going to be buying parts in a short while and needed some input

intel q450 (hopefully this comes out soon)

thermalright ultra-120 eXtreme
http://www.thermalright.com/new_a_ [...] VzaWFzdA==

arctic cooling accelero s1 rev. 2 (x2)
http://www.arctic-cooling.com/vga2.php?idx=147

COOLER MASTER Stacker 830 Evolution RC-830-SSN3-GP Silver Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/product/prod [...] 6811119103

EVGA 132-CK-NF78-A1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 780i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/product/prod [...] 6813188024

EVGA 512-P3-N801-AR GeForce 8800GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card (x2)
http://www.newegg.com/product/prod [...] 6814130318

PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Quad (Black) EPS12V 750W Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/product/prod [...] 6817703009

OCZ FlexXLC Edition 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1200 (PC2 9600) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ2FX12002GK (x2)
http://www.newegg.com/product/prod [...] 6820227230

Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3500320AS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
http://www.newegg.com/product/prod [...] 6822148288

Pioneer Blu-Ray Reader and 12X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model BDC-2202B
http://www.newegg.com/product/prod [...] 6827129016

Scythe S-FLEX SFF21E 120mm Case Fan (x6)
http://www.newegg.com/product/prod [...] 6835185005


this is a toal replacement pc. the one i have now is gonna be given to family and wanted something that would last long and be able to do wat i wanted it to do.

would like to hear some thoughts on this build.

Nice system you put together! I have five of those S-Flex fans and love them, there silent as a mouse. The only thing I might have gone with is the 8800GTS 512MB G92 based GPU because the GTS model overclocks much better than the GT's, buy as much as 100MHz and thats a lot. Also the 8800GTS 512MB cards come with a better cooling system by far.

Thats just what I would do because I have to squeez out every bit of performance, either way would be fine if you don't overclock. Good luck with your new build! Anymore questions please ask and welcome to Tom's forum.

Very nice... the only thing i would change is either get the GTS or get the GT with a Thermalright HR-03GT they cool better than the acceleros

if you're not going to be using multi-gpu's, you could save some money buy not getting the 780i mobo. Go with an intel based board instead, like a P35 or X38.

Would also highly recommend corsair ballistix memory. You won't need anything higher than ddr2-800, but 1066 wouldn't hurt.

Does that blu-ray reader also read HD-DVD? because I know there are combo drives out there for less than $250.

And as the above posters suggested, go with an 8800GTS 512mb, preferably an EVGA so you can step it up within 90 days if a enw card is released.

@systemlord
im not sure about overclocking the vid cards. im going on tomshardware review on the best graphics cards for january an they recommended the 8800gt for its price to power ratio. plus the 8800gts is about $100 per card an thats a bit high for me since im not sure about overclocking those.

@chookman
i was thinking of the HR-03GT but not sure if they would fit in an sli setup. the reason im using the acceleros is ive read other good reviews about them an have seen them in sli.

@Beurling
i am using multiple gpus. plus i like the 780i for its possible 3way sli in the future for maybe when i need that extra oomph?
and the memory i havent really researched as far as my other components but i have heard good things about the ones i picked an have seen people oc those way up there.
the blu-ray player read hd-dvd? not sure, but then again blu-ray won the war didnt it? so reading hd-dvd isnt as high a priority to me.
and since you also think i should go for the GTS ill look into that. 2 people should know more than 1 right?

thanks for your input guys. when i do order an get the build going ill be sure to take pics to share my happiness with you all.

Corsair makes the XMS2 and Dominator RAM, Crucial Ballistix is the memory Beurling is talking about thats great for overclocking. "As for overclocking it is so simple a caveman can do it". Let me show you how easy it is to OC a graphics card

"As for overclocking it is so simple a caveman can do it". Let me show you how easy it is to OC a graphics card. Below is a picture of RivaTuner which shows three performance bars that only need to be slid to the right for increasing the selected performance bar and to the left to decrease.

All you must do is select link between the GPU and Shader, then simply increase the two 25MHz at a time. Each time you make an increase run 3DMark06 and watch for graphic corruption and/or system freezes, when either happen (and you'll know) just power down if you PC freezes, or if you see graphic corruption simply hit Esc key and lower the setting you just increased by 20MHz then your safe.


Overclocking a CPU is alot more time consuming and almost an art. You will see big gains from overclocking both CPU and GPU as I did with my system in my signature. My combind OC between both my CPU and my GPU saw big increases in Crysis of some 20 FPS more than without overclocking, its not just about the extra FPS the whole game ran a lot more smoothly when panning left to right with the mouse. Knowing what I know now I couldn't ever go back to stock speeds. If you need help overclocking that is why were here, to help others.


If you decide you want to OC the 8800GTS G92 can 80% of the time OC upto 800MHz, there are lots out there that have already done this. Even if you decide not to OC your system, your system will still eat up pixels and spray them all over your screen with crazy frame rates. Let us know when you get your system up and running. Cheers mate



By systemlord at 2008-01-22