f13.net

So it's time for a new PC. I stopped reading anything about new hardware after I built my (then) state of the art AMD 2600XP pc years back. After skimming Anandtech here's what I came up with:

Antec NSK4480 case
Asus P5K motherboard
Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.4g (1066mhz)
Crucial 4gb DDR2 667 (2gb X 2)
BFG BFGR88768GTXOC2E Geforce 8800GTX 768mb DDR3 PCI-E factory over-clocked W/HDTV & 2DVI
Maxtor 320gb 7200rpm SATA2 hd
Pioneer DVR-212 18x SATA Double Layer DVD RW Drive

Anyone see anything that wouldn't work or is generally known to have problems i.e. it's crap, has cooling problems, whatever. Cost isn't really an issue, though I don't want or need the fastest video card or processor.

Also, is Vista still having issues with drivers and whatnot, or should I stick with XP Pro?

Thanks in advance.

Why limit yourself with the DDR2 667? I mean, you're maxxing everything out everywhere else.

Stick with XP Pro until SP1.

Are you in any particular hurry? The X38 motherboards will be coming out soon followed by 45nm CPUs followed by NVIDIA 98XX cards followed by PCI-e Creative Lab sound cards.

Also schild is right -- you want DDR2-800 memory at the minimum. If you plan on OCing you may want the P5K Deluxe instead.

I'd go with a seagate 500 or 750 gig HD, plenty of performance with server class durability.

I'm not in a super hurry, but I want to have it ready and running by the end of the month. As much as I love my current PC, it's on it's last legs and can barely handle Hellgate or anything from the last six months. I'm getting wierd memory error pop-ups about addresses that can't be read along with a host of other things. I could probably fix that by getting new memory, but I'm using it as an excuse to build something newer. Besides, I'm wary of being on the first wave of new motherboards and chipsets. Waiting for the new Nvidia cards is tempting, but...

The 667mhz memory is what came in the bundle and is part of the buildup and testing package, I didn't realize there was much faster available. I should have because it's only a little faster than the DD2 that's in this machine. I may drop the ammount down  so I'm not wasting cash on 4gigs of it, and then get faster from Newegg or something and put this stuff in my wife's machine. I'm also switching from the P5K which only supprts DDR2 to the P5K-C which supports DDR2 and DDR3 so I can switch up to DDR3 when it's not $1100 for 4gigs.

Looking at the price difference between 2 and 4 gigs I'm definately dropping. 4 gigs is $200, 2 gigs is $50. $50 I wouldn't feel guilty about throwing the memory at squirrels in my yard.

I'm using Vista Home Premium.  Seems ok, no issues so far.  Haven't noticed any problems with games or drivers.  Well, except that my USB wireless Lan dohicky will not be supported for Vista, but that's more D-Link being asses than MS being asses.

edit: Might help others: http://arstechnica.com/guides/buyer/guide-200708.ars

You'll need to replace the power supply in that case or get a different case without a power supply like the Antec Solo.

Without me doing any research on my own part, what is the timeline for all of this coming out?

So what's the deal with "more than 2GB RAM" and "Vista"?  Since I didn't see the usual comments when someone mentions installing more than 2GB RAM.  I'm still waiting for SP1 before I ditch XP, but I'm curious.

It can directly address more than 2g of ram.  No guarantees that there isn't a "Windows Vista That Addresses Less Then 2 Gig Of RAM For The Ultimate Home Business" version though. 

I think you need the 64-bit version to access more than like 3.5gb's of RAM.

But I dunno.

Keep the comments coming, my build won't come till Dec. at the earliest.

Anandtech had some very in depth articles about the 2GB limit a while back.  32 bit XP and Vista have the same problem.  I think the only way to really avoid it is to get XP 64 or one of the Vista 64 bit versions.

Part 1 http://www.anandtech.com/gadgets/showdoc.aspx?i=3034 (http://www.anandtech.com/gadgets/showdoc.aspx?i=3034)
Part 2 http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.aspx?i=3044&p=1 (http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.aspx?i=3044&p=1)
Part 3 http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.aspx?i=3060&p=1 (http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.aspx?i=3060&p=1)

If you must buy now, and you're feeling a bit antsy about later upgrades, this P35 chipset motherboard by Gigabyte  (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128048) might be a good compromise. As you can see from the pictures, it has 6 memory slots, 4 for DDR2, 2 for DDR3. It also purportedly will support th new 45nm CPUs.

