Build me a Rig

PogMoThoin

Ok. been itchin for this for a while. Got a budget of E2000ish. Wil be used for mostly gaming, music & net. Gonna sell my old pc so i need full build.
Parts I have:
Monitor, Keyboard, Mouse.
320Gb external hd (storage for music covered, already have 50Gb music)
XFX 7900Gt.
Technics 600w 5.1 (no digital input, soundcard must have analogue output)

Considerations:
I'm considering using 2 74Gb raptors in Raid 0 (is it worth it?). Mobo must support intel conroe & be sli with ram to suit (2GB). Will prob overclock in the future also. prob wont be buying another gpu for time being but will upgrade to dx10 in sli when available. Psu must be sli with the possibility of adding Physx in the future. Soundcard must have 5.1 analogue output. Must have Dvd drive & burner. Possibly this case, although i would prefer it in silver:
http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.asp?sku=310552&view=detailed

Other thoughts:
PCI raid controller?
Heatsink with fan controller or water cooling.

All things considered.
Be greatful for some good advise. Thanks in advance.

K.O.Kiki

[note: all shopping done at Komplett]
Bah, stick with a 150Gb Raptor.

Seasonic 600W's are out of stock, would 500W do? (I think it would)

For Conroe, you want a mobo with either an Intel 965 or 975 chipset - there's only 3mobo's so far; IMO, look up reviews for the 975's, and/or look elsewhere.

IMHO, nothing wrong with a good air cooler; a Zalman or Arctic Cooling Freezer for skt775 is what you want.

PhysX cards are available *now*; they're PCI atm, so run power from there.
As for sound, I think an X-Fi would do you grand (unless I'm missing something with the in/outputs)

PogMoThoin

Cheers kiki. Sounds good. Will there be more mobo's out 4 conroe soon? Dont plan orderin 4 few weeks (just checkin my options). I'd say 500w should be loads. Not bothered bout Physx cards, they might improve in the future.
Anyone else have an opinion? All imput accepted.

Sengoku79

Pog,

overclockers.co.uk has Core 2 on pre-order, also has core2 mobo dfi 975 infinity available, i built on their site a core2 setup for €1200 excluding HDD as already had one but included 2g pc6400, 7900gt, core 2 e6300, and a few other bits and bobs, high level case etc,

since your budget is allowing for more deffo max ram, raid array, maybe get 2 x1900gt and crossfire them, ATI releasing new cat that allows for cable-less crossfire afaik, so no need for master card soon enough, and pump up the processor say to the e6600

PogMoThoin

Cheers sen. I prob gonna pre-order. Dont know which mobo/ proc 2 go for. I already have 7900gt. Not buyin another for time being cos i gonna wait for dx10. Dunno if i gonna spend E2000, if i get away with less i will.

Sengoku79

If your gonna wait a month at least don't pre-order mobo, wait and see what the n-force 500 intel edit chipsets are like, previews seem good.

PogMoThoin

Sen, which would you go for 2 x 74Gb raptors in raid 0 or 1 x 150Gb raptor?
Prob gonna order conroe E6600.

Sengoku79

tbh, I would prob go for the 150g raptor and use it solely for os & apps, then slap a 300+G SataII secondary for data etc, them being the important bits imo.

PogMoThoin

Already have 320Gb external that i use for storage (Aldi's best)

Sengoku79

cool cool, would have stuck a 2nd internal quicker response time over sata rather than over USB, could use the external as backup drive then.

Nice thing about newer mobo's they are starting to come with external sata ports which will bode well when sata driven external hdd chassis's come online.

PogMoThoin

I kno but I only use it 4 music storage (got 50Gb backed up on dvd) & other non important bull****. 150Gb would be loads for os, games & progs.

Sengoku79

then your fine, i'd buy one 150g raptor now then when they come down in price buy a second and raid the pair heheh

jesus_thats_gre

Why not get a 36GB raptor and spend the extra money on a 7900GTX or X1900XT or something? Far more noticable performance boost than buying 2 raptors IMO.

PogMoThoin

Got 10 games & 5 games in Steam installed here at mo. Got 7yo son mad in2 gaming 2. Cant del any game cos he plays them all (spoilt brat). lol.... That'd eat up 36Gb raptor.
150Gb be fine. Already have 7900gt. Might buy another if price works out right.

jesus_thats_gre

Get the 36GB raptor and a 160GB drive then.. You will still have > 150 left to play with for a better Graphics Card that will actually provide noticable peformance improvements.

PogMoThoin

Not spendin 2 much on gpu with dx10 only just round corner. All options are open. Have'nt decided on anything yet. Recommend a cooler. What you think of this 1?
http://komplett.ie/k/ki.asp?sku=314208

awhir

man have you seen the conroes just wait for them i cheap conroe is more powerfull then a 1000e fx-60

masteroftherealm

Defo pop a 6600on preorder man their beasts.
DFI or the Asus boards are your best bet.

PogMoThoin

Amd droppin their prices on 24th july.

