New - OC'ed Gaming Build - Any improvements to this ?

[rajs]

Need to purchase a new gaming rig. Intend to Overclock using Air cooling. Will run against a 19 - 22" LCD displyay MAX. Play mostly HL2 / DOD:S / BF2. Budget is ~ 1200 - 1500. (Also thinking maybe going with E6400 instead of E6300 - for better divider to get higher OC ??)

Any serious improvements on this build?

NOTE -- for monitor -- I'll most likely end up dropping the Hanns and putting in a 19" Samsung SyncMaster 940BF or 19" BenQ FP93GX -- is there anything that is better for gaming in the 19 - 22" LCD area that is reasonably priced ?

New PC Build - New Egg Components - For exact items click here (https://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion/Wishlist/PublicWishDetail.asp?WishListNumber=6298987&WishListTitle=New+PC+Build)

Listing:
CPU - Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 Conroe 1.86GHz
Motherboard - GIGABYTE GA-965P-DS3
RAM - G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) F2-6400CL4D-2GBHK
CPU Cooler - Thermalright Ultra-120 CPU Heatsink with a Scythe S-FLEX SFF21F 120mm Fan
Video - EVGA GeForce 8800GTS 320MB
Power Supply - XCLIO GREATPOWER X14S4P3 550W ATX12V 550W
Case - COOLER MASTER Centurion 534
HD - RAID 0 - QTY 2 - Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s
DVD / CD - SAMSUNG 18X DVD±R DVD Burner With 12X DVD-RAM Write, LightScribe SATA
Monitor - Hanns·G HX-191DPB Black 19" 5ms DVI

Thanks for your suggustions -- appreciate it!

[perkam]

It's all good...except for the PSU.

If you want ease of use, modular cables, silence and plenty of power: http://www.atacom.com/program/print_html_new.cgi?cart_id=1338195_74_96_216_94&Pagecode=SEARCH_ALL&Item_code=POWS_CORS_HX_52&USER_ID=www

If you need a power horse with components and stability that rivals zippy and pcp&c: http://www.eastluna.com/hardware/details.php?id=1127

If you need a psu that'll handle two of those GTS in SLI overclocked, take the XS Official April PSU of the Month, or if you prefer modular cables, the Corsair 620HX.

Perkam

[rajs]

Based on feedback and further thought ... I've made some updates from my original build -- so I am at Version 2 of it now - THANKS! - Any changes anyone disagrees with or I should revert away from ?

I've changed the CPU, RAM, PSU, Case and Monitor:

Version 2 of the Components via NewEg - Click for Component Details (https://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion/Wishlist/PublicWishDetail.asp?WishListNumber=6328467&WishListTitle=New+PC+Build+Version+II)

Updated Listing:
CPU - Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 Conroe 2.13GHz
Motherboard - GIGABYTE GA-965P-DS3
RAM - Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1000 (PC2 8000)
CPU Cooler - Thermalright Ultra-120 CPU Heatsink with a Scythe S-FLEX SFF21F 120mm Fan
Video - EVGA GeForce 8800GTS 320MB
Power Supply - SILVERSTONE ST50EF-Plus ATX 12V 2.2 500W
Case - LIAN LI PC-7B plus II Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower
HD - RAID 0 - QTY 2 - Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s
DVD / CD - SAMSUNG 18X DVD±R DVD Burner With 12X DVD-RAM Write, LightScribe SATA
Monitor - SAMSUNG 941BW Black 19" 4 ms (GTG) DVI Widescreen

[XenatR]

yea, if youre pairing it with a ds3, the E6400 does particularly well

as far as power supplies does, scrap that one and go for a corsair.. either the 520Watt or 620Watt (i personally have a 620.. rather be safe than sorry!).. they are powerful, efficient, quiet and modular. very very good psu!

if you only play those games, i would just get the 7900GS, and wait some time for the next gen nvidia cards to come out (for games like crysis etc).. like the 8900 or 9*00 series..

im doing the same. no point spending twice as much for a card which wont really be good enough for games into the future, and is too good for your needs now. with the 7900GS, on CS:S i get 140fps on max settings at 1024 res, and on DOD:S i get 100+

[perkam]

Actually he's fine with the version 2 rig...the ST50EF is a 500W psu second to none in efficiency....and the 8800gts is a good long term casual gamer investment.

