Building my first computer, here is what I have come up with so far. Any thoughts or suggestions are greatly appreciated. I am wanting something that is going to handle pretty much anything i want to do, and this comes pretty close I think. Also have a question about DDR3 RAM. The motherboard I am getting says DDR3, but will DDR2 work on it also?

Case
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2486991&Sku=ULT40054


Motherboard & CPU combo
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3208223&CatId=1599

Hard Drive
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2273393&Sku=TSD-500AS2


Monitor
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2881203&CatId=2775

Video Card
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2824836&Sku=E145-8008

Memory
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3128113&CatId=3361

Windows Vista

Keyboard
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1617455&Sku=L23-7074


[Edited on August 12, 2007 at 5:33 PM. Reason : ]

8/12/2007 5:24:09 PM

Id stay away from the nvidia if you plan on running vista. There have been so many ppl that can't run vista b/c of nvidia and they have yet to come out with a working driver for it yet.

8/12/2007 5:28:08 PM

Whats a comparable card that you would recomend for Vista?

I really don't want to run Vista, I love XP, but doon't a lot of the new games require Vista to play them?

[Edited on August 12, 2007 at 5:31 PM. Reason : .]

8/12/2007 5:29:27 PM

First big problem is you are listing all tiger direct links. Do not purchase from them. Newegg.com is your friend.

DDR3 is too expensive, stick with 2, yes it's forwards/backwards compatible.

That case is garbage. See any number of other recent computer build threads for plenty of good case options.

Get XP, don't even bother with Vista yet. The only games that "require" vista are from Microsoft and it's an artificial requirement, you just need to patch the game to run it on XP.

Stick with nVidia, their cards are the best out there and best bang for the buck.

The keyboard is a complete waste of money. Get a logitech wireless S510 combo for the same price and get a decent gaming mouse if you dont have one.

[Edited on August 12, 2007 at 6:05 PM. Reason : .]

8/12/2007 6:05:19 PM

ATI 2900XT is close to the nvidia card you wanted. Its not as good but if you dont go nvidia you have to go ATI...well AMD.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161091

8/12/2007 6:10:33 PM

What's so bad about the case? I got one a few months ago...just curious.

8/12/2007 6:37:12 PM

I'm wondering also. It has great reviews.

8/12/2007 7:45:10 PM

you do realize they only post the positive reviews right?

The case design is almost 5 years old. I mean it's ancient, and its a knockoff of an ancient design. Not to mention it looks like a mutant retarded baby, but that's beside the point.

Reason enough to NOT buy it is that its Ultra AKA tigerdirect store brand. Add to that pretty crap design and cooling along with it being heavy and aged and overpriced.

8/12/2007 8:00:55 PM

Quote :

"Add to that pretty crap design and cooling along with it being heavy and aged and overpriced."

Heavy..who cares. Cooling...do you have anything to prove this? Overpriced..probably, but again if that's what you want then who cares. You made it out like you had hard evidence it was a shitty case. The fact that it is "aged" doesn't make it any worse, this isn't a processor or something where there are huge improvements every few months.

8/12/2007 8:05:33 PM

The fact this case used to cost about 25 bucks should tell you something.

And yes, compared to ANY modern Antec, Enermax, Soldam, Lian-Li case, this is FAR less efficient in cooling, it's louder, more obnoxious and significantly heavier.

8/12/2007 8:16:17 PM

If you're deadset on a case that looks like that, especially one that comes with a power supply, at least get one made by a company better than ULTRA.

8/12/2007 8:35:47 PM

Antec Solo is the best case I have come across yet. Only needs one case fan to cool well unlike a lot of other cases.

If you intend to play games, it would be in your best interest to get a faster dual core, then to get a slower quad core cpu.

8/12/2007 8:40:39 PM

How big of a PSU would you think I need for that setup?

8/13/2007 12:02:41 AM

Noen's right, you can find the Ultra ATX mid-tower cases for $40 or less if you really want to stick to it, then spend the $100 you saved and get a better PSU than an Ultra PSU b/c you won't want it and that's probably half the price of that case you posted

newegg will probably have their normal price about the same as tigers' AR price

also no one else mentioned this, but if you go with that mobo/cpu combo it's an OEM cpu so you'll need to spend $40-50 on a good cpu cooler like a zalman

[Edited on August 13, 2007 at 12:13 AM. Reason : .]

8/13/2007 12:11:32 AM

Thinking of switching to this CPU. Any thoughts? And which motherboard would you recomend for it?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103773

8/13/2007 12:26:55 AM

stick to intel this generation. The Core2Duo is just plain better. Duo for gaming, Quad for productivity.

8/13/2007 12:37:19 AM

Was just reading up on the motherboard I posted in my original post, and it is not backwards compatible with DDR2.

More than likely going to go with the AMD CPU I posted above and this MB

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131013

Mainly because I already have 2 gigs of DDR2 and it will cost 4-500 to get 2 gigs of DDR3, plus I am saving around $250 by getting the AMD CPU and MB. I really can't justify spending that much more right now. I should clarify I am not trying to build a top top of the line Computer, I mainly want to play Crysis, and most games that are coming out, I might be wrong, but i dont think that CPU and MB combo would have any trouble along with the video card I posted would it?

