First Build

[bumfloss]

Hello everyone,

Lately I have been doing quite abit of research into building my first gaming computer....

However, I am still a newb when it comes to computers (parts)(intel-fanboy)
I am going to be spending around $1200-$1500(canadian) on this rig
and would love suggestions for parts or even entire setups

Now I don't know how to overclock since I have never done it myself but would be more than willing to learn how to if you guys think it's worth it
_______________________________________

Here is a setup that I have been thinking of:

Case: Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - $124.99

Video Card: EVGA 896-P3-1255-AR GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card

DVD Drive: SAMSUNG Black 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 22X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 22X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe - OEM

Hard Drive: Seagate ST3640323AS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

Power Supply: COOLMAX CUG-950B 950W ATX12V V.2.2 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready Modular Active PFC Power Supply

(X2=total 8gb)RAM: OCZ Gold 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory

Motherboard: EVGA 122-YW-E173-TR LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 750i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard

CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz 2 x 4MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor

CPU FAN(COOLER): ZALMAN 9500A 92mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler



THANKS FOR ANY HELP

[enaberif]

Case: Haf or 690
PSU: Corsair 620 or 700
Motherboard: P5K
Memory: G.Skill
CPU: Xigamatek

[Realityshift]

looks good overall, a few sudgestions though. First off drop that zalman cooler for something like a xigmatek HDT-1283, those things are EXPENSIVE and dont cool nearly well enough to justify the price. There are alot of good overclocking guides for the Q6600 online, you should search around and look into it, Q6600s can be tricky to overclock to really high levels but im sure you could get 3.2-3.4 without much problems.

Next I would drop that ram for some G.skill or Mushkins with 4 4 4 timings instead of 5 5 5, the G.Skills are not much more expensive then the ones you have listed but are much better. Also that psu is pretty over kill for this build, and im not to sure about cool max's quality. You should maybe look at a corsair TX750 or TX850, their on for decent prices all this month and are VERY good quality PSUs.

the Sammy dvd writers are good quality and should last you a while. Id drop the seagate hard drive, go with the Western Digital 640gb Black edition dual processor hard drive, their decently priced and perform very well, much better then the seagates. Case is personal preference, ive never been fond of the old 900, I much perfer the new antec nine hundred and 2 case, its a better finished.

The motherboard is good and should provide a decent overclocking plateform for you CPU and SLI if you chose to go with that later (id go with the TX850 for sli though the TX750 might be enough for 2 GTX260s.)

[Realityshift]

enaberif is a ninja!

[Realityshift]

Motherboard: P5K

Theres nothing wrong with the 750i, although I think id switch it out for the FTW edition. Isnt the P5k and intel chipset with crossfire? Thats kind of limiting if he decides to go multi gpu down the road.

[enaberif]

Originally Posted by Realityshift

Theres nothing wrong with the 750i, although I think id switch it out for the FTW edition. Isnt the P5k and intel chipset with crossfire? Thats kind of limiting if he decides to go multi gpu down the road.

Most people never go multi-gpu.

They say they might or they possibly will but two years down the road 5 generation of cards have gone by and they still have a single card :P

Price vs performance in cards these days unless you really screaming for top of the line graphics.. isn't worth dual gpu.

[Realityshift]

lol my dual 9800s cost me a total of less then buying a GTX280 and perform on par or better then them =P but yeah I agree with you, he had choosen the 750i and figured he was leaving his options open. And i think id recommend a P5Q over a P5K for a newer build.

[Phobia]

i agree with enaberif.. unless he has a huge monitor, he won't see a huge performance gain in SLI anyways. I'd go with the p5q pro, personally, as its a great board. 750i is nvidia chipset, which isn't the greatest.

I'd go with this:
case: coolermaster haf $180
motherboard: asus p5q pro $160
Heatsink: Noctua nh-u12p $70
Harddrive: WD 640 black $90
power supply: corsair tx750w $110
gpu: evga gtx 260 $270
dvd burner: samsung litescribe $ 30
ram: muskin redlines 4gb $85
cpu: a q9550 if you don't need a copy of windows... if you do, an e8400. $400, or 250.
total with q9550: $1395 before taxes and pricematching/ sales.
total with e8400: $1245 before taxes, not including windows

Thats before taxes; however, I know that you can price match a lot of items down, and sales. The haf is 160, and the q9550 is 350 on sale right now..

[enaberif]

Er yah I meant P5Q hahaha .. I'm tired.

P5K + q6600 would be a fine combo too.. its p35 and still is a great chipset.

[Realityshift]

Yeah its not bad, but there arent alot of good P5K boards around in stock anymore. Id just grab a decent P5Q board or stick with the 750i, the nvidia 700 series boards have been pretty decent.