foolios

Thank you both for the added info.

Sure do. The graphics card might change to a GTS because according to this linkhttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814143119 it's only $10 more than the GT but I want to know the difference first. There seems to be some inconsistencies regarding the spec list, like the standard bus speed doesn't appear right. And I might have to go with a little more power on the power supply. Plus I am going to add the case I choose. Looking at the Antec900/lian li v2000/ or the thermaltake armor with the side 25cm fan. Total Price: $1603 + Tax/Shipping Drive 2x - Western Digital Raptor WD1500ADFD 150GB 10,000 RPM 16MB Cache Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM CPU Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz 2 x 4MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor - Retail Memory Mushkin 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail Cas 5-4-4 Video BFG Tech BFGE88512GTOC2E GeForce 8800GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail MB EVGA 132-CK-NF78-A1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 780i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail Manufacturer Rom ASUS Black 20X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 20X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 14X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe - Retail PSU CORSAIR CMPSU-620HX ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V 2.91 620W Power Supply 100 - 240 V UL, CUL, CE, CB, FCC Class B, TUV, CCC, C-tick - Retail The other card, the GTS version: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814143119 About the memory though. It appears that ram can be either dual channel or SLI. I thought this was an interchangeable naming convention when it came to memory/ram. Is there any difference? I might have the wrong memory for this motherboard if so.

*DROOLS* Thanks for the eye candy.

No, that's my fault. I originally wanted the best/second best not realizing I could fork over a grand for just one part. LMAO, that is insane. I couldn't even imagine what a system that has that kind of power could do. I think I've relatively got a decent grouping of parts for around $1600.

I didn't see this one you linked to (GTS ver.): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814143119 it seems like a better deal than the other one, the one you and I both linked to (GT ver.). For only $10 more, holy cow! Is the only difference that the GTS is overclocked? LIke just being an overclocked 8800GT?

Total Price: $1593 + Tax/Shipping

Awesome it's hard to tell by pics. Sometimes the cards don't list their dimensions. I've run into video cards before that were so long that they ran into the hard drives. Then I remember there was a card that was designed to take up two slots, one pci-e and one pci. I think the second part was just for powering fans, don't remember. It's some seriously crazy amount of stuff to consider. And then I guess some pci-e cards take two 6-pin plugs to power them, so if you wanted to SLI, you'd need a power supply with 4x 6-pin connectors. I haven't seen one of those yet. That's crazy. Hopefully I won't need that.

I noticed that they are really thick, that last board I listed has 3 pci-E slots, so I'm thinking with so much space for expansion, there should be enough room between two of them even if I have to skip a slot. Just not sure sli will work that way. As for DX10.1 and GL2.1 I hadn't seen anything mentioned about them. I'll check out the reviews on the sites you mentioned.

I would love to see your list. Thanks in advance. As far as waiting for 780, I only have the opportunity now because family is chipping in. If I wait, the opportunity will slip by. I will compile a cost list. EDIT: I just found them, these look really good. I may change my list to this board instead. What do you think? XFX Nforce 780I SLI LGA775 1333FSB ATX 3PCI-E16 1PCI-E1 2PCI SATA2 Sound GBLAN 1394 Motherboard http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku...manufacture=XFX or EVGA 132-CK-NF78-A1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 780i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...24&Tpk=780I

Ok, this is the new list. Thanks to all the info and help here. If someone finds anything wrong/incompatible or just not a good choice. By all means, please reply! CPU Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz 2 x 4MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor - Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16819115017 MB ASUS Striker Extreme LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI ATX The Ultimate Gaming Motherboard - Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16813131074 Manufacturer’s Website http://usa.asus.com/products.aspx?modelmen...l3=397&l4=0 Video BFG Tech BFGE88512GTOC2E GeForce 8800GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814143117 Memory Mushkin 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail Cas 5-4-4 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820146731 Drives 2x - Western Digital Raptor WD1500ADFD 150GB 10,000 RPM 16MB Cache Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16822136012 ROM LITE-ON 20X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 20X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 40X CD-ROM IDE DVD Burner included extra White bezel - Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16827106079 PSU CORSAIR CMPSU-620HX ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V 2.91 620W Power Supply 100 - 240 V UL, CUL, CE, CB, FCC Class B, TUV, CCC, C-tick - Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...corsair%2b620HX Ok, I don't know if I am forgetting anything besides the case. I still have to see if there's a case I'll like better. I think my biggest concern for the case is that it has plenty of airflow and a side fan opening in the case to blow outside air into the case at the video card and maybe help proc fan cooling. If anyone knows of a great one to recommend that would be appreciated. I have read that Antec and Luan are good, maybe Thermaltake? As for the BFG video card choice, I chose that one because I've been told you can add an add-on card that gives you some kind of enhanced visuals for your games that only the add-on card can provide. Thanks again for all the help. It's getting real close to final!