By the way Noen after reading up on some cases, I have decided to go with this one.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129025

Antec P182 with a gun metal finish. Still waiting on a good suggestion for a PSU to power this rig.

8/13/2007 12:53:10 AM

uhh, the Asus P5K3 Deluxe FULLY supports DDR2.

I would NOT switch to AMD. Just get the Asus board from newegg with a retail boxed E6600

8/13/2007 12:56:30 AM

Where are you seeing it will run DDR2? There are many reviews of people who bought it thinking it would only to find out it will only run DDR3.

8/13/2007 12:58:11 AM

my quick skimming over google shows only the "deluxe" version supports ddr2, but I could be wrong.

[Edited on August 13, 2007 at 1:03 AM. Reason : http://tinyurl.com/3xs6u3]

8/13/2007 1:03:11 AM

Ok, thanks, that really changes things. I really dont want to get the DDR3 right now, and being able to use my DDR2 would be a major bonus.


Still waiting on a PSU suggestion....

500w? 750w? More??

[Edited on August 13, 2007 at 1:19 AM. Reason : /]

8/13/2007 1:06:42 AM

I'm suggesting around 750... I'm sure many ppl here know more than me tho. Last time I built a really badass system I went cheap on the PS and it wouldn't handle it, so I strongly suggest you don't repeat my mistake

8/13/2007 1:25:53 AM

um, is there even a non deluxe version of this board? And so far as I'm aware, ALL DDR3 boards fully support DDR2 as well.

8/13/2007 2:34:13 AM

no

[Edited on August 13, 2007 at 2:37 AM. Reason : http://www.kingston.com/hyperx/products/ddr3_faq.asp]

8/13/2007 2:36:43 AM

Ahh, well there you go.

Just checked, you just need the Asus P5K Deluxe (versus the Asus P5K3 Deluxe)

How gay. But at least you still have a ton of options.

8/13/2007 2:42:06 AM

I'm going to stick with the Delux and just go ahead and get DDR3.

Its going to be about 2 months before I have this totaly pieced together, and the RAM is going to be the last thing I purchase, so hopefully, DDR3 will have come down just a bit by then. Still found a Gig of Kingston DDR3 for $215 right now, so not to bad, but not good either.

[Edited on August 13, 2007 at 2:55 AM. Reason : m]

8/13/2007 2:53:50 AM

that's insane. by all accounts, DDR3 isn't going to be price competitive for at least another year, possibly 2.

8/13/2007 3:02:56 AM

Well I would rather just go ahead and get a MB that supports DDR3 so I don't have to worry about it in the future. And from whats been posted, unless I am misreading, the motherboard I posted does not support both DDR2 and DDR3.

8/13/2007 3:12:33 AM

No, there are two versions. A ddr2 and a ddr3 version, as I pointed out in my last post. (the P5k vs. the P5K3)

And it's not worth the upgrade. DDR2 is going to be the standard format for at least another year. If you already have it on your current system, save the money. The performance difference does not justify the expense at all.

[Edited on August 13, 2007 at 3:50 AM. Reason : .]

8/13/2007 3:49:40 AM

Question about Direct X10. Like i posted, I am mainly making this rig for gaming. And even though you stated that a lot of new games don't require Vista, a lot of them are going require Direct X10, or atleast to make them look like they should. And Direct X10 is only available on Vista. Therefore, won't I have to use Vista in order to take advantage of DX10?

8/13/2007 4:31:10 AM

vista is a bitch, but hoenstly its the future, so eventaully all the gamers are probably goign to need to switch to it.

Get a better case they are right, i bought that case about 7 years ago when it was made by antec and i paid about 70 bux.

bla

8/13/2007 6:10:03 AM

For a power supply most recommend over 600W for being future proof. After reading this article
http://www.overclockers.com/articles1452/ I decided to go with a PCP&C 610 silencer for using in my PC. Its a good brand with 83% efficiency, lots of amps on the 12V rail (49A) and its quiet. What more can you ask for?

8/13/2007 8:30:50 AM

Stick with Nvidia, moe doesn't know what the fuck he's talking about, you can get that same card for like $100 less on newegg, you need to get a Core 2 Duo if you're building a gaming rig (go for the 3.0 GHz one), DO NOT buy ANYTHING from TigerDirect, shop newegg and pricewatch, I'd say a 600 W psu will do you fine, and I got 2 GB of DDR2 800 for like $80 a while back so paying that much for DDR3 is completely retarded.

With a new powerful rig you won't really notice any slowdown problems with Vista, though it is a fucking memory hog and your games will probably be faster in XP still. Just sitting idle Vista uses about 40% of my 2 GB.

