I'm building a new computer

[TheForce]

I consider my self a geek but I haven't been in the PC game in a while. I usually like to upgrade my PC when they have about doubled performance. Since the CPU game has been stuck in the 3ghz range for a while I thought it might be time to stop waiting and upgrade anyway.

Since I've been out of the game for a long time there is a lot of new stuff I need to learn about. Such as dual core, atx12v/eps12v, PCIe 16x4x1x?, and new memory types. For the most part I understand most of it but when I'm not sure on things I like to have people check my work so I don't miss anything.

To start off I decided I needed a new keyboard monitor and mouse. I ended up selecting a 24" Acer AL2416WBsd monitor. LINK It had a true HD native resolution, very quick response time, would fit on my desk, had good reviews, and was cheap. I'm a HUGE CRT fan because of the color, refresh rate, great for gaming, and price so this is a big leap for me. I hope this LCD will perform as good as my CRTs. I'm currently running two 19" monitors at 1600x1200.

I selected the Logitech G15 keyboard. LINK Yeah its expensive and does more than I need but I like it.

For the mouse I selected the Logitech G9. LINK This is still on order because I don't thinks it has been released yet. Yeah its expensive but it looks like it has everything I want in a mouse. All the other mice seem to be crap compared to my original Microsoft Intellimouse Explorer USB.

I already have a good HUGE aluminum Lian Li case that I will be using. I will also be reusing my Sound Blaster Audigy with bay drive.

Here is a link to my wish list on newegg.com WISH LIST

First thing I selected was the CPU. I was a BIG AMD fan because they flat out beat the Intel CPU at gaming, they was cheaper, and they ran cooler. But when I looked at the benchmarks it looks like my best bang for the buck was an Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 Conroe 3.0GHz CPU. Sorry AMD.

Next was the mobo. I was leaning toward Gigabyte because I love their boards but after searching I come up with one of Intels boards. I ended up with the Intel BOXD975XBX2KR. Looks like it has everything I need including raid 5!

[EDIT]
Next came the memory. First I was a Kingston man and then I switched to Corsair But now I just want the best bang for the buck. <strike>I ended up selecting two 1gb A-DATA sticks. The reviews were good as well as the price.</strike> I decided to go with Corsair again since it was not much more. I selected the CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1G 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800.

Next came the video card. I was an nvidia fan then I switched to ATI but now I think I will go back to nvidia. I hate the new 2 PCI slot designs of these huge things. Too big and too hot but what are you going to do. I selected the EVGA 640-P2-N821-AR GeForce 8800GTS 640MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 card. This looked to me to be the best bang for the buck. One heck of an upgrade from my ATI radion 9800 Pro 256mb card.

For storage I selected five (YES FIVE 5) Western Digital Caviar RE WD1600YS 160GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drives. I will be putting them into a raid 5 array for performance and redundancy.

For an upgraded DVD burner I selected the do it all PLEXTOR PX-800.

Now how am I going to power all this stuff? Well I think I will go with the ENERMAX INFINITI EIN720AWT ATX12V/ EPS12V 720W Power Supply. Back when I bult my current PC Enermax was the best of the best. Both of my Enermax power supplies are still going strong. I don't know if Enermax is still the best today but that is what I selected. This is where I may need some suggestions on what to get. Does anyone know if this would be the right power supply for the job?

The last thing on my list is to get a WinTV-HVR-1600. Looks like newegg does not have this item yet so thats why its not on my wish list.

Looks like when finished its going to run me about $2300

What do you all think? Any comments or suggestions? Does it look like everything will work together?

[tleonhar]

Looking over your list, I'd have to say you made some pretty good choices all in all. That should be a real screaming machine. I'm with you on the CPU, I am a big AMD fan as well, but for the present Intel is back in the drivers seat with their dual core processors. For the main board, have you looked into Asus? I've allways been kind of partial to them, they seem to have a bit better performance than a lot of the others, though I don't have any direct experience with the Intel boards.

Have fun, you should have a primo machine when your done.

[tballx]

So will that actually draw the full 720 watts when you are gaming?

[hill]

When complete, I'm asking your new PC if these threads ought to be in FHOP :P

[Earthling]

I used the Lian Li aluminum case with this computer, and all is well.

I had problems with this computer that I put together, after a couple of years. It turned out to be the Serial ATA cable to my WD Raptor hard drive. I was getting all sorts of random errors, and thougth either Windows had gone bad, or my hard drive.

Get the Western Digital special Serial ATA cables, the ones with the over-sized connections to the hard drives.

Sounds like a nice system you have planned.

Harry

[EricGo]

So, what did you pick as your diesel generator backup ?

[TheForce]

Well I've been doing some reading and it looks like with the Intel board I picked I can only use 4 drives in the raid. So I'm going to only pick 4 drives but I upped the storage to 250gb. This will give me more storage for the same price

I have also decided to buy my stuff from zipzoomfly.com because everything is a little cheaper plus everything has free shipping. In total I look to save about $100.

