Finally about ready. New Comp.

[D3v0ur3r]

I stated before I haven't been keeping up on the latest hardware for the last 2 years so I honestly didn't know about new cards. I can say now I most likely wouldn't have waited anyway as I most likely couldn't afford the latest anyway.

But thanks for the help & food for thought.

 

[D3v0ur3r]

Ok. So here again I will see what the verdict is on this route. Although now I would have to build the system & do the mail in rebates.

*Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
*PC Power & Cooling S75QB 750W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply
*Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz LGA 775 Quad-Core
*XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler.
*Patriot Viper 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800
*Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3320613AS 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive.
*2 MSI NX8800GT 512M OC GeForce 8800 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI.
*LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black IDE Model DH-20A4P-04
*ASUS P5N-D LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 750i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard.
*Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Professional PCI Express.
*Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit English.

Subtotal: $1,453.88 before mail in rebates.
Shipping: $16.98

Grand Total $1,470.86

I may wait till the new cards, & I may not. So surely this is better? Is the XFI sound card pointless in Vista? I heard of Vista issues with sound though I don't know myself.

 

[MfA]

900 is a great case, but it doesn't have dust filters (I don't think it's a huge deal though ... just hit it with compressed air now and then). Sound quality on integrated audio is pretty good most of the time nowadays, the mobo you picked has 7.1 output at any rate in this case.

Looks nice

 

[D3v0ur3r]

Would the XFI still free up the CPU a bit on Vista64?

 

[MfA]

You have a quad core ... does it matter?

 

[D3v0ur3r]

Hmm. I would think every little bit helps. But like I've said I am just going off what I know from the past & try to play instant catchup.

 

[Sxotty]

Hmm. I would think every little bit helps. But like I've said I am just going off what I know from the past & try to play instant catchup.

It doesn't matter b/c nothing gaming wise really uses 4 cores now.

If you were rendering a movie while playing a game it might matter

 

[D3v0ur3r]

So would a E8400 be a better buy for gaming right now as that's all I am really interested in?

Edit: Couple other questions. Is PCI-Express x16 & x8 basically like AGP x16 & x8 were in speed (no real difference)? Does anyone have any thoughts on the MSI P7N Diamond?

 

[ninelven]

Depends on if you want to overclock or not... If you don't mind ocing the Q6600 to 3GHz (performance return in games scales nicely up to ~3GHz), I'd go that route; otherwise, the E8400 is probably your best bet.

 

[Davros]

Would the XFI still free up the CPU a bit on Vista64?

theres more to an x-fi than freeing up cpu time

 

[D3v0ur3r]

Well I know there is more to an X-FI then freeing up CPU (used Creative ever since the original Sound Blaster Live). But I was more asking about the issue with Vista. Reading yesterday I found out that Vista doesn't allow direct access to the hardware so DirectX & EAX are supposedly not used. So aside from better quality sound which can be offered from other cards there is freeing CPU cycles.

Anyway. Here is what I ordered.

Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive $67.99

PC Power & Cooling S75QB 750W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply $149.99

LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black IDE Model $22.99

XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler $36.99

Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit $99.99

CORSAIR XMS2 DHX 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model $109.00

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor $189.99

Rosewill R5601-BK 0.8mm Japanese Cold Rolled Steel Screw-less Dual 120mm Fans ATX Mid Tower Computer Case$54.99

Dual EVGA 512 GeForce 8800GT Superclocked 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported $359.98 ($179.99 ea)

MSI P7N Diamond LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 780i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard with SoundBlaster X-Fi Extreme Audio $249.99

Subtotal $1,341.90
Tax $0.00
UPS 3 DAYS $25.17
Rush Processing $3.99
Order Total $1,371.06

I did read the reviews for the GTX 280 & 260 as well as I seen the price. I can't afford the 280 & the 260 was a little more then Dual 8800GT's. I stayed with the 8800GT's because I can pass one of each down to my twin boys at a later date & they are pretty cheap as well as currently available. Went with the E8400 to save a little $ & also seems about 80% of the reviews I looked at yesterday a Core 2 Duo is being used, either Extreme or not.

Thanks for the help. I used some advice where I could to fit my wallet. Ended up building which I didn't want to do but it should only take me an hour & I guess its good to be very familiar with your comp.

 

[ShaidarHaran]

Nice choices, but you should've gotten a WD 640GB HD instead of that Seagate 320GB. Only about $30 more but twice the capacity and more speed certainly offset that cost.

 

[D3v0ur3r]

Ok. Got all my stuff today & now I have an issue. Computer is totally put together properly as best I can tell. I get power but no post or any sort of signal to the monitor. I've tried both v-cards & just one. I've also tried the 4 & 6 pin cpu power connectors. The power LED, HDD LED, Speaker & so on all seem to be connected properly. I have green LED lights for the mem slots & the only red lights are for the HDD which isn't formated & the Standby LED. No idea why the standby would be red when I've turned on. With the PCIE 1, 3, & 4 LED's reporting functional.

Totally at a loss here. No beeps when I power on either. Any idea's?

Edit: This has to be the worste manual I have ever received with a Mobo as well.

 

[MfA]

Most likely your CPU is not seated well, your main power connector is not seated well or your power button isn't connected to the mobo header right (you can always try the good old screw-driver on-button).

 

[mcsven]

I had this problem with a self-build years ago (it had a 3dfx Voodoo 5 5500!). Not a great place to be, I empathise. After much internet research, I just took it all apart - down to re-seating the CPU and applying the Arctic Silver - and rebuilt it. Started first time and ran without problem for years.

Good luck!

 

[D3v0ur3r]

Not exactly sure how the CPU couldn't be seated correctly. It only goes in one way. I tried both the 4 plug & 8 plug CPU power cables & the same result. I got an RMA for the mobo but does anyone think it isn't the mobo?

Edit: Btw, I really hate the way the 775 HSF connects to the mobo. I much more prefer the AMD style. At least the way mine connects. Seat & lock the swing arm & all done.

 

[Kyyla]

Forget the X-Fi. It's more trouble than it's worth. Creative hasn't come up with stable drivers in years.

 

[D3v0ur3r]

Ok. I got another mobo & I got the comp running. New issues though I hope someone can help with. The mobo is a EVGA 680i. For some reason the computer will not reboot on its own. I have to power the tower off with the power button & in order to get the comp to start back up I have to turn off the PSU, then unplug the power, wait a few seconds, plug back in the power, switch the PSU on & then hit the on button. Seems none of the LED's are working but I made sure I plugged in the cables the way it said to.

Any idea's?

Edit: Link to mobo. http://www.evga.com/products/moreInfo.asp?pn=122-CK-NF67-T1&family=Motherboard Family

 

[BRiT]

Usually when something like the power LED don't light, it's because the polarity is reversed. Try reversing the LED plugs to the motherboard.

As for the reboot issues, that's a very odd situation. Have you updated the BIOS to the latest and greatest available?

 

[D3v0ur3r]

Heck I just got Vista 64 installed & am trying to figure out why the comp will not start properly let alone reboot or shut down.