Tommy-D

Hi this is what im planning on building in the near future (just need a little more cash lol). Please feel free to comment with your opinions and suggestions, thanks.

20" Viewsonic LCD (8ms)
OR
19" Fujitsu Widscreen LCD (5ms)

Thermaltake Armor LCS (i've heard that the TT water cooling systems arent the best, any suggestions?)
Thermaltake 480W Silent PurePower w/Active PFC

nVidia GeForce 7950GX2

Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic 7.1Ch

Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 (2mb Cache, 2.13Ghz)
OR
Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 (4mb Cache, 2.4Ghz)
would i be better off with the E6600 cause of the 4mb cache or would the E6400 be alright heavily overclocked (i wanna use the system for hardcore gaming)

Asus P5n32-SLI Premium/Wi-Fi Mobo (nForce® 590 SLI™ Intel Edition chipset)

G. Skill 2Gb Kit (2x1gb) DDR2 PC6400 (800Mhz) - some people have said that 2gb ram for gaming actually slows down your performance??

2x Seagate 160Gb 7200RPM SATA-II (no RAID)
Pioneer DVR-111D Dual Layer DVD Re-Writer

Logitech G15 Gaming Keyboard
Logitech G5 Laser Mouse
Logitech X-540 5.1Ch Speakers (70Watts RMS)

a hole heap of red Cold Cathode's throughout the case.
I LIKE RED....

thealmightyone

If you can afford a 6600, then get that. You'll be able to overclock that further than the 6400.

It would also be a very good idea to get a 8800GTS (yes, I said GTS. The GTX is dearer) instead of the 7950GX2. The 8800GTS supports DX10, and games will slowly start coming out in the next year that take full advantage of this (Crysis will be the first). But, if you get one of those, get a better PSU. 700W+.

Pre-built liquid cooling systems are never as good as ones where each individual part is chosen by yourself, as sometimes a top of the range air cooler (which is cheaper than a pre-built liguid cooling system) will outperform it.

Tommy-D

hey, im not sure if i'll have enough monies for the 6600 but i'll see how i go. also i didnt know about the DX10 issue, i would've been really PO'd if bought the 7950GX2 (retails for $900 here in aus) and then the DX10 games start coming out like 2-3 months later, so thanks for that. REP+ for you!!

with the water cooling i think i'll just use the built-in system as a base system then hand pick other parts my self, like the north/southbridge blocks and GPU etc. But im not familiar with any other WC component brands than TT?? Know of any good quality ones?

Cheers...

OpTioN

Dont get a 7950GX2... Get a 8800GTS or 8800GTX.

Chozart

Step by step:

20" Viewsonic LCD (8ms) - Get 20". This DELL
E207WFP 20-inch is also really nice!

Thermaltake Armor LCS Do get the Armor. Great case. Get custom water cooling though. Post a new thread in the water cooling section for advice

Thermaltake 480W Silent PurePower w/Active PFC You need more than that. And definately NOT a Thermaltake. Look at this: OCZ GameXStream OCZ600GXSSLI ATX12V 600W

nVidia GeForce 7950GX2 As said before, 8800GTS or 8800GTX

Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic 7.1Ch - Agreed. If you need to cut budget, don't get sound yet, and settle for onboard for now.

Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 (4mb Cache, 2.4Ghz) Get the E6600 for hardcore gaming.

Asus P5n32-SLI Premium/Wi-Fi Mobo (nForce® 590 SLI™ Intel Edition chipset) Don't even *think* about this board. the nVidia nForce 590 chipset does NOT overclock well at all! Look at the Asus P5B Deluxe if you have no plans for SLI or and ASUS P5N32-E SLI (nForce 680i if you want SLI in the future.

G. Skill 2Gb Kit (2x1gb) DDR2 PC6400 (800Mhz) - some people have said that 2gb ram for gaming actually slows down your performance?? Not true. Many games nearly require 2GB. Maybe some games slow down a tiny bit, but not significantly. Which G.Skill kit? If HZ, then it's good.

2x Seagate 160Gb 7200RPM SATA-II (no RAID) Why no raid? Make sure you get hard drives with 16MB cache


Otherwise, looking good

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