Building my first desktop!

[Clash Perez]

I've always enjoyed the portability of a laptop, so building my own hadn't been an option before. Now, my laptop is pretty fairly outdated, but working well enough for any purpose for which I'd need to take it with me.

I'm trying my hand at assembling a desktop for the first time, and I'd like some back-up on my choices. Feel free to interject on any incompatibility you see, or if I'm bottlenecking myself on a particular aspect between parts. I'm looking for a balance between performance and price, not really a searing-edge machine.

Here's what I'm thinking so far: (links to http://www.newegg.com/ for the items)

Processor:
Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 Conroe 2.66GHz 4M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor
Seems like a pretty decent deal. The only difference I can seem to find between this and the E6700 is an upgrade in FSB speed from 1066Mhz to 1333Mhz; I have no idea why it's almost half the price for what seems to be a better part. (Perhaps someone here can explain this?)

Motherboard:
EVGA 122-CK-NF63-TR LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard
Not entirely sure what I'm looking for in a motherboard. Two PCI-Ex16 slots, in case I decide to go the SLI-route in the future, and it's compatible with the processor.

Video Card:
EVGA 512-P2-N773-AR GeForce 8600GTS 512MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card
Read some reviews on this card, and it seems to be pretty decent for its price. SLI-compatible in case I want to double-up later.

RAM:
CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin SDRAM DDR2 800 Dual Channel Kit
Honestly, it was the $40 mail-in rebate that caught my eye for this one. When looking at the other options for RAM, I had a hard time distinguishing what made anything good, other than low-latency = good.

PSU:
Rosewill RX850-D-B ATX12V v2.2 & EPS12V v2.91 850W Power Supply
Again, not really sure how much power I'll need. I don't want to undershoot, and leaving the option open for adding components in the future without replacing the PSU sounded pretty good. Newegg has a combo deal with this and the processor listed above, so 850W for ~$130 seemed like a pretty decent deal.

Case:
COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Cheap, three 120mm fans, and compatible with ATX motherboards. My current laptop has a tendency to overheat, so I'd like to avoid that as much as possible.

HDD:
Western Digital Raptor WD1500ADFD 150GB 10,000 RPM 16MB Cache Serial ATA150 Hard Drive
Fast-access, but pricey for the storage space. Two Consumer Choice Awards? I'm pretty unsure about this component; will I see a performance benefit with the other pieces I've chosen?

Those seem to be the big choices. If I've left anything out, please let me know. I look forward to your replies! Lengthy, I know. Hopefully we can avoid a string of tl;dr's.

Thanks.

[Cjskater]

Seems like a pretty decent deal. The only difference I can seem to find between this and the E6700 is an upgrade in FSB speed from 1066Mhz to 1333Mhz; I have no idea why it's almost half the price for what seems to be a better part. (Perhaps someone here can explain this?)

I've heard the reasoning for this is Intel is trying to push people to switch to the 1333mhz FSB.

For the rest, most people will probably reply with:

Video Card: 8800GTS 320MB or 640MB; 8800GT if you can
Motherboard: Most will say Asus, but I read the reviews and it seems to be a fine board with the latest BIOS.
RAM: Corsair is win
Case: Seems fine, may be a tight fit with 2 8800s in there, not positive though.
HDD: I don't want to get into that debate... I will tell you this, if it does happen, somebody will point out the spinpoint.

EDIT: fixed the video card

[Chicomagiko]

The 8800GTs are out and are single slot design. Also, 8800GT > than any other 8X00(except GTX or Ultra).

[viperlasson]

Do not get that video card, it is worthless to play any game. The nvidia 8800GT came out about a week ago, and with its new and shiny 65nm core, you can OC it really easy, takes up only one slot, and even surpasses the 8800GTS line.

the evga 512mb GT: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814130303 (comes with free game atm)

some numbers: http://enthusiast.hardocp.com/article.h ... VzaWFzdA==

You can see that it even surpassed the 8800GTX in avg fps.

edit: orz someone beat me

[Cjskater]

Oops, forgot that was even out, yeah go with the GT if you can.

[Killgannon]

I know its not a huge deal, but dont forget a CD/DVD rom drive...

aslo faster access hard drives wont improve game performance much (as most stuff is piped to ram first anyway...) and is mainly needed for servers (where stuff is accessing data a lot constantly for many clients) and video/audio editing (moving big stuff around)

[levish]

a quality PSU would round that system off nice if you switch to a 8800gt

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817163108

Is made with top tier components and is not terribly pricey at $120 at the moment and will treat you well should you decide to add another 8800gt and a few more hard drives and a quad core and (you get the picture). I suggest this model more for reliability than capacity should you want more of that you can step up to the 750/850w Zeus model for not too much more.

