Hoping to run Crysis on 24" lcd...but which one and hows my rig?

I decided to build a new pc from the ground up and save my old one to use as a music/media file server in conjunction with my 360. I have all the following parts added to my cart at newegg and will submit the order on Friday when I get paid. Underneath the parts I will discuss my plans.

Apevia X-plorer Steel ATX mid tower case

EVGA nForce 680i SLI ATX mobo

Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe cpu

EVGA GeForce 8800GTS 640mb vid card

2gb G.Skill DDR2 800 4-4-4-12 memory

Western Digital SE16 500gb SATA 3.0 hard drive

Creative X-Fi XtremeGamer 7.1 sound card

Sennheiser HD555 headphones

Ultra XPro 750 watt power supply with 50amp on +12v rail

Vista 32-Bit Home Premium OEM

In the following months... I plan to go SLI and add 2gb memory. I'de like to know if this will be able to play Crysis on a 24" lcd using 1900x1200 or 1900x1080 etc resolution. I would have opted for the 8800GTX but it's out of my budget now, and I've waited for as long as I care to for a new build as I will still enjoy my older games. Also, is the stock cooling of the cpu gonna be alright or would I need another cooler... and if so, which one? I heard reviews that the E6600 has okay stock cooling but thought I would ask.

Finally, my budget will be maxed with about 5-600 more dollars that will go toward the monitor. Can you please recommend a 24" lcd that fits within my budget with close to zero ghosting and a sharp, crisp picture. I am currently using a Sony 19" HS94P and enjoy it's vibrance, although the black levels suffer. So I do enjoy a glossy screen as opposed to a nongloss one, and if possible with reasonable blacks for them games such as Doom 3 etc.

The monitor I originally had in mind was the HP 22" w2207. This monitor IMO has absolutely beautiful colors which rival my Sony but it's only 1680x1050. I don't mind the 22" size at all if it's going to give me excellent quality. The other reason I was going for this one is because I have a best buy gift card from which I returned my broken Xbox 360. But if you think there is a 24" monitor comparable to this one and not too overkill for my system then let me know asap. The last thing I want to do is get an enormous monitor and not be able to play games next year due to hardware limitations.

Sorry for all the questions, but I'm running in a loop and have turned to this board for help on my new gaming rig. Thanks a bunch!

I decided to build a new pc from the ground up and save my old one to use as a music/media file server in conjunction with my 360. I have all the following parts added to my cart at newegg and will submit the order on Friday when I get paid. Underneath the parts I will discuss my plans.

Apevia X-plorer Steel ATX mid tower case

EVGA nForce 680i SLI ATX mobo

Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe cpu

EVGA GeForce 8800GTS 640mb vid card

2gb G.Skill DDR2 800 4-4-4-12 memory

Western Digital SE16 500gb SATA 3.0 hard drive

Creative X-Fi XtremeGamer 7.1 sound card

Sennheiser HD555 headphones

Ultra XPro 750 watt power supply with 50amp on +12v rail

Vista 32-Bit Home Premium OEM

In the following months... I plan to go SLI and add 2gb memory. I'de like to know if this will be able to play Crysis on a 24" lcd using 1900x1200 or 1900x1080 etc resolution. I would have opted for the 8800GTX but it's out of my budget now, and I've waited for as long as I care to for a new build as I will still enjoy my older games. Also, is the stock cooling of the cpu gonna be alright or would I need another cooler... and if so, which one? I heard reviews that the E6600 has okay stock cooling but thought I would ask.

Finally, my budget will be maxed with about 5-600 more dollars that will go toward the monitor. Can you please recommend a 24" lcd that fits within my budget with close to zero ghosting and a sharp, crisp picture. I am currently using a Sony 19" HS94P and enjoy it's vibrance, although the black levels suffer. So I do enjoy a glossy screen as opposed to a nongloss one, and if possible with reasonable blacks for them games such as Doom 3 etc.

The monitor I originally had in mind was the HP 22" w2207. This monitor IMO has absolutely beautiful colors which rival my Sony but it's only 1680x1050. I don't mind the 22" size at all if it's going to give me excellent quality. The other reason I was going for this one is because I have a best buy gift card from which I returned my broken Xbox 360. But if you think there is a 24" monitor comparable to this one and not too overkill for my system then let me know asap. The last thing I want to do is get an enormous monitor and not be able to play games next year due to hardware limitations.

Sorry for all the questions, but I'm running in a loop and have turned to this board for help on my new gaming rig. Thanks a bunch!

oldskooler79

Forgot to mention that the monitor can double for Xbox 360 and viewing hd movies. So, I guess it would be best to have a VGA input to upscale 360 games but if not, then I suppose component? It's no big deal if I can't do it, but it would be nice.

About the hd movies, yes well I have an hdtv in my living room but it would be nice to watch them in the privacy of my room. This is why I had second thoughts on the HP 22" monitor due to its resolution. I figured 1080p would be recommended for best picture quality when in the future, I pick up either an hd-dvd or blu-ray drive...whom ever wins the format war and when prices drop on them.

It's not a matter of if, but when I get an hd drive for the pc because I really want to watch movies with better quality. So with that in mind, is what I'm asking for altogether a little unrealistic or not?

Forgot to mention that the monitor can double for Xbox 360 and viewing hd movies. So, I guess it would be best to have a VGA input to upscale 360 games but if not, then I suppose component? It's no big deal if I can't do it, but it would be nice.

