Critique a noob's build, please...

M

MATT0404

New Member
Well, like the title states, I am completely new to building PC's. However, I have been constantly searching on numerous forums to put together my PC with a budget right around $1000 usd.

Below is a screen shot of my newegg cart. I know that I am missing a video card and that is because I am torn right now. I really can't justify spending the $280 on a 8800gts with the amount of gaming that I do. I have recently come upon a great deal on a 7950gx2 and I was wondering what your thought's were on that card. Would it be a compliment to my current build? Would I need to make some revisions for such a card? Please let me know your opinions. Constructive criticism is appreciated. Thanks in advance.

-Matt

screenshot-1.jpg
 
I wouldn't get a open box mother board for your own safety, mostly because it will come witthou cables, without cd for drivers etc, btw you might want a sata optical drive rather than an ide unless you're buying round ide cables
 
Thanks for the fast responses everyone. I really appreciate the feedback.

So, from the research that I've done, the 7950gx2 is pretty equal to the 8800gts 320mb, and pulls away from it as the screen resolution increases. I am leaning towards purchasing it, but will there be any compatibility issues with any of my current components?

chupacabra said:
I wouldn't get a open box mother board for your own safety, mostly because it will come witthou cables, without cd for drivers etc, btw you might want a sata optical drive rather than an ide unless you're buying round ide cables
Click to expand...

Good point on the open box. I should have read a little more thoroughly. I'll probably just spring for a new one since it's only a difference of ~$20. Or, I have noticed a lot of people running the Abit P35e motherboard with good reviews.

http://www.mwave.com/mwave/viewspec.hmx?scriteria=BA23929&RSKU=BA23929

What are your guy's thoughts on that?

Thanks again!
 
SATA and IDE are connections from HDDs and optical drives. SATA is newer and Faster however they havent quite phased out IDE yet.

I personally have never heard of that PSU brand and dont know anything about it, but i would invest in a good PSU, as that can and will make or break your entire rig.

Good CPU, and like chupacabra, i wouldnt invest in an open box either, too many edges being cut for a small discount.

Round IDEs are actually round, circular. Stardard IDE cables are flat and wide, take up room, block air flow, etc. Just messy.
 
I would get an Q6600 and an P35-DS3L..

The 7950's in SLi will be an beast... (x2 as in 2 cards right? If so then you'll need an SLi motherboard). Not going to be set for Crysis or so in the future though...
 
MATT0404 said:
Oh, and you lost me at sata optical drive, ide, round......:confused:
Click to expand...

Those are the ide regular cables:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812200039

Those are the round ide cables:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812104205

Those are the sata cables:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812189158

Now you can see there are differences between a normal and a round ide cable mostly the round improves air flow around the case, while the regular ide just reduce the air flow ( plus tend to get some nasty dust).

For the sata as cupcake say they are new, faster and better and the price between a sata and a ide optical unit isn't that big.

Edit: now for the asus mother board, well the brand is good but i've been hearing complains about quality control lately, so i'd stick to this gigabyte rather than that asus

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128059
 
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Oh, ok, that makes sense now. I'll replace that with a SATA optical drive.

Thanks for all the feedback, again, everyone. I'm almost ready to hit the "checkout" button.
 
I'm not sure about XClio. They have good ratings, but I'd invest in an Antec PSU. I've had 3 PSU's blow out on me, and so far the the two Antecs I've owned seem to last (the first lasted 3 years, my new one I've had for a year).

Dynex seems okay too, (I put one in my Mom's computer). I believe that is the Best Buy house brand. Hers doesn't seem to be going anywhere soon. All other brands I've owned crapped out in short periods of time. Enermax, Rosewill...
 
The xclio's seem to be well regarded over on hardforum. I'll look more into it and see if I can't dig up some fresh info.
 
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