Prob gonna have 2 wait 2 get good Sli mobo but i gonna order conroe anyway. Decided 2 go with 150gb raptor and 6600 conroe. Can always add another hd. And these:

Case
http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.asp?sku=310552&view=detailed

Psu
http://komplett.ie/k/ki.asp?sku=314763
or
http://komplett.ie/k/ki.asp?sku=314759

cooler
http://komplett.ie/k/ki.asp?sku=314208 ..... in silver

Also dvd-rom, dvd-rw, floppy etc.

All i've left to pick is Sli mobo when they available & ram (prob crucial ballistix). Sweet

What ye think?

PogMoThoin

Sengoku79 wrote:

i built on their site a core2 setup for €1200 excluding HDD as already had one but included 2g pc6400, 7900gt, core 2 e6300, and a few other bits and bobs, high level case etc,

What mobo you buy? I cant find Sli mobo, only xfire. Will i have 2 wait 4 nforce 500 series? When will they be available. I'd prefer stick with nvidia since i have 7900gt. Any chance ya could post ful specs? Just curious.

PogMoThoin

Ok. Decided on these:

Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 2.4Ghz 1066Fsb
Mobo: DFI Infinity Socket975x PCI-E DDR2
Cooler: Artic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro Cpu Cooler
Ram: Corsair 2Gb DDR2 XMS2-6400C5 (2x1Gb)
Hdd: 2x Western Digital Raptors 36Gb 10,000Rpm SATA In RAID 0
PSU: Thermaltake Purepower 500W ATX2.0 Modular PSU
Case: Thermaltake VA9000SWA Kandalf Aluminium Full Tower Silver
Soundcard: Creative Soundblaster X-Fi Xtreme Music
Also Dvd-Rom, Dvd-Rw & Floppy
All from overclockers

Already have Xfx 7900GT

Comments please before i order. Working out at UK£1135 without delivery. How much will delivery be? Should i wait for Sli mobo?

masteroftherealm

Nope SLI is a farce.
Thats a kick ass setup
gratz

PogMoThoin

What? Is Xfire better? Did you ever deal with oc.uk? How much for delivery?

masteroftherealm

OC.Uk is good and bad. Very dodgy delivery (packingwise) in my experience.
Crossfire is better yes. But more by the time games are utilising Sli or XFire fully a newer better single card solution has come out. Making it somewhat of a false ecomomy.

PogMoThoin

Cheers. not doin any thing on gpu front till dx 10 or maybe 7950 if work goes good. Gettin excited..:p

masteroftherealm

Heheh youll have a drool worthy rig thats for sure!

PogMoThoin

Which ram best for this mobo? Worth the extra money? What you reccomend?

masteroftherealm

2 best out there at the moment are the 6400C3's
And the heavy clockers are saying very nice things bout the OCZ PC8000
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/OCZ_DDR2_Memory.html

PogMoThoin

Dunno. Might just go with what i had. Gettin confused now...late....The longer i think bout things, the more i change my mind. Pre-Orderin conroe 2morro. Not orderin rest 4 2 weeks. Cheers 4 all your help.

awhir

change the psu........................

masteroftherealm

awhir wrote:

change the psu........................

ACK!!! Good catch!!
OCZ PSU please mate!!! lol that was close!!

PogMoThoin

This ok. Doesn't say sli
http://komplett.ie/k/ki.asp?sku=315953
Liked blue led in thermaltake. Cant find Ocz in OCUK. Would prefer to buy all together if i could.... Will look later after work

Changin back to single 150Gb raptor as well.

awhir

get a enermax,tangan or seasonic pronto.

masteroftherealm

Or OCZ would be my reccomdedation.
OCZ, Seasonic, Zippy, or PCP&C

po0k

Or Fortron.

Read reviews of power supplies.
Active PFC (Power Factor Correction .wiki.) will save you money in the long-run too.

Don't worry too much about looks. You can always mod it yourself later (spray paint + some leds).

Down the road you might want to pickup a UPS with a quality inverter too.
The power capacity doesn't matter too much, as I suggest it not just for backup purposes but more-so for line conditioning ie. give your rig's psu a cleaner feed, it has less work to do and will run *better*.

PogMoThoin

This 1 ok?

PogMoThoin

masteroftherealm wrote:

2 best out there at the moment are the 6400C3's
And the heavy clockers are saying very nice things bout the OCZ PC8000
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/OCZ_DDR2_Memory.html

Which of these would you choose?
corsair Pc6400c3.....UK£354
Ocz Pc8000............UK£317
Crucial Pc8000 C5....UK317

Was only spending Uk£150 but decided to increase it. no point skimping on ram when everythin else looks so good. C3's are expensive. That EPP is only useful on nvidia boards also. should i stick with the 6400 c5. Running over buget a small bit. Need advise.


