First Time Builder... Comprehensive Help Wanted!

First, I'll post the parts I intend to order to build my PC from scratch. After that I'll pose a series of questions to hopefully guide whatever discussion is going on, though I'm sure someone who knows what they're talking about will be able to offer advice outside of these questions. Please try not to assume I even know the basics (I probably don't).

Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...pk=EVGA%2b780I

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115042

RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145184

Graphics Card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130338

HDD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136073

OS: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116474

DVD Burner: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827135156

DVD Drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827135151

Sound Card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16829102012

Power Supply: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817256012

Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811146047

+a 19 inch widescreen LCD and some speakers

All totalled with rebates this is like 1700 before shipping.

Now, some basic questions:

1) Should I even bother with the 9800 GX2? Price is not really a factor here. I obviously don't have plans to get extraneous cooling for it at the moment, but would I need to? If so, would it then just be simpler to get two lesser cards and SLI (something I'm trying to avoid for a first go if possible)? Which cards to replace it with if that is advisable?

2) Will the listed Power Supply (650W) get the job done for all of these components? As my card(s) get outdated, I will eventually go SLI with this, so that is a consideration. Also, the case I have listed has six fans. Along with the PSU, will the MOBO I have listed provide enough slots for me to connect all of these and everything else (I'm not really sure how case fans are generally connected)?

3) Am I missing anything ultra-important? Heh.

4) How long can I expect this system to be able to run games at high to moderate settings (I mainly play MMOs and FPS)? CAN I RUN CRYSIS AT HIGH????

5) Overall, are these quality parts? Anything glaring that needs to be replaced with another model/company?

6) Am I well prepared for painless upgrading in the future with these components?

I know this is a fairly large post with lots of questions... but if someone is really bored, I'd really appreciate if you took the time. I'm going to be browsing the forum tomorrow (late and tired right now) and will hopefully be able to answer some ofthese questions myself, but as I'm basically a complete noob I could misinterpret some of the info.

I'm looking for as much input as possible. I'm not worried about not being able to put the thing together once I have the parts (except maybe connecting the case fans), I just want to make sure I buy decent parts that are all compatible and will be able to run together in relative harmony.

Any and all input will be greatly appreciated. I'm not really looking to reduce cost but at the same time I don't really want to pile on either. I also hope I've managed to set the subsection correctly.

Hmm, seems they were working earlier but I'm now also getting mostly 404 errors. I'll try to repost them as well as just writing out a description of the product. thanks for alerting me.

MOBO: EVGA 132-CK-NF78-A1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 780i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard

CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 Yorkfield 2.66GHz 12MB L2 Cache LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor

RAM: CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory

Graphics Card: EVGA 01G-P3-N891-AR GeForce 9800 GX2 1GB (512MB per GPU) 512-bit (256-bit per GPU) GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card

HDD: Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

OS: Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate SP1 English NA Upgrade DVD

DVD Burner: ASUS Black 20X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 20X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 14X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe

DVD Drive: ASUS Black 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM SATA DVD-ROM Drive Model DVD-E616A3T OEM

Sound Card: Creative Sound Blaster Audigy SE 7.1 Channels 24-bit 96KHz PCI Interface Sound Card

PSU: SILVERSTONE OP650 650W ATX 12V 2.2 & EPS12V Power Supply 100 - 240 V RoHS, FCC, CE

Case: NZXT TEMPEST Crafted Series CS-NT-TEM-B Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Links SHOULD be working now.

Yep P 45 way better

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813131296


and the 4850 and 4870 cant go wrong for the price point

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814131113

OK, so this is actually what I'm good at: Comprehensive. **EDIT OH MY ****ING GOD THIS IS THE LONGEST POST EVER DISCLAIMER**

The mainboard. You're going to want to go with an X38. People will recommend to you P35, P45, X48, or maybe 780i. See the reason why X38 is the best option is because, it is in fact cheaper than X48 in almost all circumstances, but has nearly the same feature set. Perhaps the most important features they share is 2 16x bandwidth lanes @ pci express 2.0 This means that your graphics card will operate in CrossFire with full bandwidth, as compared to other boards which can't do this. P45 the newest offering by Intel only accomplishes 2 8x lanes pcie2.0, which in the case of the new ATI graphics cards, is important. Though you're new to the realm of computer building, and all its jargon, it seems you want education. So I'll start with my first bit of hardware. For the motherboard, I think the DFI LP LT X38 is going to be perfect. It offers dual gigabit lan (2 ethernet jacks if you want to network) a sound card, a large heatsink for the northbridge, and the standard sata, usb, firewire connections of most other X38 boards. What it has over the competition is its BIOS. DFI's BIOS gives the user access to just about every voltage control on the motherboard, and a heap of other menus. This will give you full control of every facet of your cpu overclock.

For the processor, you're going to want to go with, if your budget allows, a q9450. Its on the 45nm architecture, which gives it the efficiency edge over the q6600. Though it has a lower cpu multiplier than the q6600, the main disadvantage people credit it with, it does reach high clock speeds if the circumstances are right. You got to hope they give you a good binned chip, but with that DFI motherboard, you're certain to attain high clocks in that scenario. It's a quad core, which gives it an edge over dual cores in multi-threaded programs. People will tell you that a higher clocked dual core is better for gaming, and it is, I agree with them. But the q9450 is no slouch either. I know it will reach 3.2ghz on an overclock that's for certain, but with the right cooling, it is certainly capable of reaching 3.6ghz as this is not amazingly uncommon. At that kind of speed, you are definitely not going to be cpu bound for modern games. It will also slightly future proof your system, assuming that Nehalem chips don't blow it out of the water too much.

