I've looked and can't choose, new build!

[Grim_killer]

So I've started on a new build but now I'm a bit stuck, there are so many parts to choose from and I need some help picking a choosing.
What I already have
Nforce 790i
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188025
ABS 900watt
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817814013
Hopefully getting a Intel Qx6850 For $240 from Intel
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115026&Tpk=qx6850

And The rest I just cant figure out.
I want a 9800 and what I have read was that their doing a die shrink and possibly a price cut later this month. I want to know which one would go good with what a I have and for basically doing what ever I throw at it. Also I was planing on Sli.
Whats also kind of getting me in circles is the Ram
DDR3, I don't really know which speed would do good.
I found this that seem ok
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145200
But the reviews all have to deal with having to oc it to get it that speed, Does anyone know of a faster better cheap ram? Either 2gb or 4gb?
So Can I get some help choosing some parts? And Yes I know I shouldn't of gotten the 790 but I got it and the time I changed my mind it was too late to cancel the shipping.:think:

[J-Roc]

You'll get better performance with 4x 1Gb modules than with thoes 2x 2Gb ones, allthough you'll loose upgradabillity 2 years down the road when you actually need more then 4Gb installed. Also, the ram you've selected will only run at 1333 on that board. You might be able to overclock it to its max 1600mhz but an EPP set of ram can reach 1800Mhz or even 2Ghz.

As for the gfx card...

it totally depends on your budget. a pair of 9800X2's will set you back neerly $1k but will take anything you can throw at it. Personally, i'd choose a pair of 8800GT 512's in SLI, $300-500 depending on the brand and model and should be able to run anything at high settings.

[Grim_killer]

Well I do know that 4 sticks would do better than 2 but I was also looking at the fact that the board can go up to 8gb, and so getting 2 sticks could leave some space to do 8gbs later on but I haven't put my mind set on anything right now with the parts.
As price wise, I was given $600 for video cards, so I was either going to go big with one card and maybe wait until later to get another one if I want it or go with two cheaper ones. The problem is that now I am having to get very tight with my spending because I'm not getting much more than a extra $250 later this month to spend without going into my own money which is going to be for roms and cooling and my modding project I'm working on.

[A3DSAIL]

You don't say what you are building for or what your budget is or your OS, for that matter — I will assume you want a high-end gaming rig and you are running some variant of 64-bit Vista that will be able to see 4 GB of RAM.

Your RAM choice (CORSAIR XMS3 DHX 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) seems like a fine choice to me. You don't need more than 4 gigs here. Yes, 4 one gig dimms would be slightly faster than the 2 gig dimms, but we're splitting hairs here in most real world applications, imho.

Two GeForce 9800 GX2s in SLI would be awesome with this board, so get one now and another later when the price drops. The GeForce 260/280 series just isn't showing a good price/performance ratio now, imho, and it would be hard to justify the cost unless you are rocking a high-end 30" monitor, but they will help drop the price on lower tier cards which is good for us not-so-rich players.

I'm not a big fan of modular PSUs, and I read a significant number of DOAs on Newegg's customer review page, as well as some complaints about stiff cables and some other reliability problems with the Tagan, but you may be okay here. If you do have to return it, get a PC Power & Cooling T12W 1200W and consider you lesson learned.

You don't say what case you have or are considering. What is your budget for the case and the monitor?

[p0Pe]

1200 W is overkill, hell 900 W is overkill-.- thermaltake ran 2 whole systems with ONE 1200 W psu.. and that was systems with Q9450 and 9800 gx2 as far as i remember... so chill with the power:P

i would go for a 4870 instead of the 9800 gtx or gx2. the nvidia cards a HUGE! i have one on my desk right now, and i hate it.
the prob there is that you have a sli mobo:/ but it will run anyway. you just wont be able to get a second one and run crossfire, but hey! a 4870 is plenty IMO. and its cheap. and beats up the 9800 gtx:)

[A3DSAIL]

Yeah, he doesn't need 1200wtt right now, but the trouble is he hasn't really given much info about just what his current and future needs are going to be. Hell, he could run his rig with a PCP&C 750 Quad like mine, but what are his power requirements going to be in two years? A bigger PSU like the 1200 wtt is less stressed, more future proofed and should last through several increased power requirement upgrades over more years than something that is "just right" today. The question in my mind isn't whether he can get away with less wattage, but is that the smartest move given his future plans...we just don't know. We need more information.

