Please review my 1400 gamer setup

[lnsykalski]

HI!

The goals of this system is for applications (for work when i have to from home), and to game. Have a look and let me know if i should add, change, or wait for anything.

My only reservations are
1. The new video cards coming out in 2 weeks. Big difference in my build or will they just be overpriced anyways?
2. The "overclocked" version of the video card I chose. Is that one worth it over the other ones available?
3. Monitor ok with the video card? I hear 24inch and up takes bigger video card power. I went with it for the extra 2 inches and the 1920 x 1200... not sure if that's worth the extra 180 over a comparable 22inch with less native resolution...
4. The motherboard is MSI P45... i hear that it isn't tested enough.. should I get the gigabyte one or wait? I could just wait for the newer video cards to arrive.. but thats time i could be spent playing Age of Conan and
5. Am i missing anything?

(Thanks to all the postings on this board for giving me the knowledge to put this together)

Case: COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119137
Price: 84.99


Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Quad (Red) 750W EPS12V Power Supply - Retail
Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341011
Price: 149.99 (119.99 after mail in rebate)


Motherboard: MSI P45 Neo-F LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Link:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130181
Price: 99.99


Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor Model HH80562PH0568M - OEM
Link:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115018
Price: 189.99


Video Card: EVGA 512-P3-N841-AR GeForce 8800GTS (G92) 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130325
Price: 244.99 (219.99 after mail in rebate)


Memory: CORSAIR XMS2 DHX 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X4096-6400C4DHX - Retail
Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145194
Price: 109.00 (79.99 after mail in rebate)


Monitor: SAMSUNG 245BW Black 24" 5ms Widescreen LCD Monitor with Height Adjustment - Retail
Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001234
Price: 429.99 (399.99 after mail in rebate)


Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3500320AS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148288
Price: 89.99


ARCTIC COOLING MX-2 Thermal Compound - Retail - $6.99
COOLER MASTER R4-S2S-12AK-GP 120mm Case Fan - Retail - $7.99
XIGMATEK ACK-I7751 Retention Bracket - Retail - $6.99
SAMSUNG 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model SH-S203B - OEM - $26.99


Price after rebates and combo deals: 1,354.88



Thanks!
--Lee

 

[mihirkula]

Excellent choice of components mate...you're an educated buyer

Just three things:

1) Though that PSU is excellent, its wayyyyy overkill ... you don't need mroe than 550W for a single GPU build... get the Corsair 550VX instead. saves you money too.

2) MSI boards aren't the best.... get the Gigabyte EP35-DS3L. Very best non SLI/CF board. Cheaper too.

3) Do wait for the new cards .. especially the Radeon 4870. It woul definitely be worth the wait... its just a matter of a few days. And when you do get the card, get the non overclocked one, since you can overclock it yourself.

 

[Dopekitten]

1) Wait and see how the new video cards will perform, especially the HD 4870, shouldn't be overpriced either.

2) If you aren't going to overclock your video card on your own, then going with the factory overclocked is fine. Otherwise, buy a stock card.

3) You will see a bit of dip in performance at the higher resolutions, but no much. However, really, the difference between 24 and 22 inch doesn't matter. Use the $180 to get a Q9450 instead of a Q6600.

4) MSI is terrible. There is no appreciable difference between P45 and P35. Take the above posters suggestion.

5) You posted the Xigmatek retention bracket but not the actuall HSF? I will assume you are planning on getting the Xigmatek S1283, in which case, good choice.

Evreything else is fine, good luck.

@mihirkula: His PSU is fine, better to have more power than not, and it will last him a long time. 550W is going to be cutting it close, especially with the new cards coming out soon.

 

[mihirkula]

^550W too close??... not at all mate.

 

[Dopekitten]

I would disagree, but whatever. Regardless, for the new video cards, you will need more than 550W. Did you see the power consumption of the GTX 280. Its like 250W under load. It's ridiculous.

 

[dagger]

The MSI board is fine. Nothing wrong with it. P45 runs at 1600mhz fsb stock, while P35 runs at 1333mhz stock. It overclocks as well as a $200 x38, and is a solid step up. P45 is meant to replace p35, shares same architecture, just updated. The design was already proven to work well in p35. If there are major problems with the chipset architecture, it would already have surfaced in p35 long ago.

As for psu, 550watt will do, but you should ideally get more than that, just for the extra headroom.

 

[mihirkula]

@ dopedkitten .... thats assuming the OP buys a GTX280 .... but he seems pretty level headed and sensible buyer.

GTX280 is the hardware version of the new M.Night Shyamalan movie.

 

[Dopekitten]

Of course, but in a year or so, the GTX 280 might become a good deal (or other new video cards with just as high power consumption), and you wouldn't want to have to rebuy a PSU as overall it would cost more money.

It's not like PSU's wear out or anything, at least over a year.

 

[Ogdin]

I would go with the p45 board for the pcie 2.0 slot if nothing else.Depending on the resolution/IQ you play at it can be a factor in some games.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/pci-express-2-0,1915-9.html

 

[Dopekitten]

Hmm interesting. I didn't realize that PCI 1.1 bandwith was actually saturated. Guess ill have to start looking at those P45 boards...

 

[dagger]

Hmm interesting. I didn't realize that PCI 1.1 bandwith was actually saturated. Guess ill have to start looking at those P45 boards...

