To register for an Internet.com membership to receive newsletters and white papers, use the Register button ABOVE.
To participate in the message forums BELOW, click here
I am putting together several potential builds for my new PC. I have an AMD build that runs about $160 cheaper than the Intel build, but I hear the Conroe processors are a much better choice. This is the first time I have built a PC, so I would appreciate any advice as to any potential conflicts or problems that this setup might have. Particularly, the 8800 GTX requires some sort of special consideration as regards to the PSU, but I am just not sure what to make of it. If you would have any advice on swapping a particular component with a similiarly priced alternative, feel free to speak up.
Without further ado:
CASE: COOLER MASTER Stacker 830
MB: ABIT AW9D-MAX LGA 775 Intel 975X ATX
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz
PSU: Rosewill RP550V2-D-SL 550W SLI Ready-ATX 12V V2.01
RAM: CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800
Gfx: XFX PVT80FSHF9 GeForce 8800GTX 768MB
CASE FANS: 2x APEVIA CF12SL-UBL 120mm Blue LED Case Fan
I need to make sure Im not making some dumb newb mistake.
Updated.
Last edited by swatter555; January 9th, 2007 at 01:38 AM.
I remember hearing that the e6600 was barely powerful enough to push the 8800 GTX to pull capabilities
That hardrive is not that great. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822144701
That is what I suggest, one of my friends uses them, I use the 500 GB version. It's fast and reliable. You want 16 MB cache.
That PSU I dont think is good enough as your machine wont necessairly be power efficient (That 8800 GTX needs 2 PCI-Express connectors).
I dont have any suggestions on PSUs but someone on here will.
That new HD looks great, but its OEM. What components do I need for a fresh installation?
Also, if the e6600 is barely enough to do the job, then buying an SLI MB might not be a good choice? After all, If I were to SLI 2 8800s, I would likely need a much more powerful processor and likely a new MB?
Well, I can't really help with the power supply, but don't worry about the Core 2 duo not being fast enough. You can always moderately overclock it if you really want to, but I don't think you'll really need to with such a beast of a video card! Besides, as long as you purchase a Core 2 Quad-capable motherboard, you can always upgrade the CPU later, should you ever decide to go SLI. However, I hear the nVidia 6-series chipsets for Intel are not the greatest at this point in time. There has been some talk of SATA issues, so you might play it safe and go with a 975x or 965i. It will take away the ability to run in SLI, but I've personally never viewed SLI (or crossfire) as a practical solution. Sorry to make you head back to the drawing board, but it will probably reduce the hassle.
__________________
Give what you cannot keep to gain what you cannot lose.
No, I appreciate the advice, thats what Im here for
As far as the PSU, Ill double check the calculations. I thought I did it correctly, then again I am not 100% sure I was setting it up exactly right.
My original thought with the SLI setup was the idea of easily adding another 8800 later when the prices drop. If the processor is going to be a bottleneck with 2 8800 GTs, then my setup makes no sense. If I have to upgrade 2 years from now, I suppose Ill be due for another MB and processor anyway.
Anyway Ill checkout another MB and PSU. Ill edit the original post later on.
If you plan on SLI'ing two 8800GTXs in the future, then get one nice PSU.
I didnt say processor was necessairly a bottleneck, just that I've heard it's barely enough to push the video card.
But that's what I have heard. These things overclock like beasts. And anyway, an 8800GTX will be able to push practically any game out there with that conroe powering it.
As far as I can tell about the 680i chipset issue, it was a timing issue on reference boards only (like the EVGA ones), and there's a beta BIOS out which deals with it. Non-reference boards like Asus' don't seem to have the problem.
Nothing wrong with the 975X chipset either though.
__________________
Safe computing is a habit, not a toolkit.
Im using the ASUS P5B-Deluxe intel P965 chipset. And it's been working incredibly well paired with an e6600. I had my friend build a computer with it, also, and he loves it.
It does NOT support SLI. But then again, by the time you would be able to get another card for SLI, you could simply buy a new and better video card as an upgrade.
The main difference is that the 975X has two IDE channels compared to the 965's one. The 965 has dropped official support for IDE, so if you still hang around in IDE land with everything IDE. Then get the 975X. If you can go SATA then do so. And you can buy a SATA DVD drive if you only have IDE.
Linear Mode
