Any Advice on my new build?

[Rodafone]

Hi all, been browsing the forums for the past weeks and doing alot of reading and i have now come to the point where i need a new pc and hope you guys can give me some advice. My pc just died and i need to get a new one sorted soon (please bear in mind that this is the first time i will be building a pc)

I will be mostly using this pc to do 2d/3d CAD/Photoshop drawings and computer renders of models, playing a few games on it, watching movies and listening to music.

I currently have a 20" LCD Lg monitor, which i would carry on using, but also have a 40" Sony Bravia TV, which i would like to be a ble to connect my pc to, to watch movies and play games.

I am looking to start up with 1xHDD and 1x8800GT graphics card, which i would like to increase to possibly 3xHDDs and 2x8800GT.

I was thinking of spending the bulk of my cash on the motherboard, PSU and Case, as form what i gather from reading around, this is the best place to spend your money. Speaking of money, i have about £800 to spend.

Oh yeah i almost forgot, i would be running the system on Windows Xp SP2, not vista, well until the sort out a few more bugs i think.

My possible spec:

CASE: Antec p182 advanced Super Mid Tower or Lian Li armoursuit PC-P60 (as has removeable motherboard)

CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.4GHz

MOBO: Abit Ip35PRO or ASUS SKT-775 Maximus Extreme or ASUS P5k Premium/WiFi-AP IP35 (Really not sure what mobo to get)

COOLER: Zerotherm BTF90 or Coolmaster Hyper 212

PSU: CORSAIR HX Series 620W modular PSU or OCZ GameXstreme 850W PSU (would rather have a modular PSU though)

HDD: Western Digital Caviar Special Edition 500GB ATA100 16mb Cache or Samsung 750GB HD753LJ spinpoint SATA II 32mb cache

GPU: XpertVision GeForce 8800 GT Sonic 512mb (looking to get another one of these at a laster date to run SLI)

RAM: OCZ Reaper Edition HPC DDR2 1066 2x2 GB or Corsair Twinx DDR2 PC2-8500 1066MHz 2x2GB

DVD Drive: SAMSUNG Super-WriteMaster SH-S202J

Extras: AKASA 3.5" AK-ICR-01E Internal Multi Memory card reader Black inc USB 2.0 Port

Ok so thats about it, hope that wasnt too much of a chore to read, but i would really appreciate your input, as alot of you seem to be very experienced at building pcs.

 

[BUFF]

If you are looking at doing SLI down the road a bit then you need to get an nVidia chipset motherboard.

Either that or get the mobo that you list but get an ATi gfx card (e.g. HD3870) instead & do Crossfire later.

 

[Rodafone]

If you are looking at doing SLI down the road a bit then you need to get an nVidia chipset motherboard.

Either that or get the mobo that you list but get an ATi gfx card (e.g. HD3870) instead & do Crossfire later.

Any recommendations on MOBO? I was thiking of running 2 8800GT on SLI later on.

I have read som many reviews on Mobos but still find it very hard to pick a good one that is fully compatible with all the other components i want. I thought i had picked out some that were compatable

 

[BUFF]

if SLI is where you are heading then 790i seems much improved over 680/780i but they are new (so little choice atm) & expensive plus the DDR3 that they use is expensive too.

 

[Rodafone]

if SLI is where you are heading then 790i seems much improved over 680/780i but they are new (so little choice atm) & expensive plus the DDR3 that they use is expensive too.

Well i was looking at the ASUS Striker II Formula NVIDIA nForce 780i SLI, but i have read a few reviews, which have commented on how hot the northbridge/southbridge chips get.

So not sure what to do really.

Edit: Was just doin some more reading and was wondering what people thought of this Mobo: Gigabyte GA-X38-DS5 ?

 

[Rodafone]

Ok was womdering if anyone could recommend a mobo that can run a 8800GT, is future proof to run the next gen of graphics cards, but does not have to be SLI compatible.

I think i have gone off going SLI, as i doubt i would buy a second graphics card for atleast 6month (more likely a year) and by that time there would be new graphics cards out that i would better off getting.

So would appreciate any feedback from you guys, once again ..... Thanx

 

[Bungral]

Ok was womdering if anyone could recommend a mobo that can run a 8800GT, is future proof to run the next gen of graphics cards, but does not have to be SLI compatible.

I think i have gone off going SLI, as i doubt i would buy a second graphics card for atleast 6month (more likely a year) and by that time there would be new graphics cards out that i would better off getting.

So would appreciate any feedback from you guys, once again ..... Thanx

Absolutely nothing wrong with the one you have listed up in your first post: Abit IP35 PRO

 

[Phoenix]

If you've decided not to go for SLi I've heard many good things about the P35-mobos. As for the case, I've got the Antec P182, and it's NICE! Even though it's heavy as **** (15kg or something like that).

 

[Rodafone]

Well i think i have decided on all my components, but would just like some reassurances that i wont have any compatability issues with any of them, especially curious if the Xigmatek cooler will fit onto the P5K mobo and in the P182 case.

If all is well, then i will place my order for parts 2mrw fingers crossed

Antec P182 Advanced Super Mid Tower

Asus P5K Premium/WiFi-AP

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 G0 SLACR, Kentsfield Core, Socket 775, 2.40 GHz 1066MHz 8MB Cache

Antec Quattro 850W Modular (this will allow more power for add ons in the future, was going to go for the Corsair HX Series 620W Modular)

Western Digital Caviar Special Edition 500GB ATA100 16mb cache WD5000AAKB

XpertVision GeForce 8800GT Sonic 512mb DD3,PCIe

OCZ 4GB (2x2GB) PC2-800C5 1066mhz Reaper Edition HPC Edition Dual Channel DDR2

Xigmatek HDT-S1283 (H.D.T.) 120mm PWM Fan x3 Heat-pipe LGA775/K8/AM2 Cpu cooler Quad Core Read

Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Paste

Scythe S-FLEX 1200RPM Ultra Quiet 120mm Fan - 3/4 pin (x3)

Samsung SH-S203P/BEBN 20x DVD±R, 12x DVD±DL, DVD+RW x8/-RW x6, SATA,Lightscribe, Black, OEM inc Nero

AKASA AK-All-01BK All InOne Black USB2 5¼" 21 Multifunction Panel with Card Reader

 

[The Computer Council]

We work with most of the boards you have listed so thought we might offer our views.

