Suggestions On New Build

[BALISTX]

I'm going to be building a new PC and here is what I am getting thus far.

Intel C2D E4300
Silverstone Strider 560W PSU
NZXT Apollo Case

The questions I have are

What mobo should I get?

Should I not go the SLI route and get a Gigabyte GA-965P-S3 for it's OC capability?

or should I get the Asus P5N-E SLI and go the SLI route?

Next question is regarding RAM. I was looking at either getting
OCZ Platinum XTC PC2-6400 2GB (4-4-4-15) for $277.20

or should I spend an extra and get G.SKILL F2-6400PHU2-2GBHZ PC2-6400 2GB (4-4-4-12) for $389.85?

And last but certainly not least Graphics card. I'm looking at 3 options:

1. Fork out the $$ and get an 8800 GTS 320?
2. Buy a low end card for now to do me until I get some more cache?
3. Or wait till spring when nVidia releases the 8600 Ultra?

Thoughts and opinions would be appreciated.

[Babrbarossa]

If I wasn't planning on using Vista/dx10 anytime soon, I would rush right out and buy the forum special at NCIX-- you can get a 8800gts 320 MB for $329. Apparently these don't quite support vista at this time and the lower memory might be an issue when playing the upcoming games like Supreme Commander which is a pig.

http://forum.ncix.com/forums/index.p...t=21&subpage=1

If you're going for budget options, that ocz platinum 6400 is on for $255 right now at NCIX. hear lots of good about the phu2 also, though

http://www.ncix.com/products/index.p...y&promoid=1006

I don't think you can go wrong with that mobo eother-- and you won't be missing out on much until sli gets its **** together, and you're rich enough to buy two cards- I think dual graphic cards setups are prime for some evolution.

I just posted a review of the Gigabyte 965P-DQ6 Rev 3.3 -- it's supposed to be great oc'er

http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/showthread.php?t=334

[BALISTX]

I don't plan on running Vista anytime soon. The prices is right on the XFX 8800 GTS at NCIX http://www.ncix.com/products/index.p...anufacture=XFX

[Babrbarossa]

You'd be looking an an incredible performance/dollar with that setup-- it's be neat to see some benches from such a system.

Oh-- and I should add-- look at the psu combo-deals that you can get with that card-

silverstone strider 750 for 163

ocz gamexstream 700 for 119

might be a good idea to invest in that extra juice.

[sswilson]

Looks like a decent build.

That graphics card and two gig will go a long way towards future proofing your rig.

The only thing I'd question (and it's certainly a matter of preference) is the choice of the e4300 over a 6300.

I haven't taken the leap into intel yet (still holding out some hope that AMD has an ace up it's sleeve.... ), but the reviews I've read on the 4300 suggest that the extra $20 or so in savings aren't really worth the possible slight performance hit.

I was looking at that gigabyte board last night, and it certainly looked interesting. I'm never going to end up going SLI or crossfire so my personal choice would be for a single card board.

[BALISTX]

From what I have read on different forums the E4300 is better for ocing due to the lower FSB. I forget what review it was on but they were able to get the processor up to 3.0GHz stable.

[sswilson]

Sounds good to me.

The reviews I read were early release, so they didn't have long term data on best stable OC's.

[BALISTX]

After much comparison shopping and review reading I think I have decided on the setup.

Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 - $229.84
http://www.directcanada.com/products...ufacture=INTEL

Gigabyte GA-965P-S3 -$142.04
http://www.directcanada.com/products...cture=GIGABYTE

XFX GeForce 8800 GTS - $343.08
http://www.directcanada.com/products...anufacture=XFX

OCZ Platinum XTX PC2-6400 2GB DDR2-800 - $229.99
http://www.canadacomputers.com/index...70&cid=RAM.475

Silverstone Strider ST75F 750W - $166.37
http://www.directcanada.com/products...e%20Technology

[Babrbarossa]

Sweeeeet! Very nice price on the ram! I can't understand why the gold tends to be more expensive- I wonder if it's not just the same stuff, because my gold runs at 4-4-4-12

[BALISTX]

It just might be. I always thought the platinum was the higher quality.

So now it's just a matter of saving the money to buy the parts.