Buliding First PC. Need Some Advise

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Yourrid

New Member
I bought a top of the line notebook a few years ago and am now deciding I want a desktop. I've been looking around (dell, hp, compaq... dont hate me for it...) and ive been trying to find the best deal. I finally came to ibuypower.com and saw that their prices were a lot better than the major corporations and you get a one-off PC, basically.

I figured up what I think is a good setup, and I would like some input from people who know much more about this than I do. Im not a serious gamer, or anything like that, I just want a damn good PC. Here is my setup.

Case ( Nzxt Lexa Blackline Gaming Tower Case w/420W Power Supply Black )
Case Lighting ( Cold Cathode Neon Light Red )
Power Supply ( 650 Watt -- NZXT PRC-650 Power Supply SLI Ready )
Processor ( [=== Quad Core ===] Intel Core 2 Quad Processor Q6600 (4x 2.4GHz/8MB L2 Cache/1066FSB) )
Processor Cooling ( [=== Silent ===] Extreme-Performance INTEL CPU Cooling Fan System Kit Silent & Overclocking Proof = Maximum cooling efficiency for quietness and performance )
Motherboard ( Asus P5N-E SLI nForce® 650i SLI Chipset w/6-channel CODEC, Gb LAN, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0, IEEE-1394 Dual PCI-E MB )
Memory ( 4096MB [2048MB X2] DDR2-800 PC6400 Memory Module Corsair-Value or Major Brand )
Video Card ( NVIDIA GeForce 8600GT 1GB w/DVI + TV Out Video )
Video Card Brand ( Major Brand Powered by NVIDIA )
Hard Drive ( 320 GB HARD DRIVE [Serial-ATA-II, 3Gb, 7200 RPM, 16M Cache] )
2nd Hard Drive ( None )
External Hard Drives [USB 2.0/eSATA] ( None )
CD/DVD Drive ( [Lightscribe Technology] 20X Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Drive Black )
CD-RW/DVD-RW Drive ( None )
Sound Card ( 3D Premium Surround Sound Onboard )
Speaker System ( 600W PMPO 3 PCS Super Bass Subwoofer Speaker System )
Network Card ( Onboard LAN Network (Gb or 10/100) )
Floppy Drive ( None )
Monitor ( LCD Monitor [--- Special ---] 20.1" LCD 16:10 Wide WSXGA HD(HDCP) Monitor Support DVI Video up to 1080P(HDMI) )
2nd Monitor ( None )
Keyboard ( None )
Mouse ( None )
USB 2.0 Accessories ( Build-in USB 2.0 Ports )
Meter Display ( Thermal Temperature LCD Display Black )
Flash Media Reader/Writer ( 12-In-1 Internal Flash Media Card Reader/Writer Black )
Operation System ( Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium + [Free 60-Day !!!] Microsoft Office 2007(Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Access ....) 32-Bit )
Media Center Remote Control & TV Tuner ( None )
Case Round Cable ( Rounded Cables for Floppy/HDD/CD/DVD/CD-RW/DVD-RW Drives )
USB Flash Drive ( None )
MP3 Player ( None )
TV Tuner ( None )
Video Camera ( None )
Headset ( None )
Power Protection ( None )
Warranty ( Warranty Service Standard 3-Year Limited Warranty + Lifetime Technical Support )
Rush Service ( Rush Service Fee (not shipping fee) No Rush, Ship Out in 5~10 Business Days )



It looks pretty powerful to me. I do have two concerns though, the PSU and my motherboard.

Here are my PSU options:
Standard Case Power Supply [- $99]
500 Watt -- Power Supply [- $50]
550 Watt -- Power Supply [- $44]
600 Watt -- Power Supply SLI Ready [- $35]
620 Watt -- Enermax Liberty DXX Power Supply SLI Ready [+ $36]
X 650 Watt -- NZXT PRC-650 Power Supply SLI Ready
720 Watt -- Enermax Infiniti 720 Power Supply SLI Ready [+ $86]
750 Watt -- Thermaltake Toughpower W0117RU Power Supply Quad SLI Ready [+ $70]
800 Watt -- Power Supply Quad SLI Ready [+ $11]
850 Watt -- Thermaltake Toughpower W0172RU Power Supply Quad SLI Ready [+ $99]
950 Watt -- Tuniq Miniplant Power Supply Quad SLI Ready [+ $120]
1000 Watt -- Thermaltake Toughpower W0155RU Power Supply Quad SLI Ready [+ $154]
1000 Watt -- Ultra X3 Energy Efficient Modular Power Supply Quad SLI Ready [+ $133]
1200 Watt -- NZXT PRC-1200 Power Supply Quad SLI Ready [+ $180]
1200 Watt -- Thermaltake Toughpower W0156RU Power Supply Quad SLI Ready [+ $198]


Many have said stay with Thermaltake, but Im only running one graphics card and one HD.


The other is the motherboard. I stuck with the standard motherboard, but I was eyeing the nforce 750i for only 32 bucks more. Here are my options


X Asus P5N-E SLI nForce® 650i SLI Chipset w/6-channel CODEC, Gb LAN, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0, IEEE-1394 Dual PCI-E MB

[== New ==] Asus P5N-D Nvidia nForce 750i SLI Chipset w/7.1 Sound, Gb LAN, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0, IEEE-1394, Dual PCI-E MB EPU Technology [+ $32]

Nvidia NForce 680i SLI Chipset w/7.1 Sound, Gb LAN, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0 Dual PCI-E MB [+ $84]

MSI P35 Neo-F P35 Chipset w/7.1 Sound, Gb LAN, S-ATA, USB 2.0 PCI-E MB [- $10]

MSI P6N SLI-F nForce 650i SLI Chipset w/7.1 Sound, Gb LAN, S-ATA, USB 2.0, IEEE 1394, PCI-E MB [- $5]

