Hello,

I'm currently building a new PC for myself and would like some feedback on what I've gathered so far. I haven't purchased anything yet, though I plan to soon.

Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-P31-S3G LGA 775 Intel P31 ATX, FSB: 1333/1066MHz, RAM: DDR2 1066MHz Dual Channel; two slots with a maximum of 4GB. $64.99
CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz 2 x 4MB L2 Cache LGA 775, FSB: 1066MHz, 65nm with 64-bit support. $199.99
RAM: G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel, Cas Latency: 5, Timing: 5-5-5-15. $104.99
GPU: XFX PVT84JYAJG GeForce 8600 GT 512MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 SLI Supported, Core Clock: 540MHz, Memory: 512MB at 1180MHz; 128-bit GDDR2. $82.99 without $20 rebate.

Total: $452.96 before $20 rebate.

I've bolded 1066MHz to note that I've tried to keep everything 1:1. I have not chosen a case or a power supply yet, mostly because I don't know what I'll need. I don't mind spending some extra money, but I'd like to keep it around $400-$600.

Thanks for your help.

Welcome to the forum Walter o'dim.

Now, let’s see what components you picked, not bad but it always can be better for the price .

The motherboard with the P31 is a bit outdated, especially with the Intel ICH7 South Bridge, besides that it only has 2 memory slots. With a few bucks more you have the GA-EP35-DS3L with all solid capacitors, 4 memory sloths and the well performing P35/ICH9 chipset. This is not the newest chipset but it performs well and has a good price. Price 85USD before tax. Then there is the new P43 based GA-EP43-DS3L, it´s basically the same setup as the GA-EP35-DS3L but with better chipset cooling, 6 SATA ports and the new P43/ICH10 chipset witch does support PCI-E 2.0. Price 95USD before tax.

The CPU and RAM are a good pick, but go for the OEM version of the Q6600 CPU, saving you 15USD that you can spend on a good aftermarket cooler.

That VGA card isn´t a good pick; You will end up having 512MB at just 1180MHz while the normal speed for a 256MB version is about 1400MHz; the size will not make up to the speed. Check out the newer cards like the GV-RX387512H Radeon HD 3870, way more speed especially in Vista. The HD4850 would be the sweet pick, but there is one question you have to answer: What are you planning to do with this system?

Thanks for information, I've been refining my choices all day and have come up with the following:

Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-P35-S3G LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX, FSB: 1333/1066MHz, RAM: DDR2 1066MHz Dual Channel; four slots with a maximum of 8GB. $74.99 (More spacious version of previous motherboard)
CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz 2 x 4MB L2 Cache LGA 775, FSB: 1066MHz, 65nm with 64-bit support. $184.99 (No stock fan/heatsink)
+ Cooler: ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler, Size: 92mm, Air Flow: 45 CFM. $31.99
RAM: 2 x G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel, Cas Latency: 5, Timing: 5-5-5-15. $119.98 (I read that 4x1GB would perform better than 2x2GB)
GPU: EVGA 512-P3-N801-AR GeForce 8800 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported, Core Clock: 600MHz, Memory: 512MB at 1800MHz; 256-bit GDDR3. $149.99 without $20 rebate.
Hard Drive: EXCELSTOR Jupiter Series ESJ8080S 80GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s, $34.99 (No SATA drives laying around)

Total: $596.93 before $20 rebate and shipping.

I still need a case and power supply, but I'm not sure how much wattage I'll need. As for it's use, I plan on using it for heavier/more intense gaming alongside of being my "everything else" computer. My current computer is an Asus laptop (Core 2 Duo 2.00GHz, 2GB RAM, and an ATI x1600 Mobility).

Nicer board for sure.

RAM wise, it might be somewhat faster, but then you've filled all your existing slots with smaller sticks. So next time you want to upgrade, you have to throw your existing RAM away first (I'm there). If you go the 2x2GB way, the time you'll want to upgrade to 8GB (for Vista x64 or Windows 7 or whatever), it's just a matter of buying another 2x2GB kit.
Hard drive, that's a tiny drive, from a company I never heard of and it's likely not that fast either (tiny buffer too). I'd totally go for something else. Besides, what's the point of going for a quite fast CPU + vid card, and then skimping on the absolute slowest part of the PC (the biggest performance bottleneck of them all)?

Power wise, try this, and buy a good quality PSU from a reputable company (nothing no-name).

