Final Parts Check

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

Some of you might remember the thread I made a while ago about buying a new PC. I'm grateful to the knowledgeable Orgahs who helped me come up with this list. Since technology changes quickly these days, I'm wondering if this is a good list in terms of price and power, or if much has changed since I made this list. This is my final check before I buy the parts.

Thanks in advance, I'm grateful that there's a place like this where good advice is always around.



Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 2.40GHz / 4MB Cache / 1066MHz FSB / Conroe / Dual-Core / Socket 775 / Processor with Fan (Retail)

Memory: Corsair XMS2 TWIN2X2048-6400 2GB 2X1GB PC2-6400 DDR2-800 CL 5-5-5-12 240PIN DIMM Dual Channel

Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 500GB SATA2 3GB/S 7200RPM 16MB Cache Ncq

Graphics Card: EVGA GeForce 8800 GTS Superclocked / 640MB GDDR3 / SLI Ready / PCI Express / Dual DVI / HDTV

Sound: On motherboard

Monitor: Hanns·G HW-191DPB 19" Widescreen LCD Monitor - 5ms, 700:1, WXGA+ 1440x900, DVI·D, VGA(D-sub), Black

OS: XP Home SP2 w/ original disc

Cooling: Not sure so far, probably just a couple fans, maybe a cheap water cooling system.

Case/Tower: Apevia Black/Black X-Plorer ATX Mid-Tower Case with Clear Side, Fan Controller, Front USB and Firewire Port

Keyboard/Mouse: Just something cheap but durable, not too picky.

Motherboard: Asus P5B Deluxe / WIFI-AP Atx LGA775 Conroe 965P DDR2 PCI-E16 3PCI-E1 3PCI 8 SATA2 Sound Motherboard

Power Supply: OCZ GameXStream 700W ATX12V 24PIN SLI Ready Active PFC ATX Power Supply 120MM Fan Black

DVD writer/CD drive: Suggestions?

Estimated final cost: 1300 Euro (give or take)


If there's any other major parts I need, I'd appreciate it if someone could mention that. Thanks again.

[Lemur]

Looks like an extremely nice system! I'd be very careful with water cooling, though.

[Xiahou]

You forgot the flux capacitor.

[drone]

Looks like an extremely nice system! I'd be very careful with water cooling, though.

The words cheap and water-cooling are a bad combination. Get a good setup, or not at all.

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

The words cheap and water-cooling are a bad combination. Get a good setup, or not at all.

What sort of cooling system do you recommend? Fans, heatsink?

[drone]

What sort of cooling system do you recommend? Fans, heatsink?

Well, you can go with water-cooling, if you don't mind the initial hassle and maintenance, just don't skimp on the system. A small failure could potentially ruin your entire system. Water works well though, especially if you are planning on overclocking, and the box will be quiet. It will cost significantly more, however. If you build a top system fairly regularly, you can reuse most of the cooling system on your top machine, and put fans/heatsinks back into your downgraded setups.

If you aren't comfortable with it, stick with fans/heatsinks. Water-cooling is still fringe, but the components are getting better.

[Xiahou]

If you aren't comfortable with it, stick with fans/heatsinks. Water-cooling is still fringe, but the components are getting better.

I'd say that, by and large, water cooling is for the geek factor as much as anything else. You average gaming PC will get by just fine with decent air cooling. If you're an overclocking fiend, water cooling might be worth looking into- but if you're going to spend so much money on a water cooling setup, why not just spend more money on better hardware and air cool it.

*The obvious exception would be if you buy cutting edge hardware and still want to overclock it. If that's you, go nuts.

[Blodrast]

For DVD-stuff, Pioneer have always had a good name in my book. I've also had several LG's, but while they work fine for a while, at some point they just ... die. If this happens after 3-4 years, it's no big deal, since they're so cheap - but it's still frustrating.

Also, I'm a bit puzzled, I remember your old thread, but I don't remember why (if at all) you decided to go with the onboard sound ? I dunno about your specific motherboard, but, I'd reckon a sound card can easily do better... and they're relatively cheap, too.

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

I was looking at that, but someone told me to either go with motherboard sound or to buy a more expensive sound card. I guess I'll have to look into that a bit more, I've had mixed reviews with it.

[Lemur]

Oops, I sent you a link to the wrong card. This is the one I use. Bad lemur!

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

Thanks, I was wondering about that.

[Xiahou]

I use an X-Fi: Extreme Music card. (Extreme Music only because it was the cheapest of the X-Fi flavors) It doesn't seem to be widely available anymore, but it was basically the same as the Fatal1ty with less memory- which most games don't use anyhow, iirc.

The few games that I did play that fully supported it sounded pretty sweet.

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

Alright, I've got a question about the sound cards. Should I go with the Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-Fi Extreme Audio or the Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer PCI Sound Card? The latter is about half the price of the former. Also, should I upgrade to the processor I mentioned in Post #12, or is it not worth it?

Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 2.40GHz / 4MB Cache / 1066MHz FSB / Conroe / Dual-Core / Socket 775 / Processor with Fan (Retail)

Memory: Corsair XMS2 TWIN2X2048-6400 2GB 2X1GB PC2-6400 DDR2-800 CL 5-5-5-12 240PIN DIMM Dual Channel

Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 500GB SATA2 3GB/S 7200RPM 16MB Cache Ncq

Graphics Card: EVGA GeForce 8800 GTS Superclocked / 640MB GDDR3 / SLI Ready / PCI Express / Dual DVI / HDTV

Sound: On motherboard, or one of the two choices.

Monitor: Hanns·G HW-191DPB 19" Widescreen LCD Monitor - 5ms, 700:1, WXGA+ 1440x900, DVI·D, VGA(D-sub), Black

OS: XP Home SP2 w/ original disc

Cooling: Ultra 80mm Dual Ball Bearing Fan (5-Pack)

Case/Tower: Apevia Black/Black X-Plorer ATX Mid-Tower Case with Clear Side, Fan Controller, Front USB and Firewire Port

Keyboard/Mouse: Just something cheap but durable, not too picky. Can use the ones on my old computer, they work fine, and I'm used to them.

Motherboard: Asus P5B Deluxe / WIFI-AP Atx LGA775 Conroe 965P DDR2 PCI-E16 3PCI-E1 3PCI 8 SATA2 Sound Motherboard

Power Supply: OCZ GameXStream 700W ATX12V 24PIN SLI Ready Active PFC ATX Power Supply 120MM Fan Black

DVD writer/CD drive: Pioneer DVR-112DBK OEM DVD Burner - 18x DVD±R Burn, 16x DVD±R Read, 8x DVD+RW, 6x DVD-RW, 10x DVD±R DL, 40x32x CD-R/RW, Black, with Software