[Apache137]

Well guys, i need some advice, this will be my first serious build, and then a PC for the office to follow.

I will list the components that will go into this machine, but i need advice as to what case would work the best, as well as fans, i would like silence, but i dont want to sacrifice function for form, you know what i mean....

Tell if you think anything is overkill or w/e.

the funds are mostly a graduation gift from my pops, its gonna be like 5000 total, but id like to save a good bit for a big screen monitor and a sound system for the car.


here it goes.

Processor, PSU, and MOBO.

- Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz 4M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor - Retail

- EVGA 122-CK-NF68-AR LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

- Thermaltake toughpower W0117RU ATX12V / EPS12V 750W Power Supply - Retail

Drives/Optical

- LITE-ON 20X DVD±R Burner with 12X DVD-RAM write and LightScribe Technology Black IDE Model LH-20A1H-186 - Retail

- ASUS Black SATA DVD-ROM Drive Model DVD-E616A3T - Retail

- Western Digital Raptor X WD1500AHFD 150GB 10,000 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM

- Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 ST3500641AS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

- LINKSKEY LKA-CR15BW 52-in-1 USB 2.0 Internal 3.5" USB Card Reader - Retail

- XBOX 360 HD DVD Drive

Memory and Peripherals

- BFG Tech BFGR88768GTXE GeForce 8800GTX 768MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card - Retail

- Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Elite 7.1 Channels PCI Interface Sound Card - Retail

- Kingston HyperX 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 900(PC2 7200) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model KHX7200D2K2/2G - Retail


Please let me know if im missing anything crucial....

I was thinking about the Thermaltake Tenor case, because i love the way it looks, but im not sure that everything will fit, i will be adding another 8800 gtx in about a year or two, thats why the psu is 750, but if you all think different let me know.



Also, i dont know which cpu cooler to get, because that really depends on the size of the case. Suggestions for silent fans would be nice also.


Thanks.

 

[LineOfSighT]

The components you choose is more than enough for HTPC and Gaming, my suggestions is since your planning to add another video card later on why not put 2 of this XFX 7950 GT 512MB fanless video card in SLI configuration less noise and not as big as 8800GTX plus you can get 2 XFX 7950GT for the price of 8800GTX. The video card you pick has a slight edge in terms of proccessing and speed but I rather make the HTPC quieter and less noise. My .02 cents.


XFX PVT71JYHE9 GeForce 7950GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP ExTreme Edition Video Card - Retail


Jerry

 

[Apache137]

true, but then i would get screwed for dx10, but Im sure there is a good counter point or 2 for that, but i dont know it yet.... enlighten me. if i were to go with a 7950, how about those new ati x1950 uber editions with that nifty brief case? how do those compare to the 7950?

 

[kapone]

My thoughts would be:


- Processor: AMDs run cooler than Intel while not giving up anything in terms of performance.

- Not sure why you need that 10,000 RPM drive. Regular 7200 RPM drives are good enough for HT usage.

- That DDR2 900 memory seems to be overkill although for gaming that might be advantageous. For HT use, that really doesn't give you a whole lot more over DDR2 800 or even something lower, while being horrendously expensive.


- CPU cooler: Look at the coolers from Zalman (the 9500, 9700), Scythe Ninja and some of the others. I have a Scythe Ninja in my home office PC (it has a LOT of components), and that thing works like a champ. Idle (CPU about 35, system about 26), under load (CPU 45, system 31).


- You haven't mentioned a case. That's gonna be critical to fit all these components, and be relatively quiet if you care about that for HT use.


- As a side note, I'd look into external storage early on, instaed of trying to cram as many hard drives as you can into your main computer. You WILL expand to multiple computers soon, and will need shared storage.

Good luck with the build, looks like a nice high end system.

 

[pcCinema]

That's a lot of money you're dropping there. You're paying very premium prices for all the bleeding edge stuff but in reality most of us could build a system with a little conservative overclocking that could beat it for half the price or less. If you really have other things you'd like to do with a lot of that money I'd get more responsible with it and not pay for the top end of everything. The gains are minimal but the prices are exceptional.


I would consider that system the way you list it being as financially wasteful as is possible.


Chuck the raptor in favor of more space or do without it, drop the processor a notch or two, cut the ram to reliable but not uber premium, get realistic on a power supply that ones extremely overkill and I don't know where to begin to tell you how low your return on investment would be with that video card.


I'm not telling you what to do with your money, only giving my own opinion based on the fact you said you'd like to get more things with your money also.


oh yea, that pc would be far too noisy for most of us and HTPC use. All your parts are top heat generating except the core2duo, even the big power supply will throw a lot of unnecessary heat since it's just total overkill. Since you said you would want silent that would be another reason to take a step back and re-think your whole approach.


Troy