I have it, and am largely pleased with it. However, if you are into overclocking, its a good solution -if- you know what you're doing. The Windows-based utility for overclocking is more flash than useful, and its use is fairly confusing. The BIOS configuration is extensive, and unlike Asus, is mildly comprehensible to the amateur.

Novemberish though the first batch of CPUs will be the high end models. The more mainstream stuff won't be available till next year.

I have yet to find any convincing reason to purchase anything from Creative Labs newer than my SB PCI128...  I keep hearing stories about how combinations involving their newer hardware have been the source of crash-related issues since the Live! era, and have yet to hear anything contrary to that.

Also, I am not an audiophile.  I have a good ear for pitch, but game/computer 'music' and sound effects haven't really impressed me except when they are particularly bad.  I do tend to play with the sound on, as games often make good use of it, but I neither expect nor really desire Dolby 5.1 out of a game.  Stereo effects that don't make my ears bleed and aren't really distracting are all I ask.

--
Alkiera

You are missing out on 3D sound but if you don't care about that then be happy. The Live definitely had lots of issues, Audigy very few and I haven't had a single sound card related issue with my Xi-Fi card.

I upgraded my two computers to this hard drive :

Western Digital Raptor X WD1500AHFD 150GB 10,000 RPM 16MB Cache Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136011

It is one of the few things I'll probably reuse on the 3 new computers we will be building for the home next summer.

Hehe, I built a machine thats half of that, and it simply crushes everything i throw at it. Going overkill for a reason or just getting the option to make a geeks wetdream come true?

With that build you might as well go SLI on the graphics card set up. Go for 2 - 320 Meg 8800GTS's, same price as the single card you are looking at. Seriously the benchmarks between the Smaller Ram GTS and the Bigger Ram GTS arent different enough to justify the anal rape......er i mean NVidia pricing that the GTX is.

P.S. Do you play DoD? If so do you know Killer.Bob or any of the couple other Bobs?

Despite the high RPM , those drives are held back by the Serial ATA150 connection standard. Any drive with a 16 meg cache @ 7200 RPM right now on the SATA 3.0 G/Sec Is competing for half the price approximately.

Im not saying the drives are bad, they are in fact great drives. Just the hype around them is a bit overdone. They arent the Raptor Jesus of data storage.

I really beleive in people making sensible hardware decisions. So much technology that people throw their money at is overhyped and overpriced.

/boggle

I haven't looked in a few months but is there a single drive solution (no solid states) that can exceed 1.5gbs for long enough to even have a noticable impact?  Every review I have read has the Raptor coming out as the fastest SATA drive on the market and it has had that crown for 3 years or so.

I have the 74gig which I dropped in a few years back and I love it, I have since added a 750gig barracuda which I love more but not because it is faster.

Seriously the major problem we have right now is that the connection standard far exceeds the actual hardwares ability to use all of that connection speed.

My advice on the drives stems from the fact that i have 2 Seagates in raid 0 , before that i had 2 of them raptors in raid 0, I challenge any human being on the planet to notice a difference with their human senses. Seriously a human can't observe or count fast enough to notice the difference between a raptor and a nice seagate or WD.

My wallet can sure tell the difference though.


P.S. I just looked up what you were saying. Well at least the cable isnt a choke point LOL. However online benchmarks between the raptor and seagate i love so much arent far enough apart to justify the cost difference. I mean you would really have to be a super techi OCD geek to throw the money away on the raptor based on its benchmarks alone.

I agree the Raptor wins by a miniscule sliver, 3 years ago though the performance gap was much larger.  Anyhoo, the Barracuda is a much better all around drive, it has 10 times (5 if comparing to the 150gig model) the capacity and comes very close to matching the Raptor's speed.  Unfortunately neither drive is cheap.

Do some googling on the factory OC'd graphics card.  Some previous versions have had terrible stability problems out of the box - not the kind of thing you'd want after paying top dollar.

If your having fun, nothing says having fun like having a 10,000+ rpm small HD to actually install windows on.  If your not having that much fun don't forget to partition, hopefully you aren't that retarded but I never know these days.

Otherwise, I'm in pretty much the same boat as you, computer getting old (3+ years now I'd wager) some parts are grinding down (cpu cooler fan has a squeak, one case fan is dead for who knows wtf reason, had a odd seemingly related memory error the other day) looking forward to building a new rig, until I remember all the other things I want to put money towards..