Perkam

[L'enFer]

if you need gaming build and you have no problems with budget try to get motherboard based on 975X chipset to make it possible to add one more gpu to your system later.

[XenatR]

if you need gaming build and you have no problems with budget try to get motherboard based on 975X chipset to make it possible to add one more gpu to your system later.

he asked for an oc'ing rig. 975X suck at oc'ing

[L'enFer]

he asked for an oc'ing rig. 975X suck at oc'ing
sorry, didn't notice. then what about P5B?

[cozwin]

actually i have that psu guys and i heavily recommend it never had a problem at all and that is with my rig.

[BillHicks]

See my sig for my recommendations.

[Polizei]

Man, Bill, youre not helping me with watercooling... I might have to put my watercooling wish on hold so I can pick up a G80 card.

Stalker crawls on my 7900GT KOSC... It might be that I killed a stick of RAM and Im down to 1GB, but still. Where are you in Stalker Bill? I just started playing a few days ago and Im almost afraid to enter X18.

Back on topic, I have the BenQ FP93GX and I must say, for the money, it is a wonderful monitor. It has a tiny bit of light bleeding when the screen is black, but who plays games where the screen is black? Not a problem IMO, unless you play Doom 3.

[YukonTrooper]

HOLY THREAD RESURRECTION! This thread is back from April guys, he already has his rig by now I am sure.

[rajs]

Actually ... surprisingly ... I controlled myself and didn't buy one yet ... was waiting for the price drops ... and then I got busy ... will probably end up buying in this upcoming week.

I did my the Crucial DDR2 1066 memory though and also a Antec P180B case. So the rest of the stuff I still need to get. If anyone wants to improve on anything go for it.

Thus this is what I am looking at now:
Updated Listing:
CPU - Intel Core 2 Duo E6420 Conroe 2.13GHz
Motherboard - GIGABYTE GA-965P-DS3
RAM - Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) (already bought on sale)
CPU Cooler - Thermalright Ultra-120 CPU Heatsink with a Scythe S-FLEX SFF21F 120mm Fan
Video - EVGA GeForce 8800GTS 320MB (thinking maybe I should just get a 8800GTX instead ... not sure though)
Power Supply - SILVERSTONE ST50EF-Plus ATX 12V 2.2 500W
Case - Antec P180B (Already bought on sale)
HD - RAID 0 - QTY 2 - Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s
DVD / CD - SAMSUNG 18X DVD±R DVD Burner With 12X DVD-RAM Write, LightScribe SATA
Monitor - SAMSUNG 941BW Black 19" 4 ms (GTG) DVI Widescreen

Thanks!

[Polizei]

Id suggest getting 2 smaller hard drives for RAID 0, such as 2x80GB drives, and using them for nothing but OS/Programs. Then get yourself another drive for storage/media, such as a 500GB or something, whatever suits you. That way, if one of your RAID drives takes a plunge, you dont lose all of your media. You might want to get 2 drives for RAID 1 of your media stuff.

Other than that, looks good... maybe a few more watts in the power supply, I dont know though.

[Zytek_Fan]

Actually ... surprisingly ... I controlled myself and didn't buy one yet ... was waiting for the price drops ... and then I got busy ... will probably end up buying in this upcoming week.

I did my the Crucial DDR2 1066 memory though and also a Antec P180B case. So the rest of the stuff I still need to get. If anyone wants to improve on anything go for it.

