2 years to finally decide to build my own.

EEthanShire

New Member
So I’ve been lurking around the forum for a couple of years now, never posting, merely learning from a distance the ins-and-outs of computer building. It’s taken me 2 years to finally decide to try building a computer of my own but before I start handing out credit cards to e-vendors I want to be sure I did not overlook any specific compatibility issues.

CPU
$308.18 Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Quad Core Processor LGA775 Kentsfield 2.40GHZ 1066FSB 8MB Retail Box
$171.99 AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+
- I have mixed feelings about this CPU or AMD in general as I have never used one. But praised reviews have enticed me to jump on the AMD bandwagon.


Mobo
94.36 Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L Socket 775 Intel P35
$187.99 Asus M2N32-SLI Deluxe/Wireless

Memory
99.79 Crucial Ballistix PC2-6400 2GB 2X1GB DDR2-800 CL4-4-4-12 240PIN Dual Channel Memory Kit
$54.99 OCZ DDR2 PC2-6400 800MHz Platinum XTC Revision 2 2GB kit
$179.99 OCZ (OCZ2P8004GQ) Platinum XTC 4GB DDR2

Video Card
XFX GeForce 8800 GT 512MB SLI
- No brainer here. Will definitely purchase this card.

HDD
85.28 Western Digital (WD3200AAKS) Caviar 320GB SATAII 7200RPM 16MB Buffer (OEM)
$122.99 Seagate Barracuda (ST3500630AS) 7200.10 SATA NCQ 3.0Gb/s 500GB 16MB Cache

PSU
124.71 OCZ (OCZ700GXSSLI) GameXStream 700 Watt Power Supply, Dual GPU, SLI
$104.99 OCZ (OCZ600GXSSLI) GameXStream 600 Watt

Drive
38.71 SAMSUNG 18X DVD±R DVD Burner With 12X DVD-RAM Write, LightScribe Technology Black SATA Model SH-S183L - OEM
$33.19 LG GSA-H55N IDE Black 20X DVD-Writer

Case
102.73 Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Ultimate Gamer Case
$82.99 Cooler Master 690 RC-690-KKN1-GP Black ATX Mid Tower Case

CPUheatsink
21.47 Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro LGA775 2500RPM 45CFM

Legend: red indicates replaced item.

On another note, would you suggest I wait until Christmas season (December/January) for sales at Canadacomputers.com and NCIX?
 
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Just a question, what OS are you going to use? 4 gigs of ram will be to much if you are going to run a 32 bit Windows OS.

If you can wait, then wait. I am betting that the system you listed will drop about $200US by then.
 
A friend has stated the same, but I've been contemplating about Vista and it's always an option that I may pursue later on, especially for these next gen games that are soon to be released that require a min of 2gig I figure why not exceed min and double the output. However for the mean time I will be sticking with XP pro
 
A friend has stated the same, but I've been contemplating about Vista and it's always an option that I may pursue later on, especially for these next gen games that are soon to be released that require a min of 2gig I figure why not exceed min and double the output. However for the mean time I will be sticking with XP pro


Ok, but it seems a waste, since you could always buy more ram if you need it. But xp 32 bit will only see about 3 gigs of it. And it only needs 2 gigs to run very well. More is a waste.
 
Thanks paratwa for that info. I will update.

After further contemplation, I'm thinking of ditching the Asus M2N32-Sli mobo considering that I will never make full use of the duel video cards. But other features are quite appealing unless it's just more flashy gimmicks to lure mobo noobs?
 
Oscaryu1's build = $818CAD excluding dvd driver and graphics card.That's excluding the Corsair mem as Canadacomputers bundles OCZ (OCZ2P8002GK) DDR2 PC2-6400 800MHz Platinum XTC 2GB (2x1024MB) with Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 for $352.98.



Thanks for the build oscaryu1. Will definitely consider after taking closer look at specifics.
 
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What are your thoughts on this build. Seems a little pricey compared to some prefabs I've seen lingering around on ebay, but willing to spend a little more to replace my 8 year old computer.

308.18 Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Quad Core Processor LGA775 Kentsfield 2.40GHZ 1066FSB 8MB Retail Box

99.79 Crucial Ballistix PC2-6400 2GB 2X1GB DDR2-800 CL4-4-4-12 240PIN Dual Channel Memory Kit

284.99 XFX GeForce 8800 GT 512MB SLI

94.36 Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L Socket 775 Intel P35 + ICH9 Dual-Channel DDR2 1066/800/667/533Mhz GigaLAN 8-Channel Audio Support 1333Mhz FSB

21.47 Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro LGA775 2500RPM 45CFM

85.28 Western Digital (WD3200AAKS) Caviar 320GB SATAII 7200RPM 16MB Buffer (OEM)

124.71 OCZ (OCZ700GXSSLI) GameXStream 700 Watt Power Supply, Dual GPU, SLI

38.71 SAMSUNG 18X DVD±R DVD Burner With 12X DVD-RAM Write, LightScribe Technology Black SATA Model SH-S183L - OEM

102.73 Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Ultimate Gamer Case

Grand total = $1160.17
 
I would definetly stick with the Q6600 because you will see better performance then a dual core. I think that were going to see more quads in 2008-09 and less dual cores.

Since your boards supports DDR21066 you should probably look at Crucial Ballistix 2x1Gb
Same Ram, But Faster.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148069

This was considered, however Gigabyte suggested to use the recommended 1066 memory listed in "memory support list." The item you posted does not fall under the list so I opted out for the 800 instead.
 
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