My nephew is getting ready to build his first computer and put together the following list of components. They look like a pretty good build to me, but I haven't kept up the the all the advances over the last year or so, so your input and suggestions would be much appreciated. He plans on using the machine for gaming, hence the two graphics cards. Are all of these components compatible with each other? Do you recommend any different or additional compenents instead of the ones listed? CaseSI CycloneX Gaming Tower Case w/420W Power Supply Power Supply: 750 Watt -- Corsair CMPSU-750TX Power Supply Quad SLI Ready Processor:Intel Core 2 Quad Processor Q8200 (4x 2.33GHz/4MB L2 Cache/1333FSB) Processor Cooling: Sunbeam Core-Contact Freezer CPU Cooling Fan System Motherboard: [SLI] Asus P5N-D Nvidia nForce 750i SLI Chipset w/7.1 Sound, Gb LAN, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0, IEEE-1394, Dual PCI-E MB Memory: 8 GB DDR2-800 PC6400 Memory Module Video Card (x2 because the motherboard supports SLI): Nvidia Geforce 9800 gtx+ 512 mb w/ DVI + TV out vide Hard Drive: 500gb CD/DVD Drive: LG 22X Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Drive Sound Card: Creative Lab Sound Blaster Audigy SE Speaker System: Logitech X-540 5.1 Surround Speakers + Subwoofer Monitor: 22" Widescreen TFT LCD Monitor Support up to 1080P with HDCP Operating System: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 64 bit Thank you for advance for any tips or suggestions. My nephew and I appreciate it! Cheers!
Ok looks almost good. Case: dont really know how good or bad that case is PSU: GREAT CPU: Not that good, a faster clocked duo would be a better choice http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115037 or just get a better quad. FAN: Not bad but a freezer 7 would be alot better for almost the same price http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186134 MOBO: Not bad but I wouldnt sli (but if you must not a bad board) If you dont this is for you http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128359 Ram: youll never use 8 gigs of ram, I doubt youll ever even use 4. GPU: Uneccissary, 1 4870x2 beats 2 9800gtx+ in graphics, power comsumption, noise and space. almsot same price http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150349 HDD: Good cd: good Sound: good Speaker: GREAT I plan on gettin some myself monitor: sounds good, depends on company but you really can go wrong OS: stay away from 64 bit anything unless you need it, gaming is actually fastest on xp but vista has DX10. If anything switch to windows 7 when its finished, untill then vista 32bit or xp 64bit has a whole truckload of compatability issues. OK......now... your build is looking alittle better than before I would say. Just wait for alittle more feedback untill you buy cause I dont know EVERYTHING..lol but im sure most people will agree to most of the things I said.
Looks like a standard poorly made case. There must be something better you can get. An Antec Three Hundred for example. Getting a case pre-fitted with a PSU is a waste as well, as they're never any good, and add cost. PSU is excellent, but perhaps overkill for these standards. CPU is fine, one of the better value quad cores out there. Cooler could really be better, the Sunbeam is a cheap low-quality approach to the better tower coolers. Go for a proper one like a Noctua NH-U12P if you can afford it. if not, stick with a normal cooler like an Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro. Motherboard: Pretty poor really. The mistake made is using an SLI motherboard. ALL SLI MOTHERBOARDS ARE BAD. This is nothing to do with SLi, it's just that nvidia can't make chipsets that last, or work properly when they are still functional. RAM: 8GB? What for? Graphics: Hardly worth it, last year's graphics card (and therefore overpriced) in SLI, when a single card that costs maybe 30% more than one of the cards would do a much better job than the pair. HDD: Well great, but which brand? The amount of size you get doesn't really matter to us, we need to know whether the drive you've chosen is good or bad DVD, Sound card, speakers: Some good choices at long last... Monitor: Again, that goes for any monitor (and 22" monitors support 1080p, but they do not display it as the resolution is too low. To get full 1080p you need a 24" monitor like the Dell S2409W. OK. Here's how we remedy this. CPU: Either stick with the Q8200 you chose, or get one of these: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115057 . That's a reasonably big performance boost for not too much extra cost. Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128359 - A decent quality brand and chipset RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145214 - 4GB of good RAM. 4GB is plenty, even for Vista. If you want more later, just add another set of this, if you must, but I find it difficult to use much over 4GB unless I play GTA4. CPU Cooler: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186134 GPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150349 (one card, but it will obliterate the pair of 9800GTX+ cards in SLI) Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129042 PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005 HDD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136073 64-bit Vista is fine, I use it. If you're going for a dual graphics build with 4GB of RAM I STRONGLY suggest you use 64-bit Vista or you will have almost no memory registers left for your RAM.
