Opinions on this Q9450 build before i order

[xXxSlaYerxXx]

Going to build a PC around a Q9450 and im not sure about a monitor. Going to use system for OCing and gaming. I already purchased the Q9450.

Case- COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Cpu- Q9450
Motherboard- Asus rampage formula
Cooler- XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler
Hard drive- Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 500GB
Video card- VisionTek Radeon HD 3870
Memory- OCZ Reaper HPC 4GB DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500)
PSU_ CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX ATX12V / EPS12V 750W
LCD Monitor- Samsung 22"

This is my 2nd build coming from a AMD 3200+ Cant wait to see the difference!

 

[deusex]

Unless you just cannot abide with Nvidia, I'd suggest you get a 8800GT.
Don't know of that cooler.Thermalright cools extremely well.
For a 22", which would go well with a 8800gt/3870, I'd go with Samsung.

 

[dagger]

Unless you just cannot abide with Nvidia, I'd suggest you get a 8800GT.
Don't know of that cooler.Thermalright cools extremely well.
For a 22", which would go well with a 8800gt/3870, I'd go with Samsung.

Yes, 8800gt is the best bang for the buck right now. Or you can get a 8800gts for slightly better performance. Make sure to get the g92(512mb/1gb) instead of the old g80(320mb/640mb) version. Going down the performance ladder, 3850 is the best price for the bang. It's very cheap, and delivers acceptable performance. 3870 is not a good deal right now, since it cost more than 9600gt for the same performance.

I'm not familiar with "Asus rampage forumla," but for overclocking more than 3.2ghz on the Q9450, you should get a X38 chipset board. 3.2ghz = 8x400 -> 4x400=1600mhz fsb. P35 and 780i runs natively at 1333mhz fsb and can overclock reliably to 1600mhz fsb. Some can oc to 1800, but it's shaky. X38 runs natively at 1600mhz fsb and can overclock reliably to 2000+mhz.

For monitor, consider this 19inch lcd.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824005106
At $199.99, it's a steal. 3000:1 contrast ratio and 2ms response time. Such specs are on par or better than far more expensive monitors. Idea for gamer. Also, for gaming, widescreen is not ideal. Support for widescreen in most games are sketchy. You don't have as many resolutions to choose from, if it's supported at all. Of course, this will get better as widescreens become more common.

 

[kittenofthesea]

Unless you just cannot abide with Nvidia, I'd suggest you get a 8800GT.
Don't know of that cooler.Thermalright cools extremely well.
For a 22", which would go well with a 8800gt/3870, I'd go with Samsung.

Frostytech's CPU cooler roundup rated that Xigmatek as the #1 CPU cooler, ahead of the TRUE
http://www.frostytech.com/top5heatsinks.cfm
Either one is a good choice, but the Xigmatek is noticably cheaper, so it is what I would go with.

And yes, I recommend an 8800GT 512MB or an 8800GTS 512MB

 

[roadrunner197069]

If you want FPS "faked numbers" go with 8800gt. If you want true WYSIWYG image quality get the 3870. The rampage formula is x48 "better then x38" so it will be fine. You should get overclock as high as the chip can handle. I would bet atleast a 3.6 if not more.

 

[xXxSlaYerxXx]

Thanks for responding guys i really appreciate it. I was debating between 8800gts/gt and the 3870/3870x2. Ive owned both Nvidia and Radeon cards but between the two the graphics looks so much crisper to me on a Radeon card. The graphics on a Nvidia card looks washed out to me almost blurry but maybe its just me. I cant get the 3870x2 right now cause it wont fit in my budget so maybe ill get another 3870 in the near future and crossfire.

I think ill go with a lcd Samsung heard nothing but good about them. Can the 3870 handle a 24" monitor or should i go with the 22"?

 

[two bit hit]

If I were you, I'd stick with 22". The 226BW is very highly thought of.

 

[deusex]

Frostytech's CPU cooler roundup rated that Xigmatek as the #1 CPU cooler, ahead of the TRUE
http://www.frostytech.com/top5heatsinks.cfm
Either one is a good choice, but the Xigmatek is noticably cheaper, so it is what I would go with.

Thanks kitten, haven't looked at coolers for a while.

 

[FwoGiZ]

samsung 206bw , 20in is the best quality
samsung 226bw , 22in almost as good
those monitor are cheap for their quality imo...

 

[xXxSlaYerxXx]

Did some research on the Samsung 22" 226bw and found out there is a newer version 226cw which is supposed to be a little better. Dont know if the price would be worth it between the two though.