Schonza

I'm building this comp for a friend, and he is mainly going to be using photoshopping, video editing, animation and other multi-media and some gaming. I would just like some opinions.

MOBO: Gigabyte X38-DS5 - $309
CPU: Intel Q6600 - $325
Graphics Card: ASUS 768MB 8800 GTX- $687
RAM: 3GB 800 mhz samsung ram (3 x 1gb sticks) - $96
Hard Drive: 2 x 500gb WD sata hdd - $128
DVD: Pioneer 212D x 2 - $70
Power Supply: Coolermaster Real Power Pro 650W - $163
Case: Antec 900 - $168
Wireless Card: D-Link PCI DWL-G520M mimo 108G - $69
TV tuner: Leadtek DV2000 - $98
CPU Heat sink: Zalman CNPS 9700 LED - $76
Monitor: 19" 5ms DVI ws Asus VW192T - $239

Total: $2556 AUD

Those prices are good for australian buyers, I want opinions on what can be upgraded for better performance without a huge change in price.

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formerly schoning16
Intel C2D E6300 @ 2.00 gHz
2 X 1024MB Transcend 667 mhz ram (dual channel interleaved) @ 3-3-3-9-12
320GB SATA Western Digital HDD.
Gigabyte 945PL-S3 mobo.
Foxconn TSAA891
Pioneer 111-D Dvd Burner.
nVidia Geforce 7600 GS 256 mb Graphics Card.
19" Samsung Syncmaster 940BW monitor.

daisymtc

soundcard?

I personally will down the X38 MB to a P35 one.
HDD change to Seagate 7200.11 500GB 32MB Cache SATA
Then get a 22" LCD Mon.
DVD burner: I personally will choose 2 differenct brand as occasionally there could be capabaility issue with certain brand of DVD with writer.
GPU: I doubt if 8800GTX still worth that much as 8800GT with a substantially lower price. May worth waiting for the G92 8800GTS (mid dec)

spanky

Wait till Jan for the Yorkfields instead of wasting money on a Q6600. I would go with an EVGA 8800 GT as I think they are a better brand and the GT is almost to par with the GTX for a lot less. Also I wouldn't get samsung ram. Get a good brand like Corsair (#1), A-Data, Crucial, or G.Skill. Also the P35 chipset supports the new 45nm very well without the high cost of the X38 chipset unless you are dead set ona mobo with PCI-e 2.0.

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CS:S [.:CF:.] site: http://forums.cfclan.net/
Formerly theresthatguy
CPU: Intel Core 2 Extreme X6800
HSF: TK IFX-14 with 120 mm @ 114 CFM
GPU: XFX 7950 GX2
RAM: 2GB Corsair XMS2 Pro DDR2 800
MOBO: Intel D975XBX
HDD:80GB/750GB Seagates
CASE: P180b

Schonza

Thanks guys, remember I'm in Australia, we don't get EVGA out here, . The 8900 GT won't be out for ages either, along with the new intel processors. I might tell him to upgrade the hdd's, depending on the price difference. The sound card is the onboard one. Should he get another? And he wants it to pretty future proof, but he needs it asap.

Here is the price list for the place where we are getting the parts from, since they one of the best around.

http://www.msy.com.au/Parts/PARTS.pdf

Recommend changes from that, thanks guys!

__________________
formerly schoning16
Intel C2D E6300 @ 2.00 gHz
2 X 1024MB Transcend 667 mhz ram (dual channel interleaved) @ 3-3-3-9-12
320GB SATA Western Digital HDD.
Gigabyte 945PL-S3 mobo.
Foxconn TSAA891
Pioneer 111-D Dvd Burner.
nVidia Geforce 7600 GS 256 mb Graphics Card.
19" Samsung Syncmaster 940BW monitor.

Schonza

bump

__________________
formerly schoning16
Intel C2D E6300 @ 2.00 gHz
2 X 1024MB Transcend 667 mhz ram (dual channel interleaved) @ 3-3-3-9-12
320GB SATA Western Digital HDD.
Gigabyte 945PL-S3 mobo.
Foxconn TSAA891
Pioneer 111-D Dvd Burner.
nVidia Geforce 7600 GS 256 mb Graphics Card.
19" Samsung Syncmaster 940BW monitor.

jds21

Which motherboard would be better for this setup if you were to change the RAM to 1066Mhz?

Gigabyte P35-DS4

or

Gigabyte P35-DQ6

Is DDR2 1066 PQA RAM any good or should I stick with 800 A-DATA?

Do you suggest another sound card besides the onboard one on the motherboard which has 7.1+2 Channel High Definition Output?

What is the difference between Seagate and WD hard drives?

This is the most updated list of parts from the company

http://www.msy.com.au/Parts/PARTS.pdf

I would really appreciate your help guys

jds21

I also pla to add an aftermarket fan in the system and from what I;ve been reading, the DQ6 has a cooling system which would need to be removed in order for this system to be installed?

Thoughts?

daisymtc

I will say go for a DS4 is enough.

RAM: from that pricing list, it didn't show the model number, but I will suggest you go for DDR2 800 CL4 RAM.
DDR2 1066 is good, but it is ralatively expensive, and the different is not that much of signficant IMO

Onboard sound is actually quite good these days. However, I personally fancy a higher end soundcard as use my PC for listen to music. You can ask your friend to try the onboard first, if he demand better quality, buy the sound card later

HDD: when you look at the spec, you will find Seagate with better Average Seek Time, Average Seek Time and Average Write Time. Also Seagate have 5 year warranty while WD have 3 yr (u need to check in your area). So I personally go for Seagate.

jds21

thanks for the help guys