New Plan

[Mike..]

Well I managed to find one in stock and the 8800GT is an amazing medium. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814121099 but on the side of saving money http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814130290 there you go.

In regards to the case, you are on your own, personally I'm not a fan of much except Lian Li and Silverstone cases, but those way break the budget.

Finally Vista. To be honest you don't need ultimate. You will never use half the features unless you are setting it up to be a server, or as part of a business. You would be fine with Home Premium x64.

Cheers
Cameron

Ah, So premium does run at 64. Couldn't find anything that said it did. I'll check newegg for the stats. Thanks for the links on the cards. May do the 8800 now.

Reguards
Mike

[GunnerMan]

Trust me, don't skimp on the video card if at  all possible. The 8800GT can OC to perform like the GTX you wont be disapointed.

[NickN]

And an 8800GTX with 768MB can be clocked to 8800 Ultra speed. With the additional 256Mb of needed video memory to ensure maximum FSX ability

The 8800GT can equal or surpass the 8800GTS but it will not surpass a GTX/Ultra

It is a good solution to get into a somewhat better card than the GTS. But I think it is important to point out, at default the 8800GT only matches the GTS in performance with resolution, AA and AF cranked up. It only beats the GTS if AA and AF are left off or application driven.

Higher resolution is where the extra 128MB of memory the GTS provides kicks in.

head to head, the GT is the better buy, simply because the core has gone through a few changes. The GTS GPU is from the old wafer runs.

There are however still some driver issues with the GT series Nvidia is still working on

[Mike..]

Well guys. I just saved a bunch of money by going to tiger direct.

Updated Specs

MoBo/CPU
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications ... 0ILT-Q6600

Memory
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications ... u=C13-6076

Hard Drive
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications ... =TSD-320AS

Video Card
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications ... =E145-8014
Crap! Well guess I gotta find a new card.

DVD/Burner
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications ... u=L12-1051

Case
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications ... u=ULT40034

CPU Cooling
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications ... =T925-2034

Going to spring for more memory once it's built, but this should get her done for now. Well I'm off to find another 8800..............


Mike

[ctjoyce]

I would stay far away from that motherboard. I also would highly suggest using Newegg over tiger direct. They have cheaper shipping, and FAR superior customer service to anyone. As for the CPU....

Actually you know what? Just give me your absolute maximum budget that you are willing to spend on this less say $75 to leave room for a case, and I will make you a list of parts.

When you skimp on things especially like a motherboard or GPU its like shooting yourself in the foot and then trying to run a marathon, you can mask the pain for the first couple miles, but eventually it gets you.

And as for home edition, All versions of vista  (except starter) come in x64, HOWEVER YOU MUST BUY A x64 DISK!!! This is very important. You can't just run down to the local BestBuy and grab a copy of Home Premium off the shelf and expect it to do x64, in fact you can't even get a x64 OS at any retail outlet because MS isn't selling the x64 stuff there specifically so people don't get confused. So when you are buying your OS, you need to make sure that it is x64 and not x86.

Cheers
Cameron

[Mike..]

I would stay far away from that motherboard. I also would highly suggest using Newegg over tiger direct. They have cheaper shipping, and FAR superior customer service to anyone. As for the CPU....

Actually you know what? Just give me your absolute maximum budget that you are willing to spend on this less say $75 to leave room for a case, and I will make you a list of parts.

When you skimp on things especially like a motherboard or GPU its like shooting yourself in the foot and then trying to run a marathon, you can mask the pain for the first couple miles, but eventually it gets you.

And as for home edition, All versions of vista  (except starter) come in x64, HOWEVER YOU MUST BUY A x64 DISK!!! This is very important. You can't just run down to the local BestBuy and grab a copy of Home Premium off the shelf and expect it to do x64, in fact you can't even get a x64 OS at any retail outlet because MS isn't selling the x64 stuff there specifically so people don't get confused. So when you are buying your OS, you need to make sure that it is x64 and not x86.

Cheers
Cameron

Well dang! Thought I had this licked. Ok. I want to do this right,the first time. I know for a fact my father is going to spring for the OS, so, I would really like to try to keep this no more than 1100.00 US. And without trying to skimp out on that Q6600,memory or the vid card. I really don't need more than 250 HD as this will be my dedicated gaming machine. This rig I'm on now will be for all the media stuff and things like MS word. The wifes rig more or less. I hope I'm not being a hard case about this.

Ok Cameron. I trust you. My flight environment is in your hands. I gotta a cold beer, a smoke, the wifes home, I eagerly await your setup.


