Q9450, do the components match?

[Spitzmaus]

Hey guys,

finally, after waiting almost 4 years it's time to built a new system.
i've been looking around for the past few weeks and tried to figure out what i need and want and to find matching components.

i don't wanna spent more money then i currently am, but if you have any suggestions how to safe some money without loosing performance, go ahead and tell me.

i hope that the pc will be fast enough to last for the next couple of years without having to switch out parts all the time. fast enough for what? all kinds of office applications (M$ Office etc), some basic web/graphic design (dreamweaver/photoshop), and this year's games on (very) high graphics. (my old one is running half life 2 on a proud 800x600 with medium graphics w/o lag).

That's what i'm thinking of:

Antec P182
PC Power & Cooling Silencer Quad 750W
Gigabyte GA-EX38-DS4
Intel Q9450
Xigmatek HDT S1283
Corsair XMS2 Dominator 2x2Gb 1066Mhz
ATI 4870 (release in late June, maybe 4850, depending on price)
Creative X-Fi XtremeMusic (from my old PC)
WD Caviar SE16 500Gb
Samsung SH S203B
LG L227WT

Does it make any sense to buy Vista retail, or should i just get the 64bit OEM version and safe a hundred bucks?

thanks for you help

 

[akhilles]

Consider the GA-X48-DS4 which is not much more expensive than the X38 version.

Scrap the cpu cooler if you're not overclocking. The intel one is ok.

Also, switch ram out with 800mhz if you're not overclocking.

 

[Andrius]

Welcome to the forum. Nice configuration.

I'd get a 640GB WD6400AAKS over the 500GB hard drive (it's a bit faster).
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136218

Don't forget the backplate mounting kit for the XIGMATEK ($7)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233019

If you plan to overclock beyond 3.2GHz the RAM you picked is good.
If you don't you can get cheaper DDR2 800MHz RAM (the Corsair DHX C4 kit is $30 cheaper after MIR).
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145194

Read this about VISTA oem vs dsp oem vs retail:
http://www.notebookforums.com/thread188339.html

EDIT: I agree with akhilles on the rest.

 

[Spitzmaus]

what advantages does the x48 have? i'll go for a moderate oc, nothing extreme.
the hdd and the backplate sound good. i'm going to buy the cpu oem and buy the cooler with the safed money.

 

[Andrius]

The GA-X48-DS4 is newer (so I think it will be supported a bit longer). Since X48 and X38 are the same featurewise there's not much more too it. The GA-EX38-DS4 might need a BIOS update for the Q9450 to work on it if you get an early batch product.

OEM chips come with a shorter warranty and usually don't any cost less here. If you don't care for that buy OEM.

 

[mexpedip]

There is little to no difference between the x38/x48. The x38 bios does need to be updated to the F2 version. The board will still boot but not function as expected until the bios is done. Gigabyte has a utility that makes flashing the bios very easy.

 

[Doostur]

I just built a Q9450 system. I decided I wanted to overclock on air cooling. The question is do you want to overclock because the motherboards are very picky if you have certain goals in mind (3.4+).

 

[Spitzmaus]

my goal is to go nice and easy for 3.2-3.4Mhz.
i'll change the ram to some 4-4-4-12 800Mhz sticks. good enough to match the fsb. considering the price overclocking is better then underclocking...