I know you guys love this stuff: rook pc build

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First one ever, im solid at software but noob at hardware. All suggestions welcome.

Function: I finally want to game in style with softth (surround gaming). Also work (graphics apps).

Price range: 1500 (maxed with current selections).

Special considerations 2 PCI-E vid cards. Some items were selected for value (rebates etc).

Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz

ABIT AB9 QuadGT LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard

AeroCool ZERODBA 620W Power Supply

Scythe 120mm Sleeve CPU Cooler

Patriot eXtreme Performance 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory

Western Digital Caviar 160GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 Tower Computer Case

SAMSUNG 18X DVD±R DVD Burner With 12X DVD-RAM Write

3D Fuzion GeForce 6200 LE TC 256MB(128MB on Board) DDR PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail

Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium for System Builders Single Pack DVD - OEM

Saitek X52 Flight Control USB Joystick

Logitech MOMO Racing Force Feedback Wheel

[bigalt]

looks pretty sweet, except for the vista part.

dunno what kind of graphics apps you're using but a lot of the modeling stuff I do uses openGL which apparently sucks in Vista for now.

[lastchance]

3D Fuzion GeForce 6200 LE TC 256MB(128MB on Board) DDR PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail

I strongly suspect you want to upgrade this.

[funkyworms]

1) Upgrade your video card to at least an Nvidia 7-series; preferably one that doesn't use shared memory.
2) I would go for the Thermalright Ultra-120 over the Scythe.
3) Vista = bleh

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3D Fuzion GeForce 6200 LE TC 256MB(128MB on Board) DDR PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail

I strongly suspect you want to upgrade this.

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whoops, this is the second card, somehow i missed adding the first!

EVGA 320-P2-N811-AR GeForce 8800GTS 320MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Cardl

[Bremen]

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whoops, this is the second card, somehow i missed adding the first!

EVGA 320-P2-N811-AR GeForce 8800GTS 320MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Cardl

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Just as long as you realize that SLI only works with two identical cards. If you need the second card for extra monitors thats fine, otherwise don't bother.

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looks pretty sweet, except for the vista part.

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I was actually hoping for feedback on this, i was really weary about using vista and was being talked in to it a bit. If theres a good consensus to stick with xp ill happily go along.

[kerowo]

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looks pretty sweet, except for the vista part.

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I was actually hoping for feedback on this, i was really weary about using vista and was being talked in to it a bit. If theres a good consensus to stick with xp ill happily go along.

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For better or worse, Vista is the next OS for Windows PCs, it is going to be the target all new games and poker sites are going to target. This machine should last long enough that you will be upgrading to it sooner or later. If you can get a deal on Ultimate or Home Premium and there are no known issues with the hardware you are getting you may as well get it now. If you really want to cover yourself get a copy of OEM XP and dual boot.

[Freakin]

I'd recommend 4gb of memory cause it's cheap, and getting better HDD.

If you only need 160gb of storage, just get a raptor 10k 150GB drive.

[jumbojacks]

Get as much memory as you can, especially with DDR2 prices likely to go up again.

Double check the quality of your PSU. There's a lot of crap out there that's very inefficient and aren't worth the xxx watt rating they have.

Get a Raptor as your main drive.

Upgrade the video to at least 7 or 8 series geforce.

Get a cheaper case since it's only holding the parts together. I would only buy something better if it was easier to put together without having to deal with too many screws (e.g. some server cases are such a pain having to screw everything in, drive rails are soooooo much better).

I also wouldn't mind getting a 2nd SATA drive. I usually put all my OS and programs on the main HD (Raptor) and all my media on the second + swap. It tends to smooth out performance as you have less to seek on one drive.

I also much prefer a motherboard with the i680 or i650 chipset by Nvidia. They're just so much easier to deal with when installing drivers and I would assume is slightly faster.