Help with my build

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DarkDwarf

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Hey guys,

I'm new here, but I thought I'd ask what everyone thinks. I'm building a system for approximately 1200-1400. This is tower only, so I don't need to worry about monitors or keyboards, as I already have those, but on part-to-part compatibility, I don't know if everything is compatible, though I have done my best to make it so.

http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=6365214&WishListTitle=PC

Let me explain my reasoning here:

1. CPU: I picked it over the Phenom 9850 BE because of A. price and B. it can be overclocked to well over 3.0 on air, or so I hear!

2. CPU Cooler: I hear the stock is bad, and especially so if I want to overclock.

3. SLI 8800 GTs: It rated it as the best video card solution in the 300-400 dollar range (by Tom's Hardware), so why not?

4. Extra, PCI Card: http://forums.nvidia.com/index.php?showtopic=6269 - This explains the method behind the madness. If it drops my framerates, I'll just drop the monitor while gaming, but I'd like it for walkthroughs and such.

5. Fan Controller: It is cool. I don't know how practical it will be or how much it will help, but if I need to get some dollars back, I'll just drop it.


I /believe/ the PSU is adequate, but if it is not, please correct me.

 
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Qoatl

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Lose one of the PSUs and, if you are buying the new computer to play games, consider the Core 2 Duo E8400 which you can most likely O/C to 3.2 GHz on air, costs $20 less than the processor you chose, and will run current games more efficiently than the Quads. If you want to spend a bit more, many users are getting the E8500 up to 4.1 or even 4.2 Ghz with air cooling (costs $70 more than the processor on your list). If you do a lot of multitasking with demanding multimedia applications, get the Quad. If it's for gaming, you can get the Duo now and upgrade to a comparable Quad in the future when games are developed to take advantage of it. By then, it will be inexpensive to do so.
 
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turbolover22

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Agreed. With the money you save by not having 2 power supplies you could buy a second hard drive and raid them together.


I don't know how well the memory overclocks but a second option is memory. You sound like you want to overclock so maybe the money you save from the second psu could be put to memory with better timings or better overclock ability.
 
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Qoatl

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If you're not going to be able to upgrade your processor for a while, go ahead and get the Q6600 (or Q6700 if you didn't realize you added two PSUs and suddenly find yourself with more money ;) ). Games will start taking advantage of the Quads before too long.
 
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DarkDwarf

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Sorry. I didn't mean to have two PSUs, but newegg lags with updating my wishlists. I meant to get the bigger PSU. I won't be able to upgrade for awhile, hence my selection of a quad core.
 
pcgamer12

pcgamer12

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Don't SLI 8800GT. Get a P5Q and CF 4850. SLI boards have stability problems especially with RAID. How come everyone here is a stranger...
 
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DarkDwarf

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What PSU would you recommend I get then? And why would Tom's rate the 8800s as the best option if there is a big stability problem.
 
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DXRick

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Ditto this! :D Read the reviews of that 750i mobo you selected. :ouch: The 4850 is faster than the 8800 GT. You can also get a P45 mobo now for Xfire.

Here is mine. I am a programmer and gamer. I would rather get a single card with dual GPUs, because they are not limited to the chipset. You can use an Nvidia X2 card in an Intel mobo.


https://secure.newegg.com/WishList/MySavedWishDetail.aspx?ID=11725467
 
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Qoatl

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The 4850 isn't available yet, so it's hard to say. Look for it in the next couple of weeks. I would wait for a little more benchmark information to come out and possibly go with the 4850 and get a mobo that will allow you to buy another 4850 in a couple of years when they're cheap and connect it with crossfire (the motherboard recommended by the others above is an example of such a motherboard that is not terribly expensive and has a 1600 FSB). If the 4850 doesn't live up to what you are expecting, you can pick up an nVidia GTX 260 within your price range. The GTX 280 is more powerful but is absurdly expensive.

If you want to spend more money, you can also wait for the anticipated 4870 x2 (assuming they keep the same naming conventions), which will be two of the cores from the 4870 (the higher end card from the 4000 series) together on one card. No idea what that will cost, but, given the fact that the GTX 280 will run $600-$650, ATI will likely want to come in somewhat under that -- perhaps $499. That is entirely speculation, however.
 
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AlterReality

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Just wanted to point out 2 things to you:

First of all, you have an ASUS 3450 video card in there. Thats costing you 35 bucks! =)

Next, I couldn't figure out how to link a combo deal, but here you go:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131299

This is a link to the mobo you selected (P5Q Pro), if you check the combo, you can get this Mobo + 4850 for 319.99 (saving 30 bucks). Then, if you want to CF them, pick up another card for 199!


Your PSU is an ABS Tagan, which isn't a top tier PSU. You could pick up a PCP&C 750w Silencer for 124.99 after mail in rebates:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341011

You can check out a tiered list of PSU's from http://www.tomswiki.com/page/Tiered+PSU+Listings?t=anon which is copied from the link above. However, in general, PCP&C and Corsair will be your best choices for a PSU. Since your build is already spending a nice penny on PSU, you may as well get a very good brand name!
 
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DarkDwarf

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Oh, I have a Crossfire question then. I originally had the Asus 3450 in their so that I could run two monitors with the SLI, but is it possible to run crossfire AND two monitors, as I know you cannot SLI and run two monitors.
 
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Qoatl

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Good question. I haven't done it personally, but I believe you can. If you're going to buy two cards in the 4000 series, just wait for the 4870 x2 and buy one of them, since it has two of the same core bridged internally in one card that will communicate faster than they would through the bus if you use crossfire with two cards.

EDIT:
If you mean plug one monitor into one card and another monitor into the other card, I don't know if that will work. Maybe someone else here has done this before?
 
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DarkDwarf

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Right, I just don't know if the 4870 will be out of my price range. Again, I'm looking to keep it under 1,400. Essentially, all I mean is running dual monitors and crossfire at the same time.

In SLI, you can only run SLI or two monitors, not two monitors off of SLI'd cards. You are required to turn SLI off, reboot, and then you can run both monitors.
 
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Qoatl

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I believe the anticipated price for a 4870 is around $299, however the 4870 x2 will be more expensive. If you are looking to spend around $300, you can get a 4870 now and pick up another one in 1-2 years when they're cheaper to revitalize your system.
 
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DarkDwarf

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I'm willing to spend up to $400 on the graphics cards... Therefore I'm faced with this problem:

2x 4850: $400
1x 4870: $300


Honestly, how much a performance increase is there between the two chips? Or is there something else that I can cut down in my build to allow for two 4870s?

Tell me what you guys think, and I'll mess around on newegg.
 
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DarkDwarf

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ALRIGHT!

Check it out:

http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=9955428&WishListTitle=Pc

I /think/ that I have everything that I need here. This is, of course, excluding the GFX cards. If the 4870s do come out at 300, I could buy two and stay in my budget. I am still investigating the Crossfire question, so I may even be able to drop the secondary GFX card. Tell me what you think. Is there anything I can swap out to save a couple bucks?
 
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