Hi, just to let everybody know, this is my first build, ever. Any feedback/advice is welcome. I live in the US, and currently am buying all of these components off newegg. This system is primarily for gaming, although i may use it for 3d modeling when i get into college later this year.
I haven't decided on a psu yet, since I really dont know wat to get. I dont plan on any multi-gpu configurations, however I would like to keep that option open. I do attend LANs several times a year, so I will need a psu that can handle torture. Any advice for that would be appreciated. The list above rite now is still tentative.
Thanks
Get a WD6400AAKS or WD7500AAKS, they are much faster than the WD5000AAKS.
PSU: agreed with level101, but I'd prefer the Silencer 750W Crossfire Edition.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] ncer%2b750 Same price at newegg after shipping. The difference is that the Crossfire Edition has 6/8-pin connectors and the future card you will buy might need them.
You're not keeping the multi-gpu option open with an nVidia card on a Crossfire motherboard. Get a HD 3870 instead of the 9600GT. Price and performance are very close.
If you intend to overclock, the Q6600 is probably better than the Q9300. It's because the multiplier on the Q9300 makes it more difficult. At stock, the Q9300 beats the stock Q6600.
The 3d modeling will use a quad, if you have the adequate software. Games other than FSX will do better on an E8400.
thx 4 the suggestions, those psus look pretty good, but does any1 know a good nvidia board? From wat I hear, nvidia chipsets r very unstable, so i thought id just go with a single nvidia card or crossfire ati cards.
Well, I wouldn't go as far as "very unstable", but yeah, nVidia's motherboards are not as good as the X38. You could try the eVGA 780i.
You could also stick with the GA-EX38-DS4 and add a 9800GX2 or 3870X2. You'll be all set for a couple of years with just one of those, unless you get a 24" LCD or bigger. With the 9800GX2 you won't be able to add more GPU power later, but I doubt you'll need it anyway. With the 3870X2 you will be able to add a second ATI card (3870, 3870X2, maybe some future ATI card), but you'll need Vista (because XP drivers will not support 3 or 4 GPUs and the 3870X2 already contains 2 GPUs).
well, to be honest, im actually really under budget, surprisingly. but, i do plan on upgrading to either the gt200 or r700, but i really need an upgrade. I got a new laptop in Feb. and check out the awesome specs! intel x3100 graphics accelerator, dual-core 1.6 ghz (first multi core comp i own), and yeah. So, a 9600gt rite now would be a godsend
well, to be honest, im actually really under budget, surprisingly. but, i do plan on upgrading to either the gt200 or r700, but i really need an upgrade. I got a new laptop in Feb. and check out the awesome specs! intel x3100 graphics accelerator, dual-core 1.6 ghz (first multi core comp i own), and yeah. So, a 9600gt rite now would be a godsend
I did look up your motherboard specs and it supports raid 0. I am a fan of raid 0 because it improves hard disk speed. I have used several years and infact my new system I just built last week has raid. The downsides are, you need a minimum of two drives that are matched which cost more money because you are buying two hard drives and not one. And also, I strongly recommend a large 3rd drive to back up your raid array (data only) in case one of your hard drives on the raid array fail. If one drive fails in Raid 0 both become inoperative. I have never had this happen but I back up my data constantly.
There will be people who disagree with this but my expereince for several years has been very positive.
Too, everything boils down to money and how much you can afford to spend. I suspect this is not the route you want to take because you are planning on upgrading your video card in about a year which means your buying two video cards. So money is probably an issue.
since the previous one did not support pcie 2.0. Also, this desktop will be primarily meant for gaming; i have a separate computer for important work, and I always keep my game discs, so im not sure if its worth the trouble of setting up a RAID, although i definitely appreciate ur insight.
why are you looking at these expensive mobos? The gigabyte p35 ds3l works with the q9300 http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Support [...] uctID=2629 and is 150 dollars less then the one you are looking at. with the extra money you could get a 9800 gtx. oh and there is some nice crucial memory for less then 100 dollars on newegg. same with some patriot. That would definitely be better then gskill
@jaibot - the primary reason y i chose the 780i motherboard was the pcie 2.0 slots it has, and since i wont be upgrading anything for a while, i decided to go with that. Also, the ram u pointed out didnt seem to have very good ratings, and the lack of reviews makes it look a bit risky.
@amd_fanboi - the main reason y im getting a 9300 is b/c it runs cooler. My room, especially in the summer, can get quite hot, and i dont trust myself setting up a liquid cooling system. But yes, otherwise i would get a 6600.