11-01-2007, 03:09 AM
Funny you should post this, I was just spec'ing out a new computer I want to build (my first time) and I thought I was reading things incorrectly when I compared it to the current 8800 GTS. This is the card I am going with. I'm also getting SLI compatible components so I can double the baby up cheaply in the future if I want some extra power.
[Hijack]
So far I have picked out:
GPU: EVGA GeForce 8800 GT SSC 512 MB (pre-over clocked for an extra 30 bucks).
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6750. Rated at 2.66 GHz with a 1333 MHz FSB, 4 MB shared L2 cache. This puppy is a steal at $200 plus all reviews rave about how well this overclocks - easily up to 3.0 GHz with stock cooling. Most people are pushing this to at least 3.4 GHz with more advanced cooling.
Motherboard: Undecided, but I will probably go with another piece from EVGA with an nVidia SLI ready chipset. Going for SATA drive capability, Dual PCIe x16 slots. EVGA boards also have a pretty decent 8 channel on-board sound chipset. I'm not a big audiophile so I probably wont even connect a surround system, but at least it is there when I want it. What does a rated FSB speed for a mother indicate? As far as I can tell, FSB is important between the CPU and RAM. Also I have read a lot about people overclocking beyond 1333 MHz, which is the "fastest" motherboard I have seen, so clearly this isn't a limiting FSB rating.
RAM: Undecided. This part I am most confused about. What the hell does "SLI ready" RAM mean, or is that just a marketing gimmick? I plan on overclocking the processor to 3 GHz from the get go. I've been trying to get my head around this overclocking business, and have learned that the multiplier for this processor is 2666 Mhz / 1333 GHz = 2. For some reason you gotta throw in another factor of 4 for modern processors. So, the actual FSB for this processor is 2666/8 = 332.5 MHz. To overclock it to 3.0 GHz, you set the FSB speed in the BIOS to 375 MHz (365 MHz * 8). No problems. What ram speed does this equate to in order to match the CPU? Most of what I found so far says you should have a 1:1 ratio between CPU and ram speed. A little help here would be good.
Hard Drive: Western Digital Raptor X 150 BG, 10,000 RPM, 16 MB cache (OEM). Two partitions, one for windows and the other for programs. I'll keep my data on this drive for awhile until I get a bigger, slower drive to dump it on. There is also a 74 GB model that I might use instead to save some money, but it hasn't gotten good reviews.
Case: Antec 900. Some 600 W powersupply. My first build, I didn't want to mess with a radiator. This thing has 120 mm fan slots coming out the ass, plus one 200 mm fan on the top. I am going to do a little bit of overclocking on stock cooling, so I think this should help until I upgrade on CPU cooling in the future. The blue LEDs are just a bonus so everyone can see how 1337 I am and how much of a gosu gamer I am, FTW!
Budget: ~$1,200. I estimated about 200 bucks per the 6 main components (CPU, MB, RAM, GPU, Case/PSU, Drives). I also need a monitor, though. I feel comfortable being able to keep the whole outfit under $1,500, which I am pleased about. I have never had a rig as beefy as this is looking to be, and I plan having it for a long time. I'm by no means a hardcore gamer, so most of the specs are meant to get me current then carry me for 5 years. I am happy to see that anything spec'd out similarly through dell or whoever comes to ~$2,500 or more (although alienware just looks beautiful).
Throw in a DVD drive and I'll be ready to get off the ground. Some extra goodies like a second hard drive, optical drive, media card reader, etc. can come later.
[/Hijack]
[Hijack]
So far I have picked out:
GPU: EVGA GeForce 8800 GT SSC 512 MB (pre-over clocked for an extra 30 bucks).
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6750. Rated at 2.66 GHz with a 1333 MHz FSB, 4 MB shared L2 cache. This puppy is a steal at $200 plus all reviews rave about how well this overclocks - easily up to 3.0 GHz with stock cooling. Most people are pushing this to at least 3.4 GHz with more advanced cooling.
Motherboard: Undecided, but I will probably go with another piece from EVGA with an nVidia SLI ready chipset. Going for SATA drive capability, Dual PCIe x16 slots. EVGA boards also have a pretty decent 8 channel on-board sound chipset. I'm not a big audiophile so I probably wont even connect a surround system, but at least it is there when I want it. What does a rated FSB speed for a mother indicate? As far as I can tell, FSB is important between the CPU and RAM. Also I have read a lot about people overclocking beyond 1333 MHz, which is the "fastest" motherboard I have seen, so clearly this isn't a limiting FSB rating.
RAM: Undecided. This part I am most confused about. What the hell does "SLI ready" RAM mean, or is that just a marketing gimmick? I plan on overclocking the processor to 3 GHz from the get go. I've been trying to get my head around this overclocking business, and have learned that the multiplier for this processor is 2666 Mhz / 1333 GHz = 2. For some reason you gotta throw in another factor of 4 for modern processors. So, the actual FSB for this processor is 2666/8 = 332.5 MHz. To overclock it to 3.0 GHz, you set the FSB speed in the BIOS to 375 MHz (365 MHz * 8). No problems. What ram speed does this equate to in order to match the CPU? Most of what I found so far says you should have a 1:1 ratio between CPU and ram speed. A little help here would be good.
Hard Drive: Western Digital Raptor X 150 BG, 10,000 RPM, 16 MB cache (OEM). Two partitions, one for windows and the other for programs. I'll keep my data on this drive for awhile until I get a bigger, slower drive to dump it on. There is also a 74 GB model that I might use instead to save some money, but it hasn't gotten good reviews.
Case: Antec 900. Some 600 W powersupply. My first build, I didn't want to mess with a radiator. This thing has 120 mm fan slots coming out the ass, plus one 200 mm fan on the top. I am going to do a little bit of overclocking on stock cooling, so I think this should help until I upgrade on CPU cooling in the future. The blue LEDs are just a bonus so everyone can see how 1337 I am and how much of a gosu gamer I am, FTW!
Budget: ~$1,200. I estimated about 200 bucks per the 6 main components (CPU, MB, RAM, GPU, Case/PSU, Drives). I also need a monitor, though. I feel comfortable being able to keep the whole outfit under $1,500, which I am pleased about. I have never had a rig as beefy as this is looking to be, and I plan having it for a long time. I'm by no means a hardcore gamer, so most of the specs are meant to get me current then carry me for 5 years. I am happy to see that anything spec'd out similarly through dell or whoever comes to ~$2,500 or more (although alienware just looks beautiful).
Throw in a DVD drive and I'll be ready to get off the ground. Some extra goodies like a second hard drive, optical drive, media card reader, etc. can come later.
[/Hijack]