New PC Build

T

Tracekill

Geek Trainee
Going about ordering the parts for a new development system and since I've been out of the hardware loop for a while, wanted the trusted people at HardwareForums to give it the once over to make sure everything is compatible and that there are no foreseen problems with installation. The main things I was worried about were:

1. Quad Core vs Dual
2. Heating

I appreciate the help.

Case: Newegg.com - Thermaltake Armor Series VA8000BWS Black Aluminum / Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail
Mobo: Newegg.com - EVGA 132-CK-NF78-A1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 780i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
V-Cards: Newegg.com - EVGA 640-P2-N829-AR GeForce 8800GTS SSC 640MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
PS: Newegg.com - Rosewill RX750-D-B ATX12V v2.2 & EPS12V v2.91 750W Power Supply 100 - 240 V UL,FCC,CSA,CB,CE,TUV,ROHS - Retail
Proc: Newegg.com - Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 Conroe 3.0GHz 4M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail
Mem: Newegg.com - G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
HD: Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar SE WD3200AAJS 320GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
KB: Newegg.com - Saitek PZ30AU Black 104 Normal Keys 4 Function Keys USB Wired Standard Eclipse Keyboard - Retail
Monitor: Newegg.com - Acer AL2016WBbd Black 20" 5ms DVI Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 800:1 - Retail
OD: Newegg.com - LITE-ON Black 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 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA DVD Burner with LightScribe - Retail

Note: I'm getting 2 of both the video cards and the monitors.
 
The build looks fine other than two things. But first, WOW you are spending alot of money on this thing..

Ok, First off your PSU... Rosewill is definately not a brand I would trust. I even think it's New Egg's house brand (can someone verify that?) With such high priced components I'd go with something a bit better, especially since you're spending a fortune on this bad boy. For suggestions go to Big B's PSU sticky post. Also note, that a modular PSU would possible look nice, but is not necissary for this build as you will pretty much be using up almsot every cord anyways, so don't base your PSU choice on that either.

Other issue is the ram. Basically you're going to have 2gigs.. which is fine... but if you are spending the money for two 8800GTS cards, you might as well throw in 3gigs at least. And if you plan on using Vista on this rig, you will want to get the 64 bit OS and prolly get 4 gigs of Ram. With the prices of DDR2 the way they are, and with you buying the gskill you should be able to afford a bit more. You also can get higher rated ram on that board as well, such as Newegg.com - Kingston HyperX 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1200 (PC2 9600) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail since the 780i chipset supports the PC2 9600. But that isn't a necissity, just would be nice.
 
Wow thanks for the swift reply gaz. I will definitely switch out for another PSU, and I do believe Rosewill is Newegg's house brand, they seem to promote their products alot anyway.

As far as the memory, I actually had 2 of the 2gig kits selected (totalling 4gig) but do you think that g.skill is a particularly bad brand that I should stay away from? I looked at the Kingston memory you sent and it seems to have split ratings from users, I'd like to lean towards reliability as much as possible. Is there some other brand I should look at?
 
No, no, gskill is a great brand. The reason I linked another brand was actually because of the clock rate you selected. You selected the DDR2 800 when your board actually supports DDR2 1200. It would just boost your performance a bit, so I sudgested it.
 
gazaway said:
No, no, gskill is a great brand. The reason I linked another brand was actually because of the clock rate you selected. You selected the DDR2 800 when your board actually supports DDR2 1200. It would just boost your performance a bit, so I sudgested it.
Click to expand...


Oh wow thank you, I never would have noticed that. I'll check out some DDR2 1200 memory kits and post here for your approval.
 
Yeah, i have 2x2GB (4GB) of G.SKILL and i must say they haven't let me down! :cool:

They take a while on rebates though...:x:
 
Well I really can't quite wrap my head around the whole PSU sticky. The concept of a 500W listed PSU being able to outpower an 850W PSU is kind of strange to me. Plus all the comments on these high-power PSUs on Newegg saying "well my 500W Antec managed to power better than this" are scaring me so do you guys think you can help me out and make a few suggestions?
 
Well, compatibility wise... it will work for sure because its a DDR2 800 and your EVGA mobo will support up to 1200. As for the interference of wires yeah there might be some interference but its nothing big i would worry about.
 
scorps65 said:
Well, my most accurate suggestion is to go to this website: Its a WATTAGE calculator. The way it works is you input your hardware settings and it will calculate the amount of power you need! Its pretty neat:

eXtreme Power Supply Calculator Lite v2.5
Click to expand...


Wow, that is pretty neat and very informative. I know from other sources that I need at LEAST 600W but I think I've settled on something in the 850-900 range with 80%+ efficiency. The problem is, I've looked at alot of them on Newegg and they all seem to have problems powering key components or die quickly after being installed. Is that something that plagues all PSUs and I just have to order one and hope for the best?
 
scorps65 said:
Well, compatibility wise... it will work for sure because its a DDR2 800 and your EVGA mobo will support up to 1200. As for the interference of wires yeah there might be some interference but its nothing big i would worry about.
Click to expand...