All in my opinion only. Core 2 dual rocks. The highest speed memory you can get with out over clocking rocks. (This has been Intel's failing in the past, but not any more if you shop smart). There is only one choice in video cards. And saying that does not make me happy. Do not buy ATI, Do not buy SLI. Buy the best vid card that you can afford. And game on brother. I will not advise above 2 gig's memory unless you know exactly what drivers you are going to use with your 64 bit operating system (XP or Vista). If you do know please post describing your build. It is gonna happen and it is going to rock hard when it does. But, to my knowledge it is not there yet. It is due. But unless you are able to write 64 bit motherboard drivers it just ain't ripe. Please correct me if you know different.

1) The P35 doesn't support SLI

2) A single GTX is better than dual GTSes. The benchmarks are about the same, the price is less for a GTX and you don't have to deal with the hassle of using SLI drivers.

Hmmm, 64 bit... I hadn't even thought about that. Is 64 bit a problem with drivers or something? Should I get 32 bit XP, or forge into the brave new world of XP 64?

If not being available would present a problem, then yes. The shit ain't there. Vista 32 bit is nearly there but 64 bit is vapor ware. Same with XP.

Hmmm, 32 bit XP it is then. Which I assume will run fine on a 64 bit system, just not using the hardware to it's full potential or something.

I read, probably on Anandtech, that XP-64 has been "abandoned"... probably in one of those three articles linked above.  In any case, it would appear that Vista64 is the only hope for bothering with more than 4GB or RAM, and I mean that in a "hope it gets here in a few years" way.  Apparently MS requires Vista drivers to be 64-bit, but I'm not terribly confident about that.

I'm running Vista home premium x64, with an evga 680i, 4 gig of corsair 1066, c2d 6420, 8800gts, xfi sound, sata dvd, a couple seagate 500 (.10s)  with no driver problems at this point. Before I switched to the xfi, I was having problems with the crappy razer barracuda drivers, but that was it. I'd have used onboard sound, but the mic was too damn quiet in both xp and vista.

If I had to build a rig now, I'd probably stick with the same basic setup, but go for quad core, and a gtx. I'll second the 'don't go SLI' Going for a single card still leaves the SLI option open if at a later point you need more oomph.

The X38 boards don't seem significantly better than the P35, and I'm happy with the nvidia 680i chipset myself.

My first O/C card had dud ram on it. Second one is fine. (evga 8800gtx factory o/c) Annoying to have to return it, but ultimately I'm satisfied.

Anyone hear anything new on the 8800GT?

I'm flush with cash and ready to buy, but if new stuff is coming out..

9800 series is supposed to launch in early Nov. Around the 13th I think. Should be dx10.1 hardware compatable

How flush?

Yearly bonus.\


Edit: Of which I'll have about $1500 for a new computer.  Already have monitor.

I'd go for an 8800 GTS unless you want to wait to see what NVIDIA comes out with in November.

Are they really going to come out with stuff in November? Cuz I have yet to see any benchmark articles on anandtech and what not for the new series, and they normally come out way before commercial release.

I haven't seen anything that suggests that they have been delayed.

I wonder if evdo still does their 90 day upgrade shindig.

Hmmmm, I was reading specs on the 9800's on a random hardware board and they were saying that the 9800gtx was in the 500-650 range and twice as fast as an 8800ultra. It's made me delay my purchase a little while. But yeah, Anandtech usually has at least a barebones article up a while before new stuff comes out.

The embargo on the 8800GT (N92) comes off at the end of the month.  As for the 98XX I haven't really heard anything except wild speculation.

Have you seen these drives?
http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=446
They out benchmark a raptor.

So - There I was two days ago, computer crashing every 30 minutes or so under heavy load, I figure, "Shit. I got a virus!"

I download the freebie comcast mcafee software, corrupted. I download it on my other computer and move it over, and it's fine. Install it.... Nada.

So I figure, what the hell and download ramprobe (Updated version of memtest+) Sure enough I get a red screen. I pull one of my sticks, still red. Swap the sticks and it runs perfectly.

I put in a RMA with Corsair, and it gets accepted yesterday.