As mentioned by others, you need to decide if you want to go down the SLI route or not, since this will determine whether you'll need to buy an Nvidia chipset board.

The 780i would probably be your best bet here ( I'd seriously recommend the EVGA 780i over the more popular Asus P5NT). Unless you're specifically wanting to go with DDR3 memory - I wouldn't due to cost and the choice of 790i boards atm.

If you're not going SLI, then the IP35Pro is a fantastic board that has proven reliability and few technical problems. It's packed full of features/specification and is a great Overclocker.

Similarly, the P5K Premium (in my current rig) is also a very good choice - I have had no issues with it and it has been running my Q6600 at 3.6Ghz on Air very comfortably.

SLI would probably be a benefit to you if you are gaming at higher resolutions, however you may be better off buying a single, better card rather than two for SLI.

With the systems we build, in 3DMark06 our X2 single card system gets about the same score as GTX SLI on standard resolution (slightly less). Plus, with buying an X2, you then have the option later when prices fall to add another X2 onto your crossfire board, that will scale better than SLI anyway.

 

[jamesjohnson88]

This is my rig, it cost over £800 by a little bit, but thats mainly because I have a 9800GX2 in it... (its awesome).

Case: Antec P182 - Worth every penny.

PSU: OCZ StealthXtreme 600w - Silent and stable - I'd go for a 700w version of similar price and quality if I were you.

CPU: Intel Q6600 - Awesome CPU - the G0 version is even better.

Mobo: XFX 680i SLI LT - Performs like a mobo 2 or 3 times its price. 680i's do get hot though and stock fans are noisy. I'd go for a different chipset.

RAM: 2 x 2GB PCZ DDR2 PC-6400 Reaper 800mhz - they'll replace it free no matter what you do it when overclocking, thats providing you can even manage to break it.

GPU: EVGA e-GeForce 9800GX2 - Fastest card single slot card there is. Will overclock well too. Quad-SLI capable. Its expensive and has a few driver issues at the moment, but its a beast if a card.

HDD: 500 GB Samsung Spinpoint - I believe there is a 750 GB samsung HDD that is faster than Raptors. I think its called the Spinpoint F1.

Cooling: Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme - Amazing performance, probably the best on the market.

Thermal right HR-05 SLI (one each on NB and SB) - Brilliant for SLI configs and boards with hot chipsets.

A fan on each of these heatsinks combined with the 3 Antec case fans will leave your system very cool indeed. Water cooling would be a good alternative and will rape the 680i chipset's temps removing all the bad points of the chipset.

 

[Rodafone]

Thanx Compuet Council and JJ88.

Im not bothered about SLI, but think i will go with the DDR2-800Mhz Ram instead as this will save me a bit of cash. Also by the sounds of it 850W PSu is overkill, so will go with the 620W Corsair instead....

That should save me a bit of cash.

But i was worried tha the Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme might be too big for the P182 and/or the P5k Mobo, but if everyone thinks it will fit then i would rather go with that anyway.

 

[jamesjohnson88]

Thanx Compuet Council and JJ88.

Im not bothered about SLI, but think i will go with the DDR2-800Mhz Ram instead as this will save me a bit of cash. Also by the sounds of it 850W PSu is overkill, so will go with the 620W Corsair instead....

That should save me a bit of cash.

But i was worried tha the Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme might be too big for the P182 and/or the P5k Mobo, but if everyone thinks it will fit then i would rather go with that anyway.

Yeah, it just fits nicely with the P182. One thing to watch out for though is the PSU. Since it is located in the bottom of the case the cables need to be longer than usual. My Mobo 24-pin mobo connection only just reaches and is fairly tight. The CPU didn't reach at all, thus I bought an adapter so I could run it from a molex. If you google it or check the ebuyer ratings for the P1182 then you should find somebody who has a PSU and a P182 that like each other....

Nice mobo, my 680i broke within 48 hours. I'm hoping to persuade the retailer to take it back and give me credit, rather than have XFX replace it. I'm not very happy about putting the same mobo back in, especially when the chipset runs at about 60 degrees...

 

[Phoenix]

I use the Antec TruePower Quattro PSU, and everything fits nicely with the cables behind the motherboard tray, even though I had some problems at first with the CPU power cable, cause of the Tuniq Tower and the two exhaustfans on the top taking up a lot of space, but I managed it.

 

[Rodafone]

Yeah, it just fits nicely with the P182. One thing to watch out for though is the PSU. Since it is located in the bottom of the case the cables need to be longer than usual. My Mobo 24-pin mobo connection only just reaches and is fairly tight. The CPU didn't reach at all, thus I bought an adapter so I could run it from a molex. If you google it or check the ebuyer ratings for the P1182 then you should find somebody who has a PSU and a P182 that like each other....

Nice mobo, my 680i broke within 48 hours. I'm hoping to persuade the retailer to take it back and give me credit, rather than have XFX replace it. I'm not very happy about putting the same mobo back in, especially when the chipset runs at about 60 degrees...

Sorry to hear about your mobo, but i have heard that the 680i are bad news and heat up an awfull lot. Hope you get everything sorted and thanx for the input