With current generation cards, it's not saturated. Unless you run out of onboard vram, and the gpu has to reach across the bus to use system ram, then it'll be fully saturated. If that happens, your fps would drop anyway though. Better to just aviod it completely.

 

[lnsykalski]

Thanks for the suggestions!

I'll wait for the next gen video cards and get a 22inch monitor instead (sounds like native 1920 x 1200 resolution isn't worth the extra cash). I may need to review the motherboard though once the new video cards are out, but sounds like i should go with the p45 chipset at least (we'll see).

Everything else sounds good to go

 

[effel]

So...

MSI boards aren't the best.... get the Gigabyte EP35-DS3L. Very best non SLI/CF board. Cheaper too.

Why?

MSI is terrible. There is no appreciable difference between P45 and P35. Take the above posters suggestion.

What are you talking about?

To the OP. Wait for the ATI 4850. Go the futuremark discussion boards, under the graphics card section, and there are already details out that show 10-15% gains over the 9800GTX in 3dmark Vantage, and Crysis. It apparently handles AA extremely well also from the included screenshots. It's estimated MSRP is 199 USD and only requires one 6-pin power connector as opposed to the 9800GTX.

You should wait just a bit longer for the 4850, and buying a non-overclocked version is a better idea. This saves your money, and overclocking with RivaTuner and ATI-Tool doesn't take long. The bit extra time you spend in the software will make you happy knowing that you saved money.

About your third question. The screen size doesn't determine the number of pixels fyi. It's just common for most monitors at a certain size to have the same resolution. And, the higher the resolution, the more pixels the graphics card has to render.

About your powersupply, 750W is way more than what you need. As mentioned before, 550W would be fine, as long as its efficient and consistent energy on all rails. I'd go for a 610W PCP&C for a little headroom on future cards.

One more question...are you using a 64bit Operating system? Because if you're going to be using 32bit, there isn't a point in getting 4gb. The OS can only make use of what it says you have. Like 2.75gb, or 3.5gb if you're lucky. Othewise, I know with SP2 on XP, the OS refuses to address ram beyond what it recognizes. I was upset when I tried to use PAE in 32bit, only after reading microsoft help pages to discover it really doesn't work.

Otherwise, the case is great; good airflow, nice features, solid Coolermaster construction. And as far as I can tell, the processor, etc. is all great.

 

[Dopekitten]

MSI is terrible. There is no appreciable difference between P45 and P35. Take the above posters suggestion.

What are you talking about?

I haven't heard good things about MSI.
Also. P45vsP35

P45 has PCI 2.0 support -- who cares? PCI 1.1 bandwith hasn't even been saturated yet.

P45 has DDR3 support -- again who cares? DDR3 is bloated and overpriced.

P45 has "official" support for FSB 1600 -- Hmm, and we can't just OC the P35? (which is does very well btw)

P45 has hardware raid -- once again not a big deal.

Anything I'm missing?

 

[dagger]

P45 ocs as well as x38, in other words, it goes from 1600mhz fsb to
2000mhz as easily as you would oc p35 from 1333mhz fsb to 1600mhz.


I don't get it. This "loyality" of yours toward old hardware makes no
sense. What you said is just admitting p45 is better than p35 in every
way. And it's natural, as p45 is the replacement for p35, as p43 is the
replacement of p31. At $99.99, they're pricing p45 aggressively to
force a quicker turnover. P35 had a good run, but it'll be out of
production soon. What will you do then?

 

[Dopekitten]

I'm sure the P45 OC's just aswell as the X38. But guess what? So does the P35....

http://www.legionhardware.com/document.php?id=689&p=5

As soon as the P35 disappears, i will reccomend the P45, but until then the P35 has the same performance at a lower price.

 

[dagger]

I'm sure the P45 OC's just aswell as the X38. But guess what? So does the P35....

http://www.legionhardware.com/document.php?id=689&p=5

As soon as the P35 disappears, i will reccomend the P45, but until then the P35 has the same performance at a lower price.

That's the problem, very few p35 are priced lower than a $99.99 p45. They want to force the turnover fast.

Also, if the average person buys a p35 board, and expect to overclock it from 1333mhz fsb all the way to 2000mhz, better have a backup. It takes more than a typical grub to manage a 60% chipset fsb oc. Just because someone on the internet reached it doesn't mean you can replicate those results.

 

[pcgamer12]

P35 is very good oc.

 

[dagger]

P35 is very good oc.

And it will be out of production and be replaced with something better.

 

[kad]

^550W too close??... not at all mate.

Sorry But it is true, he is at the edge with existing one graphic card
If he'll SLI or CF he'll need 750 W with existing cards
With comming cards he'll need more power
Better to be safe with two things Mobo+PSU

 

[mr roboto]

yup

 

[mihirkula]

Sorry But it is true, he is at the edge with existing one graphic card

You're kiddin right?

ps: Note my PSU & GPU in my sig.

If he'll SLI or CF he'll need 750 W with existing cards

its-a-non-sli-cf-setup!!

 

[sogangsta]

Well even though theres the 4870, Nvidia is always one step ahead of ATi so get the gtx 280 instead.

 

[mihirkula]

The power requirements are a 450W PSU with one six-pin PCI-E connector listed for the single-slot Radeon HD 4850... and a 500W PSU with two six-pin PCI-E connectors for the dual-slot 4870.

 

[mihirkula]

Well even though theres the 4870, Nvidia is always one step ahead of ATi so get the gtx 280 instead.

hahahahhaha...that was hillarious.