Hello again,

I made my purchase Sunday night and just wanted to throw out my final decisions and see if I can get any feedback on them. (Upgraded hard drive, added case and power supply)

Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-P35-S3G LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX, FSB: 1333/1066MHz, RAM: DDR2 1066MHz Dual Channel; four slots with a maximum of 8GB. $74.99
CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz 2 x 4MB L2 Cache LGA 775, FSB: 1066MHz, 65nm with 64-bit support. $184.99
+ Cooler: ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler, Size: 92mm, Air Flow: 45 CFM. $31.99
RAM: 2 x G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel, Cas Latency: 5, Timing: 5-5-5-15. $119.98
GPU: EVGA 512-P3-N801-AR GeForce 8800 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported, Core Clock: 600MHz, Memory: 512MB at 1800MHz; 256-bit GDDR3. $149.99 without $20 rebate.
Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3500320AS 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s, $84.99
Power Supply: Linkworld LPG2-43-P4-IO 630W ATX12V, $25.99
Case: RAIDMAX SMILODON ATX-612WB Black 1.0mm SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Foldout MB, $84.99 without $20 rebate.
Existing monitor: Acer AL2002WL @ 1680 x 1050.

Total: $757.91 before shipping and $40 in rebates. A bit more than the $452.96 I originally laid out, but I'm sure it'll be well worth it. I just have a few more questions while I wait another day for the parts to get here:
To make sure, everything I've bought here is enough for a complete, running computer, correct?
Are there any compatibility issues between the parts I've picked out?
Do you think I should be able to run modern console games smoothly? (Assassin's Creed, Unreal Tournament 3, Call of Duty 4... I can run these games on my laptop albeit very low settings)
For the price, how would you rate/score the capabilities of this machine? (I'll be running Windows Vista Ultimate x64, though possibly dual-booting with Ubuntu)

I also plan on buying these soon to help keep the GPU temperatures down, good choices?
GPU Cooler: ARCTIC COOLING Accelero S2 VGA Cooler, $19.99
Additional GPU Cooler: ARCTIC COOLING Turbo Module Sleeve Dual VGA Fan, $8.99

Hopefully I'll be able to upgrade the motherboard and try out SLI/Crossfire, but for now this should keep my occupied upgrading from an Asus laptop (Core 2 Duo 2.00GHz, 2GB RAM, and an ATI x1600 Mobility). Thanks for all the help and I'll report back with how installation went.

• Not being a gamer, I have no idea if games benefit of quad cores yet (I never ever look at gaming benchmarks).
• Vid card wise, I'm told (from very knowledgeable people) that a Radeon 4850 is the way to go now for games, or 4870 if you have the $ (again, not being a gamer, I personally don't follow these things at all)
• RAM wise, again, if you insist on filling all your slots with small 1GB sticks that you'll be throwing out later, it's your call. I'd rather have room for expansion myself (upgrade to 8GB for ~$100 more later). I really can't think of a reason to go with 4 smaller sticks.
• That hard drive is fine, no real issues there, but I probably would have went with the new 640GB WD drive (for pretty much the same price)
• Never looked at that case before, no idea
• PSU wise, I wouldn't even risk plugging that to my computer. It's absolute garbage. There's no way this pushes anywhere near 630W, and the specs are kind of laughable, 35A on the 3.3v rail (lol), 46A on the 5v rail (high like that means an OLD design), and only 26A total on the 12v rail which is quite bad -- there's quality ~350W PSUs with that much. At 600-something watts, you'd expect more like twice that many amps on the 12v rail. Besides, at that price and that name, you can already tell the build quality (cheap caps, diodes & mosfets that would crap out at half the rated load, cutting corners everywhere basically). And the name isn't exactly known for quality either (more like universally bad). There's TONS of MUCH better PSUs for only a few $ more. Very first review on newegg says "Burned out in under one week of operation with one loud POP."

I have to agree with crahak on this one. A bad PSU can literally destroy every other piece of hardware in the system if it decides to have a bad day. Especially with quality parts like you've got there, get a quality PSU. My two top picks right now are the Corsair HX series (520W is fine for your setup) or the Enermax Modu82+. They're a little more pricey, but they've got excellent quality and value.

Thanks for the suggestions, I'll look into getting a better PSU as soon as I can. Everything is currently on it's way here, so I have no way of changing my order now. How would you rate/score the capabilities though?

you said you're planning to buy new GPU cooling?

well, for an 8800 (anything version) the Accelero S2 might be a little weak. I know its $10 more, but the Accelero S1 is a much better cooler. i have a 9600GT, but in comparative results between an S1 and an S2 cooler, the S1 cooler is always slightly cooler, fanless or cooled by a fan.

oh, fans. heh. don't get the turbo module for the accelero, you'll hate it. its not a very effective way to help that accelero. what you should actually do is find yourself a low RPM 120mm fan, and use zip-ties or something similar to fasten the fan to the cooler. as long as the cooler is installed properly, this added weight wont matter one bit. the cooling will also be much more effective, leading to much better stock temps.

past that i don't see anything wrong with it.

(budgets and quad cores don't tend to stay on the same list)