Hey guys
I've decided to give my rig a big overhaul, since it's been about two years since the last big upgrade, and there are some very sexy games on the horizon. Currently using an amd 4400+ and a geforce 8800gtx (which I only got recently, and obviously won't need to be replacing). Part of the reason I want to upgrade is because I'm getting the impression that my cpu is being a rather big bottleneck in recent games, as my fps isn't really up to 8800gtx standard a lot of the time.
So, what started with a "I need a new CPU" has turned into "**** it, I'll just buy half a new PC". Here's where I'm at:
Basically my big concerns right now are:
*Will the heatsink fit on the mobo and in the case (without having to take off the 4-fan-sidepanel on the 832)? I was looking at a Zalman 9700 to begin with but it seems pretty unlikely that it'll fit.
*I'm going for a DDR2/DDR3 board thinking it will save me money and effort in the future, when I'm looking to get ddr3 ram. Is that wise? Or will I probably be buying a new mobo by the time I need ddr3?
*Spent the last couple of months trying to decide between the q6600 and th e6850, and ended up with this. I'm going to be using it for gaming mostly, besides that it's just going to be web browsing, etc, as well as some programming. So I'm thinking, get a nice 4gig dual core clock for now, and in a couple of years I'll be able to upgrade to a high-end quad when it'll probably be more of a requirement.
*The Raptor I'm not entirely sure about, but it sounds pretty handy. I've already got 1tB of storage across 3 hard drives, so I was thinking that a relatively small raptor drive might be a good place to freshly install Vista onto, giving the new OS a nice clean start. Reason I'm going with the new case is because my current Wavemaster has 3 of the 4 hard drive bays filled, and the 4th one is taken up by the freakishly large 8800gtx. So, the new case will give me a bit more room for expansion, hopefully.
Appreciate any reassurance/mockery, hopefully going to finalize the build in the next day or so and get it sent off. Cheers all!
I've decided to give my rig a big overhaul, since it's been about two years since the last big upgrade, and there are some very sexy games on the horizon. Currently using an amd 4400+ and a geforce 8800gtx (which I only got recently, and obviously won't need to be replacing). Part of the reason I want to upgrade is because I'm getting the impression that my cpu is being a rather big bottleneck in recent games, as my fps isn't really up to 8800gtx standard a lot of the time.
So, what started with a "I need a new CPU" has turned into "**** it, I'll just buy half a new PC". Here's where I'm at:

Basically my big concerns right now are:
*Will the heatsink fit on the mobo and in the case (without having to take off the 4-fan-sidepanel on the 832)? I was looking at a Zalman 9700 to begin with but it seems pretty unlikely that it'll fit.
*I'm going for a DDR2/DDR3 board thinking it will save me money and effort in the future, when I'm looking to get ddr3 ram. Is that wise? Or will I probably be buying a new mobo by the time I need ddr3?
*Spent the last couple of months trying to decide between the q6600 and th e6850, and ended up with this. I'm going to be using it for gaming mostly, besides that it's just going to be web browsing, etc, as well as some programming. So I'm thinking, get a nice 4gig dual core clock for now, and in a couple of years I'll be able to upgrade to a high-end quad when it'll probably be more of a requirement.
*The Raptor I'm not entirely sure about, but it sounds pretty handy. I've already got 1tB of storage across 3 hard drives, so I was thinking that a relatively small raptor drive might be a good place to freshly install Vista onto, giving the new OS a nice clean start. Reason I'm going with the new case is because my current Wavemaster has 3 of the 4 hard drive bays filled, and the 4th one is taken up by the freakishly large 8800gtx. So, the new case will give me a bit more room for expansion, hopefully.
Appreciate any reassurance/mockery, hopefully going to finalize the build in the next day or so and get it sent off. Cheers all!
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