Yet another 'Spec Me' thread

[BeanymanJC]

Hi folks. I'm a long time lurker on these Forums, but this is my first post.

I'm thinking of building a new rig in the next month or so, since I think it's about time I got rid of my s478/AGP system I'm currently running a Prescott 3.4 (@ 3.825), 2GB DDR400, Gainward BLISS 7800GS+

I'm just looking for some advice on the specs that I have planned for my new rig. Currently I am looking at the following setup:

Intel C2D E6700 - 361.89
Asus Striker Extreme - 252.61
CellShock 2GB PC6400 DDR2 - 223.24
Gainward BLISS 8800GTX 0 469.99
WD Raptor X 150GB - 165.66
OCZ GameXStream 700w - 99.86
Coolermaster Stacker 830 - 151.56
Tuniq Tower 120 - 34.06

I have 2x 300GB drives and DVD ROM/RW drives that I will be moving over to the new system, and I'll be keeping my 19" NEC TFT for the time being.

Do those specs look ok/compatible, or are there any changes and/or advice you would give me. I can take the price up to a max of £2000, but I'm trying to keep it as close to £1500 as I can to keep the missus happy (My friend is buying my old system for £300).

To be honest I need some advice, since I've been looking at components so much it's giving me a headache

Thanks in advance.

 

[Tetras]

If it was me I'd change the E6700 to an E6600 (same cache and similar performance but £150 odd cheaper), the Raptor to a Seagate 7200.10 (same reasons) and the motherboard to the Asus P5W64-WS Pro.

 

[BeanymanJC]

I've had a mess around and come up with another spec. My only question is, would it be more beneficial for me to get a newer MB with the new chipset, or will the 975X do for the fore-seeable future?

After taking your advice, I now have this:

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 500GB - OEM £125.71
CoolerMaster Stacker 830 - Silver Trim - £151.56
Intel Core 2 DUO E6600 - £223.24
GeIL 2GB 800MHz Ultra Low Latency DDR2 - £193.86
Gainward BLISS GeForce 8800 GTX - Retail £469.99
Thermaltake Big Typhoon - £29.32
Hiper HPU-4K580-MK Type R 580W Modular - £64.61
Asus P5W64-WS Pro Intel 975X - £187.99

Does this lot seem ok?

 

[Tetras]

When you have the cash available I'd look at a better PSU, like the Corsair HX series which have very strong +12v rails (the 620W version of which is potentially capable of 8800 GTX SLI), motherboard wise it really depends what your looking for from it.

I assumed you wanted a particularly well featured workstation class board with the quad PCI-E and all the sparklies but if all you want is a board with decent performance and standard features (like some overclockability, SATA 2, Firewire) then anything in the 965/975 range with what you want will do.

One of the advantages of Quad PCI-E is that if physics cards and the like take off you have more than enough slots and will still have room for an additional raid card.