Meanwhile I find out the memory controller on my 680i motherboard is a bit flakey from doing some reading about my memory.  So I put in a RMA for that with EVGA (They have the best RMA process I've ever seen, they cross ship you a replacement product and send you a pre-paid box to mail your product to them for $14.99) And they mailed it out yesterday.

Anyways, just wanted to say save your receipts.

Bob, did you end up pulling the trigger? I'm itching now.  Basicly the same set up: 6600 and 4 GB's of ram (2x2GB).  Going to nab an 8800GT (good price performance 250 bucks for -10% of a GTX), and then get a superduper card they put out next year if I feel I need it.

I guess, coming back to it:

new case
new mobo
6600
4 GB's RAM
8800 GT (probably the O/C one from EVGA)
new PSU to run above + a bit more (new vid cards in Q1 2008, maybe 700W)
new HDD (nothing too extravagent as I have a few laying around, 7200 SATA though)
Cheapo DVD burner
TV Tuner card
64-bit Vista

I'm planning on, well if I can find my XP discs, on running a dual boot XP/64-bit Vista for those frustrating times.

I'll come back later today or tomorrow and post some exact product links.  I haven't built a computer on my own in quite a few years, so I'm a bit nervous on that aspect.  Also, there will be no Overclocking, and as such, I don't forsee needing any extra cooling.  Anyways, comments? Should I wait for new CPU stuff?

lol, I just reread what Bob was originally planning, heh, looks nearly identical.

Be aware evga likes to ship used parts for replacement. When I had problems with my first 8800, they not only cross-shipped me (I was excited!), it ended up being a used version of the vanilla card (I had the zomgleet version of the moment). I sent it back, complained...they said the RMA was successful. Went back to newegg and got an RMA, in a couple days had a new card.

So...you might not have problems, but be aware!

MrHat, I just got a 8800 GT and I am LOVING that card. Its probably the best bang4buck card I've ever purchased.

Not yet. The new Nvidia cards are supposed to drop in another week and a half. Anandtech finally got a review of the base chipset up and for $250 you get a card that's like 2-5fps slower than a $550 8800GTX, but runs way cooler and uses less electricity. I figured I would wait for them to come out and save while getting a better card.

*edit - Apparently the 8800GT are out since people here seem to have them. Looks like i'll be ordering when I get home.

Bob are you talking about the 8800 GT cards or the new 9xxx version due out?

The G92 8800GT. The place I'm getting mine from is supposed to get them in tommorrow. The 9800 series I still haven't heard anything about yet, including a release date. Frankly, my X1600 is still handling most things extemely well with the highest texture settings, I can't imagine I'd need much more than the 8800GT to run anything coming out in the next couple years with every sort of texture, shadow, water, filtering, etc set to 11.

So what was the final build? And where did you buy? I'll likely be pulling the trigger on Thursday so I can build it over thanksgiving.

Edit: Here's what I came up with, any flaws?

http://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion/wishlist/PublicWishDetail.asp?WishListNumber=5203254

Antec Performance One P180 Silver cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
Model #: P180
Item #: N82E16811129154
$119.99 

GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Model #: GA-P35-DS3L
Item #: N82E16813128059
$93.99 

EVGA 512-P3-N802-A1 GeForce 8800GT Superclocked 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
Model #: 512-P3-N802-A1
Item #: N82E16814130303
$289.99 

OCZ GameXStream OCZ700GXSSLI ATX12V 700W Power Supply - Retail
Model #: OCZ700GXSSLI
Item #: N82E16817341002
$139.99 

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80562Q6600 - Retail
Model #: BX80562Q6600
Item #: N82E16819115017
$284.99 

Rosewill RCR-102 52-in-1 USB 2.0 Black Card Reader - Retail
Model #: RCR-102
Item #: N82E16820223073
$9.99 

G.SKILL 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ - Retail
Model #: F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ
Item #: N82E16820231122
$149.99 

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD7500AAKS 750GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
Model #: WD7500AAKS
Item #: N82E16822136131
$179.99
 
SAMSUNG 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model SH-S203B - OEM
Model #: SH-S203B
Item #: N82E16827151153
$33.99 

Microsoft Windows Vista 64-Bit Home Premium for System Builders Single Pack DVD - OEM
Model #: 66I-00788
Item #: N82E16832116204
$111.99 

Subtotal: $1,414.90
W/ Shipping ~$1440.00

Get a better motherboard.

I have that motherboard, and I really dig it. What's wrong with it? I've had another Gigabyte motherboard in the past that's still good, even after nigh 6 years of use.