Thank you so much, you are awesome!

Those are all great. You didn't recommend a motherboard. Which one would you recommend for this system? For the Mushkin, I notice that the timings are 5-4-4-12 or 5-5-5-12 or 5-5-5-18 and for other memory like OCZ: 8-8-8-27 7-6-6-24 7-7-7-20 G-Skill: From 5-5-5-15 to 9-9-9-24 Lower is better right? So in this case the Mushkin is blowing out the others right? How do I make sure that this motherboard: http://usa.asus.com/products.aspx?modelmen...l3=397&l4=0 will work with this memory: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820146731 I see a cpu support list but not a memory support list.

Ok, so far for the video: BFG Tech BFGE88512GTOC2E GeForce 8800GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16822136012 For the processor: Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz 2 x 4MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16819115017 or Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Processor BX80562Q6600 - 2.40GHz, 8MB Cache, 1066MHz FSB, Kentsfield, Quad-Core, Retail, Socket 775, Processor with Fan http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/Se...p?EdpNo=2905631 I'm not sure why the second one has more cache(8mb) for the same price but I would think that makes it better. I need an opinion. Memory: Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820146565 The only motherboard I can find on newegg that seems decent is: ASUS Striker Extreme LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI ATX The Ultimate Gaming Motherboard - Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16813131074 For power supply I am still looking at them, it appears that I will need one that has 4 6-pin connector for the PCI-e video cards, if in case I add a second one later on. I am guessing I will need at least 600Watts. I gotta match a lot of things still. Drives: 2x - Western Digital Raptor WD1500ADFD 150GB 10,000 RPM 16MB Cache Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16822136012 Thanks for the help so far.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814130304 Is that the right GTS card? Also, that proc QX9650, I can only find for over $1,000. Do you know of something close/similar in the $300-$400 dollar price range for a processor? I was thinking of going RAID 0 with two 10,000 rpm drives. Here's a decent priced Raptor. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16822136012 What do you think about two of those in RAID? I've always heard good things about BFG. But here's a card made by two manufacturers: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814143080 and http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814150232 Which of the two would you go with? The BFG or the XFX or neither? Can someone list the order of best version for the video card? I see: GT GTS GTX what's the difference? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16819115017 Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz 2 x 4MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor - Retail The reviews talk about GO and B3. What is that all about? If this is good, I need to find a board for it and a match for one of the video cards 8800(GTX/GTS/GT). other than benchmark bragging rights, are you absolutely sure that a quad core does anything for games? I would really like to be as close to being set for a long long time as possible as well. And I love the ability to multitask. It'll be one pc. I need it to do things while gaming as well. I may have to run a personal server on it as well. I'd like to be able to game and use voice chat, plus still handle my VOIP cable phone. After looking at it's price, its doable. So I'll go in that direction. Concerning ESD. Would it work if I had an extra power cord that I strip of the two prongs for hot and neutral and left the 3rd prong for ground and plugged that in from the power supply to the wall outlet? I was thinking that if I had my ESD wriststrap on and that cord plugged in as a ground that that would really help my system and not jeapordize it by still having power from the wall outlet? What do you think?

None, but if you need it online, then newegg or tigerdirect.. So that’s Western Digital Raptor… nVidia 8800GTS 512MB (yes, the 512MB version, NOT the 640MB)… Corsair HX620… No, that’s more 4-4-4-12 or so, or even 4-3-3-12 (800MHz) can be found for a not extreme price, 1066MHz is a bit more expensive and will be around 5-5-5-15 timings, and if you go with 64bits then 4GB, if 32bits then 3GB… QX9650… Well, Gigabyte is one of the best for me, but if you like you can pick directly an ASUS. Go with the still not released nVidia 780 Intel version chipset (out in some days/weeks). Thanks for the recommendations. I am going to check them out.