Gah we keep posting right after eachother :P. Thanks for the input, I placed that memory in the cart, only thing I'm after now is the PSU. I'm still kind of torn about which one to choose but I think I'm leaning towards Newegg.com - OCZ GameXStream OCZ850GXSSLI ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V 850Watts Power Supply 100 - 240 V CB, CE, CSA, UL - Retail

Any problems with that one?
 
Tracekill said:
Wow, that is pretty neat and very informative. I know from other sources that I need at LEAST 600W but I think I've settled on something in the 850-900 range with 80%+ efficiency. The problem is, I've looked at alot of them on Newegg and they all seem to have problems powering key components or die quickly after being installed. Is that something that plagues all PSUs and I just have to order one and hope for the best?
Click to expand...
Unfortunately, your going to have to take a risk when buying a PSU and hope it works and doesnt die out. Of course, it would be smart to stay away from companies that aren't well known. The users reviews on most of the PSU's will always vary. What happens to some people doesn't mean it will happen to you.

So basically... anything with a 4 star rating or above i would definitley go for. Also, if i may add... i've had 2 COOLERMASTERS in the past years and they've never given me any trouble... just thought i would let you know.
I know OCZ is good with RAM... but i don't know about PSU's. For power hardware i would go with COOLERMASTER, Thermaltake, Antec, ZALMAN and the likes. Check these out, theyre affordable and have good ratings:

Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER Real Power Pro RS-850-EMBA ATX12V / EPS12V 850W Power Supply 100 - 240 V CE, cUL, TUV, NEMKO, BSMI, FCC - Retail

Newegg.com - Thermaltake Toughpower W0172RU ATX12V / EPS12V 850W Power Supply 100 - 240 V CB, CE, FCC, TUV, cUL - Retail

Newegg.com - Antec TPQ-850 ATX12V / EPS12V 850W Power Supply 100 - 240 V UL, CUL, FCC, TUV, CE, C-tick, CCC, CB - Retail

Just remember, these are just my recommendations because when it comes to power supplies... you want quality or else your toast :doh: .
 
OCZ is usually pretty boss when it comes to PSUs. I've never really heard too many bad things about them. I would trust them enough to run them, but I would stick to the Brands scorp gave. Minus Antec.. Haven't had too much luck with them (although they are some of the prittier ones lol.) Newegg.com - Thermaltake Toughpower W0172RU ATX12V / EPS12V 850W Power Supply 100 - 240 V CB, CE, FCC, TUV, cUL - Retail is prolly the one I'd go with if it's inside your budget. Although 850W is a bit of an overkill (That things got 96 Amps on the 12V rail... WAY overkill) it will allow for future expansion (such as a Quad core with liq cooling, and a third GPU card for the three way SLI in that 780i mobo you've got there.)
 
gazaway said:
OCZ is usually pretty boss when it comes to PSUs. I've never really heard too many bad things about them. I would trust them enough to run them, but I would stick to the Brands scorp gave. Minus Antec.. Haven't had too much luck with them (although they are some of the prittier ones lol.) Newegg.com - Thermaltake Toughpower W0172RU ATX12V / EPS12V 850W Power Supply 100 - 240 V CB, CE, FCC, TUV, cUL - Retail is prolly the one I'd go with if it's inside your budget. Although 850W is a bit of an overkill (That things got 96 Amps on the 12V rail... WAY overkill) it will allow for future expansion (such as a Quad core with liq cooling, and a third GPU card for the three way SLI in that 780i mobo you've got there.)
Click to expand...

haha yeah i have the 950 watt version of that thermaltake and i only use like half of that. as to why i got it, i have no idea. i think it was actually cheaper than the 750 watt that i was looking at though, so i just figured why not? but really, if you dont need 850 watts, try to drop that number a bit, if possible. its really overkill. fun to see people's faces when you tell them how big your psu is
 
God dammit. Well I got the parts, built the rig (went with the two 8800GTXs in SLI) and now I get a weird problem...

The BIOS takes FOREVER to post and to respond to key functions like pressing DEL to get into setup. When setup finally loads (after about 5-10 minutes) it paints each menu square by square incredibly slowly. I've swapped out the ram, tried using only one video card to conserve power, made sure the CPU was properly cooled, made sure the 780i chip was properly cooled. I reset the CMOS twice. I'm running out of options here does anybody know what's going on? I'm incredibly pissed, no problems during setup, I finally get to the home stretch and get this crap.. :mad:
 
Damn, i was going to suggest to you to reset the CMOS, but you tried it twice?.... :doh: Is your BIOS set for Quick Booting?

quickbootmode.jpg
 
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