-That was my knee-jerk reaction but lately both Abit and Asus have given me reasons to dislike them so I have no idea what to recommend as far a mobo's go anymore.

-Make sure you can't save money getting 4x1GB of ram (doubt it but check anyways) also what's the usb controler thing do/for/huh??

-That case is fucking sexy though, I'm a big fan of the black version.

-Does everyone like Geforce over ATI since ATI got gobbled by whoever that was (abit?) a couple years back?  Been awhile since I've even thought about video card comparisons...

I think ATI got snatched by AMD.

If I was going to get a "no-frills" Gigabyte P35 board I'd spend a few extra bucks and get this one:

http://www.giga-byte.com/Products/Motherboard/Products_Overview.aspx?ProductID=2626

They are going to rename the company ATMDFM, I hear.

Well you can get something the OC'ers like since they abuse their motherboards the most:

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=127379
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?p=2410961

though as you can see those lists are dominated by ASUS boards.

ATI is falling further behind on the performance end of things, Crossfire is still a joke, the drivers still aren't nearly as stable as the NVIDIA ones, and their high-end boards are power hogs (even more so than NVIDIA's), but otherwise they are good.

The only difference I could see would be the "Intel® Matrix Storage Technology" which seems to only matter if you're running a RAID set up (which I won't be).  Any other suggestions? This came in ~200 under budget, so I don't mind spending the extra getting the right parts.  Appreciate the feedback guys.

That one has a better cooling system (it also may have better sound). The Q6600 is eminitely overclockable and a cooler more stable board means an easier overclock. Even if you don't care about OCing for me it's worth the extra $30 to get something that should be more reliable.

Edit: that's the "Ultra Durable 2 motherboard design" feature

Er, I should correct myself. I actually have another motherboard, one that supports DDR2 and DDR3, namely the GIGABYTE GA-P35C-DS3R LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard  (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813128048).

MrHat, if you already have a good sound card, I wouldn't favor one motherboard over another based on the supposed quality of the on-board sound. My motherboard, and the one Trippy references, have the same on-board sound, and to be frank, its only slightly better than your garden variety on-board sound chip. If you're not picky about that, then go for it, but if you do care about sound, then just simply buy a sound card.

As far as Intel Matrix Storage Technology, that often will come with many P35 motherboards, regardless. The issue is wether they are ICH9 or ICH9R southbridge, which determines wether you can do raid or not. I personally love having RAID0, and currently am running 4 disks in raid 0, which makes a difference to me.

One thing you might want to consider is that none of the DS3 motherboards can do SLI. In fact, I don't think any P35s do (correct me if I'm wrong). Ordinarily, I wouldn't think that's an issue, but those 8800 GTs seem nearly made for SLI. They are nice and slim, and don't overheat as much as earlier cards do. Getting an SLI board may save you money down the road when you can pick up a second GT instead of a newer, more expensive video card in the future.

That said, when we finally do want a new video card because software has outgrown 8800 technology, chances are two 8800s won't make as big a dent as a brand new video card.

None of the Intel chipsets support NVIDIA's SLI. Some support ATI's Crossfire. The X38 can support SLI in theory but NVIDIA hasn't released any drivers for that chipset (and may never).

I'm not a fan of SLI.

I updated to show the new mobo.  Was going to buy tomorrow, but now the vid card is out of stock.  As for the sound card, I may upgrade and grab an X-Fi card, but I'm going to take a wait and see.

As for the RAM @ 2x2GBs, what advantage would 4x1GB net me?

It's usually easier to find 1 GB sticks with faster timings than 2 GB sticks. Also the 1 GB sticks may be cheaper per GB since they are more common.

So I guess the reason for 2x2GB is if you wanted to later upgrade to 4x2GB at which point, you'll probably want faster ram?


