Uncle Sam will be coughing up some of my hard-earned $$ he took from me in 2007 so I am considering to waste it on a new system. Despite the fact that I am nowhere near the gamer I was a few years back, I still do play single player games on occasion so it won't be a whimpy system.

Surprisingly enough all the best prices for each one of the main component was at NewEgg (compared to previous years) and also, to my recollection, this is the first time I will be paying more for the mobo than for the CPU.

Check them out and let me know if oyu can suggest better alternative or a cheaper place:

Mobo: ABIT IX38 Quad GT LGA 775 Intel X38 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813127033)

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115037)
(sorry AMD, I like your stuff but Intel surpassed you in the dual CPU race)

RAM: CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145033&ATT=20-145-033&CMP=OTC-pr1c3watch&nm_mc=OTC-pr1c3watch&cm_mmc=OTC-pr1c3watch-_-Memory+(Desktop+Memory)-_-Corsair+(XMS+Series)-_-20145033)
(I might be getting 2 sets of these to have a total of 4GB)

Power Supply: Antec TPQ-850 ATX12V / EPS12V 850W (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371009&ATT=17-371-009&CMP=OTC-pr1c3watch&nm_mc=OTC-pr1c3watch&cm_mmc=OTC-pr1c3watch-_-Power+Supplies-_-Antec-_-17371009)

Hard Drive: 2x Western Digital Raptor WD1500ADFD 150GB 10,000 RPM 16MB (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136012) Cache (RAID-0....did you think I was going to mirror these beasts?)

Video: 3DFx Voodoo 3000 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127329&ATT=14-127-329&CMP=OTC-pr1c3watch&nm_mc=OTC-pr1c3watch&cm_mmc=OTC-pr1c3watch-_-Video+Cards-_-MSI-_-14127329)

....just kidding! :D

I will be doing my usual mod'ing on a case I got a while back in CA. Of course it is going to have the low-tech 10+" external box for the best over cooling solution, a wicked paint job and god knows what else I feel like doing... :ugly:

Looks like a nice setup...not even going to hound you for going intel instead of AMD.

mix it up! get a phase change unit ;)

mix it up! get a phase change unit ;)
What the heck is that??

Looks like a great system to me. I might question the need for 2 raptors in raid rather than one raptor for system and a standard sata-3 for data. It wouldn't be because of performance, simply a bang for the buck argument along with the fact that raid-0 will increase the odds of a hdd failure. All of which you already know so.............................NICE CHOICES!!!

Looks like a great system to me. I might question the need for 2 raptors in raid rather than one raptor for system and a standard sata-3 for data. It wouldn't be because of performance, simply a bang for the buck argument along with the fact that raid-0 will increase the odds of a hdd failure. All of which you already know so.............................NICE CHOICES!!!Over the years, the only time I experience problems with SATA or even IDE RAID-0 setup was due to crappy drivers or crappy mobo chipset.
I am currently using 2x74GB Raptors on my GA-K8NSNXP-939 mobo which are running flawlessly.

If each of them cost another $30 or more, I would stick with only one but with prices this low, why not? Then again, I might just get one since I am no longer a hardcore gamer (if I would ever be considered one).

I just donated my AMD XP-1900 system with Soltek mobo to someone at work but now I am back to 6 PCs again. I will have to give away one or two more system to make room... :ohno:

Thats nice. phase change unit = direct cpu refrigeration.

Thats nice. phase change unit = direct cpu refrigeration.
People don't believe me but the $8 10" Wal-Mart Box fan keeps things might cool, no costly water cooling or CPU refrigeration is needed.
I will create a small photo album and put the links when all parts come in and I start building them.

Oh by the way, despite my initial rejection, I decided to go with this 1KW PSU from Antec so it is the same price as the 850W without the rebate: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371012

I still can't believe how expensive the PSUs has become and furthermore, how power hungry today's PC components are. I mean, my last system has a 500W PSU in it and it does a good job, I think even an 800Watt unit would've been fine but I got the 1KW one just in case I feel like oc'ing this bad boy...

I got so many old and somewhat old parts that I really should be getting rid of since I really do not use them. This way I will get a few bucks for them and someone can make use of them perhaps? I just hate to deal with all the buying/selling crap, I rather get reinbursed for the S&H and give the item away to someone who needs it and can't afford it.

Have a look at my post here (http://forum.networktechs.com/showthread.php?p=35682&posted=1#post35682) It covers some concerns regarding performance, but I think you already know about the motherboard/cpu situation, read the part about CPU clocks and videocards.

Have a look at my post here (http://forum.networktechs.com/showthread.php?p=35682&posted=1#post35682) It covers some concerns regarding performance, but I think you already know about the motherboard/cpu situation, read the part about CPU clocks and videocards.
Yeah, I read your post. I might mess around with some overclocking and possibly get another card later on to SLI but definitely not at first as I do not game hardcore enough to justify spending all the extra $$. After I ordered the 1KW PSU, it felt like it might have been a mistake but I rather have a more than adequate PSU than underpowered unit that will give me grief down the road.

They are out of stock on the CPU which is not a huge shocker (damn Intel) but I will wait till 4/11 to order since it is only a week away. I will be spending less than planned which will leave me extra $$ to get new tires for my NightHawk! :)

For all those interested in purchasing the abit QuadGT mobo with the IX38 chipset....it is a great mobo but definitely needs a more stable BIOS.
It was running fine until after 2 weeks into it, I started having very random, unexplained, pattern-less complete power off. Mobo would still have power on it (certain LED lights being still on). Mobo BIOS code would indicate "complete power off sequence". After the BIOS update to version 12, the random power offs almost completely vanished but during CPU/GPU extensive process with heat building up on every component including mobo (such as playing BioShock game), the system still experiences intermitient shut down. Oddly, this is not a case of overheating or inadequate PSU. The system would power on right away and I seriously doubt my 1KW Antec Quattro is insufficient.
Also, since the recent BIOS update made a significant change on this condition but failed to completely resolve it, I believe the root cause is with the mobo. I might have a lemon and may end up getting it exchanged but wanted to give interested parties a little 'heads-up'.
I will have to improve the case cooling as there overheating might still be a factor since besides the PSU, only thing cooling the system is one 80mm and one 120mm case fan. I am still not sure if overheating is a factor since the CPU has proper cooling with arctic 7 silver thermal paste on it and the problem could occur within minutes of turning on the machine and starting the game...a really odd problem that I never experienced before.

I would RMA it till it worked out of the box.

I would RMA it till it worked out of the box.
I did, got the new one recently. I updated the BIOS and so far so good.
I knew it was the mobo from the first day on but since it is also the most pita part to rma, disassemble, package and ship back, I put it off for a long while thank god Newegg was cool enough to give me a break. They even e-mail me the pre-paid return label. ;)

That's cool about the shipping, did you end up getting the E8400?

Yeah, this is what I ended up with:


Mobo: Abit IX38 QuadGT LGA775
CPU: Intel E8400 Duo
PSU: Antec Quattro 1Kw (I know a bit overkill but oh well)
RAM: G-Skill 2x512MB PC6400 and 2x1GB PC6400
Video: MSI 8800GT OC 512MB
Disk: 2x150GB WD Raptor in RAID-0



This things is a lot faster than my last rig so I have not yet had the desire to oc it. :bliss:

that's a sweet machine! if you do decide to OC it, you might run into stability issues using all the ram slots. Hopefully you won't have any of the raid issues my brother had with is x38 board.. It randomely drops a drive or two or three, so we have 5 raptors sitting on the shelf waiting for him to get another raid card.