Looking to build a new computer.

[atomicspark]

I have made a wish list (which is constantly changing) but view it here, and tell me what you think.

I will also need a PSU. There are so many I don't even know where to start. I want at least 30 amps on the 12 v rails (or as many as possible) for overclocking. Maybe at least 800w too. I don't want a $800 PSU tho. Recommend cases too. Big heavy metal ones are better.

[JamminR]

Over all, nice system.
This is just my personal opinion. It will differ from the 'ultimate-have-to-stay-on-cutting-edge' system builders out there.
Video cards over $300 are rarely if ever worth the money. (And some might debate, myself included, the worth of a $300 card)
They don't hold value.
Of all the components that go obsolete within a short amount of time...the video card goes the quickest.
Through a lifetime warranty and RMA claim, I just got an 'upgraded' card due to BFG no longer making the card I had.
I bought mine new a little over a year ago for ~300 on ebay. Chipset itself was just now two years old.
When it first came out 2 years ago, it was running $550.
It's going to be some time before your video card even sees a DX10 game. Never will see one unless you're running Vista.
My advice - Get a 200 to 300 dollar vid card. 7600 to 7900 of some sort. (yes, even if a GS model)
Then, by the time DX10 games start becoming mainstream ('if', M$ is having trouble selling Vista right now), I'm betting you could get a good GF 8x series card for half what they are now, and then you'll have a backup video card for a second pc that still rocks on old games.

Until my 6800 GT died (I now have a 7800 GT), that's what I had planned on doing.

[Megiddo]

Holy wow... I just had to review my parts again.

I have the 7900 GTO, which isn't sold anymore. I forgot why I was willing to sacrifice being able to SLI down the road to get a soon-to-be discontinued GPU (yes, I knew it would be at the time) so I took a gander at the wikipedia article. Wow, I timed my purchase at the right time. Half off (half off even on today's prices) of a 7900 GTX! Jeeze.

atomicspark: I'd follow JamminR's advice. DX10 is vista-only. Do you really want to use vista? Keep in mind it will probably be another 5 years before we start seeing interesting games that support DX10 (developers wait for customers to have capable cards, customers wait for games that support it; vicious cycle.).

Also, there's no need to get an 800W PSU. According to power usage calculators, my system (2xSATA, 7900 GTO, Asus mobo, Core 2 Duo, lots of USB devices, DVD drive) is only using at max 350W. I assume this is a high estimation too.

[atomicspark]

I've chosen the "XFX PVT71JYHE9 GeForce 7950GT 512MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP ExTreme Edition Video Card". It's the highest clocked 7650GT and also has passive cooling! I believe it's a good fps/$ investment.

Do you guys think 4GB of RAM is insane? I mean with how RAM prices work, I can't even find RAM for my system that I have now without paying $$$. I think it would be better to get it all now and running then wait till later and not get the chance. I guess I could buy 2 GB now, see how it runs, and buy 2 GB more in a month or so. I just run the risk of it going out of stock again.

[WildWill]

Another option to consider would be www.mwave.com thanks to JamminR.  For just a couple bucks they put it together and test it before sending it out. I have used newegg in the past for many computer builds but I have to hand it to mwave, they really got something going on over there. With all the new technology's it is easy for something obscure to pop up and with a prebuild for less then 10 bucks to check, it's worth it.

Just my $.02 

[JamminR]

Re: Online shopping
Yes, NewEgg has a nice wish list/shopping cart experience, but always check prices at other places.
I like www.mwave.com, have also gotten decent service (though I don't know as well) from ewiz.com
Previously, zipzoomfly.com has done well, however they let me down recently, and also online store ratings sites have been harsh to them lately.

Re: Vid card
With exception of the passive cooling (like one review said, some worry), it looks like a much better card for the money.
You can save your ~$450 you didn't spend on a GF8x series card now for something else.

Re: 4gb.
I have XP Pro x64 with 2gb, and have never hit 2gb. Think I maxed at 1.5gb once. I forget what I was doing.
Do you really need 4gb? Guess it's a personal 'think about it' thing.
I don't do high res image editing. Only gaming, surfing, and the occasional coding.

[atomicspark]

I usually game and browse the Internet at the same time. I also do the occasional picture editing for my website work. I think I'm going to go with the 2GB pack. I was honest with myself and I figured I probably wouldn't try to overclock that much. The 2GB pack for $150 is a sweet deal for me.

Now as far as my new system that I want goes, I've changed my mind which mobo to go with.  The ASUS P5K DELUXE/WIFI-AP LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard allows for higher RAM speeds, one of which isn't even out yet. Supposedly, I'm supposed to be able to reach higher overclocking levels (for everything) too. Even if I can't do SLI, the performance benefits seem to be a better choice then the NVIDIA chipset.

One bad note tho, the XFX video card is now out of stock. The selection of older GeForce 7 cards are getting worse by the day. I know Megiddo has a thing against ATI for some reason, but what other cards do you suggest? I was looking for buying the best DX9 card I can get. I don't want to spend 400 something for it because thats getting in the low level GeForce 8 cards.

[JamminR]

Well, mwave has some 7950s
Some refurb, some retail, mixed memory and slot types.
http://www.mwave.com/mwave/DeepSearch.hmx?scriteria=7950&ALL=y&TP=5

Ewiz has some 7950s
http://www.ewiz.com/query.php?categry=67&s=7950&Go+Search%21.x=0&Go+Search%21.y=0&search=y



I'm happy with my BFG 7800 GT OC (but, my last was a 6800GT OC)