Mike (with fingers crossed)

[AniSkywalker]

The 8600 I am using keep blinking the textures; did your card ever did it to you?  :D

[ctjoyce]

Nope your not being a hard case, $1100 with no OS is very reasonable, and I was able to even manage to get it a bit under, and still give you a very very high powered rig.

Motherboard: ASUS P5N32-E SLi
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813131073

Processor: Intel Q6600
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820145034

Video Card: eVGA 8800GT
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814130303

RAM: Corsair XMS2 DDR2-800 2GB (2x2GB)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820145034

Hard disk: Western Digital 320GB SATA3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6822136074

Optical Drive: Samgsung DVD Burner
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6827151153

CPU Cooling: Zalman CNPS-9500Cu
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6835118223

Thermalpaste: Arctic Silver Ceramique
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6835100009

PSU: Thermaltake PurePower 500W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817153052

Case: Cooler Master Cavalier
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6811119075

Total $1132 less $40 rebate on the RAM

So you ended up getting set up here with one of the highest end 680i motherboards on the planet, and one of the best 8800GT cards. This system set up properly will provide an excellent flight environment and any other game environment you could ever want. And because you already have one high power card, when the 8800GTs start to drop price, much like the 7900GTs did, just strap another one in and your good to go with even more gaming power.

Cheers
Cameron

[ctjoyce]

The 8600 I am using keep blinking the textures; did your card ever did it to you?  :D

Don't thread hijack, you have your own, and your question has already been answered there.

Cheers
Cameron

[Mike..]

1132 thanks my friend! (haha). All thats left now is to get this approved by the bank (wife). I'll let you know how it goes. Vs stretching this thread out anymore than at has. I'll just PM you with any questions I may have as this build saga continues. Hoping to start a pictorial thread of this build soon. Might be cool. We'll see.


Truely. Thanks again for all your help


Happy Holidays!

Mike

[ctjoyce]

Just do me one favor when you build it. Run down to your local hardware store and get a bunch of the 12 inch ZipTies (FlexTies) When you are trying to control mess in the case to improve airflow these do amazing things. Remember there is no shame in shoving wires into the 5.25 bays and zip tieing the bunch to the side, it just gives the processor more room to breathe. While your there, or at a K-Mart / WalMart  grab a pair of rubber gloves. These come in very handy when you are trying to spread thermalpaste. An old student ID used to be my tool of choice until I did it with a glove, just give it a nice onion skin thickness layer of the stuff over the entire processor.

Cheers
Cameron

PS: Merry Christmas.

[NickN]

I dont want to pee on anyones party

but has anyone considered that motherboard will not allow him to upgrade past the Q6600

It was announced that the 680i is going bye-bye and will not support any next gen processors

That being the case he wont be doing any CPU upgrades or have full next gen video card support without replacing the motherboard.

Also, has anyone verified the CPU fan port on that motherboard is 3 or 4 pin?

If its 4 pin the CNPS9500 will not work properly. A 4 pin requires the 9700NT

[ctjoyce]

I dont want to pee on anyones party

but has anyone considered that motherboard will not allow him to upgrade past the Q6600

It was announced that the 680i is going bye-bye and will not support any next gen processors

That being the case he wont be doing any CPU upgrades or have full next gen video card support without replacing the motherboard.

Correct me if I'm wrong Jetmech, but something tells me that you may be adding a second 8800GT to the rig, but other than that the system is probably going to stay the same processor wise until rebuild in say 5~6 years?

Also, has anyone verified the CPU fan port on that motherboard is 3 or 4 pin?

If its 4 pin the CNPS9500 will not work properly. A 4 pin requires the 9700NT

Yes I have verified this, and its a 3 pin. Trust me Nick, this is the board that I've been using to build midrange SLi rigs for "clients" so I know it like the back of my hand.

Cheers
Cameron

[Milo1272]

I've been watching this thread very carefully; I hope to build my own system within the month and I've learned much from the conversation.  Mike, I look forward to hearing about how the build goes.

I'm curious.  What if I wanted to invest now in a system that will get me past the 4 year rebuild point?  Do I have to wait until new mobos come out?  That is, is there anything out now that is better than the 680i's, that would allow me to simply add a new CPU or new series of video cards 4 years from now without replacing the mobo too?  If not, how long will it be until the new mobos come out?

Many thanks.

Milo

[Mike..]

[quote]Just do me one favor when you build it. Run down to your local hardware store and get a bunch of the 12 inch ZipTies (FlexTies) When you are trying to control mess in the case to improve airflow these do amazing things. Remember there is no shame in shoving wires into the 5.25 bays and zip tieing the bunch to the side, it just gives the processor more room to breathe. While your there, or at a K-Mart / WalMart