New build Please Review

[waytoosmall]

Hello everyone, I am putting together a build for my friend and his budget is 2000-2400. I just did a kind of quick pick up without cutting corners kind of thing and put this together. The only thing not listed is the psu which I was going to recommend he get the pc power and cooling silencer 750 that lists for 199.99 at their site. Cheaper than newegg. (note, 2 dvd's are there cause i'm not sure what final case color will be. I have a few questions though:

1) I understand the X-Fi cards do not fully work with Vista but there are some work arounds to get surround sound back etc. I recommended he stick with XP for at least another few months but I don't want the sound card to be obsolete once he makes the upgrade. Any suggestions?

2) I've heard good things about this case in terms of room but is it easy to work with. Some people made remarks about not being able to get the power supply to fit so I would like any suggestions you have on a nice case with tons of room that will fit the 8800gtx and future upgrades including watercooling if he wants to go that route.

3) The monitor looks like a good deal and i've heard the brand is low cost and good but what suggestions would you have for brand/model number. The rig will be mainly for gaming.

4) Any other suggestions on any of the other componants. I know a lot of people hate the evga board but I have one and it rocks. Plus I know that if there is a problem I can get a new one for him easily.

Thank you for any input.



LG DVD Burner with LightScribe Beige EIDE / ATAPI Model GSA-H42LB BG - OEM
Item #: N82E16827136113
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

$32.49


LG 18X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black IDE Model GSA-H42LK BK - OEM
Item #: N82E16827136114
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

$32.99


Thermaltake Kandalf VA9000SWA Silver Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail
Item #: N82E16811133153
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

$229.00


SAMSUNG SpinPoint T Series HD501LJ 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
Item #: N82E16822152052
Return Policy: Limited 30-Day Return Policy
$129.99


CHIMEI CMV 221D-NBC Black 22" 5ms DVI Widescreen LCD Monitor - Retail
Item #: N82E16824252008
Return Policy: [LCD] Limited Non-Refundable 30-Day Return Policy

Select An Optional Extended Warranty Plan 1 Year Service Net Replacement Plan -- $39.99 1 Year Service Net 1 Peripheral Extended Plan -- $39.99 2 Year Service Net 1 Peripheral Extended Plan -- $49.99 2 Year Service Net Replacement Plan -- $59.99 3 Year Service Net 1 Peripheral Extended Plan -- $59.99
-$20.00 Instant
$299.99
$279.99


Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer 7.1 Channels PCI Interface Sound Card - Retail
Item #: N82E16829102006
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

Select An Optional Extended Warranty Plan 1 Year Service Net Replacement Plan -- $14.99 2 Year Service Net Replacement Plan -- $19.99
-$10.00 Instant
$89.99
$79.99


Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1000 (PC2 8000) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model BL2KIT12864AA1005 - Retail
Item #: N82E16820146563
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

Select An Optional Extended Warranty Plan 1 Year Service Net Replacement Plan -- $39.99 2 Year Service Net Replacement Plan -- $59.99
-$50.00 Instant
$50.00 Mail-in Rebate
$284.99
$234.99


ZALMAN 9700 LED 110mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler - Retail
Item #: N82E16835118019
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

Select An Optional Extended Warranty Plan 1 Year Service Net Replacement Plan -- $14.99 2 Year Service Net Replacement Plan -- $19.99
-$22.00 Instant
$79.99
$57.99



EVGA 122-CK-NF68-A1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Item #: N82E16813188013
Return Policy: Limited 30-Day Return Policy

THQ Gift - Supreme Commander PC Game - OEM
Item #: N82E16800997016
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

-$39.99 Combo
-$10.00 Instant
$15.00 Mail-in Rebate
$279.98
$229.99



EVGA 768-P2-N831-AR GeForce 8800GTX 768MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card - Retail
Item #: N82E16814130072
Return Policy: Limited Non-Refundable 30-Day Return Policy

THQ Gift - Supreme Commander PC Game - OEM
Item #: N82E16800997016
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

-$39.99 Combo
$30.00 Mail-in Rebate
$599.98
$559.99



Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6600 - Retail
Item #: N82E16819115003
Return Policy: Processors (CPUs) Return Policy

THQ Gift - Supreme Commander PC Game - OEM
Item #: N82E16800997016
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

[fade2black2004]

you could save him alot of money buy going with a cheaper motherboard
the MSI 650i is a really nice board and is really cheap

also there is no real need to get ram thats above ddr2 800 seeing *** a good set of ddr2 800 ram will overclock to about 1200
for ram get a good gskill set for less then 200 bucks

[waytoosmall]

Thanks for the input fade, and that is a great tune!! I would say one of Metallica's better albums. Anyone else have any advice?

[Sora]

First off I do NOT suggest Vista for a gamer as most games don't even play right with it. Some games don't even load up...

I agree to go with G.skill HZ's as they will hit DDR2-1000 at Cas 4

Go with a cheaper motherboard as SLI is stupid...such as a P5B-E, a DS3, or even the MSI P6N 650i as stated.

That case is EXPENSIVE! There are plenty of other cases that cool just as well and are similar for about 70-80 bucks less.

Look at the Gigabyte Aurora, A Thermaltake Armor, or a CM Stacker.

The Zalman 9700 looks good and works well enough but there are still better coolers out there for the price; such as the Tuniq Tower 120. The Thermalright 120 Plus. Or the best of the best I think the Gemini II

[Whirlwind]

Holy cow....thats a bunch of OEM supreme commander games....if he wants to sell one reasonably priced pm me.

That is going to be one kick a$$ pc :-)

[j12]

the turniq tower is good, or the scythe ninja, or an arctic cooling freezer 7 pro is a very nice hsf. if he does not really need sli, get a gigabyte ds3 motherboard. Its stable and has many features.

[waytoosmall]

Yeah i'm thinking about switching the mobo if he sais he will never go sli. What other case can I go with though, that isn't real expensive but is roomy and easy to work with??

[fade2black2004]

for a case the armor jr or armor will do really well
also look at some lian li cases

[Vaanish]

Antec 900 $ick Case

[Sora]

For a mid Tower....the Antec 900 is my favorite.

However with an 8800GTX a Full size tower may be wanted and the Gigabyte Aurora is an awesome Full sized tower for the price.

EDIT: Here is the Aurora

Newegg.com - GIGABYTE 3D AURORA GZ-FSCA1-ANB Black Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail