System build advice please...

[kibble]

Hi. Looking at building a new system to upgrade my P4 2.4Ghz setup which I've had for the last 3 or so years.

Have not got oodles of cash to spend, but want the most bang for my buck and some future proofing. I'm not looking to buy today, but before Xmas ideally, unless there is VERY good reason to wait until January. Thinking of the following;

Intel Core 2 DUO E6600 - £229.11
(seems to be the most cost effective option, with good o/c potential)
EVGA nForce 680 - £211.49
(is this the only 680i board out there at the moment though? Price is rather steep and I've not used EVGA before. There will be other models soon right?)
Leadtek GeForce 8800 GTX 768MB - £487.61
(would like to wait for price to drop a few quid, but how long till it does do you reckon? The CPU isn't a bottleneck for this much power is it?)

I'll also invest in a decent CPU cooler, probably a Zalman I think, but opinions on that welcome.

I already have a lovely 21" widescreen monitor, so I'm sorted on that front. The case and HD's I'm also already covered on.

When it comes to RAM I'm a bit stuck. A bewildering choice and I don't know what's best. I don't mind paying a bit more for good quality stuff if it's really going to make a difference. Is the Corsair Dominator RAM worth it? The price variation for RAM seems to be huge, so what are people's thoughts on this?

All advice much appreciated. Thanks...

 

[Matrix]

Hi. Looking at building a new system to upgrade my P4 2.4Ghz setup which I've had for the last 3 or so years.

Have not got oodles of cash to spend, but want the most bang for my buck and some future proofing. I'm not looking to buy today, but before Xmas ideally, unless there is VERY good reason to wait until January. Thinking of the following;

Intel Core 2 DUO E6600 - £229.11
(seems to be the most cost effective option, with good o/c potential)
EVGA nForce 680 - £211.49
(is this the only 680i board out there at the moment though? Price is rather steep and I've not used EVGA before. There will be other models soon right?)
Leadtek GeForce 8800 GTX 768MB - £487.61
(would like to wait for price to drop a few quid, but how long till it does do you reckon? The CPU isn't a bottleneck for this much power is it?)

I'll also invest in a decent CPU cooler, probably a Zalman I think, but opinions on that welcome.

I already have a lovely 21" widescreen monitor, so I'm sorted on that front. The case and HD's I'm also already covered on.

When it comes to RAM I'm a bit stuck. A bewildering choice and I don't know what's best. I don't mind paying a bit more for good quality stuff if it's really going to make a difference. Is the Corsair Dominator RAM worth it? The price variation for RAM seems to be huge, so what are people's thoughts on this?

All advice much appreciated. Thanks...

Be quick offer ends today 4ish or something?

This week only : -
GeIL 2GB (2x1GB) PC6400C4 800MHz Ultra Low Latency DDR2 Dual Channel Kit (GX22GB6400UDC) (MY-058-GL)

 

[rangor gubbins]

I hear there will be more 680 boards coming out later this month that might well be cheaper.
Do you really need a e6600? Could you just overclock a 6400 or 6300? I think the extra cache is negligible unless you are doing lots of encoding etc.

 

[Matrix]

I hear there will be more 680 boards coming out later this month that might well be cheaper.
Do you really need a e6600? Could you just overclock a 6400 or 6300? I think the extra cache is negligible unless you are doing lots of encoding etc.

Like everything there's always something new comming now if you keep waiting you'll never buy . Just get what you need I've ust bought a Asus P5W DH with a E6600.

E6300 looks to be a great chip to overclock from what i've read around here though.

 

[semi-pro waster]

EVGA build their products for overclocking and give long warranties so they are a good choice but like you say not particularly cheap.

I don't imagine the prices for the 8800 cards will drop hugely any time soon, they are the fastest DX9 cards currently available and they just happen to work rather nicely with DX10 as well, also there is usually a bit of a shortage of cards after the initial release so the price can remain high.

 

[kibble]

I hear there will be more 680 boards coming out later this month that might well be cheaper.
Do you really need a e6600? Could you just overclock a 6400 or 6300? I think the extra cache is negligible unless you are doing lots of encoding etc.

I do do a bit of video editing so the extra cache will definitely come in handy.