1) What's your budget and what is included in that budget (tax/shipping, keyboard, monitor, OS, etc; if you're not in the US, please specify country)? $1000 - U.S. - No need for monitor/mouse/keyboard/case 2) What will you be doing with this system besides gaming (eg: media ripping/encoding, watching hd videos, CAD, etc)? Primary use will be for gaming. Don't know if I should go NVidia or ATI for gaming. 3) If you are gaming, what games will you be playing and at what resolution/settings (eg: cs:s @ 1680x1050 w/ no AA/AF)? First Person shooters like the Half-Life Family of games for sure. MMORPG's secondary - Probably around 1440x900 resolution. 4) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to get? It's a 19 inch now, I may upgrade down the road which is why I am not certain if I can hold off on the extra video card now or not, I've been told I'll only need the second card if I have a large screen or two of them. 5) What old parts do you plan on re-using? I think I will stick with an intel processor for sure. I have no clue what motherboard or video card to match up with it. I want a combination that is proven. As for hard drive, I was thinking of going with a 10,000 rpm drive. 6) What features do you need/want in a motherboard and briefly, why do you need/want them? (3 pci slots, raid, firewire, µATX, etc) I believe the motherboard needs to support at least DDR2, I think there is now DDR3, but I do not know. I was also thinking of raid 0 for two 10,000 rpm drives. Not concerned with firewire unless the new faster version is already out. Never used firewire before and still don't. I believe my case is ATX but if that makes a difference for the board then I can always change it. I believe there is ATX and micro ATX and I would guess that ATX being bigger means more power for the mobo. Not sure. THanks a bunch for the help.

Thanks for the info. I forgot I'll need Vista for DX10!

I am looking to build a gaming rig and it's been a while. I was hoping someone could point me to two things: 1) The hardware that is recommended 2) A reliable place online to get the parts Based on my limited knowledge, I am guessing at things like; 10,000rpm drives - Raid 0 SLI or Crossfire video cards(2) 650 Watt P/S 2GB Memory, not sure what memory is low latency or how to tell, I'm guessing numbers like 2 2 2 2 2 is best? Windows XP Pro Intel quad processor No clue about what motherboard brand to go with. I have had bad luck with Gigabyte, I know that... Thanks so much in advance!

I tried different slots to see if there were irq conflicts, but still wasn't getting sound. Ok, I noticed that pc speaker was off in the bios while I had still another set of speakers hooked up. This time when windows booted up, I got sound through this other set of self powered speakers. I don't know if it was that bios option or whether it's a matter of what speakers I use with this system(pretty lame). But sound is working with these and that's what matters the most to me. When I checked the Dell documentation I noticed that they default audio cards they install to pci slot 4, I put the card in there, turned on pc speaker and now it's working. I'll retest with the other speakers now to see what the heck is going on!

Ok, I'm not sure if I found the problem but I found a floppy molex connector still connected to the floppy drive that I thought I unplugged along with the floppy ide cable and must have missed it. Now that that's unplugged, I plugged and unplugged the speaker into the audio card and it didn't reboot this time. But, but now I am seriously wondering if there is a power problem. That the power supply is starting to go or something. I think that having the molex still connected to the floppy wouldn't be all that big of a deal right? And as you are also thinking as well, that not enough power would explain why the headphones are working but the speakers are not.

Ok, this can't be good. I switched back to the powered speakers from the headphones to see if I could get sound and as soon as I plugged in the speakers, the system rebooted. =(

Ok, I decided to try these old headphones I found behind a pc. I barely heard something so I decided to turn up the volume on all settings as high as I could. I can now barely hear sound coming out of the headphones. I am now wondering whether there is some kind of power output problem and that that is why the speakers with the green indicator aren't working is because for some reason not enough power output is coming from the sound card. What in the world could be happening here?

There is no onboard sound/integrated sound card for this system. Just the pci sound cards.

Yes, the file is there. Upon double clicking it it opens up the audio panel of which I can access the options to choose what sound device to use and volume muting etc. What I am noticing now and trying to understand is why when I hook up speakers to another pc, the green connected light comes on as soon as the system powers up. But on this particular system, the green light never comes on at boot up nor when fully into windows. It seems to me that power isn't going to the device(sound card) like it should be. Although I am completely confused as to why if there was no power to the audio cards that i've tried, why are they showing up in device manager and allowing drivers to be installed. Or why there isn't some kind of software error notification somewhere within the system. Or why Windows media player and whathaveyou won't error out when trying to play music stating that it can't find the audio device. What in the world could be telling the system to power up this green light on the speakers?

Thank you, I sure hope so. The problem is totally eluding me. I have seen maybe 20 some issues regarding no sound and this is the first that I can not overcome. It seems that everything is as it should be. There is some aspect of Windows that I must not understand or know about that controls the audio after these points.