out of touch pc guy needs expert advice in new rig

[kalbo411]

first of like to say hi to all you guys out there.ive been reading a lot of post here and i can see that you guys know what your saying. im learning a lot but i think its not enough for me to build a new rig that will be useful in the years to come. i bought my current pc about 6 months ago and it sucks bigtime good thing someone is willing to buy it from me... now i want to undo my mistakes by asking help from the experts.

the new rig im planning will be use mainly for graphics editing,OCing, a little of games but mostly multitasking. so heres what im thinking;

CPU = q6600 as ive read a lot of reviews that its a good quad for OCing.
MOBO = i seriously want a dependable one since im gonna be using this build for a long time. i heard asus and gigabyte are good brands right now but ive seen dfi is also on the contest.i need your good advice here guys..
cooler = bigwater 735 from a friend.
MEMORY = corsair dominator DDR2 PC2-8500 2GBx2 =again from reviews
VIDEO CARD =HD 4870 crossfire maybe but not anytime soon.
HDWD 640 drives =reviews
CASE = need something that will fit my bigwater 735. im thinking of NZXT tempest but im not sure if it fits bigwater.
PSU= dont want any overkill on this one but i dont have any idea on how much power should i have. will 600w do the job?

hope to hear from you guys ASAP because this rig is due next week and i was hoping to discuss all the flaws to you guys... any tips/advice/recommendation will be very appreciated! thanks!

NOTE: im in japan so ill be checking prices at kakaku.com

[affiliate13]

1st off, welcome to the forums.

Do you have a budget in mind, yen will prolly confuse the hell out of me but its helpful to start with a budget.


Ta.

[kalbo411]

around $1200. maybe the japanese site is a bad idea.

[affiliate13]

lol, maybe but fun to try. i'd be interested to see what you can get that is not available here.

[kalbo411]

goodluck on making your way through japanese characters. lol. need all the help i can get affiliate13. also ill be OCing the q6600 maybe around 3.2(optimistic). well since i can get help from you guys maybe ill be successful. hehehe.

[Kelainefes]

Welcome!
Your list looks good, i just want to point out that while a 600 W PSU will do the job, the PSU is one of the few components that, IMO, NEEDS to be high quality in any system.
Good brands with reasonable prices are Zalman and Corsair, just to name a couple.
I've never used water cooling, but i've heard quite a few horror stories about Thermaltake stuff leaking all over the place, maybe you can go with a good air cooler like the Thermalright Ultima 90 or the Xigmatek HDT1283?

[affiliate13]

OK, that etailers site is the single most difficult site to navigate ive ever seen. it looks amazing though, i love alot of what comes out of japan and thought it might be fun to try, but im sorry i just can seem to follow it. would you mind if i use newegg since you quoted your budget in dollars this might be easier.

Also the TT bigwater as Kelainefes points out has a dodgy reputation, ive got an S1283 and it was a bargain, it is very similar to the OCZ Vendetta and the Sunbeam tech core contact. how would you feel about looking at an air cooler - not to push you one way or the other of course.

[kalbo411]

kelainefes i was thinking of putting tough power 750 but it cost too much here in japan. what about EarthWatts EA-650? ill think about the air coolers but for now im trying to finalize the setup... thanks and hope to hear from you again! cheers!

yes its gonna be easier if u use newegg and ill do all the math from there... the air/water will be in consideration after the setup. thanks for the quick response!!!

[affiliate13]

Any thoughts on audio?
I have read a couple of reviews on the WD Cavair 640GB, it has high platter density and seems great value given its performance.
the Q6600 is a great chip, no doubt.
the Corsair Doms C5 8500 are great, i have them myself and had no issue with them. There are cheaper sets that perform just as good or better such as the Geil Black Dragon or Crucial ballistix. remember to get a good fan if you plan to run them over stock volts.
HD 4870s are great, im sure youve read all the reviews so im sure you will enjoy having one of those.
Im pretty sure most folks on here wont object if i suggest a DFI LT X48 T2R. These are lovely boards and it seems they just go higher after each BIOS revision. you can rely on getting great support from everyone on here as its highs and lows are well documented in the reviews section.
As to your PSU maybe you would like to try the corsair 650TX, have a good think about where you want to go with this system, it is always worth stretching to a good one to keeps things stable.
finally the case - this is always where i agonise the most. But thanks to Kelainefes review of the Xclio Windtunnel i made the right choice for my needs, there is bucket loads of room and it has great cooling, best of all it was cheap.

before the mail in rebates this all comes to $1298. $1208 afterwards. i am hoping you can get bits for a little less in Japan.
Also the mobo i listed is the UT version as they didnt have the LT in stock, the LT is a good deal cheaper and is just the same as the UT only with different stock cooling.

Update Qtys Remove Selected Move Selected To... My Temporary Wish Lists Qty. Product Description Savings Total Price

XCLIO Windtunnel Fully Black Finish 1.0 mm SECC Chassis ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail Item #: N82E16811103011Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
-$40.00 Instant
$139.99$99.99

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM Item #: N82E16822136218Return Policy: Limited 30-Day Return Policy


$89.99

POWERCOLOR AX4870 512MD5-H Radeon HD 4870 512MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail Item #: N82E16814131113Return Policy: Limited 30-Day Return Policy


$284.99

CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply - Retail Item #: N82E16817139005Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

-$50.00 Instant
$30.00 Mail-in Rebate $159.99$109.99

OCZ OCZTFRZTC Freeze Extreme Thermal Conductivity Compound - Retail Item #: N82E16835202006Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

$6.99

CORSAIR DOMINATOR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X4096-8500C5DF - Retail Item #: N82E16820145197Return Policy: Memory (Modules, USB) Return Policy -$40.00 Instant
$40.00 Mail-in Rebate $189.00$149.00

LANPARTY UT X48-T2R LGA 775 Intel X48 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail Item #: N82E16813136049Return Policy: Limited 30-Day Return Policy


$319.99

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor Model HH80562PH0568M - OEM Item #: N82E16819115018Return Policy: Processors (CPUs) Return Policy

-$10.00 Instant
$189.99$179.99

XIGMATEK XSF-F1251 120mm Case Fan - Retail Item #: N82E16835233009Return Policy: Standard Return Policy two of these.
$13.98($6.99 each)

XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler - Retail Item #: N82E16835233003Return Policy: Standard Return Policy $10.00 Mail-in Rebate $36.99

XIGMATEK ACK-I7751 Retention Bracket - Retail

$6.99 Subtotal: $1,298.89

[Kelainefes]

I second what affiliate13 suggests, maybe if you don't like loads of options in the BIOS you may want to take the DFI DK X48 T2R rather than the LT or the UT LanParty models.