Another "Help me build my next pc" thread

[ESPNSTI]

It has been a few years since I've built a PC and I haven't paid much attention to PC components in a while.
So now it's that time to build a new one, so now I'm looking for advice from peeps that are on top of things.
I've given it a first shot by some quick reading, and here's what I've come up with:
Any recommendations? Spotted any conflicts? Did I forget something?

Component         Manufacturer     Model                    Price on  Shipping Link                                                            Review/Info
                                                           2006/11/17                    
Motherboard       EVGA             122-CK-NF68               259.99     7.32   http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813188009 http://techreport.com/reviews/2006q4...i/index.x?pg=1
 CPU               Intel            Core 2 Duo E6700 2.66     511.99            http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115002                    
CPU Cooler        Zalman           9700 LED                   59.99     6.13   http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835118019                    
Memory            Corsair          XMS2 2GB DDR2 800         275.00            http://www.newegg.com/product/Produc...82E16820145168                    
HDD               Western Digital  SE16 WD2500KS 250GB        74.99     5.94   http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822144701 http://techreport.com/reviews/2005q2...6/index.x?pg=1
                                   7200 RPM 16MB Cache 
                                   SATA 3.0Gb/s               
GPU               EVGA             640-P2-N821-AR            469.99     6.13   http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130071 http://techreport.com/reviews/2006q4...0/index.x?pg=1
                                   GeForce 8800GTS                    
Monitor           Samsung          205BW Black 20" 6ms DVI   289.99    14.56   http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824001081                    
                                   Widescreen LCD Monitor                    
Case              NZXT             Nemesis Elite Black       109.99    15.99   http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811146030                    
PSU               OCZ              GameXStream OCZ700GXSSLI  144.99     8.02   http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817341002                    
                                   ATX12V 700W                    
DVD-ROM Drive     LG               GDR-8164BK                 17.49     5.64   http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827136083                    
DVD-RW Drive      Pioneer          DVR-111D                   31.82     5.64   http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827129001                    
Keyboard & Mouse  use current      use current                                                                                                    
Network Adapter   NA               NA                                                                                                    
Sound Card        Creative         Sound Blaster X-Fi 
                                   XtremeGamer               135.99     6.34   http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16829102005 http://techreport.com/reviews/2005q4...i/index.x?pg=1
FDD               why bother?                                                                                                                        

                                                                Totals:
                                                            2382.22    81.71
                                                                 2463.93  

[rskrobot]

Are you set on building it yourself? A few years ago when you built your last one, it probably was cheaper to build it yourself. I just priced out a XPS 410 with similar components on dell's website and the total was about 1800 before shipping and tax.
Just a thought.

[Jacobfox]

I think it seems pretty nice. You should get another HD and RAID them for more space, though.

The reason why you should build your own is that dell uses cheapass components. Their mobo's suck (I hate BTX form factor) because they limit your upgradeability. They aren't of the greatest quality either. Their ram is generic junk and is high latency and low frequency. They use relatively lousy graphics cards and their machines typically run slower than a comparable built PC for these reasons.

Is that EVGA mobo a nforce 680? otherwise, that 8800 won't work.

post pics of the case, too

[ESPNSTI]

Originally Posted by rskrobot

Are you set on building it yourself? A few years ago when you built your last one, it probably was cheaper to build it yourself. I just priced out a XPS 410 with similar components on dell's website and the total was about 1800 before shipping and tax.
Just a thought.

I've never liked big name computer manufacturers (Dell, Compaq, HP, Packard Bell) since they (at least used to) put proprietary motherboards and such in their PCs, which can be a pain.

And perhaps this isn't a fair comparison, but my only experience with Dell PCs is with the ones at my work.
I could swear that my Intel P4 1.8 machine that I built myself a few years back runs faster than the P4 2.8 Dell at work.
And before that the PII 350 that ran circles around a PIII (forget what speed) Dell at work.