Edit: Updated List:

Wish list details
 
$1500 MrHat's Q4 07 Gaming
 
1    Antec P182 Gun Metal Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail --- gun metal!
Item #: N82E16811129025
$139.99  -MIR ($30)

1   GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3R LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail -- runs cooler + more stable
Model #: GA-P35-DS3R
Item #: N82E16813128050
$129.99 
 
1   OCZ GameXStream OCZ700GXSSLI ATX12V 700W Power Supply - Retail
Model #: OCZ700GXSSLI
Item #: N82E16817341002
$139.99  -MIR ($30)

1   Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80562Q6600 - Retail
Model #: BX80562Q6600
Item #: N82E16819115017
$284.99 

2   CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X2048-6400C4 - Retail --- faster latency, better price
Model #: TWIN2X2048-6400C4
Item #: N82E16820145034
$196.00 -MIR ($40/ea)
 
1   Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD3200AAKS 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM  --- smaller HDD (320GB lol) to save some money.
Model #: WD3200AAKS
Item #: N82E16822136074
$79.99

1   SAMSUNG 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model SH-S203B - OEM
Model #: SH-S203B
Item #: N82E16827151153
$33.99 

1   Microsoft Windows Vista 64-Bit Home Premium for System Builders Single Pack DVD - OEM
Model #: 66I-00788
Item #: N82E16832116204
$111.99 

Subtotal: $1,116.93

I'll probably wait on the Vid. Card and see what the new 8800GTS refresh looks like based on a G92 core.  Also, will I need more SATA cables? Extra cooling?

For reals Vista? You are a braver man than I.

Okay, here's what I'll be "pulling the trigger" on after lunch unless someone spots something really blatantly wrong:

ASUS P5KC INTEL P35 CHIPSET ATX FORM FACTOR 2xPCI-E(X16)/1xPCI-E(X1)/3xPCI/2xDDR3/4xDDR2 W/SATA2 RAID,LAN(Gb),1394,USB 2.0 & AUDIO (CPU TYPE:INTEL - SOCKET 775)
CORE 2 QUAD Q6600 2.4G (1066Mhz)
CORSAIR 2GB KIT TWIN2X2048-8500C5D
EVGA 512-P3-N802-A1 e-GeForce 8800GT Superclocked 512MB DDR3 PCI-E 2.0, DVI+DVI+HDTV, HDCP, RoHS Includes FREE- Enemy Territory: Quake Wars 
WD 750GB WD7500AAKS STAT2 16MB 7200RPM HDD (Bare drive)
 - 0.5m SATA CABLE
PIONEER DVR-212DBK 18X SATA DOUBLE LAYER DVD RW DRIVE W/SW(Black-bare drive)
ANTEC QUATTRO 850 850W TRUEPOWER QUATTRO ATX 12V / EPS12V RoHS & 80PLUS CERTIFIED UL & FCC POWER SUPPLY
ANTEC NSK4480 (BLACK / SILVER) ATX MINI TOWER CASE W/380W POWER SUPPLY 3x5.25" 2x3.5" 3x3.5"(hidden) W/FRONT I/O CONNECTORS & 120mm CASE FAN x 1 
MICROSOFT WINDOWS XP PROFESSIONAL W/SP2 #E85-04135 (DSP/OEM) 
Boobies version of The Witcher

Thanks to everyone for pointing out the glaring flaws in my original build and all the info that came after.

Looks good to me, as an aside, next week sometime Nvidia is suppose to put out the upgraded 8800GTS.  Not sure if you want to wait, or if it will even be worth the wait.  Personally, I'm tired of waiting.

Edit: Did some digging around, looks like the new G92 8800GTS will be in teh 512MB and 1GB variants released on Dec. 3rd.

Edit x2: Couldn't wait, bought it and an 8800GT KO from EVGA.  Joy!

So is all the love for the 8800 GT just because of the price point?  I understand that it's got pretty good performance, but with the money the two of you seem to be throwing at everything else... why not the 8800 GTX?

Twice the price for 10% more performance @ the resolutions I'm running.

According to the only performance review I found, the difference between the 8800GT and the GTX are negligible. At the resolution I'll be using for the next several years (1689 x 1050 22" viewsonic flat panel) the performance difference is literally 2-5fps. I'd normally be pretty wary of trusting one review, but Anandtech has yet to steer me wrong. Relevant page of the review (http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3140&p=9). I considered sticking with the GTX-OC2 card, but the extra $300 to gain 10-15 more FPS on WoW and Half-Life mods and pushing them into the 150fps range seemed like wiping my ass with hundred dollar bills.

Anyway, I ordered mine too. Should all be here Monday assuming it doesn't get stolen off my porch.

*edit - What Hat said.