Also advise on psu i choose above. cheers

masteroftherealm

PogMoThoin wrote:

Which of these would you choose?
corsair Pc6400c3.....UK£354
Ocz Pc8000............UK£317
Crucial Pc8000 C5....UK317

Was only spending Uk£150 but decided to increase it. no point skimping on ram when everythin else looks so good. C3's are expensive. That EPP is only useful on nvidia boards also. should i stick with the 6400 c5. Running over buget a small bit. Need advise.


Also advise on psu i choose above. cheers

6400C3 hold all current DDR2/Conroe World Records.
I shall say no more

awhir

and also get a 600wat psu

PogMoThoin

Pre-ordered conroe this eve.......:D

Date:6 July 2006
Order Number:xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Payment method:SECPay Online Processing


Shopping Cart (Prices in British Pounds)
REFERENCEDESCRIPTIONQUANTITYPRICECOST
CP-128-INIntel Core 2 DUO E6600 "LGA775 Conroe" 2.40GHz
(1066FSB) - Retail (CP-128-IN)1
£214.95£214.95
Subtotal£214.95
Shipping (Royal Mail International Priority Signed For)£10.85
VAT£39.52
Total£265.32

Just in case ye don't believe me....:rolleyes:

Sofar i have this in mind:

Processor:....Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 2.4Ghz 1066Fsb............................252.57
Mobo:.........DFI Infinity Socket975x PCI-E DDR2...............................152.69
Cooler:.......Artic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro Cpu Cooler............................17.75
Ram:..........Corsair 2Gb DDR2 XMS2-6400C3 (2x1Gb).............................354.79
Hdd:..........Western Digital Raptors 150Gb 10,000Rpm SATA.....................185.06
PSU:..........Seasonic S12 600W Silent ATX2.0 PSU...............................99.82
Case:.........Thermaltake VA9000SWA Kandalf Aluminium Full Tower Silver........132.36
Soundcard:....Creative Soundblaster X-Fi Xtreme Music...........................56.99

Also Dvd-Rom, Dvd-Rw & Floppy...................................................46.88


Total.........................................................................1298.81

Gone over budget. Prices in sterling & not including delivery. Gotta buy Xp-Pro as well. Any advise on how to shave off a few quids? Gonna order on wed.

masteroftherealm

Em get the kandalk in ireland save on huge postage.
Ya really need the raptor?? Most sata2 drives are unbelievabl quick nowadays.

PogMoThoin

Had thought of that. Gonna get what i can in Komplett depending on the price to keep delivery down. I like the Kandalf, dont wanna change that.

Always wanted a raptor, even tho they supposed to be very noisy ...................can always add 1 again i suppose.

awhir

you wont save money on shiping from ocuk its like 22 for every thing including case.

also just use 2 200gb drives in raid 0 and its nearly as fast as a raptor.

jesus_thats_gre

PogMoThoin wrote:

Any advise on how to shave off a few quids? Gonna order on wed.

Will say it again.. Buy a small raptor and a normal HDD and you will save the guts of 100 euro.

PogMoThoin

ok. Advise taken :rolleyes:

36Gb Raptor (£73), Seagate Barracuda 120Gb Sata2 (£45) & 2 Akasa Dayglo blue cables.....nice
Can add another raptor nxt yr.

masteroftherealm

lol ood choice

PogMoThoin

Finally not changin again.

Processor:....Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 2.4Ghz 1066Fsb............................252.57
Mobo:.........DFI Infinity Socket975x PCI-E DDR2...............................152.69
Cooler:.......Artic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro Cpu Cooler............................17.75
Ram:..........Corsair 2Gb DDR2 XMS2-6400C3 (2x1Gb).............................354.79
Hdd:..........Seagate Barracuda 320Gb SATA2 16Mb Cache..........................77.49
PSU:..........Seasonic S12 600W Silent ATX2.0 PSU...............................99.82
Case:.........Thermaltake VA9000SWA Kandalf Aluminium Full Tower Silver........132.36
Soundcard:....Creative Soundblaster X-Fi Xtreme Music...........................56.99
Hdd Cable:....Akasa Sata Dayglo Blue Data Cable x 2..............................3.47
Also Dvd-Rom, Dvd-Rw & Floppy...................................................46.88


Total.........................................................................1194.81

Add delivery & Xp-pro.

PogMoThoin

Ok been readin round a bit and found out that Dfi are known for good Amd boards. They have little or no experience in producing an Intel 1 and there is no way of knowing if its any good or not. with that in mind i am considering changing mobo to the Asus one. Asus will be compatible with quad core if i decide to upgrade. i'm gonna have to flash the bios to get it to work in the first place. Read this:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Online_Catalogue_Asus_177.html

opinions please. No need for X-fi now.

masteroftherealm

They have a lot of experience in INtel boards in fact?
http://xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=103025&highlight=dfi+conroe
http://xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=105920&highlight=dfi+conroe
http://xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=101408&highlight=dfi+conroe

three threads to have a read thru

PogMoThoin

Glad ya showed me that. puts my mind at ease. stickin with mobo now. cheers. Gonna order it next week.

masteroftherealm

If ya ned any more advice just shout