What do you think of this for gaming?

[Bidybag]

Intel Core 2 Quad Pro Q6600 "Energy Efficient SLACR 95W Edition" 2.40GHz (1066FSB)
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-161-IN

>>>I will be ordering two of these and running them in RAID 0.
2 X Western Digital Raptor 150GB 10000RPM SATA 16MB Cache
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-069-WD

Asus Maximus Formula Intel X38 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-253-AS&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=946

Coolermaster RC-1000 Cosmos Silent Full Tower Case
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-144-CM

Coolermaster Real Power 700w Modular Power Supply
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-148-CM

>>>I will be ordering another 2GB of this to make it a total of 4GB.
Corsair 2GB DDR2 XMS2 Dominator PC2-8500C5 TwinX (2x1GB)
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-119-CS&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=817


The total of this is £990 which is $1936.
I allready have a GeForce 8800 GTS 640mb so i have not included this in the price. I also have Vista Ultimate 64bit.

Please can you tell me what you think of this computer for gaming?

 

[rgeist554]

Just a few questions / concerns:

Try to find a G0 stepping version of the Q6600 *edit* It appears that is the G0 version as it uses 10 less W than the normal one, my bad . It will make for a higher OC on stock voltage. Also, you'll want an after market cooler if you're going to OC the Q6600. **If you don't encode or do any really CPU intensive tasks, then an E6750 will outperform the Q6600 while gaming (@ stock speeds). Basically - if you're just going to game and don't plan to OC, then save a few $ and go for the E6750 until some of the 45 nm procs hit a reasonable price**

Why an X38 (Crossfire board) with an Nvidia card?

Coolermaster PSU's genearlly suck. I'd get something else. (Ex. Seasonic, OCZ, Corsair, PC P&C, etc.)

For the RAM - You may want to go 2x2GB as it will save you some RAM slots and allow for expansion later should it be needed.

*edit*

For the RAID 0 config - you're going to want to use a hardware RAID controller which will end up costing more, but is the smarter option since software controllers require a bit of overhead - which will impact your performance.

 

[skittle]

Try to find a G0 stepping version of the Q6600 *edit* It appears that is the G0 version as it uses 10 less W than the normal one, my bad . It will make for a higher OC on stock voltage.

He already did, the SLACR is G0.

Also you dont need an after market cooler to OC a q6600... only if your going for high OCs above 3ghz or so.

 

[rgeist554]

Yeah, I had to go back and edit my post about that.

 

[Bidybag]

1. I choose the X38 because i knew it was good and better than the nforce. I wont be ever getting another graphics card anyway so it doesnt matter about SLI. Using an X38 wont effect my geforce 8800 will it? It just means i cant use 2 cards in SLI?

2. Will i still be able to use RAID 0 if i dont buy a raid controller? I thought that was built into my motherboard?


3. Why do coolermasters PSU suck? I thought it looked good so i picked that one. Is there really a difference bewteen power supplies except for the power?

 

[rgeist554]

1. Correct.

2. Yeah, you can still use RAID 0 as long as your motherboard has the controller.

3. They are just rated bad. Check this list out: http://www.tomswiki.com/page/Tiered+PSU+Listings?t=anon It ranks all the PSU's on a tier system (1-2 are above average, 3 is average, below that is undesirable)

Is there really a difference between power supplies except for the power?

Yes, there are several factors:
Constant usage vs. peak power.
-Most cheap PSU's rate their wattage on their peak power. Meaning that it could spike up to 700W, but not necessarily stay there very long. Quality PSU's give you a wattage that the PSU can always, easily produce. (Ex. PC Power & Cooling 750 has a constant of 750W and a peak of over 850W)

Quality of components:
-Cheap capacitors and other electronics will lead to a short life-span and easy cause of failure. (electrical fires anyone?) Other cheap components like fan's can make high-pitched whines and vibrate - which can be extremely annoying. This also leads to inconsistent power which causes things like shutdowns, and in some cases can damage components.

 

[Bidybag]

Thanks for help. Does the motherboard i linked have a raid controller with it? Will i be able to use my 2 raptors in RAID 0 on that motherboard?

Is this a good power supply http://www.ebuyer.com/product/114941 . Is that better than the coolermaster ones?

 

[rgeist554]

Yes, that is a good PSU. As for the raid question... I'll have to do a little research.