WT's quad upgrade - celebrating the big 4-0

[WalkinTarget]

Well, in another two weeks I kiss the 30's goodbye, so to reduce the pain and suffering involved, I decided I needed to wash away my woe not in the cold beverage of choice, but instead awash myself in the smell of fresh electronics, namely a mild upgrade of my current rig, built last year in August.

The idea was to stay with the same model of board so that I could use my existing Vista install and simply pull the 650i board and replace it with a 7xx board. Several reviews and possible upgrade paths were pored over, until I finally settled on the following:

eVGA 750i SLI FTW:
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16813188026

Pricier by $50 that what I really wanted to spend, but it is the best 7xx series board available right now, so its the best choice for my gaming needs.

eVGA 9800GTX 512mb PCIe (G92):
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16814130339

Obviously an interesting time to be buying an older card, when the new GTX2xx series cards are only 3 weeks away. This is the component that I don't really need at this point, but my plan all along is to wait 90 days, then Step Up to the lower model GT2 series card, which if it retails for $450 would cost me $150 to basically more than double my performance.
If the reviews come out in that 90 days and show that things aren't what we expected, than I keep the 9800GTX, satisfied that I had two options all along.

ZEROtherm Nirvana HSF:
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16835887011

Getting great reviews and it is quiet to boot. Similar to my existing Arctic Cooler Freezer Pro 7.

Additional items that are looking nice for the price, but I haven't decided on which of these to pick up (depends on the fundage mostly):

G.Skill 4gb (2x2gb) DDR2 1000 RAM:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231145

Mushkin 4gb (2x2gb) DDDR2 800 RAM:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820146726

One of the above sets of RAM is the best for this build. This one is truly a coin toss for me, as I could go either way on the linked RAM kits.

Raidmax Smilodon case:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811156078

Dunno what keeps dragging me back to admire this case, but I still love the looks of it. The earlier version in silver offered all 80mm fans, but this one at least offers some 120 fans in critical areas, so it is an improvement, however slightly, to the original Smilodon case.

Last but not least, I was set to go with the Q9450 chip (Duke's 9450 has me jealous) but seeing as how Intel is End of Lifing the damn thing a mere three months after its intro, I am having to change my plan on this one.

The 9550 is its replacement, and with a .5 higher multiplier, overclocking should be a tad bit better. The price (as of late June) will be in the same neighborhood, around $280+, but what bothers me most is the demand for this chip, as it drops over $200 in late June from its current retail price of $516 !!!

Everyone will be snapping these up and it will be another e8400 fiasco, as e-tailers charge a serious markup due to supply and demand, so I plan on using my existing e6600 (OC'd to 3.2 easily) until I can find a Q9550 under $299.

As usual, comments or suggestions are welcome, but you guys know me by now .. my mind is pretty well set after months of reading what works and what doesn't work. I still love to go over the finer points of a build, and after 10+ years of rolling my own, I am perfecting the fine art of 'build you own' rig.

[Apache Warrior]

I like the side fan on the Raidmax case. It isn't on the door and allows for easier door removal.
Apache

[BenKenobi]

Looking good WT

[juneau]

Can i nitpick? Buy a better case. I can never understand why people will spend hundreds and hundreds on the innerds and then skimp on the case.

Rest looks good.

[WalkinTarget]

Ewww, Juneau hits where it hurts ...

I just ordered the case.

Now you know I sounded almost apologetic in my admiration for this case in my original post, but I say for the money ($50 after rebate) you simply cannot find me a better case.
Read some reviews on it .. its not a bad case !! The 80mm rear and front fans that I complained about have been yanked and replaced with 120mm fans on this newer case, and the side panel is magnetically held in place. Yea, its gimmicky, but I liked it when I first saw it, and nothing has really changed that opinion for me yet.
Keep in mind, this case is NOT for my main rig, I'll still be using my lovely P180b for the hardware listed above, but this Raidmax becomes PC #2 using the parts that I yank from the current #1 P180 rig.

[juneau]

Ohhhhh! I thought this was a new main rig for you.

[AmazingRedd]

those are nice nice pieces of hardware u getting WT. can i test it when its done

[DougBob]

Can i nitpick? Buy a better case. I can never understand why people will spend hundreds and hundreds on the innerds and then skimp on the case.

Rest looks good.

+1

You guys are starting to give me upgrade fever

[WalkinTarget]

Killa, I am always putting together rigs so that I can host my own LAN party some day with no one needing to bring their own rigs .. they can just use mine !! If you are passing by southcentral PA some day, gimme a holler and I'll invite Trooper, and if you can pick up Bar, all I need to do is kick the wife and kids out of the house for a day and we will have the place to ourselves !

[Trooper110]

I'll bring the beer

[juneau]

Killa, I am always putting together rigs so that I can host my own LAN party some day with no one needing to bring their own rigs .. they can just use mine !! If you are passing by southcentral PA some day, gimme a holler and I'll invite Trooper, and if you can pick up Bar, all I need to do is kick the wife and kids out of the house for a day and we will have the place to ourselves !

Now that sounds a whole lotta fun.

[Duke{CLR}]

Those all look like nice parts there WT.

[Warhead]

wow, wt and trooper, i could throw a rock at you from here! im in hamburg (not too far from reading).

now wheres my rock....

[Rand{CLR}]

WT, let us know your experience with the existing Vista install. That's the thing that would most keep me from upgrading to Quad Core in the next year or so--the thought of all the reinstallations and such. I frigging hate doing those.

-Rand

[Trooper110]

*throws a brick at Warhead* *grins*