Chaos Computer Build

[CHAOS]

Ok then here is the system I am planning to build.. MB may chnage due to what I have read about EVGA.

Thermaltake Armor Jr Chassis
Thermaltake Toughpower 850 Watt Power Supply [SLI Ready]
Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 (2x 2.66GHz/4MB L2 Cache/1066FSB)
EVGA NForce 680i ( or ASUS P5N32-E SLI )
Nvidia 8800 GTX (single card at this time)
[1024MB X2] DDR2-800 PC6400 Memory Module Corsair XMS2 Xtreme w/Heat Spreader
2 x WD Raptor (74 Gig) - RAID 0 Configuration
Sony 16X Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Drive
Creative X-Fi Platinum (already have this in current system..)

Now like I said earlier I may change boards and I am looking at the ASUS P5N32-E SLI. I am currently going with a single GPU now but plan on going SLI by Summer...

My main concerns are what is the best aircooler.. As you can see I like Thermaltake and never had any issues with them before.. (few years ago) and am thinking about going witht eh Big Typhoon VX cooler..

[Smurf]

To prevent a major hijack, I split this.... Now as for my suggestions...

Well, for mobos I would go with ASUS as a personal preference and lack of issues they have in general. Also, if you want to go with DDR2-667 RAM to save money and possibly incur better timings, it might be a good move as DDR2-667 already offers more bandwidth then the Intel FSB can handle. (Intel bus handles 8.5 Gb/s and DDR2-667 offers 10.7/10.8 Gb/s)

[kippendrecht]

:thumbsup: Go with the ASUS MB.

I have the P5N32-SLI Deluxe and it rocks :D works great and has some nice software so you can check alot of the temps, volts and fan speeds in windows.

[Gruthar]

If you guessed that I would object to the Raptors, you guessed correctly. For $300, you could get much more space and/or much better performance than with Raptors in RAID 0. Seriously, this Raptor hype drives me nuts! Take a 7200RPM drive, either stroke it or put it in a RAID 1 array or both, and presto! Superior performance in all respects.
:rant:

Also, by air cooler are you referring to the heatsink/fan? The Conroe's stock cooler is pretty decent, and the Conroe core runs cool anyway. You really don't need an aftermarket cooler unless you plan on doing some extreme overclocking... I wouldn't worry too much about it.

[StevenNevets]

BFG is a good brand
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817702005

read the reviews if you're worried:thumbsup:

[vortex19103]

Call me for some local pricing before you purchase, maybe we can do lunch, highway 6 and highway 10 or meet after work, at Watson's.

It looks good...

V

[CHAOS]

Rgr that Vortex.. I am going nutz reading about all these damn boards...errg....

If only Intel Natively supported SLI then I would not be in this dazed and confused state of mind..lol

I just read the 965, 975, and the Nforce 6 shoot out over at Toms Hardware and they show that the Nforce 6 is throttled at 120 MB/s on the SATA while the ICH7 and ICH8 sail smooth at 320... shit.. for that speed I might as well go with a 7200 rpm drive...

thank goodness I am still in the investigatory stage.. (bonus expected to come in mid-month...lol then it will really come down to the $$$)

[Gruthar]

Unless you plan on daisy-chaining hard drives on one SATA connector, don't worry about transfer speeds. Not even PATA has been maxed out, even if you used a 10k RPM drive. As far as the gaming enthusiast is concerned, SATA II and 10k RPM drives are just gimmicks.

[f1sh3r]

i can't seem to let myself buy into the SLI hype. i've tried it and, unless you're buying two brand new state of the art cards, you usually end up losing out in the end. i know there are exceptions, but for most people by the time they are ready to buy the 2nd card a new card is out with more power than the SLI'd cards, for cheaper than the 2nd card. imho, a single 8800gtx should hold you down for a good while, and you can choose a really nice non-sli board

[StevenNevets]

a single 8800gtx will hold you down for a good whileIt's the best card out there period and every game out in the next couple years will most likely be able to be maxed out with it.


All upcoming DX10 cards (besides maybe ATI's gun) are going to be slower then the 8800gtx