We also don't know what case G_k is looking at. Nvidia cards are big, but there a some good full tower cases out there that will handle those cards with plenty of room to spare. More info G_k!!!

[Luke122]

My thoughts on power, go big. Go with quality, and you'll never need to replace it as your system evolves.

I built a system for someone last week with a q6600, 4gb ram, and a 3870 gpu. We calculated out 470w of power needs, and went with a 550w psu, but it ended up being not enough. No real explanation, it was just unstable, so we hopped it up to a 750w (he'll be adding another 3870 eventually) and it's solid.

[J-Roc]

i have a 750watt coolermaster. 80plus club FTW! and a pair of 3870x2's, quad core, watercooling, fans out the ying yang. I seriously doupt i'll ever need to upgrade this psu for the life of this system.

I would definitly sugjest a 80% plus PSU no matter how many watts its got. If you plan on going sli with a quad and a bunch of extras, it will deffinitly help keep your power bill down. 750-900 is more than you'll ever need. Another thing to note is that each new generation of components (except GPU's but there coming down slowly) require less power then the previous model.

[Grim_killer]

...
Ok Well, Im working with $850 right now for the processor and video cards, which I already said what my processor going to be and Im getting one for $250. So right know im working with $600 for video cards and for the rest well Im just trying to find a total right now so I can get the money for it.
For the case it is this monster
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133025
And My Os is going to be Vista 64bit.
MY Monitor is just a simple 17inch Dell that i got for free and Im going to be attaching my Tv to it.
As For the Power Supply I got, I put it on my old computer for a little while and it works, so hopefully its not going to be dead in a few days or so.

[J-Roc]

tv? humm.. HDTV?

The tv output on graphics cards is poor unless you use hdmi. Max res for s-video is 1024x768 and everything looks fuzzy and out of focus. RBY might be better but when i tired it, it was black and green and looked like crap :)

[Luke122]

Well, if you are just gaming or watching videos, a regular TV isnt bad. But yeah, as mentioned above, you'll max out the res for sure unless it's an HDTV.

HDTV's usually have analog (vga) or DVI inputs, so you can connect them using a standard monitor cable.

[nevermind1534]

A regular ntsc tv maxes out at 640x480. I can't remember what PAL is, though. If you need to know, to set a custom resolution, or something, you can just look at the wikipedia article.

[Luke122]

A regular ntsc tv maxes out at 640x480. I can't remember what PAL is, though. If you need to know, to set a custom resolution, or something, you can just look at the wikipedia article.

I'm positive that NTSC will do 800x600, as I've done that on my old CRT and my projection tv before I got my LCD.

[Grim_killer]

Its a HDTV....
So whats some ram and video card that would be the most suitable for the 790i board for gaming, Auto cad, and Adobe After effect and editing HD videos. Corsair I know is one of the best to go with but one of the most expensive. Kingston is ok
I heard Ocz is ok.
Truly I see all the 9800s but there different versions of them other than just GX2 and Gtx
theres Gtx (Ko) (G92) and all that fancy stuff... So Which is which in a list of good to best?
Just to let yall know, This is my second build, my last one was five years ago. So a lot has changed since then.

[A3DSAIL]

You can use any Nvidia GeForce series 6 and above PCI-E graphics card for Adobe After Effects and gaming, but for Auto Cad, which has different requirements, I recommend looking at Nvidia's Quadro line of cards. For a comparison of the main differences between the consumer level GeForce cards and the workstation Quadro series, go here (http://www.rendernode.com/articles.php?articleId=237&page=7).

Since you're choosing to go with the enthusiast-oriented 790i motherboard, then I recommend DDR3 memory from Corsair.

Questions: Why go with so many fans if you're going to water cool your rig? Also, your case choice is big and the PSU space is located on the bottom. Be sure to check your PSU's cable lengths!

