New Rig - $1691- Gaming

I have quite a similar build that I'm working on right now. I use the same case, PSU and CPU and one 4870(for now).

Just so you know, you can get the case and PSU for significantly cheaper at Provantage.

How much are you planning on OCing the 9450? I'm planning on 3.2 with mine(pretty moderate) with only a XIGMATEK 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler, which is only $37.

Also, if you don't plan on OCing your ram, you probably don't need the fan-including variety. However, you said a fairly high OC, so depending on how high, you may end up overclocking it anyway.

Just so you know, I'm not super experienced, so get some second opinions after reading this.

yeah i guess the fan on the ram seemed overkill, im not going to OC too much i just want to have room to grow. what are you using as Ram? The Mobo is good up till DDR2-1200 so i would like to utilize that but maintain a reasonable budget ~$1500 but i went a little over

As far as RAM goes, you probably not need DDR2-1200. That would give you a 600 mHz FSB at a 1:1 ratio, which I doubt the Q9450 could handle(4.8Ghz lol). As far as using DDR2-1200 or whatever for upgradability, by the time you need to upgrade a rig like this, Nehalem will be out and, from what I've heard, will require a different mobo anyways. And by then DDR3 will be cheaper. I would just stick with DDR2-800, which you can get a 400 FSB, have a 1:1 ram ratio and get a modest 3.2Ghz out of your 9450. If you want to OC more than that, you can always OC your ram too, or buy higher frequency ram.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820145184
This is the ram I'm getting for my similar build.

Also, like zipz0p said, 2 4870s are definitely overkill for 1680*1050. You'll get plenty good FPS with just one, while also saving $300 for one later if you decide to get a bigger monitor.

Yeah the DDR2 means that the ram cycles twice every time the FSB does. From what I've learned it's best to have a 1:1 ratio(meaning ram/2 = FSB).

As far as the 2 4870s, what I meant by overkill is that you can run pretty much any game and 1680x1050 at the highest settings and not drop below 30FPS(with possibly the exception of Crysis). I define overkill with a financial lean such that paying another $300 for 100FPS instead of 75FPS is overkill(all this in the realm of 1680*1050 gaming)

Cool, thanks guys, other question would going to an E8400 make any sense, ive heard that you can clock those huge and that would save me like $100+ although would that bottleneck anything?

As far as the E8400 vs Q9450, it depends on whether you are doing solely gaming or other stuff too such as video editing/3d rendering, etc. If you're going solely for gaming, many people say E8400 since most games will respond more to the higher clock speed. However, many people will also say you "futureproof" your machine if you get a quad core.

The E8400 will not bottleneck anything as far as I know, especially if you have it at 3.6 or higher.

I was also wondering how well this system would overclock, like with a Q9450 would i be able to get like 3.4 - 3.6 easily, ive read it done i just wanna make sure im not missing anything that would be neccesary for that? i know the Q9450 has 8x multiplier so i guess im just wondering if the FSB would work up to 450mhz on the DQ6

Just remember that not all processors are made the same and what one person's may be able to do, yours may not.

That being said, I think you could get 3.6, given adequate cooling. I'm sure the DQ6 could handle 450. Those x48 boards are made for overclocking. I'm sure the ram will be fine too. If it's 800, you can probably easily OC it to 900, and if it's 1066 or whatever, you're good there too.

If you're planning on OCing to 3.6, you should get some more advice on the best HSF for your CPU as I don't know a whole ton about 'em.

The Ultra 120 extreme with two fans is unbeatable only if both have high cfm they have to be the same fans for it to be effective.

now i have a question, i just saw the MSI X48 Platinum, it looks very nice! bu then id need DDR3 which is better, but more expensive, i guess i could just get cheaps and then upgrade later maybe? anyone use DDR3? worth