Hi, im building my first system, and I was hoping to get some feedback fr experienced builders out here. I need a pc that will last me for 3-4 yrs, and good enough to handle multiple applications (photoshop, firefox. powerpoint...) and run modern games (ut3, supreme commander, FEAR...) relatively well (med to high settings). My budget is ~ $1000. I live in Canada so newegg is not an option for me  . Here is what I have so far: Q6600 (G0)- plan to OC to 3.6ghz- $260 Abit ip35 pro- $190 Crucial ballistix tracer 2x1g- $85 OCZ gameXtreme 700w $120 Thermaltake ultra 120 extreme + 3x120mm scythe fans+ shin-etsu x23 $85 Seagate Barracuda 500gb, 7200rpm, 32mb cache $116 Galaxy Geforce 8800GT Overclocked 600MHZ 512MB 2.0GHZ, PCI-E $230 Total $1085 My old pc just died out on me and I need to get a new one FAST... Any feedback, comments, suggestions would be greatly appreciated
Your parts list is pretty solid. You've gone with a heatsink that can probably get you to about 3.5Ghz on the CPU, 3.6 is pushing it unless you use very fast and loud fans and/or lap the CPU or the cooler, or even both. The board is not one I'd recommend. I'd say stick with something more proven and cheaper like a Gigabyte P35-DS3R. Abit boards are OK, but are known to have problems in certain areas, particularly the BIOS. The RAM you've chosen is excellent. The PSU is OK, but Corsair HX units are far more stable, so I recommend you switch to one of those. The 520W unit will suffice, but go with the 620 if you plan on adding more parts later. The Hard disk and cooling setup is fine, although you may as well go with Arctic Silver V rather than Shin Etsu thermal material, you'll probably get slightly better results. The 8800GT is a powerful graphics card, but you'd do yourself a favour if you get a decent brand one, so go with one by BFG or XFX, the extra money is definitely worth the price. I recommend using http://www.ncix.com for the parts.
whats the diff between galaxy and xfx or evga brand names? does it suffice the price diff? ($190 for galaxy with MIR, $240 for xfx or evga) thnx
im also thinking of getting this case http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=1037111049F&vpn=NINE HUNDRED&manufacture=ANTEC anyone already have it? is it good for air circulation?
hey sam how about the BFG brand for the vid card http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=10720BD5102&vpn=BFGE88512GTOCE&manufacture=BFG
Pretty much everyone on the forum has that case. It's good for airflow, but it's common as muck, everybody's got one! It's not the easiest case to install a PC in, but nonetheless good for cooling. Don't forget there are other good cases for cooling out there such as the Coolermaster RC-690. The Antec 900's quite a noisy case, even with the fans on low... BFG are a good brand to get graphics cards from, so to find a card at that price is exceptional. I'd recommend it!
one more question, will the thermalright ultra 120 extreme fit in either of the cases (antec 900 and coolermaster). The HS will require about 7 inches fr the motherboard. thanks alot for the help
Haha you asked if someone has the 900! lol like Sam said everyone does! I know that the Heatsink will fit fine in the 900. It's a pretty big case. In fact that heatsink should fit in most cases, provided there isn't a sidefan right over it.
It will fit, including a side fan. I know someone who not only has that case, but also that heatsink in it. It works fine. Bah, I'm waiting for the NZXT Tempest. If that case is as good as it looks like it'll be, methinks my 900 may be getting ousted!
I just ordered my stuff and here is what i went with Q6600 (G0) Abit ip35 pro Crucial Ballistix PC2-6400 2GB 2X1GB DDR2-800 Corsair 620HX 620W Thermaltake ultra 120 extreme 4x120mm scythe fans (for case and HS) shin-etsu x23 paste Seagate Barracuda 500gb, 7200rpm, 32mb cache BFG GeForce 8800GT OC 512MB GDDR3 Coolermaster CM 690 Total $1200 Its a little over my budget, but hopefully its worth. Thanks to everyone that helped, i'll let u know how it turns out once i put it together. cheers
We did tell you to not go with the Abit board, but hey it's your money waste it if you want. My advice would still be to cancel the Abit board and get a GA-P35-DS3R or GA-P35-DS4, but that's just me.
i read alot of good things about the ip35 pro, especially when coupled with q6600. im gonna stick with it and try to push it when i OC the cpu.I'll let u know how it turns out. peace
Do you mind telling us where you read about it? If it's as good as you say it may be another board to add to my recommended list...
What I've read about it is that it doesn't perform as well. Lets see how far of an OC you get with it. I hope it really turns out well, keep us posted.
i dont have any specifics as to why the ip35 pro is a good mobo, but ive read alot posts where people were able to push the q6600 to 3.6 and 3.8ghz without much problems (using air cooling). It just seems to work very well with this chip, and apparently it is very stable when OCing the cpu and graphic card. I'll probably get all my parts by the end of the week, so hopefully i'll have my pc up and running by the weekend. I'll test it out and let u know how it turns out, hopefully it wont dissapoint