I don't think the XPS 410 you configured was all that similar though.
I just configured a XPS 700 and an XPS 410 and picked the components as close to what I had selected for my custom built one, and the XPS 700 came to $2,594 and the XPS 410 to $2,638.
And the Dell had lower 677Mhz memory as opposed to my 800Mhz, plus I selected the Geforce 7950GX2 since the 8800GTS was not available.

[ESPNSTI]

Originally Posted by Jacobfox

I think it seems pretty nice. You should get another HD and RAID them for more space, though.

I don't need that much space for now since I burn DVDs frequently, plus since solid state disks are around the corner (relatively speaking), I wanted to wait and see.

Originally Posted by Jacobfox

The reason why you should build your own is that dell uses cheapass components. Their mobo's suck (I hate BTX form factor) because they limit your upgradeability. They aren't of the greatest quality either. Their ram is generic junk and is high latency and low frequency. They use relatively lousy graphics cards and their machines typically run slower than a comparable built PC for these reasons.

That certainly jived with my experiences with Dell.

Originally Posted by Jacobfox

Is that EVGA mobo a nforce 680? otherwise, that 8800 won't work.

Yes it is, it's the nforce 680 reference board designed by NVidia with EVGA stickers slapped on it.

Originally Posted by Jacobfox

post pics of the case, too

Surprisingly I didn't pick it for the looks (not sure that I like it), but mainly for the 3 (front, back and side) 120mm fans.
There were other cases that had that, but they had the PSU at the bottom instead of the traditional top slot and I wasn't sure if the PSU's cables would reach.
If anyone knows of another aluminum case with a 3x 120mm fan design, I'm open to suggestions.
There are linkies off to the right in my original post, but here you go:

[Jacobfox]

Sorry, I'm at school and the admin has blocked newegg.
And if you intend to use it for any gaming, you should at least think about getting 2 hd's.
The case looks a little bit tacky, but it's ok because of those fans.

[ESPNSTI]

Well, I pulled the trigger. Only change I made is I swapped the Samsung for an LG : http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/LG-Mo...oductDetail.do

[andyhui01]

^Just curious, what does the top LCD display on that case? and ESPN, if you like cases with good cooling... why not try this one if you want cooling.

http://www.antec.com/us/productDetails.php?ProdID=15900

Antec cases are great and intuitive, especially if you constantly switch parts

[ESPNSTI]

Originally Posted by andyhui01

^Just curious, what does the top LCD display on that case?

I don't really know, it's a surprise.

Originally Posted by andyhui01

and ESPN, if you like cases with good cooling... why not try this one if you want cooling.

http://www.antec.com/us/productDetails.php?ProdID=15900

Antec cases are great and intuitive, especially if you constantly switch parts

I took a very long look at this one before choosing the one that I did.
I absolutely love this one (and a number of other Antec's I looked at), but ultimately I didn't pick them because the power supply slot is at the bottom instead of at the top, and I was worried that the PSU's cables wouldn't have been long enough.

[andyhui01]

^Ahh... I understand where you come from, I recently switched to another case of my computer, my PSU Supply is at the top front ... so its stretching like hell just to reach the mobo... but I'm pretty confident that if Antec gave you a powersupply, it would have extra long cables just for that case... but please don't take my word for it... have you ordered it yet? I could ask around on another forum

[ESPNSTI]

Already ordered it, and this case will probably do a pretty decent job.

[andyhui01]

nvm then ... but I'm still curious as to what is displayed, I have a feeling it'll be all the temp gauges

[TechZ]

Too lazy to read all that is above so..

MBoard by eVGA? I dont know about that, I'd go Asus/Gigabyte/MSI/Epox or anything else.

CPU, the E6600 is best value, the jump in price for the small differnce in speed to E6700 isnt worth it, just OC is a bit and save a ton of cash.

HDD, 250GB isnt again worth it, 320/300GB is where the lowers cost/mb is

[Jacobfox]

enjoy it, dude.
happy building.

[jeffy777]

Originally Posted by Jacobfox

enjoy it, dude.
happy building.

Indeed: that system's gonna rock