[New]Fast Poker Database & Gaming X38 System - 3 Monitors

[cheesemoney]

Hi guys. I'm almost ready to pull the trigger. This will be used for gaming and poker. I will overclock it and am looking for solid value but am willing to spend a bit extra for performance.

OS: Windows XP 32-bit pro with possibly going to Vista 64 (dual boot) later for games (though I hear 64 sucks for games, but don't feel like upgrading to vista without really adding something new, like 64 bit)

CPU: Intel Quad Q6600
Monitor 1: Gateway 30" when prices drop I'll pick one up for around $1300 (currently like $1700). Or 3008WFP Dell 30".
Monitors 2 & 3: Existing 2 Samsung 204B's (3rd one broke) - probably in portrait
Motherboard: Asus Maximus Formula X38 - $259
Heatsink: Arctic Cooling Freezer Pro - $22 - I'm open to suggestions
Case: Cooler Master Stacker 830 - $99 after Rebate - again, open to suggestions
Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling 750W - $169 - Expensive but Solid, I'm willing to switch to a reliable cheaper model - may need to support up to 6 hdds and 2 high power graphics cards in crossfire at some point.
Fans for case: Need recommendations for good 120 mm fans here (don't need LEDs)
Graphics Card: EVGA 8800GT $232 - how I wish this chipset had SLI. Maybe EVGA 512 G92 8800GTS for 320 after rebate w/ Crysis.
Graphics Card Cooler: Accelero S1 with Turbo Module Add on Fan (or none if I get the GTS)
2nd Graphics Card: nVidia MX400 (salvaged from old computer) for 3rd monitor
Memory (Ram): NEED HELP HERE!!!
2x1GB Crucial Ballistix PC 6400 (DDR2 800) $50 after rebate
or: 2x1GB Crucial Ballistix PC 8500 (DDR2 1066) $110
or: 2x2GB G.SKILL 2x2GB DDR2 1000 (which is really just DDR2 800 guaranteed to reach at least 1000 mhz) $114.99
Memory Cooler: Optional - I've heard Crucial 8500 gets real hot
or: Cheaper Thermaltake Ram Cooler
Hard Disks: 2 Raptor 150gb 10,000 rpm HDDs in Raid 0 for OS(s), Games, & Pokertracker Database - 2x$170
Hard Disks (media): Hitachi 750 GB 7K1000 7200 RPM (1 or 2x$200) - 1 or 2 of these, maybe in raid 0
External hard Disk: USB 400GB (2) for backing up OS drive weekly (already own)


Memory: Really confused on which set of memory sticks to buy. I'd love to reach 3.2 ghz, 3.6 would be even sweeter. I'm in XP-32 for now, so I'd only be able to see 3gb if I get the G.Skill 4gb package.

Hard Disks: I really want fast PokerTracker Database Load times. I'd love for everything to work fast. Hitachi 7200 rpm drives are supposedly faster than the Raptors in some tests. I'm willing to spend a little extra $$$ here to get great results. I've considered 4 of the Hitachi Drives in Raid 10 (or 1+0?) also if speeds are fast and redundancy is always good. Or 3 or 4 drives in Raid 5, etc. I want Pokertracker to fly. Maybe if I go with 2 raptors in raid 0 and 2 hitachis, I don't need the hitachi's raided. Mostly holiding movies, but i record guitar & add effects too.

Graphics Cards: I sure wish the ATI Radeon 3870 was a little better, easily available, and cheaper. Just doesn't seem worth it to buy 2 for Crossfire when crossfire still has some probs (e.g., Crysis). Maybe I'll sell my EVGA card with the 3870x2's come out and crossfire those. Or maybe EVGA will let me step up to a better single card solution when the 9800's come out.

I'd love to hear a few thoughts and I'd like to pull the trigger on this in the next day.

If I bought it all (including the gateway 30" monitor) my system would total about $3779 (after tax) + whatever shipping is. Ouch.

 

[akhilles]

case fans: go with 12cm Yate Loon or Scythe 60-ish cfm fans. Check out the case on the web for the amount of bundled fans.

hdds: If PokerTracker Database is a few gigabytes in size, it can be loaded in the memory & the access time will be faster than ANY hard disks. In that case, you will need 64-bit os & 4-8 gb ram. There used to be a driver that turns memory into a temporary hard disk & gives you a new drive letter. You could install the PokerTracker Database in there or just load the database there.

If you really want SLI, go with EVGA 780i mobo. It does single, dual & tri GPUs.

 

[tefloonsocks]

i had the EXACT same thing happen to me, but i got my computer for 1415 exactly. I ended up getting 3870, just one of them because i have found out that i can crossfire it with a 3870x2 because it is in fact 2x512 cards and soon the x38 mobo will support 3 of them with the extra slot hopefully

 

[Shadow703793]

Looks good to me.

 

[aschan]

It sounds like what I do with my computer.

but I would use:
a Zalman 9500 or 9700, or Thermal 120.
Corsair Dominators 8500 @1066 sticks of either, 2x2g or 4x1g
(need to be same version for correct voltage).
One larger HD LCD which saves on the video card.
Costco selling Vizio's 47" at $1300.00 and a 52" @ 1800.00.
Make sure single video card has the largest amount of memory, ie: 768mb
Memory available does not increase with SLI / Cross Fire.
T-1 or better Internet speeds.

My system:
E8400 OC 4.0 on Cooler Master TX2
EVGA 680i A1
4 x 1g Corsair 8500 Dominators @1066
EVGA 8800 GTX - 768mb
250g Western 7200 16mb
Sony DVD/BD
Ultra X 550
Vizio 47" 1080p
Comcast T-1.5

I normally will monitor over twelve tables and play on two. On a 47" LCD, I play while other watch or advise. All fits in one big screen, in less space, and versatile, ie: movies and any games.

Good Luck!

 

[WR2]

aschan;
I think cheesemonkey ordered his new system 3 1/2 months ago.