[===Support QX9650===] Asus P5E Intel X38 CrossFire Chipset w/7.1 Sound, Gb LAN, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0, IEEE-1394 Dual PCI-E MB [+ $129]

[===Support QX9650===] Asus P5E WS Professional Intel X38 CrossFire Chipset w/7.1 Sound, Gb LAN, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0, IEEE-1394 Dual PCI-E MB [+ $174]

[===Support QX9650===] Asus Maximus Formula Intel X38 CrossFire Chipset w/7.1 Sound, Gb LAN, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0, IEEE-1394 Dual PCI-E MB [+ $163]

[===Support QX9650===] Asus P5K Premium/WiFi-AP Intel P35 CrossFire Chipset w/7.1 Sound, Gb LAN, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0, IEEE-1394 Dual PCI-E MB [+ $114]

[===Support 3-Way SLI===] Asus P5N32-E SLI nForce® 680i SLI Chipset w/7.1 Sound, Gb LAN, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0, IEEE-1394 Dual PCI-E MB [+ $138]

[===Support 3-Way SLI===] MSI P6N Diamond nForce 680i SLI Chipset w/7.1 Sound, Gb LAN, S-ATA, USB 2.0, IEEE 1394, PCI-E MB [+ $178]

[===Support QX9650 & 3-Way SLI===] Asus P5N-T Deluxe NVIDIA nForce 780i SLI Chipset w/7.1 Sound, Gb LAN, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0, IEEE-1394, 3-Way PCI-E M EPU Technology [+ $172]

[===Support QX9650 & 3-Way SLI===] Asus Striker II Formula nForce® 780i SLI Chipset w/7.1 Sound, Gb LAN, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0, IEEE-1394 3-Way PCI-E MB EPU Technology [+ $216]

[===Support QX9650 & 3-Way SLI===] eVGA Nvidia nForce 780i SLI Chipset w/7.1 Sound, Gb LAN, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0, 3-Way PCI-E MB [+ $126]





any advice would be much appreciated. Id hate to spend this much on a pc and find out later my psu is a pos. thanks! :D
 
First Welcome to the Forum

You should read Praetor's sticky at the start of this section
 
get the nforce 750i, it will be worth it
and if gaming go with a psu higher than 600w
also video card get the 8800GTS at newegg only $200 right now
and like siad above read the sticky
 
So, you're after a motherboard and power supply?

Well, for the power supply, I recommend anything from Corsair, excellent value!

Morris, is the GTS you're on about the G92 version, if not, I wouldn't even go there!
 
Where is my thread

I just did a post under a reply. Did not show up. i mentioned "asian store." is that not allowed?
 
Kornowski, I am mostly concerned with those because they are such a huge component of my system. But in general, is that a pretty good setup?


morris14cc, why go for the nvidia 8800GTS, I can get the 8600GT and it comes with 1GB of memory... the 8800s dont
 
Dont base it only on memory (Though you can get a 1gb 8800), the 8600 is, well, terrible compared to the 8800GT/GTS
 
gogey. I realize that the newer GCs will kill previous ones, but i get the upgrade to the 1gb for only 34 dollars more. figured it was the best bang for the buck right now. Im eventually going to get dual graphics cards, but for now i think i can deal with 1gb 8600.

How about windows? I have the option of vista home 32 or 64 bit. Im think about going with the 64 since 32 can handle only 4gb of memory and i'll eventually be adding more. Ive heard some horror stories about vista and that not a lot of programs and drivers work well with the 64bit version. opinions?
 
Well, lets put it this way. Pay now or pay later. By getting an 8600GT is like shooting yourself in the foot in this situation. Getting a second is like shooting yourself again. Getting an 8800 GTS is like getting a foot massage.

Alright screw that, I have no clue where its going. Simply put, 8800 GTS > 2 8600GTs. The 8600 is nowhere near the best bang for the buck. If you want to have 2 gfx cards, be my guest. Just don't do it with 8600GTs.
 
naw, later on i was going to get two NICE cards. this one is just temp. hell, the one i have now is a ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 128mb... came with my laptop back in 6/2005 so im sure the 8600gt 1gb will blow my mind... for a while
 
I wouldn't go anywhere near the 8600... my friend has two of them in SLI and my single GTS eats the, excretes them out and then stamps on them... being brutally honest!

Dude, I'd save your money and get one good card in the long run, if you can't do that... Don't get anything just yet, wait till you can.

It'd be a waste of money to do otherwise :)
 
Yourrid said:
naw, later on i was going to get two NICE cards. this one is just temp. hell, the one i have now is a ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 128mb... came with my laptop back in 6/2005 so im sure the 8600gt 1gb will blow my mind... for a while
Click to expand...

The 8800 IS a nice card. It performs up there with the 9800GTX.
 
Yourrid said:
Im not a serious gamer, or anything like that, I just want a damn good PC.
Click to expand...

Well, serious gamers have damn good PC's :P

On topic:

Where are you getting that from? IBuyPower? CyberPC?
Could you post the price of that comp? If you buy the parts separately they would cost you ~$1100 US

And yes, you should definately get 1 good card instead of 2 mediocre ones. I recommend the HD3870. ;)
 
Ramodkk. it came out to be 1,451 dollars for everything on my first post. I priced it up on ibuypower (cyberpc wanted 300 dollars more) and when I looked on newegg, they had it only about 75 dollars cheaper for the same stuff. I've done my homework on prices and ibuypower has the best prices ive seen on MOST things... not video cards...

Im not huge on PC games, prob bc i had an obsolete laptop, but I do know whats competitive and will last a while.
 
If you're not going to max out Crysis, but do alot of multitasking and CPU consuming tasks, the computer is definitely up to that job.
 
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