Thus this is what I am looking at now:
Updated Listing:
CPU - Intel Core 2 Duo E6420 Conroe 2.13GHz
Motherboard - GIGABYTE GA-965P-DS3
RAM - Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) (already bought on sale)
CPU Cooler - Thermalright Ultra-120 CPU Heatsink with a Scythe S-FLEX SFF21F 120mm Fan
Video - EVGA GeForce 8800GTS 320MB (thinking maybe I should just get a 8800GTX instead ... not sure though)
Power Supply - SILVERSTONE ST50EF-Plus ATX 12V 2.2 500W
Case - Antec P180B (Already bought on sale)
HD - RAID 0 - QTY 2 - Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s
DVD / CD - SAMSUNG 18X DVD±R DVD Burner With 12X DVD-RAM Write, LightScribe SATA
Monitor - SAMSUNG 941BW Black 19" 4 ms (GTG) DVI Widescreen

Thanks!

Looks good.

If you want a better GPU, the Radeon HD 2900 XT is a good choice ;)

[YukonTrooper]

Yes, get 2 smaller 80gigs for RAID 0, you'll likely never use all of that space anyways and you'll save some cash. You could also get one larger HD like a 250+ so you can backup your raid array.

As for your processor I would say go for the the e6420 because they are clocking extremely well right now, plus you get that extra L2 cache which Source games LOVE. BTW I upgraded from my S939 system because I play DOD:S almost exclusively and Source games rely heavily on the CPU. When I upgraded my x1900xt to my 8800GTS I saw now performance gain while playing DOD:S.

The DS3 either P65 or P35 is a wise choice. They overclock like monsters and they don't come with a lot of the unnecessary features that gaming doesn't need. Just straight up simple boards with performance in mind and they are built very well to boot.

If your buying a new monitor then go widescreen, you won't be disappointed. All games released now are in widescreen format and that is the way the industry is going. Gaming in widescreen is a real treat and I couldn't believe how much better it was when I bought my 20" widescreen. Not only is it spectacular but you have enhanced peripheral vision which gives you a tactical advantage in games. I would suggest getting a 20" 1680X1050 widescreen as they offer the most pixels per inch of all monitor formats. This will give you the best picture quality and the screen is large enough to give you the "wow" effect but not large enough that your turning your head to see everything on the screen, which can be a disadvantage when playing games.

The 8800GTS 320MB is a fine choice indeed but if you are going 1680X1050 widescreen or 1600X1200 and up you will see a benefit by moving to the 620MB edition. Not only is the pixel count a consideration but the extra memory REALLLY comes in handy once you start increasing eye candy like AA and AF. Also with the stunningly beautiful games coming out today larger and larger textures are being used and the more memory the better. A good example of this would be Oblivion. I believe the 640MB is the better buy for these reasons.

Either of the CPU coolers are good but of those 2 I would give the Thermalright the nod. Another good option is the Noctua as it offers good to very good cooling but is also quiet. If your looking for price/performance then the Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro takes the cake. If you want the best then the Thermalright Ultra-120 eXtreme and Tuniq Tower are the two most popular but a less known and even better cooler is the EnzoTech Ultra-X. However I do not like the Enzo cooler because for it to work well you MUST have EXCELLENT and I mean EXCELLENT airflow because it is a downfiring design so heat can dissipate to the rest of the case.

Your power supply has to go. Quality of a PSU cannot be stressed enough. It feeds your critical components so make sure your giving your hardware good food so to speak.:) I would highly suggest for your setup the Corsair CMPSU-520HX. Modular, rock solid and a solid brand name with a solid reputation - solid, solid, solid. You could also future proof by purchasing the 620W version but for your setup the 520W would fit quite nicely.

Your DVD/CD drive is a nice choice. Can't really go wrong with what you choose here but Samsung makes good drives and Light Scribe is real fun if you take the time to do a good job on them. I do all my burnt CD's and DVD's with Light Scribe now and everyone that sees the discs thinks they are real cool. I find that chicks really dig them in my car so +10 for Light Scribe.

Anyways these are my suggestions and I hope you find the information useful. BTW what is your DOD:S alias and what servers do you play on? I play on West Coast servers in particular [-Q-] and Blitz DOD. Cheers!