My New Computer
 

I will post pics when I get all the components from NewEgg this week (got most of them from Micro Center yesterday. They're sitting in my room...teasing me). I'm like a kid before Christmas - can't wait to put it all together.

Voila!

Case: CoolerMaster CM 690

http://www.hardware.info/images/news...lightkopie.jpg

Power Supply: OCZ StealthXStream 600 Watt

http://images.tigerdirect.com/skuima...-2008-main.jpg

Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX

http://www.sharkyextreme.com/img/200...de/gig_p35.jpg

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor 45nm

http://c1.neweggimages.com/NeweggIma...115-037-02.jpg

Heatsink: ZEROtherm BTF90 92mm Silent UFO

http://www.frostytech.com/articleima...BTF90_pcpc.jpg

Video: nVidia GeForce 8800GT 512MB

http://images10.newegg.com/NeweggIma...130-303-10.jpg

Memory: Corsair XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2 PC6400 800Mhz

https://www.mpcoutlet.com/store/imag...048-8500C5.jpg

Hard Drive 1: Western Digital 160GB 7200 RPM SATA

http://topmarket.co.il/products_pict.../WD_SATA_2.jpg

Hard Drive 2: Western Digital 500GB 7200 RPM SATA

http://www.hothardware.com/articleim...op_SE16_KS.jpg

Optical 1: LITE-ON Black SATA DVD-ROM Drive

http://www.shopbot.ca/i-ca/2007/2/8940088222_small.jpg

Optical 2: LITE-ON 20X Black DVD±R DVD Burner IDE

http://www.cpusolutions.com/mm800474...SATA-LS20X.jpg

Misc: 20" SATA cable, 4-pin power extension, 20 pin to 24-pin converter cable, Arctic Ceramique thermal compound.

so whatcha gonna do with it?

seems like a pretty well rounded rig, good quality parts.

just wondering if you could benefit from more ram though since 2gigs is pretty much my minimum requirement now. But I deal with a lot of memory intensive apps.

I'm a graphic design major so Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign will be the work apps. Then there's gaming and high def video. I'm afraid that 660GB won't be enough storage for me. I also have a 250GB external HD that's nearly full and my main 120GB one that has 2GB left.

MOAR RAM

RAM is cheap, and Adobe suite can't get enough of the stuff.

Question: Why did you put the regular DVD drive on SATA and the DVD±R on IDE? The burner will benefit from the fatter pipe more than the ROM will.

Answer: Because I'm putting my external 250GB HD inside the case and it just so happens to be an IDE drive. That mobo only supports two IDE devices. I was trying to cut costs as much as I could (I'm getting $115 in rebates on all that stuff) so I went with an IDE burner. I don't burn much anyway.

As for RAM, I'll upgrade sometime along the way. Right now I'm recuperating after spending a bit over a grand on the new comp.

nice one. You will love it

It's comparable to the system I'm planning. I'm interested in the performance and the sound level (I want my system to be as quiet as possible). How quiet are the fans of the videocard, PSU and CPU cooler?

Oh, and I agree with the "more ram" idea. 2 Gigs is cool, 4 gigs is better. But if you get 4 gigs, make sure you get a 64bit operating system. With a 32 bit OS, you'll only be able to use around 3 gigs.

I'll get you the performance update when I build it at the end of this week (parts are coming tomorrow). The case has 3 120mm fans (with an option to install 8 total). What's the difference between 64-bit and 32-bit versions?

Napoleon the pig grunts approvingly.

Good system and should be priced right too.

I went all out on mine and you only get some minor improvements for a lot more money.

It wasn't too bad. About $1040.00 before rebates. In the end it should end up costing me in the low $900s. Pretty good price for what I'm getting out of it.

The most visible difference is the maximum amount of memory your OS will use.

<a href = "http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/archives/000811.html">Codinghorror</a> (some blog I saw) has this to say on the issue:

32-bit OS:
==============
...
In any 32-bit operating system, the virtual address space is limited, by definition, to the size of a 32-bit value:

2^32 = 4,294,967,296
4,294,967,296 / (1,024 x 1,024) = 4,096

As far as 32-bit Vista is concerned, the world ends at 4,096 megabytes. That's it. That's all there is. No más.
...
Well, actually, it's stuck with even less-- 2 GB or 3 GB of virtual address space, at least on Windows.
...
==============

64-bit OS:
==============
...
The proper solution to this whole conundrum is to use a 64-bit operating system.
...
2^64 = 18,446,744,073,709,551,616
18,446,744,073,709,551,616 / (1,024 x 1,024) / 8 = 2 exabytes

In case you're wondering, the progression is giga, tera, peta, exa.

Although the performance benefits of 64-bit are somewhat dubious on the desktop, a 64-bit OS absolutely essential if you run applications that need to use more than 2 GB of memory. It's not common, but we're getting there.
...
==============

So if you want to get 4 gigs of memory, with a 32-bit OS, a lot of it won't be used at all.

Interesting info on the 32-bit 2GB memory limitation, didn't know that. System looks great, Logansnake. My laptop feels really old looking at your system. :)

i have the same case. for some reason, the headphone jacks dont work.
but maybe it was because i hooked something up wrong...

Ran into a problem today. Apparently OCZ doesn't take into account cases with PSUs placed on the bottom. My SATA power cables are too short to reach both hard drives and the DVD-ROM drive (no matter the position, I've tried them all). Gonna try to find a 4-pin to SATA adapter at work tomorrow.

And, as a small update, here's the pic of all the components together.

http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/739/dsc00729ov5.jpg

Sweet! I built my own computers for over a decade but when my last one died I was too lazy. Just bought a Dell. Great computer, though.

And here it is in all its assembled glory!

http://img82.imageshack.us/img82/2573/dsc00730lh9.jpg

Noise - whisper quiet! I'm sitting right next to it right now (less than a foot away from me) with the side of the case open and I can barely hear it. The CPU fan runs at around 760 RPM and keeps my CPU at (Core 1 - 39C, Core 2 - 24C) at idle to medium load. I haven't loaded it yet so I don't know how hot it gets. Case fans are low RPM as well and produce a nice breeze inside the case while making almost no sound. PSU and video card are silent. I can barely hear them even when putting my ear right next to them (with the side of the case open).

Temperatures (idle):

CPU Core 1: 34C
CPU Core 2: 22C
Hard Drive 1: 32C
Hard Drive 2: 31C
Video Card: 52C
Case temp: 41C

My only concern so far is that the 8800GT runs at 52C idle, but the Internet tells me it's normal. Any input on this?

Performance - so far, I only benchmarked it with 3DMark 03 (because my old computer wouldn't run anything higher at more than 2fps) and it scored 38,000. Compared to my old comp's 8,400. Big boost.

EDIT: updated temperatures with all 3 case fans running

Your GPU temps are normal. :)

Another update. Just played some Call of Duty 4 (max settings, 4AA, 1600x1024) and the CPU stayed at a nice 41C max. I love this heatsink (45nm tech helps too).