First system that needs help

[darksparkz]

First system that I'm trying to build, I've posted in a few other places to ask for advice also. I'm mainly going to use this for gaming purposes and web browsing. Most likely going to try to overclock it 2.8ghz at 40 degrees full load. It's going to probably be air cooled, water is a bit too hard for first machine.

Case: Enermax CS-718B E-ATX Tower Case w/460W PS (http://www.monarchcomputer.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=100121&AFFIL=pg&NR=1) $191.70
Motherboard: Abit Fatal1ty AN8 SLI Athlon 64(FX) Skt939 (http://www.securemart.com/cgi-bin/future/ABM27149.html?pcode=1) $206.12
CPU:AMD Athlon64(San Diego) 3700+ (https://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=80719-5) $326.00
RAM: Corsair TWINX1024-3200XL 1GB Kit DDR400 XMS3200 Dual-Channel Xtra-Low Latency w/ Black Heat Spreader (https://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=80097-08) $188.00
PSU: PC Power & Cooling® Turbo-Cool 510 SLI (http://www.bestbyteinc.com/prodinfo.asp?number=PSU-PCP-51S&variation) $223.94
HDD: Western Digital Raptor WD740 74GB SATA 10,000RPM w/8MB Buffer (https://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=101222-316604) $188.00
Maxtor 250GB 7,200RPM w/8MB Buffer (Already have)
Video Card: BFG Geforce 7800 GTX OC PCI Express 256MB (http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=326021) $619.00
OS: Windows XP Professional (Already have)
DVD/CD:Plextor PX-716SA 4x SATA Dual Layer DVD+R/RW CD-R/RW (http://www.techforless.com/cgi-bin/tech4less/PX-716SASW?mv_pc=pricegrabber) $112.31
Sound:Onboard Abit AudioMax 7.1
Heatsink: Thermatalke CL-P0071 Sonic Tower 4 in 1 Heatpipe Cooler (http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=370496&affiliate=pricegrabber) $48.99
Fans: Delta 120x38mm FFB1212VHE (http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/de12ff.html) $28.30
Fan Controller: Vantec Nexus NXP-205-BK BLACK Multi-Fan Controller, 3.5" bay (http://www.bestbyteinc.com/prodinfo.asp?number=PAN-VAN-205B) $25.13
Thermal Compound: Arctic Silver 5 High-Density Silver Thermal Compound 3.5g (http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=316350) $10.99


(Already have a 17" Sony LCD, Logitech keyboard and mouse, 2.1 Boston speakers (upgrading soon)

Total price: $1900 or so, includes shipping and tax.

Is the motherboard good? I found it to be top of the line for ASUS, I've read everywhere and they say to choose the DFI one, or maybe a MSI one, any recommendations?

Any help at all will do a lot in my system building :p:

[IYP]

yeah go DFI if you plan to overclock....asus is a good MoBo tho for just running things stright up.....you could buy a 6800GT and pair it with another later when you get the money....also you can refer to perkams rig building guides over here http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=61554

[darksparkz]

wow, that's a nice guide there, thanks for the info

After reading around the forums a bit more, I think my case wouldn't work that well. Some say Thermaltake isn't a great case for air circulaton. I'm planning for air cooling, so air circulation is important. I looked at the P180 Advanced Super Mid Tower (http://www.antec.com/us/productDetails.php?ProdID=81800) case, and most people recommend it. The problem is that the PSU is located below the PCI cards, and the PSU generally generates the most heat. Heat goes up, wouldn't that have a negative side effect on the PCI cards? Especially if it's SLi-Based, the heat would affect both the video cards. I noticed the 120mm fan on the front of the PSU to push the air out, but is it really fast enough to push it out right away?

[CNCL]

Would upgrading to a 6800GT video card do a big difference? What if I get a 6800GT one now, and buy a 6800GT Ultra later on, would it still be compatible?
That should be fine.
SLI wouldn't do much to help unless one card is just not capable of pulling it off. If one card can already do well on the game, adding an extra one will have similar performance and fps, etc.