I have also decided to upgrade my sound card to the new Sound Blaster X-fi with the drive bay.

Thanks for the tip Earthling. I always thought those SATA connectors were not very good and this looks like a good solution. I think I will stay with the regular cables for now and see how things work out.

As for backup power a generator would be nice but I currently have a HUGE UPS. Its made by TripLite, its old, and it does not have a model number on it. It takes a "car" sized sealed lead acid battery and the whole thing weighs about 75lbs. It keeps my current PC and my main 19" up and running for about 45 minutes. Oh and I have two of these UPSs. One for my main computer and one for my server.

The only thing I'm concerned about for this new build is the power supply. I'm pretty sure it will work for this setup but I'm not that confidant about it. I'm not sure if it has all the new power connectors I will need for everything.

I'm still researching and modifying my parts as I type this. I hope to have a final list by Wednesday.

[jarrett_gorin]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TheForce @ Aug 25 2007, 04:11 PM) [snapback]502131[/snapback]</div>

Well I've been doing some reading and it looks like with the Intel board I picked I can only use 4 drives in the raid. So I'm going to only pick 4 drives but I upped the storage to 250gb. This will give me more storage for the same price

I have also decided to buy my stuff from zipzoomfly.com because everything is a little cheaper plus everything has free shipping. In total I look to save about $100.

I have also decided to upgrade my sound card to the new Sound Blaster X-fi with the drive bay.

Thanks for the tip Earthling. I always thought those SATA connectors were not very good and this looks like a good solution. I think I will stay with the regular cables for now and see how things work out.

As for backup power a generator would be nice but I currently have a HUGE UPS. It made by TripLite, its old, and it does not have a model number on it. It takes a "car" sized sealed lead acid battery and the whole thing weighs about 75lbs. It keeps my current PC and my main 19" up and running for about 45 minutes. Oh and I have two of these UPSs. One for my main computer and one for my server.

The only thing I'm concerned about for this new build is the power supply. I'm pretty sure it will work for this setup but I'm not that confidant about it. I'm not sure if it has all the new power connectors I will need for everything.
[/b]

I use that same X-Fi sound card (I beleive you are talking about the Fatal1ty version). It is awesome. Best seounding card I have ever used.

You may want to price your components on NewEgg also. They usually have really good prices, and often exclusive rebates too. And their customer service is awesome if you ever have a problem and/or need to return/exchange an item.

Good luck with you system build.

[TheForce]

Yes I will be getting the Fatal1ty version of the Sound Blaster card.

I was using newegg.com to find my parts as their search feature is more detailed. zipzoomfly.com will save me about $100 over the newegg prices. zipzoomfly also has all the rebates newegg has. I have dealt with both company's over the years and they both are great in all areas.

I selected a do it all PIONEER DVR-112DSV as my DVD burner because it was cheaper.

Looks like the rest of the stuff I selected is going to stay the same.

After reading about the power supply, motherboard, and video card requirements It looks like I have every thing I need.

Man computer have gotten complicated in the past 5 years. Three different PCIe slots? x16 x4 x1 and they have different sizes? All kinds of new power connectors! 2x12, 2x2,2x4,2x6 and special PCIe power connectors! What happened to the basic simple ATX connector with 4 pin molex and floppy drive connectors? I would hate to be a first timer dealing with all of this crap.

I will place my order sometime Sunday so it will give me some time to sleep on it. If anyone has any suggestions please fell free to post.

[JimN]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TheForce @ Aug 26 2007, 01:29 AM) [snapback]502252[/snapback]</div>

Yes I will be getting the Fatal1ty version of the Sound Blaster card.

I was using newegg.com to find my parts as their search feature is more detailed. zipzoomfly.com will save me about $100 over the newegg prices. zipzoomfly also has all the rebates newegg has. I have dealt with both company's over the years and they both are great in all areas.

I selected a do it all PIONEER DVR-112DSV as my DVD burner because it was cheaper.

Looks like the rest of the stuff I selected is going to stay the same.

After reading about the power supply, motherboard, and video card requirements It looks like I have every thing I need.

Man computer have gotten complicated in the past 5 years. Three different PCIe slots? x16 x4 x1 and they have different sizes? All kinds of new power connectors! 2x12, 2x2,2x4,2x6 and special PCIe power connectors! What happened to the basic simple ATX connector with 4 pin molex and floppy drive connectors? I would hate to be a first timer dealing with all of this crap.

I will place my order sometime Sunday so it will give me some time to sleep on it. If anyone has any suggestions please fell free to post.
[/b]

A first timer wouldn't know the difference, or an 8 bit slot from a 16 bit slot. I remember when the CPU didn't need a heat sink. When the video card with a chip went to a graphics processor on a level with the main CPU and more RAM than your last computer it can't suck enough juice from the bus and gets its own power connector. I'm pretty sure I don't want to go back to "the good old days". nVidia is the only game in town for high end video cards, just as SoundBlaster is the last audio card. Right now Intel's dual and quad cores are the best performers presuming your appps are written to take advantage of the cores.