For the ram, you're going to want DDR2-800. If you were getting an e7200 or e8400 instead of the q9450, you're going to want DDR2-1066, because expecting those to reach 500fsb isn't too much with proper cooling and the right motherboard. DDR2-800 can go to 400 on the Front side bus at a 1:1 ratio, which is ideal. With your q9450, I'm thinking 400fsb isn't too unreasonable, which makes DDR2-800 the perfect candidate. Recently I've been in favor of Corsair Dominators. They have large integrated heatsinks to help dissipate heat better, and they offer tight latencies, 4-4-4-12, if I recall correctly. They will likely achieve tighter timings if you wish to pump them with more voltage, 3-3-3-9 probably. You're probably going to want 4GB of this along with a 64bit copy of Windows Vista

Before I move onto anything else, I hope I've made it clear that cooling your parts is important. For the processor, its going to be overclocked quite high, so you're going to need a large heatsink to get rid of the heat fast. The Thermalright Ultra 120 eXtreme, is pretty much the best at this task, as it has lots of heatpipes, and can accommodate 2 fans of your choosing; one to push air through it, another to pull air out of it. For the ram, I'm pretty sure you can get a special fan from Corsair that sits on the ram to blow heat away.

For the next part, we're looking at the graphics card. It's important for me to know the resolution of the monitor you're going to be playing on. But judging from you picking out a 9800GX2, I'm thinking you want power. The best option is certainly the 4870. Though you're hesitant to get an ATI card, this new video card has consistently been on par with the new GTX 260, and outscored everything but the 9800GX2 and GTX 280 in CERTAIN tests. Otherwise, this graphics card offers so much bang for the buck, it's really hard to ignore. It's $300, which sits a whole 100 less than the GTX 260. Honestly, company bias has to be ignored here, in favor of the sheer facts. Read some reviews on it. I would say go with the 4850, but I'm not sure if you're willing to lose a bit of performance.

If I were in a position where someone gave me money I'd CrossFire 2 4850s in stead of doing it with two 4870s. Mainly because, you have far less power consumption, but you don't lose that much performance for the amount of money you save. 2 4850s is around 350, 2 4870s is going to be upwards of 600, yet the difference in performance is likely < 20% maybe 30% on average with a near 85% difference in price.

Cooling those 2 Graphics in CrossFire is going to be a pain, though, as their fans don't spin to full speed properly right now. This will likely be quickly addressed by a driver update.

For the next part, I recommend a drive from Western Digital. Something like the WD6400AAKS. It is very quick in terms of performance, and in my testing of drives with my friends computer (he has a lot of harddrives) it has been consistently cooler than his Seagate and Hitachi. It's really good $/GB. There isn't much to explain here, unless you are interest in setting up RAID 0 with multiple disks.

For the next part, I'm looking at the Power Supply. The PC Power and Cooling 750W Silencer was ranked for the best power supply of 2007, because it delivers in all arenas. The award really speaks for itself. It's going to power your system efficiently, adequately, and quietly even with a high overclock and two cards in CrossFire.

For the DVD Burner, you can really pick anything you like, and I won't go into that.

For the case, it is extremely important that you get something that appeals to you. But just because it might have cool flashing lights, and a transformer head on the front, doesn't mean its going to do what a computer case is supposed to do. You're going to want to look for something with solid construction first and foremost. Secondly, is it going to give me lots of options for cooling my harddrive(s) and is it going to exhaust the hot air generated in my case intelligently. The next thing to look for is design; does it position things in such a way that cable management, and airflow is going to be a sinch. A removable motherboard tray makes quick adjustments to the mainboard much easier. Something with cable routing holes, and clips makes getting wires out of the way of airflow much easier and hassle free. Some other things to look out for; are the case fans going to be loud? are the power switches and front ports cheaply made, or even there? Does it have any sound reducing aspects integrated into the case? Something like triple layer side panels, deadening foam, a front door. You also have to look at the cost. Ask yourself, am I getting this case because its saving me money, or am I getting this case because it has all the features I want, and anything I don't want. I'm so thorough about the case because when I went shopping for one a few months ago, I ran into all these issues. There are so many to choose from, and there is no reason to replace it, so you should really make a smart choice.

I think the last things I have to explain is why you should get an intel chipset with CF over an nvidia chipset with SLI. You're going to get a higher, stable overclock with the intel chipset, that's a given for sure. CF beats SLI in multi monitor displays, not that it matters to you so much. But you should take advantage of the new ATI video cards, because they are just so much better than the nvidia offerings right now...

I probably missed something, somewhere along this extremely in depth overview of parts. I could of posted a list of parts, and not said why and just left you to assume why, but I'm bored, and this is actually how I choose to post. I hope this helps.

Hmmm... quite a few customer reviews on the X38 are saying there are problems with updating the drivers and such (in 64bit Vista). Kind of makes me a bit wary, though it does seem to be the better purchase (especially if I ever go Crossfire).

effel is 100% right on everything he mentions. Go X38 with 4850/4870/or the new 4870x2 if it's up to snuff. The 12mb cache 45nm quad will also outperform an e8400/Q6600.

Get this Vista:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6832116204

Thanks again!

I'm going to have to think about the P45/X38 situation. Optimally, I want the BEST one. That would, I suppose, mean the X38. But the complaints about how difficult it is to update it in Vista64 has me leaning towards the P45 honestly. I want this to be as stress free as possible.

Also, Effel or anyone else reading... I saw this in another thread: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813128336

Any reason not to spring for that X48 when it is the same price of the X38 I'm looking at? (224.99)

Then again, the X48 being the same price leads me to believe I'm missing something.