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Gaming PC build. Ideas / suggestions appreciated.

Forum Homebuilt Systems : New System Build - Gaming PC build. Ideas / suggestions appreciated.

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OS43   06-09-2008 at 03:11:52 PM

Anything you would do differently?

 

Case: Antec Nine Hundred Mid Tower

 

Mobo: Cheap p45, P5Q-e maybe.

 

GPU: Haven't picked yet. Probably a 4850.

 

PSU: PC Power & Cooling 750W

 

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz

 

Memory: Mushkin 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)

 

HDD: 2x WD Caviar RE2 320GB 7200 RPM

 

Heatsink: Xigmatek 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler + Bracket


Message edited by OS43 on 06-11-2008 at 01:11:39 AM
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sprucebr1   06-09-2008 at 03:40:32 PM
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Looks good to me. Although there's not a huge difference between P45 and P35/X38. The only thing is that P45 is 65nm instead of 90nm. Also P45 does not officially support 1600FSB (400Mhz). I don't know if the price/performance is really worth it. I would wait for a while longer on the GPU as you say, the new Nvidia and AMD cards are coming soon, The P45 does support Xfire so you may want to check the new 4xxx series of cards from AMD. All the other parts look good, The E8400 is a good choice. With the Antec 9 hundred, you should have no problems with CPU coolers etc.


Message edited by sprucebr1 on 06-09-2008 at 03:53:15 PM
------------------------------ System 1
PDC E5200|OCZ 4GB DDR2 800MHz|WD 640GB SATA |Seagate 160GB SATA
|Sapphire Radeon HD 4850 512MB|Corsair 650W PSU|GA-EP45-UD3R
 Reply to sprucebr1
aevm   06-09-2008 at 04:16:42 PM
- 0 +

+1 for checking out AMD's 4xxx if you're getting a Crossfire MB you might as well keep the Crossfire option. Also, don't buy the PSU yet. If you decide to get a HD 4870 and that Crossfire mobo it would be smart to get a PSU that can support two HD 4870s, and we don't know yet if the 620HX can do that.

Message quoted 1 times
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OS43   06-09-2008 at 05:51:23 PM
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aevm wrote :

+1 for checking out AMD's 4xxx if you're getting a Crossfire MB you might as well keep the Crossfire option. Also, don't buy the PSU yet. If you decide to get a HD 4870 and that Crossfire mobo it would be smart to get a PSU that can support two HD 4870s, and we don't know yet if the 620HX can do that.

 

Yeah very true, and I think PC Power and Cooling makes a good modular 750W if I do go that route.

 

Im not a big fan of Crossfire. I do run at 1600 x 1200, but most stuff still has either very flaky support for it, or doesn't support it at all. A pair of 4850s would be nice if this has changed of late.

 

I am getting a p45 instead of the p35 for a few reasons; Pci-e 2.0 might actually be used by the next gen cards. P45 also produces less heat, and i have terrible ambient temps. I will also be OCing the FSB to at least 400, so the support is nice. 1600/1333MHz Listed as specs for the Asus P5Q.

 

Most importantly, I need a motherboard that will support a 45nm processor out of the box. x38 costs more than p45, and for p35 I would have to flash the bios with a different socket 775 chip (which I don't own) before I could use the e8400.

 


Message edited by OS43 on 06-09-2008 at 06:01:00 PM
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aevm   06-09-2008 at 06:09:48 PM
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All right then. You should be fine with a single card at 1600x1200. Even the 8800GTS G92 does well there, and the new cards are supposed to be much better.

Get a Silencer 750W, it's $110 at newegg now. I've never seen it so cheap, TBH. I paid $190 for mine last year. A total steal compared to the 620HX at $140. Just so you know, it's not modular, but some people say that's actually better (higher efficiency, fewer points of failure, less expensive).

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OS43   06-11-2008 at 01:20:20 AM
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Good time soon to snag a new video card, but such a bad time to be getting CPU / mobo. :/ The Bloomfield Nehalem chips will be out by the end of the year. My current PC just wont cut it anymore though. How hard will it be to EBAY the cpu / memory / mobo when Nehalem is released? Assuming working condition, original packaging, etc?

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aevm   06-11-2008 at 02:28:30 AM
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You'll have to eBay the cooler too, btw, because the Nehalem socket is wider.

If you have a decent PC already, and expect Nehalem CPUs to be in your price range when they appear, by all means wait for them. I have no idea how much they will cost so you'll have to guess there...

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OS43   06-11-2008 at 04:30:04 AM
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Wasnt goina bother with the $30 cooler, couldn't hurt I guess.

 

Current PC is an athalon 3700+, 1 gig ram, and some terrible old graphics card. Device manager says it's a X700 series.

 

I just quit WoW and my PC can't handly ANYTHING that is currently out. So either I don't game at all for ~6 months, or I get stuff now, and ebay the CPU, etc at the end of the year / Q1 O9.


Message edited by OS43 on 06-11-2008 at 04:33:09 AM
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aevm   06-11-2008 at 04:06:32 PM
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Or you can get a Q6600 and a HD 3870X2 now and be happy for 3 years. Who cares that 6 months after you buy, other people will buy newer and better stuff? That happens all the time and it will keep happening forever. For example there are now several CPUs better than my Q600 and several GPUs better than my trusty old BFG 8800GTX OC2. Does that make me unhappy and my computer unusable? Not at all.

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