I'm going to be building a new computer here in the next few weeks and I wanted to get some feedback on the parts that I've chosen. Here's what I have:
Motherboard:
DFI INFINITY 975X Socket T (LGA 775) Intel 975X ATX Intel Motherboard - OEM
CPU:
Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz 4M sharing L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor - Retail
RAM:
Kingston HyperX 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
Video Card:
HIS Hightech H195CF512-R Radeon X1950 CrossFire Edition 512MB 256-bit GDDR4 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail
Case:
Antec Performance I P180 Silver cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
Power Supply:
Antec True Power Trio TP3-550 ATX12V 550W Power Supply with Three 12V Rails 100 - 240 V UL, CUL, FCC, TÜV, CE, C-tick, CCC, CB - Retail
or
Antec True Power Trio TP3-650 ATX12V 650W Power Supply with Three 12V Rails 100 - 240 V UL, CUL, FCC, TUV, CE, C-tick, CCC, CB - Retail
Sound Card:
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer 70SB073A00000 7.1 Channels 24-bit 96KHz PCI Interface Sound Card - Retail
Speakers:
Logitech Z-5500 THX Certified 5.1 500-watt Dolby Digital & DTS Hardware Decoding Speaker System
I have some questions regarding this setup.
I'm not sure I want to go with this motherboard. I have a DFI LanParty now and I love it, it's a great board. However I read a review on this board that said it was "okay" but not the best out there. What motherboard would you recommend in place of this? Bear in mind that at some point I may want to run CrossFire so it should be capable of supporting that.
I run a dual monitor setup right now (primary monitor is a Samsung 204B flat screen on DVI and the secondary monitor is a ViewSonic A90f+ 19" Flat CRT on VGA). This only has one DVI and a DMS. I have no clue what DMS is so I'm not sure that this card is the right one. If this is not a good card, what would be a comparable replacement? I want an ATI x1950 with 512MB of RAM. I know that the new R600's are supposed to be out at the end of January or so but I'm not sure what the prices on those are going to be and I'm not really interested in waiting.
Next is the RAM. I've never used Kingston RAM, is this acceptable RAM? I do plan on running Vista and perhaps upgrading to 4GB of RAM at some point. Any other suggestions there?
As for the power supply, is 550w enough or should I go with the 650w?
As for the Sound Card and speakers, I currently have an original Audigy and a 5.1 setup from Creative with at least 2 of the speakers not working, I'm upgrading those simply because it's time.
Any other suggestions? Thanks for any feedback.
Motherboard:
DFI INFINITY 975X Socket T (LGA 775) Intel 975X ATX Intel Motherboard - OEM
CPU:
Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz 4M sharing L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor - Retail
RAM:
Kingston HyperX 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
Video Card:
HIS Hightech H195CF512-R Radeon X1950 CrossFire Edition 512MB 256-bit GDDR4 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail
Case:
Antec Performance I P180 Silver cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
Power Supply:
Antec True Power Trio TP3-550 ATX12V 550W Power Supply with Three 12V Rails 100 - 240 V UL, CUL, FCC, TÜV, CE, C-tick, CCC, CB - Retail
or
Antec True Power Trio TP3-650 ATX12V 650W Power Supply with Three 12V Rails 100 - 240 V UL, CUL, FCC, TUV, CE, C-tick, CCC, CB - Retail
Sound Card:
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer 70SB073A00000 7.1 Channels 24-bit 96KHz PCI Interface Sound Card - Retail
Speakers:
Logitech Z-5500 THX Certified 5.1 500-watt Dolby Digital & DTS Hardware Decoding Speaker System
I have some questions regarding this setup.
I'm not sure I want to go with this motherboard. I have a DFI LanParty now and I love it, it's a great board. However I read a review on this board that said it was "okay" but not the best out there. What motherboard would you recommend in place of this? Bear in mind that at some point I may want to run CrossFire so it should be capable of supporting that.
I run a dual monitor setup right now (primary monitor is a Samsung 204B flat screen on DVI and the secondary monitor is a ViewSonic A90f+ 19" Flat CRT on VGA). This only has one DVI and a DMS. I have no clue what DMS is so I'm not sure that this card is the right one. If this is not a good card, what would be a comparable replacement? I want an ATI x1950 with 512MB of RAM. I know that the new R600's are supposed to be out at the end of January or so but I'm not sure what the prices on those are going to be and I'm not really interested in waiting.
Next is the RAM. I've never used Kingston RAM, is this acceptable RAM? I do plan on running Vista and perhaps upgrading to 4GB of RAM at some point. Any other suggestions there?
As for the power supply, is 550w enough or should I go with the 650w?
As for the Sound Card and speakers, I currently have an original Audigy and a 5.1 setup from Creative with at least 2 of the speakers not working, I'm upgrading those simply because it's time.
Any other suggestions? Thanks for any feedback.
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