Of every single component in your computer other than the case itself the power supply is probably going to last you from one upgrade to the next.

[Avanarius]

8800gt is a very nice card, just don't complain about it's idle/load temp

[Clash Perez]

Thanks for all the input.

I ended up switching to the 8800GT, but I kept the PSU listed above. It seems to have some pretty decent overvoltage/amperage protective features, and frankly is more W/$. As for the extra heat, I may toss in another fan or two if the three 120mm fans don't seem to be enough.

[Avanarius]

if the three 120mm fans don't seem to be enough.

120mm fans don't seem to do alot for graphics cards because of the obvious positioning problem.

the temps the 8800gt runs at is safe, just a little toasty compared to the gts or even gtx due to the single slot style.

[Boyiee]

if the three 120mm fans don't seem to be enough.

120mm fans don't seem to do alot for graphics cards because of the obvious positioning problem.

the temps the 8800gt runs at is safe, just a little toasty compared to the gts or even gtx due to the single slot style.

Put a PCI slot fan right below the gfx card, nice and cool, and only about 5-10$.

[levish]

Thanks for all the input.

I ended up switching to the 8800GT, but I kept the PSU listed above. It seems to have some pretty decent overvoltage/amperage protective features, and frankly is more W/$. As for the extra heat, I may toss in another fan or two if the three 120mm fans don't seem to be enough.

the PSU you had listed is not in the same league as the one I listed (which might end up being perfectly fine throughout your computer's life). The Silverstone Zeus uses top grade components (capacitors, chokes and so on) and is a top grade powersupply.

The cheaper powersupplies are cheaper because they use cheaper components. Which is not to say that there are not cheaply made but expensive power supplies but the one I listed was not one of them.

[Resin]

Thanks for all the input.

I ended up switching to the 8800GT, but I kept the PSU listed above. It seems to have some pretty decent overvoltage/amperage protective features, and frankly is more W/$. As for the extra heat, I may toss in another fan or two if the three 120mm fans don't seem to be enough.

the PSU you had listed is not in the same league as the one I listed (which might end up being perfectly fine throughout your computer's life). The Silverstone Zeus uses top grade components (capacitors, chokes and so on) and is a top grade powersupply.

The cheaper powersupplies are cheaper because they use cheaper components. Which is not to say that there are not cheaply made but expensive power supplies but the one I listed was not one of them.

I agree with this guy. ^

Two things about power supplies:
1. Quality of components and power delivery matter FAR more than total wattage listed on the box.
2. In most cases, you don't need anywhere near the amount of power people think you do.

The truth of the matter is, for this box, all you need is something like this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817139001
This is probably overkill as well, but you mentioned perhaps going SLI one day so I suggested a notch up. The PSU is quiet, has great efficiency (better than the Silverstone line, from what I read) and is modular, allowing you to only use the power connectors you need. The power supply isn't actually made by Corsair, it's made by Seasonic, who are very highly regarded in the PSU world for both power/efficiency and low noise.

Don't skimp on the PSU!

[Skyylya]

If you haven't already purchased it, or have purchased it but still have time to move stuff around. definitely get the corsair PSU, there really isn't a better on eon the market and you're going wayyyyyyy overkill with 850w. You'd need to run like a double CPU, SLI setup with every other part equally draining to ever need that much. And that's not even getting into how useless SLI really is, for gaming.

On the harddrive as someone mentioned, sure the raptor is a fine HDD but you really won't see a difference in your gaming as the only speed increase the 10k rpm provides is for reading/writing data to the harddrive, not in overall PC speed gains for gaming which is processor/ram/gpu/mobo.

depends on what you want, fast speed and noisy with less room and expensive, or more room, still fast, quiet and less expensive. I won't quote a brand but you can use the search to see what i'd recommend from that thread like 4 months ago or whenever.

Everything else looked good, I'd still go with asus mobo...but that's just cause i love mine. I've never really heard anything bad about the one you're going with, it just doesn't have the intel p35 chipset which to my latest knowledge is still one of, if not the best out.

[Reality]

Don't skimp on the PSU!

qft, don't cheap out on the PSU, get a thermaltake toughpower or corsair unit, they're the best IMO

review of my current PSU:
http://www.elitebastards.com/cms/index. ... &Itemid=27

At the end of the day then, Thermaltake's Toughpower 600W is a well-featured and solid power supply, which can be purchased without breaking the bank to boot. If you don't mind having a PSU that isn't modular, and aren't overly obsessed with voltage performance, there isn't a great deal to say against this offering.

odd, mine is modular.

[Shadowhusky]

Kind of surprised no one mentioned this...Get a second hard drive for more storage space. 150 won't last long. Get a second drive that's like 250+ for storage, etc. Also consider getting an after market fan for the video card. Stock sucks.

Also, you going to run XP, vista, and/or linux?