[Edited on August 13, 2007 at 9:12 AM. Reason : ]

8/13/2007 9:08:55 AM

Quote :

"First big problem is you are listing all tiger direct links. Do not purchase from them."

i've bought from them (from the store, though) for YEARS and never once had a problem with them or their rebates

8/13/2007 9:43:34 AM

^ It's just a price issue. I've never had issues with their products either, but there are better and cheaper places to shop.

8/13/2007 10:12:41 AM

the case is fine, I use one. the issue with it is the shittastic psu in it. get one of the slickdeals on an antec case and get an antec/thermaltake/ocz psu. buying a quad at this point is silly, especially using xp. a core2duo is about half the price and will be just as fast for your purposes if you're on tdub asking for part approval. get 2gb of ddr2 for like $50 on slickdeals. the hard drive and keyboard are good choices and excellent prices.

8/13/2007 10:16:50 AM

quality power supply manufacturers:

Antec (middle of the road)
OCZ (gamer oriented - high power)
Fortron Source (i have their Blue Storm 500, very quiet and stable)
PC Power and Cooling (without a doubt the best, but very pricey and more power than most ppl need)
Seasonic (powerful and the quietest PSUs around right now)
Corsair (no personal experience, but they have been getting good reviews)

If I had to make a PSU choice today, I would probably buy a Seasonic.

The better the brand the more watts you will get out of it. So an Ultra 750W is probably about a 550 Antec.

And since you were already gonna almost pay $300 for the Q6600, I would get this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115028

[Edited on August 13, 2007 at 10:40 PM. Reason : added CPU]

[Edited on August 13, 2007 at 10:55 PM. Reason : -]

8/13/2007 10:37:54 PM

I would NOT buy DDR3. There's two reasons for this.

1. It's really expensive and you will see practically no performance gain.

2. There's no such thing as future proof in the computer industry. You should expect to buy all new components every time you make a major upgrade. I bought a socket 939 AMD board because it was supposed to be future proof. Where are we now. DDR2/DDR3 and a new socket and the biggest upgrade from my 3500+ I can get is X2 4000+. It's best to go with the best bang for your buck at the time and not worry about the future.

8/13/2007 10:51:11 PM

DDR3 is a waste, check out any of the major review sites and they will show you in specific tests/articles.

I have that EVGA 640Mb 8800GTS... its incredible.

Oh, and there is no need for a 750w power supply unless you plan on doing SLI at any point. 550-600w will be more than enough for anything you do.

8/13/2007 11:03:56 PM

Quote :

"The better the brand the more watts you will get out of it. So an Ultra 750W is probably about a 550 Antec."

he meant the better brand, the better efficiency, meaning a sorry ass Ultra 750W would equal an antec 550w

i'd also HIGHLY recommend Enermax Liberty series for PSU, and i'd get a 6850 over a Q6600 anyday

8/14/2007 12:33:52 AM

/message_topic.aspx?topic=472002&page=5

8/14/2007 11:01:16 AM

Newegg, not tigerdirect. Ultra cases are horrible, and thier psus are even worse. I cringe whenever i go into the tigerdirect store in Raleigh. Plus everyone is right, DDR3 is a waste right now, and there's hardly a performance gain:

http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/05/21/intel_intros_3-series_chipsets_with_fsb1333_and_ddr3/page6.html

If you wanna spend lots of $$ and be courageous get one of these:

http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/08/13/flash_based_hard_drives_cometh/

Heh, solid state speeds compared to HDs:

http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/08/13/flash_based_hard_drives_cometh/page7.html

I just saw this article and am reading through it. Aside from the price, these things appear pretty awesome.

[Edited on August 15, 2007 at 8:05 AM. Reason : .]

8/15/2007 7:57:14 AM

Like I said earlier, I have the case you originally posted...and the power supply FUCKING SUCKS. It lasted about a week and was flakey at best during that week... So yeah, regardless of what case you get, get a different psu.

8/15/2007 9:23:35 AM

I would like to reiterate my reasoning to stay away from nvidia if you are going to run vista. These people would agree:

http://forums.nvidia.com/index.php?showtopic=25381&st=2240

8/15/2007 3:47:02 PM

Maybe I am reading it wrong, but it seems most of those people are having problems with driver issues are using an SLI setup.

8/15/2007 3:54:10 PM

yes, very important to distinguish the difference. no problems here w/ nvidia 8800gts & vista.

8/15/2007 3:59:08 PM

All I'm sayin is be careful. I personally do not want to do business with a company that cannot develop a fix for a problem like this after 6+months.

8/15/2007 6:34:41 PM

talking about microsoft or nvidia or creative?

no, seriously i know what you mean, i had an nforce3 250 chipset motherboard (only 6 months old at the time) and they straight up said it wasn't going to be supported in vista (in part b/c of the driver development needed)

but the graphics chipset they produce is top notch, i still choose nvidia over ATI

8/15/2007 7:04:22 PM

Shit, I'd get the G15 keyboard, only for the backlighting.

8/15/2007 7:26:55 PM

The "gaming toggle" is also a nice added feature. So basically while you are gaming, and you hit the windows button, your shit doesn't minimize.

8/15/2007 8:17:24 PM