[Sabar]

Well, like the title says, I'm looking to build a new computer. I think I've got a pretty decent build for what I'm trying to go for here but I'd like some advice before I spend the $1k+. I'm not really looking to do anything super intensive on it but I also don't want to have to upgrade again in a couple of years (as in a full upgrade, I understand that parts like video cards become "obsolete" after so many years etc). I'm pretty much just going to be using this for gaming, school/work, and maybe some lite video editing and coding. Anyways; take a look a let me know what you think.

- Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R ATX LGA775 Conroe P35 DDR2 1PCI-E16 3PCI-E1 SATA RAID Sound GBLAN Motherboard
- Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Quad Core Processor LGA775 Kentsfield 2.40GHZ 1066FSB 8MB Retail Box
- EVGA E-GEFORCE 8600GTS Superclocked 720MHZ 256MB 2.1GHZ GDDR3 PCI-E Dual DVI-I HDTV Out Video Card
- OCZ Gold XTC PC2-6400 2GB 2X1GB DDR2-800 CL5-5-5-12 240PIN DIMM Dual Channel Memory Kit
- Coolermaster CAC-T05 Centurion 5 Aluminum ATX Tower Case 5X5.25 1X3.5 4X3.5INT SILVER-BLACK No PS
- Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB SATA2 3GB/S 7200RPM 16MB Cache NCQ Hard Drive (I've heard some ppl say these HD's have problems but I've also heard they're good too?)
- Silverstone Element ST50EF-PLUS 500W ATX12V 24PIN Power Supply W/120MM Fan Active PFC 80PLUS RoHS (I think this should be sufficient?)
- Samsung SH-S182 DVD+RW 18X8X16 DVD-RW 18X6X16 DL-8X DVD Writer IDE Lightscribe Black OEM W/ Software
- Antec TriCool 120MM Case Fan 3-SPEED 1200/1600/2200RPM 25/28/30DBA 39/56/79CFM 3 & 4PINS (x 2)
- Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro LGA775 2500RPM 45CFM

A couple of questions to add on as well. I thought that I heard S939 was the wave of the future a while ago when I was building my first computer, what happened to that? Same thing as Rambus ram; a total bust and now S775 has taken over? Also, last time I built my computer, I didn't get enough SATA cables with the package so I had to go out and buy one, a minor inconvenience that I'd prefer to avoid this time if possible. Can anyone tell me if I need to buy an extra SATA or IDE or anything else for that matter? I already have a monitor and keyboard etc etc so I don't have to worry about that.

Thanks for all your input and please let me know if you think I should change anything and why.

Sabar

[Apokalipse]

Originally Posted by Sabar

- EVGA E-GEFORCE 8600GTS Superclocked 720MHZ 256MB 2.1GHZ GDDR3 PCI-E Dual DVI-I HDTV Out Video Card

It's well worth it to get an 8800 GTS 320MB card instead

Originally Posted by Sabar

- Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB SATA2 3GB/S 7200RPM 16MB Cache NCQ Hard Drive (I've heard some ppl say these HD's have problems but I've also heard they're good too?)

I own two Seagate 7200.10 drives (1 x 320GB, 1 x 750GB), and they're excellent drives.
Seagate drives have the lowest failure rate, plus the 7200.10 drives are very fast compared to most other 7200RPM drives
except for the Seagate 7200.11 drives, of course. But so far I've only seen them in 1TB capacity, and they're expensive.

[Invisible]

here is a better set of RAM
Newegg.com - Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

[Sabar]

Originally Posted by Apokalipse

It's well worth it to get an 8800 GTS 320MB card instead

Really? From what I was reading the price to performance ratio wasn't really worth it. You're talking approx. a $100 difference in pricing for it. Can you explain the main/major differences that would make you pick up the 8800GTS instead of the 8600GTS? We're talking an 8600 GTS superclocked vs. an 8800 GTS standard or KO or what btw? If it's superclocked to superclocked wouldn't that make the core clock of the 8800GTS lower (576mhz vs 720mhz) but makes the memory bandwidth about double I think? I'm just wondering b/c DX10 is fairly new and I'm not sure if it's worth it buy this card now or wait and see what next gen is going to be like.

PS
Out of curiosity, what in the world did you fill the 750gig drive with in order for you to need the 320gig one as well? :freak:

[Invisible]

X-bit labs - From Dusk till Dawn: Nvidia GeForce 8 Family Performance Shootout (page 9)
night and day difference bro, the 8800 gets double fps in 2142

[Apokalipse]

Originally Posted by Sabar

Really? From what I was reading the price to performance ratio wasn't really worth it. You're talking approx. a $100 difference in pricing for it.

the 8800 GTS has 96 shaders, vs the 8600's 32 shaders. Even if the 8600 is clocked 150% as high, it will still only get half the performance of the 8800.

Originally Posted by Sabar

PS
Out of curiosity, what in the world did you fill the 750gig drive with in order for you to need the 320gig one as well? :freak:

Actually, I already had the 320GB drive before I got the 750GB one.

But so far I only have about 30GB left on my 750GB drive. my 320GB has about 180GB left. So I'm thinking of picking up another 750GB drive sometime.

What do I put on them?
well, everything. my CD images, my DVD images, my music, and everything else except the OS.
I put my OS on a 74GB 10,000RPM drive

[Sabar]

Originally Posted by Invisible

X-bit labs - From Dusk till Dawn: Nvidia GeForce 8 Family Performance Shootout (page 9)
night and day difference bro, the 8800 gets double fps in 2142

I'd be playing in res over 1024 so I'd be looking at the red bar section towards the bottom, and I'd agree with you based upon that. I think I was looking at something more towards medium performance that showed them being much closer than that. I'll see if I still have the link lying around.

Thank you for all your input so far btw. I do appreciate it.

[Invisible]

they have similar performance on a few games, if your looking for a medium end card the x1950xt is $165 and is significantly better than the 8600gts

[Sabar]

Originally Posted by Invisible

they have similar performance on a few games, if your looking for a medium end card the x1950xt is $165 and is significantly better than the 8600gts

I'm not looking for a medium end card and I refuse to get anything ATI after I had one blow up on me. I was just saying that the performance review that I'd looked at was at that setting.

[Invisible]

ATI is not a bad company...il bet they have just as many dud cards as nvidia