Critique my system! (and newegg mail-in rebates)

Javert

Javert

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So I'm building a new system and these are the parts I'm thinking.

ASUS Striker Extreme
Intel Core 2 Duo E6750
Corsair xms2 2 GB w/ heat spreaders
Seagate Baracuda 250 GB 7200rpm
EVGA Nvidia GeForce 8800GTS 320MB
Sony 18x DVD+-RW
Antec 900 case
Thermaltake toughpower 650W
Audigy Xtreme Gamer

Total Price (newegg): $1,466 w/ tax

Now I'm wondering whether there are better deals, especially with the mobo and the case, that provide similar quality for a lower price. The mobo seems especially high-end and I doubt I need something that powerful, even for SLi. The case also looks good, but I'm sure there are others out there that are similar.

I'm also wondering whether I should upgrade my sound card to the Fata1ity series. My friend is gushing about the card but I don't see how the onboard memory would make that big a difference.

Finally, what is your experience with newegg mail-in rebates? The price would be much lower, but I assume that mail-in rebates take too long and shouldn't be taken into account.

Comments appreciated.
 
That case is one of the best you can get. My even under load blows out cool air from it's 20cm fan. I'd suggest upping the 8800 to the GTX version as well.

Remember you pay for quality. I just spent $3000 on my new system, and to be honest I wouldn't really think of going much lower than $2000. Although mine included $800 on monitors.
 
Looking good. But unless you plan on overclocking your cpu to the very max, you'd be fine with a different motherboard. The p35 mainboards are doing very well, though they don't support SLI.

And I don't see the point in getting an X-Fi fatal1ty, though the extreme gamer card is not an actual x-fi card, moreso an Audigy. Get the X-fi eXtreme gamer pro, or the eXtreme music. They will both serve you very well.
 
Why would you put a sound card in a server? :p

Don't bother about mail in rebates. They are effectivly a way of charging extra for stuff. Basically, they charge more, then add the mail in rebate bit so they can put a lower price on the sticker, knowing that most people will forget to mail it in. You get the rebate, but this sort of behaviour should not be rewarded.

Better yet, phone the sales line, tell them what you want to order, then demand they knock off half the mail in rebate value, instead of giving you the mail in option, or you won't complete the order.
 
when did he ever say it was a server?

if it was a server then he wouldnt need a high end video card either.
 
:hmph: He could've just pointed it out, I didn't get it either. Fixed.
 
Stay on topic! *whips*

Anyway I'm thinking of downgrading the case to an Apevia and the mobo down to a P5N-E, that supports SLi. Of course a friend of mine started ripping the Apevia case.

Thoughts?
 
are you overclocking?
if you arent, why not get the E6850?

also, i would stick with the antec 900 case, cause it's fantastic
 
No over-clocking. Everything will be stock and simple.

Next question: I'm planning to forego the Hard drive for the old one I have right now. I'm expecting to skip alot of installing pain and what not. My old HD is 150GB. Is it as simple as plugging an old HD into new hardware and everything working the same but better?
 
It might work, depends on the memory controller of your current mainboard and your new one. They might be compatible. But even if it works, you'll be blasted with driver and hardware errors. Formatting will probably be faster before you can get things to work smoothly.
 
Is it recommended I just get another hard drive and install my OS on it?
 
Well imo, it'd be worth just trying keeping the HDD to see if it works. A while ago, I went from a Dell Intel setup, got an AMD mobo/processor, new ram, etc, just swapping in the HDD and everything worked perfectly after I got the drivers squared away. You're going to have to update drivers after a new install anyways, so IMO it'd be very much worth your time to just see if it works, so at least then you won't have to reinstall all your apps.
 
What drivers are you talking about, besides sound and video?

Also, here's a picture of my current PC problem that's forcing me to fastrack my upgrading.

f-edup.jpg


Does that look permanent? I was hoping ATI tool would help. But I hope it's not making it worse at the default setting.
 
Besides sound and video, just the chipset, really, plus any other peripherals you might have that require drivers. That looks like a video card problem though... have you tried swapping just your video card out, or perhaps just reseating your current one?
 
Reseating? Like taking it out and putting it back in?
 
Hmm. I wouldn't buy the audigy. Creative labs wont support that line of cards for Vista (unless you pay for the drivers). Use onboard until something more vista oriented comes around.

