new build needing crtitique

[azianai]

and if you really want to get the P182, get it from microcenter where its cheaper.
Micro Center Online - the center of .computer shopping

[screwballl]

Originally Posted by bregy6

what about tim. aren't there several brands better than as5 now right? i was looking at mx2. when is the 45nm quads coming out. im shopping around for this build. is it a good idea to get parts from different places, ram here, cpu here, etc. or would that be a headache for shipping or rmas?

We just had a nice big story about that... check it out
The HardwareLogic Thermal Compound Round-Up

[Capper]

Instead of the Antec case for sound management, take a look at the Cooler Master Cosmos.

As to SLI, skip it and Crossfire. I have a 24" monitor and test and play all games at high detail (except Crysis) with a 3870 and an 8800GTS.

As to the motherboard, I'd recommend an X38 or X48 as the first choice, with an 790i as an alternative, depending on the board and availability.

The processor.....I just picked up an E8400 for testing, and without much effort or special cooling it runs 4.22GHz with 100% stability. Considering they are the same price, I'd take the E8400 or Xeon E3110 over the QX6600 without any hesitation.

Given the high budget, I'd also build around DDR3, which takes you back to your board choice......a good kit of 2GB DDR3 memory can be had for less than $200 now.

[RA1D]

$3k budget?! OHSHI-! with this budget, there really is no reason to buy last year's technology/parts. lets get the pleasantries out of the way and get right into this epic build...

CM Cosmos S .......................................$250

EVGA 790i Ultra ....................................$350

EVGA 9800GX2 .....................................$600

PC Power & Cooling 750 Quad Xfire Edition .$200

Intel E8400 ..........................................$260

Corsair DDR3 1600 2GB ...........................$300

Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 500GB ...........$110

Logitech G15 Gaming Keyboard .................$90

Samsung 24" LCD 5ms ............................$470

Logitech G9 Gaming Mouse .......................$75

Sony 20x DVD Burner SATA ......................$28

Vista 64 Ultimate ...................................$180

Logitech Z-2300 2.1 Speaker System .........$96

Total ...............................................$3,009
before shipping, tax and rebates

this is what i would buy today. personally, i would wait for the new intel chips coming out by the end of this month or the beginning of april. i would just replace the E8400 with a Q9450.

whatever you decide to do, please keep us updated on your build and share this bad ass system with us!

[Yellowhello]

Excellent setup RAID. The only change I would make is Klipsch ProMedia's instead of the Logitech's.

[Capper]

RAIDs recommendation is excellent. I'd just recommend a cheaper memory kit that has the same clock speed and overclocking potential.

OCZ Platinum 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory
OCZ Platinum 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory

[Stormcrow]

I'd take RAID's suggestion, but would replace the following:

790i Ultra..erg, Nvidia chipset, I've had nothing but trouble with it's pre-evolution the 680i, and I'm far from alone in that boat. Go with the X48 instead

9800GX2 is decent for those really wanting two 8800GTs in one, however for 300 bucks less you can get a single 9800GTX, or for $200 more two HD3870 X2s if you decide on a X48 that is Quadfire enabled.

Vista Ultimate is a waste of money, in all honesty. Its just Home Premium with moving wallpapers and Bitlocker, which you can get free in the form of TrueCrypt anyway.

[Yellowhello]

Apparently the 790i is leaps and bounds better than the 780i and 680i. Read here.

[Capper]

I've been using Vista 64 bit Ultimate for months without a single issue......I'd highly recommend it for those wanting to use more than 2Gb of memory.

Which brings me to my next point.....skip the super high end graphics card....go with a single card......graphics cards are just being replaced so often i can't recommend spending $500-600 on a card. Instead, buy a second 2GB kit of memory.

The 790i is a MUCH better board than the 680i and 780i......we'll be covering the ASUS Stryker Extreme II in the coming weeks, which is a bad ass motherboard.

[Stormcrow]

Hmm, a Nvidia board that's not a wonky jumble of poor coding and bugs? Say it aint so! I may need to upgrade if thats the case, that price matches the X48. Remember the day of 150 dollar high end motherboards?

As for Vista Ultimate, theres really no reason to justify the price over Vista Premium x64 but either one you go for is quite stable and the driver support has come up nicely over the last few months for sure.