About the hd movies, yes well I have an hdtv in my living room but it would be nice to watch them in the privacy of my room. This is why I had second thoughts on the HP 22" monitor due to its resolution. I figured 1080p would be recommended for best picture quality when in the future, I pick up either an hd-dvd or blu-ray drive...whom ever wins the format war and when prices drop on them.

It's not a matter of if, but when I get an hd drive for the pc because I really want to watch movies with better quality. So with that in mind, is what I'm asking for altogether a little unrealistic or not?

oldskooler79

Everything looks good, you're getting your card (which is great by the way) from EVGA, so you can always step-up to the GTX, like I plan on doing. Great rig. Stock cooling for the E6600 should be alright, assuming you're not overclocking. If you are, then make sure to get an after-market cooler, preferably Zalman. As for a monitor, Samsung makes great monitors, this one looks good. This one got good reviews, but it's a bit expensive for your budget.firefly026

Thank you. I like the Samsungs myself and am looking at this one closely.

It's realistic, just expensive. For the price of a blu-ray drive for your computer, you could have a PS3. If your budget allows for it, then go for it.firefly026

I should mention that I won't be getting a blu-ray drive any time soon. At the very least, xmas. I will wait until we know 100% that blu-ray is going to be the next medium and then I'll wait some more until they drop in price. I agree that a PS3 would be a better buy now.

I'd drop down on the mobo, get a GTX a better PSU.X360PS3AMD05

What do you mean exactly? You think I should go with an EVGA 650i mobo and single 8800GTX?

Also, the power supply is the only part on that list that I already bought locally at Tigerdirect. I figured it would be adequate with 50amps on the single and only 12v rail. What do you think? It's not too late for me to take it back.

edit- it's an Nvidia SLI ready PSU as well. Does anyone else still think this isn't the best choice I made? I bought it since it was local and $89 + tax.

why get another gts a month later when crysis wont come out for a few months yet?

if i were you, i'd save up an extra month and get the gtx,, then wait till crysis is released to then get sli,

as why get sli now when by a years time u will prob want to change,, if u get gtx , by a years time, u can get another gtx and be back on top

Alright I may just splurge with this new buildup...

Antec Nine Hundred case

EVGA 680i mobo -- the $158 dollar one at newegg

EVGA 8800 GTX -- hope to game with 1680x1050 until Alan Wake releases???? Then SLI.

E6600 core 2 duo

2gb G.Skill DDR2 800 4-4-4-12 -- I'm on the cheap so hope this is good enough

Seagate 500gb 7200.10 Sata drive -- is this as good as western digital se16 drive?

Sennheiser HD555 headphones -- I'll get a sound card later

Vista Home Premium 32-bit OEM -- Go ahead and take the plunge

If I do this rig then I will use my bb gift card and get the HP w2207 22" lcd. I've already seen it in person and like it. Bonus factor that its not got an insane resolution so the GTX should last longer. I'm happy with this.

Any final thoughts to this setup before I tackle it next week?

if you are planning to upgrade to 4gigs of ram you should get vista 64 bit because 32 bit doesn't see the 4 gigs.Princedoom

Oh really, I thought that was just XP that didn't see the 4 gigs. Well, if it only reads like 3.5 gigs then wouldn't it be a good trade off considering perhaps the 32-bit version may perform better with my specs? or not?

[QUOTE="Princedoom"]if you are planning to upgrade to 4gigs of ram you should get vista 64 bit because 32 bit doesn't see the 4 gigs.oldskooler79

Oh really, I thought that was just XP that didn't see the 4 gigs. Well, if it only reads like 3.5 gigs then wouldn't it be a good trade off considering perhaps the 32-bit version may perform better with my specs? or not?

i don't think that there is a performance difference between 32-bit and 64-bit other than the support for 4 gigs. To be able to install a 64-bit os you just need a 64-bit processor which you have. Btw sometimes in 32 bit you may only see 2.7 gigs so i recommend 64 bit if your planning on adding more ram which isn't needed right now but would be good for later on.

Alright then... what's the best price/performance ram I can get now? I was thinking of the G.Skill because it's cheap and has 4-4-4-12 timings if I stick with 32-bit Vista then what particular ram to recommend that would last me for a good while? Thanks.oldskooler79

right now i have the corsair dominators at 800mhz and 4-4-4-12 timings @ 2.1 volts and they work great for me. i have heard that your ram was just as good. i also have the 680i motherboard which i love and there are people with this motherboard and the e6600 core 2 duo that overclocked it to 3.6 ghz on air easily(with a good hsf). make sure that you manually set your ram timings and voltage in the bios and i suggest to get ram that has a recommended voltage under 2.2v because higher voltage rams tend to die.

right now i am also running vista 32-bit and it works like a charm without any problems. my brother does have vista 64-bit which works great too. if you have any questions about your motherboard you should check out the evga forums, their are many people willing to help. http://evga.com/forums/

hope i helped you :)

right now i have the corsair dominators at 800mhz and 4-4-4-12 timings @ 2.1 volts and they work great for me. i have heard that your ram was just as good. i also have the 680i motherboard which i love and there are people with this motherboard and the e6600 core 2 duo that overclocked it to 3.6 ghz on air easily(with a good hsf). make sure that you manually set your ram timings and voltage in the bios and i suggest to get ram that has a recommended voltage under 2.2v because higher voltage rams tend to die.

hope i helped you :)

Princedoom

The G.Skill ram is 1.9-2.0 volts so I assume setting it manually to 4-4-4-12 @ 2.0 would be best?

You've helped alot...thanks!

yes that would be perfect;)Princedoom

Princedoom.. sent you a pm. You can either reply there or respond here.

Thanks a million!