[darksparkz]

Hm, makes a lotta sense. No games out there is fast enough to support PCI-E cards yet. I could save double by using 6600GTs, I'll have to do a bit more thinking on how I'll use it.

Edited with two new case choices.

[ferrari_freak]

Going with 2 Geforce 6600GT's isn't really worth it because they are just a bit higher in performance than a single 6800GT. Just get a single 6800GT, it has almost same performance and you will still be able to upgrade when needed to have a superb future-proof rig.

Usama aka Ferrari Freak

[darksparkz]

Yeah, I'm considering getting a 6800GT now and upgrade to 6800GT Ultra later.

[Major_A]

Two 6600GT's aren't as fast as a single 6800GT. Btw I hope you mean get another 6800GT later. You can not buy a 6800GT and a 6800 Ultra and run them in SLi together.

[ferrari_freak]

Two 6600GT's aren't as fast as a single 6800GT. Btw I hope you mean get another 6800GT later. You can not buy a 6800GT and a 6800 Ultra and run them in SLi together.

I never said they were, I said that they were a bit higher in performance but cancel your chances of upgrading since you already have 2 cards. Anyways, yeah, as Major A said, you can't use a GT and an Ultra together. They are 2 different cards.

Usama aka Ferrari Freak

[winston64]

I would say not to go with the Antec P160.. the metal finish on the edges is crap. I bought one and cut myself twice; returned it the next day.

[darksparkz]

Yeah, I was leaning toward the Lian-Li one too, I'll stick with the 6800GT then

[darksparkz]

Reupdated with new parts that just came out.

[[XC] leviathan18]

lian li 1200 or 2000 if you want air or wc or what ever.
the 7800gtx is a very high end graphic card and is very fast.
dont buy the raptor wait for the next version coming out
dfi or msi dfi= if you want to OC a lot msi= if you want to oc a little.
ram i like the ocz plat rev 2 or gskill 4800 la or the new geil 1.5 2 2 5

[ferrari_freak]

lian li 1200 or 2000 if you want air or wc or what ever.
the 7800gtx is a very high end graphic card and is very fast.
dont buy the raptor wait for the next version coming out
dfi or msi dfi= if you want to OC a lot msi= if you want to oc a little.
ram i like the ocz plat rev 2 or gskill 4800 la or the new geil 1.5 2 2 5

Or the Mushkin Redline for best performance. :toast:

Usama aka Ferrari Freak

[darksparkz]

What's the next verison of the raptor? Is it the 15k rpm ones?

Which Redline RAM should I get? I want 1GB of ram for now and for it to be pretty good. I was looking at: http://www.mushkin.com/doc/products/memory_list.asp?ID=3

I was thinking of getting the 991440 one at $213. My motherboard specs for the Abit says it "Supports dual channel DDR400 non-ECC un-buffered memory", the 991440 is PC4000, would that still work on the Abit motherboard?

[ferrari_freak]

Yeah, the Redline will work but you will have to set your HTT to be the same as the speed of your RAM. For example, your stock HTT is 200MHz and recommended RAM for it is PC-3200 RAM which also runs at 200MHz meaning that it is a match. Now for PC-4000 RAM, you will have to run your HTT at 250MHz for best performance. Now, this will give you a huge OC which will cause you to need a good cooling solution and in this scenario you would lower your multiplier. If you don't want to go through all of this hassle, you can just stick with the Mushkin Redline XP PC-3200 which is rated to match your processor. Good luck with your build. :toast: Btw, Monarch has Redline PC-4000 for $191 if you're interested in that RAM and they have the Redline PC-3200 for $146. And if you want to be in the middle of the two, the PC-3500 is for $172.

Usama aka Ferrari Freak

[darksparkz]

Ohhh, the PC4000 should do well. I can change the HTT and RAM frequency to match. But wouldn't lowering the multiplier slow the overall speed down? Or lowing would make the HTT increase more stable.