I'm also looking for a little bit of help.  I've got most everything nailed down, but I'm hung up on the Mobo.  I'm trying to decide between these two...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128050

1   GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3R LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail -- runs cooler + more stable
Model #: GA-P35-DS3R
Item #: N82E16813128050
$129.99 

Shamelessly stolen from Hat's build

OR

http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16813131225

1  ASUS P5K-E LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Model #: P5K-E
Item #: N82E16813131225
$144.99

I'm leaning heavily towords this processor

1  Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 Conroe 2.66GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6750 - Retail
Model #: BX80557E6750
Item #: N82E16819115029
$194.99

I'm like Hat and could care less about SLI.  I've got a bit of extra space on the Mobo cost, so if there's something close to that price range you know of, I'd love to hear of it. 

Argh, I haven't even gotten it yet and already a problem. Your link to the P5K-E prompted me to read the reviews on the P5K-C and apparently even though it's rated for a bunch of DDR2 speeds, it seems to not run above 800 unless you actually put DDR3 in it. So... if that's still the case, will my ram2crush memory just run cooler and more stable since it's being way underutilized, or should I call the place first thing in the morning and try to swap out the motherboard. And out of curiosity, would I really even notice a difference between 800 and 1066, or is this one of those things like people who claim to hear a .0000000000007mhz difference in their stereo because they put precision milled, vibration absorbing volume and tuning knobs on it?

You might if you can notice a 1% - 2% increase in FPS:

http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.aspx?i=2863&p=6

AB, I'd suggest getting cheaper DDR2 ram that caps out at 800. I got 2x1Gig CORSAIR 240P TWIN2X2048-6400C4 from new egg for $84 and I'm doing pretty good on my rig. Its not bleeding gums edge, but its close to it. Unless you are running professional grade flight sims, I just can't see someone humanly noticing the difference. But I will let others pitch in. I'll just say this; if you think you're going to notice and care about bus speed between 800 and 1066, chances are you should also be looking at Raid 0 or 5 as well, since that's going to be a more noticeable 'bottleneck' than what is tantamount to a 200Mhz ram cycle difference.

I also got the E6750 processor Mortriden is considering, and I'm pretty pleased with it. Test benchmarked it slightly above the 6700 on most tests, and for a bit less of a cost, for some reason. I think Trippy mentioned that there is some significant architechtual difference, but hey, the number differences seemed miniscule to me.

Just fyi, DDR2 and DDR3 use different size slots. The DSR3 motherboard I have (named GA-P35C) has 6 memory slots, four for ddr2 and two for ddr3 and at least theoretically will take the upcoming 45nm Intel cpus.

I hope you are backing up your data regularly otherwise this is a really really REALLY bad idea.

I use Acronis to make a back up image on a separate 300 gig hard drive in case of failure, yes :) Its also just a gaming machine; no vital data is ever stored on a machine that's gonna be stressed by games. Worst came to worse, I'd have to patch Wow for a week  :grin:

I'd go with the ASUS if only because it has the better rear panel layout.

Edit: rear not real

Did you mean 'rear' panel, or 'real'. If 'real', whacha mean?

Rear, sorry.

lol.

Since I bought from yesterday, the price is now down a full $10.  I hate buying tech.

I personally wouldnt spend a lot on a vid card right now. I'd get something decent, but cheap, and get a nice one next year.

I plan to do a whole new kit in January.  I'll probably just go straight off the next Ars Technica $1500ish rig which is due out soon.

The 8800gt looks awfully nice right now. Pretty nice bang/buck with fps just over the gts and under the gtx.

All my parts arrive tomorrow except my video card which I ordered directly from EVGA.

Damn you EVGA, it says waiting to be shipped! 

I am sad. :cry2:

It was too late. I'd already bought it when I posted that. I could have possible called them up and gotten it changed, but eh. Besides, if it runs cooler and more stable because it's underutilized I'm just as happy. From reading the fancy spec sheet they have for it, all the fancy ratings they have on it were done at 800 instead of 1066, and honestly, I'll probably replace it with DDR3 in a year along with the videocard anyway.

Epilogue:

I managed to contact the place and switch out the P5K-C with a P5K-SE. It's all put together and I just spent about an hour playing the titty version of Witcher. Everything about this PC is Epic Success. The load times in Witcher that everyone complains about are about 30 seconds. All the graphic stuff is cranked up to 11 and it's running smooth as butter and looking gorgeous. I give this combination of stuff 2 thumbs up. Now to spend my next 6 days off from work playing games. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.