Also, the 320mb GTS is a good card, but I regret not buying the 640mb version. There's a lot of texture intensive games coming out that will require more vram. World in Conflict for example runs fine in high settings, but the vram will overload. So now you're running a new game on a super videocard with the texture settings set to medium. Makes me frown.

Overall not bad. I just hope your striker wont quit on you. Asus tech support is unable to cope with the amount of product they are moving and the service is taking a turn for the worst.
 
L3TUC3 said:
Hmm. I wouldn't buy the audigy. Creative labs wont support that line of cards for Vista (unless you pay for the drivers). Use onboard until something more vista oriented comes around.

Also, the 320mb GTS is a good card, but I regret not buying the 640mb version. There's a lot of texture intensive games coming out that will require more vram. World in Conflict for example runs fine in high settings, but the vram will overload. So now you're running a new game on a super videocard with the texture settings set to medium. Makes me frown.

Overall not bad. I just hope your striker wont quit on you. Asus tech support is unable to cope with the amount of product they are moving and the service is taking a turn for the worst.
Click to expand...
The Xtreme Gamer is actually Sound Blaster, not Audigy. I assume that makes a difference.

And I've decided to get an ASUS P5n32-e SLI board instead of the Striker. It's cheaper for basically the same things I want.
 
X-fi xtreme audio and X-fi xtreme gamer aren't much different from an audigy 1. They lack the actual X-fi chip. I would pick the X-fi xtreme music the least.
 
Still looking for advice as to whether running my old HD in the new computer would go smoothly. Likely I will run into some driver and mobo controller issues.

I am also thinking of running the old HD as a slave.
 
Just try it, and if it doesn't work right away, get a new HD and install away.
 
Have you checked out Antec's Performance One series? I believe they provide better cooling than the aging 900.
 
I've ordered the computer!

ASUS p5n32-e SLi plus
Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 2.66Ghz
Corsair XMS2 2 GB
Seagate Barracuda 250 GB HDD
eVGA Nvidia GeForce 8800GTS
Thermaltake Toughpower 600W
Antec 900 Case
Windows XP SP2

I left out the sound card for now. The motherboard supposedly has decent onboard sound, but if not, I'll get a Sound Blaster Xfi.

Now to build the darn thing....need instructions, cause the one up top are 3 years old. ^^
 
Javert said:
I've ordered the computer!

ASUS p5n32-e SLi plus
Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 2.66Ghz
Corsair XMS2 2 GB
Seagate Barracuda 250 GB HDD
eVGA Nvidia GeForce 8800GTS
Thermaltake Toughpower 600W
Antec 900 Case
Windows XP SP2

I left out the sound card for now. The motherboard supposedly has decent onboard sound, but if not, I'll get a Sound Blaster Xfi.

Now to build the darn thing....need instructions, cause the one up top are 3 years old. ^^
Click to expand...

Did you check out the P182? I don't think you did since you went for the 900 case.

You could always let a pro do it for a cheap buck. That way you'll get a warranty if anything goes wrong because of a bad setup.
 
I'm a ****ing idiot. I ordered an ULTRA ATA HDD instead of a SATA. So I'm going to be delayed for a while.

I tried putting in my old SATA HDD, but the computer turns on for a split second, beeps, then goes back off.

I wonder if it's the HD's fault...
 
Sorry to bump my thread, again (beats making a new one...)

Possibly dumb question but it's spooking me.

My new HDD coming in (hopefully tomorrow) is SATA.

If I'm installing Windows XP SP2 on it, what's this I hear about needing a floppy disk as a boot disk? Cause I don't have a floppy drive, and I doubt other people do either.
 
You can make a bootdisk for windows, but that's optional. You don't need to install it. And if you have a relatively new mainboard, you can probably use a usb stick for the same purpose.
 
AFAIK, its not a boot disk you'd be using it for, its to load drivers for your SATA and/or RAID controller - which I believe can also be done using a USB drive as Brick mentioned.
 
When I turn on the computer, it shuts down on me after a couple of seconds, even when I don't do anything. I can post and get into bios, and then all of a sudden it shuts down. I'm guessing it's a hardware problem, again. :x

Btw, for the 4/8 pin power connector, I only have four in, even though my mobo AND psu have an 8-pin option, but I can't snap the 8-pin in.
 
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