Some questions on building.

Tory · 03-22-2008, 07:32 AM

Alright, so my buddy and I are tired of our 15-20 frames per second in games, and decided we are both going to build our own computers. I have torn apart my computer and "rebuilt" it a few times, so I am confident the building part will go smoothly, if not I am lucky enough to have you guys here.

The questions I have, though, pertain more to performance and quality. I want this computer to perform extremely well for a while.

What are "the best" Intel motherboards available right now? I am going to be running a Quad Core Q6600 processor, but am unsure what Mobo to get.
I am going to buy the WD Raptor 10,000 RPM 36GB hard drive, as well as a Western Digital 250GB (or perhaps 500GB) hard drive. I am completely clueless on how to set up two hard drives, but I am sure this is covered in the Hard Drive forum. My question is, what kind of programs/files would be assigned to the faster hard drive, and what would be put on the slower hard drive? Also, how is the secondary hard drive accessed? Would it just appear in the My Computer folder, as the C: drive would?
In terms of video cards, I am pretty dead-set on running two 512mb 8800GT in SLI. However, with running SLI, would it still be possible to dual-monitor? Or would I have to drop SLI to do that?
On the same note as the video cards, I read that to run two of them you will need a 650W PSU. Now, I am not a big fan of minimums, because I can see it somehow breaking. My question is, what is a good wattage to aim for stability, without overkilling it?

I think that's all for now, I am sure I will have more along the way.

Thanks in advance everyone.

dai · 03-22-2008, 02:17 PM

asus p5k
corsair 750w

Tory · 03-22-2008, 04:57 PM

Any reason why the Asus P5K stands out from everything else?

Tumbleweed36 · 03-22-2008, 05:24 PM

P5K or P5K deluxe...IMHO, Fuller featured than most, Stable as a rock, Easy to Configure, P35 Chipset, Asus has sold a blue million of these and they have stood the test of consumers, accepts fast ram, easy to overclock, 1333FSB, accepts the most modern processors, I could go on and on, but read the reviews and you shall understand better. These boards are wonderful for someone who wants cost vs. performance efficiency.

BTW, the Corsair power supply is about as good as it gets. Take dai's advice on that one also.

03-22-2008, 07:32 AM	#1 (permalink)
Tory Registered User Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 2 OS: XP Pro	Some questions on building. Alright, so my buddy and I are tired of our 15-20 frames per second in games, and decided we are both going to build our own computers. I have torn apart my computer and "rebuilt" it a few times, so I am confident the building part will go smoothly, if not I am lucky enough to have you guys here. The questions I have, though, pertain more to performance and quality. I want this computer to perform extremely well for a while. What are "the best" Intel motherboards available right now? I am going to be running a Quad Core Q6600 processor, but am unsure what Mobo to get. I am going to buy the WD Raptor 10,000 RPM 36GB hard drive, as well as a Western Digital 250GB (or perhaps 500GB) hard drive. I am completely clueless on how to set up two hard drives, but I am sure this is covered in the Hard Drive forum. My question is, what kind of programs/files would be assigned to the faster hard drive, and what would be put on the slower hard drive? Also, how is the secondary hard drive accessed? Would it just appear in the My Computer folder, as the C: drive would? In terms of video cards, I am pretty dead-set on running two 512mb 8800GT in SLI. However, with running SLI, would it still be possible to dual-monitor? Or would I have to drop SLI to do that? On the same note as the video cards, I read that to run two of them you will need a 650W PSU. Now, I am not a big fan of minimums, because I can see it somehow breaking. My question is, what is a good wattage to aim for stability, without overkilling it? I think that's all for now, I am sure I will have more along the way. Thanks in advance everyone.

03-22-2008, 02:17 PM	#2 (permalink)
dai Manager, Hardware Forums Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: west australia Posts: 56,587 OS: win 7 32x 64x rtm	Re: Some questions on building. asus p5k corsair 750w __________________

03-22-2008, 04:57 PM	#3 (permalink)
Tory Registered User Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 2 OS: XP Pro	Re: Some questions on building. Any reason why the Asus P5K stands out from everything else?

03-22-2008, 05:24 PM	#4 (permalink)
Tumbleweed36 Asst Manager Hardware Join Date: May 2005 Location: USA Posts: 19,652 OS: XP Professional	Re: Some questions on building. P5K or P5K deluxe...IMHO, Fuller featured than most, Stable as a rock, Easy to Configure, P35 Chipset, Asus has sold a blue million of these and they have stood the test of consumers, accepts fast ram, easy to overclock, 1333FSB, accepts the most modern processors, I could go on and on, but read the reviews and you shall understand better. These boards are wonderful for someone who wants cost vs. performance efficiency. BTW, the Corsair power supply is about as good as it gets. Take dai's advice on that one also. __________________ ---------- I don't receive email notifications of replies to subscribed threads. (Internet provider policy) Therefore, if I don't respond to your post within 24 hours, please send me a reminder PM and include the link to your thread.