[Grim_killer]

You can use any Nvidia GeForce series 6 and above PCI-E graphics card for Adobe After Effects and gaming, but for Auto Cad, which has different requirements, I recommend looking at Nvidia's Quadro line of cards. For a comparison of the main differences between the consumer level GeForce cards and the workstation Quadro series, go here (http://www.rendernode.com/articles.php?articleId=237&page=7).

Since you're choosing to go with the enthusiast-oriented 790i motherboard, then I recommend DDR3 memory from Corsair.

Questions: Why go with so many fans if you're going to water cool your rig? Also, your case choice is big and the PSU space is located on the bottom. Be sure to check your PSU's cable lengths!

Yea, I saw the Quadro cards but I didn't think they were truly for me, since really I don't know yet how much Im going to be using my personal computer for the cad.
About the Case, I have already checked out the cable lengths by putting my old computer in it and everything fits perfectly, the problem is just wire managing, but I have already made some mods for that.
Since you mention water cooling that brings me to a new question,
I don't know a thing about water cooling, except some true basics.
I know not to mix the metals, most full kits are bad, change the liquid every two months...right?
I seen Danger den being a used a lot but what parts do I need to get a good water cooling?

Also, Does anyone know any good deals?:eek:

[A3DSAIL]

I advise you not to rush into W/C unless you have a real need to lower your CPU/VGA temps because you want to explore the extreme overclocking limits of your rig or you have components that run so hot you can't control the temps with air. There are some really good air coolers out there that will satisfy the needs of a lot of users who are gamers or who edit videos, etc.

Working with the intricacies of water cooling has its own rewards, too, of course and if you enjoy messing with the guts of your machine and you consider a 2- or 3º drop in your proc temp as a major victory, then I say have at it. Just be advised that if you're new to W/C, then you've got some research to do.

There's a good beginner's guide to W/C here (http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/a-beginners-guide-for-watercooling-your-pc,1573.html). Also, asking questions in this and other forums is a good way to find out what's working well for the more knowledgeable water cooling enthusiasts. There's many experienced water cooling folks out there that will be glad to share their expertise with you if you ask specific questions in a clear and concise manner and list your components for them.

You'll soon find out that trial and error is the most useful (and frustrating) method because no one has a rig exactly like yours and you'll have to experiment to find the right combination for your system. Hint: think "balance".

[nevermind1534]

I'm positive that NTSC will do 800x600, as I've done that on my old CRT and my projection tv before I got my LCD.

I know that they can run that, but i've seen TVs running off of a computer at 1024x768, and it looked like crap. You can only see the big stuff. I think I had my resolution on my laptop with TV output at 800x600, and it looked ok. Just be careful, as depending on what kind of output device you use, because sometimes, instead of scaling the picture, it makes it too big for the TV, cutting off all the edges.

[A3DSAIL]

Ok Well, Im working with $850 right now for the processor and video cards, which I already said what my processor going to be and Im getting one for $250. So right know im working with $600 for video cards and for the rest well Im just trying to find a total right now so I can get the money for it.

Okay, that gives us a better idea of your budget and now the PCP&C 1200 at $500 or so seems like a bit much financially, so something like the PCP&C Turbo-Cool 860 at around $270 (Newegg (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703013))is easier on the wallet while still being SLI certified up to Dual 8800 Ultras.

Another possibility is the PC P&C PPCS750QBL Silencer 750W Quad Blue, rated for SLI up to dual 8800GTXs and is only $140 after $25 mail-in-rebate at Newegg (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703019).

[Grim_killer]

Ok...
Well I used the $600 I had and got two 9800gx2s off of ebay. And I am still waiting for when the processor I want is available to me. So really all I have to choose is the ram
and hopefully water cooling.
Which Im going with the water cooling to keep not only my computer cool, it is to hopefully keep my room a little bit cooler too. Every time I have my older computer on it turns my room into a sauna and I dont need that right now. Also I might oc it.

So the list on what i need...
Operating system, I choosed Vista Ultimate 64bit
Ram
dvd/CD-roms
Cooling
finish modding

Damn....

So for water cooling, a good brand is DangerDen right?

[cluu1]

imo you should get a asus rampage or maximus and xifre 4870's or 4850's
cause
iirc nforce chipsets are broken