New Build Please Give Advice

[sdanthony]

Well, I have been out of the hardware loop for a couple of years, and it is time for an upgrade.
Here are my current specs:
Athlon 64 3500+
Asus Mobo (forget model)
120 HDD
1 gig of DDR2 Ram
Nvidia 6800gt

This will mainly be for top end gaming.

For Xmass, I got:
- ABIT IP35 Pro LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard
Newegg.com - ABIT IP35 Pro LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

- Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz 2 x 4MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor
Newegg.com - Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz 2 x 4MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor - Retail

The upgrades I am thinking about are:
- EVGA 768-P2-N831-AR GeForce 8800GTX 768MB 384-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card
Newegg.com - EVGA 768-P2-N831-AR GeForce 8800GTX 768MB 384-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail

- Thermaltake Purepower W0129RU ATX12V 600 W Power Supply 115/ 230 V CE, FCC, UL, CUL, TUV certification
Newegg.com - Thermaltake Purepower W0129RU ATX12V 600 W Power Supply 115/ 230 V CE, FCC, UL, CUL, TUV certification - Retail

- Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model BL2KIT12864AA804 - Retail
Newegg.com - Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

-Western Digital Raptor WD1500ADFD 150GB 10,000 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM
Newegg.com - Western Digital Raptor WD1500ADFD 150GB 10,000 RPM 16MB Cache Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM

I already have a case.

My main questions:
1. Should I go for 4 gb or just two?
2. Should I run the raptor as a Boot drive and get a larger drive for storage and games?
3. Is the powersupply going to be sufficient?

Thanks in advance

 

[Fred]

1. Should I go for 4 gb or just two?

If you upgrade pretty often, I would just go for two for now. If you want this to last you quite a while, go with four. The price for RAM is pretty low right now anyways.

2. Should I run the raptor as a Boot drive and get a larger drive for storage and games?

That'd work, but that just means the OS has fast file transfers but your files and games wont. Ideally, you'd have two raptors I'd think, maybe even in a raid. I'm not sure if that quite answers your question.

3. Is the powersupply going to be sufficient?

As far as wattage goes, yes it is sufficient. But I'd very much recommend you go with better quality than Thermaltake. I'd go for Seasonic or Enermax. You are going to be paying a little more for the power supply, but you'll be getting much better quality. Believe me, I was a big fan of Thermaltake until it died on me after only a couple of years with little dust and no hard pushing.

So there, you have my opinion. I hope it helps.

 

[gazaway]

For your ram question: What OS do you plan on running. I would recommend XP. If you plan on running XP then 2 gigs should be just fine. If you plan on running Vista then 4 gigs would be HIGHLY recommended so you don't bottleneck the rest of your hardware. DDR2 is EXTREMELY cheap now a days so it really is worth the money.

The graphics card is obviously one of the best you can get. If money is no object I'd say go for it. But its performance:price ratio isn't that great. You can get yourself Newegg.com - XFX PVT88GYDF4 GeForce 8800GTS (G92) 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail which performs around 5% less than the GTX for $100-150 cheaper. If you do get the GTS just make sure it's the new G92 build. The old 8800GTS cards don't perform quite as well as these newer, cheaper cards.

Also, for your HDD question. That Raptor is a great performer. But it's also the 150GB version. That means you have MORE than enough room for your OS AND all of your games. You could even downgrade it a bit, and still be fine. Just if you plan on downgrading, check the prices. I'm pretty sure the 74GB Raptor is right around the same price range. Now if you went with the 32GB version, you'd put just the OS and maybe one or two HDD intensive games on it.

 

[sdanthony]

Ok, I'm pretty set on the GPU, getting a Lian Li PC-65 case and a Thermaltake Toughpower 650w powersupply. Along with the CPU and Mobo I already have, can you suggest a solid HDD and Ram (pref 4 gig for vista)?
I want this rig to last quite a while so, keep that in mind. Also, these parts are the only ones I will be purchasing, as the others are/were gifts

 

[gazaway]

if the raptor is in your budget definately go for that. Keep at the same storage size, too.
As far as Ram goes, I have been pushing g.skill alot lately. They are cheaper than alot of the other performance Ram.

 

[Big B]

Those Toughpowers are pretty decent. They're CWT built units, like Antec among other brands use/have used. I have the 600W unit in my main box, and I wouldn't be scared to drop a single 8800 in there.

If you're looking to run Vista, it wouldn't hurt to run 4GB. However, for XP, 2GB is plenty. You can go past, but you're not going to benefit.