire. Personally I would go the latter route as it will go better with your multiple monitors.

And I'm not sure what one I could get to keep the same hardware. And I am looking at getting a SSD for the OS drive.

Also, why does my second display always change resolution when playing games? I start Crysis up and the second monitor will go crazy and be like 800x600 or something. Any way to fix that?