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Shadow of Dawn   07-20-2008 at 11:50:52 PM

I will be going to college this fall and would like this computer to last me all the way through without to many upgrades. I will be playing Crysis and other games. I don't plan to overclock at first but when I do I plan to buy the XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler and I plan to overclock the Q9450 to 3.6ghz, I also plan to overclock the gpu and ram too. Also I plan to run the ram/fsb ratio at 2:3 and then 1:1 when I overclock. The psu I have is overkill but if I buy it in combo with the vid card I save $50 so it’s like paying $120 for it. Everything will be from newegg except for the monitor, keyboard, and speakers. I do have more money to spend but I would like to lower the price without sacrificing much performance. I'm open to any suggestions on parts, and any tips on how to build it will be much appreciated!!!

$285---SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 4870 512MB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814102748

$95-----G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1000
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820231174

$330---Q9450 + free World in Conflict game
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819115042

$150---ASUS P5Q Pro LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813131299

$120---Thermaltake W0116RU 750W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817153038

$90-----WD Caviar 640gb
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] WD6400AAKS

$135---Thermaltake armor+MX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811133062

$300---Samsung Black Rose 22"
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6824001273

$110---Vista Home Premium 64-bit with SP1
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6832116488

$34-----LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827106072

$23-----EDIMAX EW-7128G PCI Wireless Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6833315041

$130---Logitech G51
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6836121012

$75-----Logitech G15
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6823126034

$45-----Logitech G5
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6826104076

Total-$1971 after shipping

Also I was wondering what the best way to up the fan speed on the 4870 is?


Message edited by Shadow of Dawn on 07-21-2008 at 02:37:18 PM
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Shadow of Dawn   07-20-2008 at 11:52:42 PM
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Also I plan on ordering it tonight, or at least by tomorrow morning.

Reply to Shadow of Dawn
majorpain1588   07-21-2008 at 01:42:11 AM
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Looks similar to what I am planing on building. I would go with a cheaper monitor like the ACER 22in or 20in. Also IMHO I think those Logitech mouse, keyboard are way over priced. I have a logitech $9 keyboard and it works fine. Take a look at the build I am going to build. It is similar to yours except more powerful and a bit cheaper. I just don't have speakers , a mouse and a wireless card on my list.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/ [...] d-critique

Reply to majorpain1588
Shadow of Dawn   07-21-2008 at 01:57:24 AM
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Well I really like that monitor, but I'll check out some ACER ones. And I'll look at some cheaper keyboards.

Thanks for the suggestions

Reply to Shadow of Dawn
Shadow of Dawn   07-21-2008 at 03:25:37 AM
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Does anybody else have any recommondations/tips, and will all of these parts work together without any problems?

Reply to Shadow of Dawn
Proximon   07-21-2008 at 03:41:00 AM
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Throw in a good CPU cooler and you are all set. Very nice well-considered build.

You will need to check the respective vendor sites for compatibility between RAM and MB. I can tell you that the P5Qs seem to prefer Corsair right now.


Message edited by Proximon on 07-21-2008 at 03:43:22 AM
Reply to Proximon
m-triple   07-21-2008 at 04:44:17 AM
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very nice build, i am putting together myself a very similar package. i would spend a bit more for the harddrive and get this one


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] WD6400AAKS

Reply to m-triple
thepowerofdonuts   07-21-2008 at 08:33:58 AM
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For the case, I'd look at the Cooler Master RC-690. The Armor+ mid isn't as cool as the full tower. Also, I'd go with the 640GB WD Caviar drive. If you want to have the option of buying another 4870 later, you should consider getting an X48 mobo. The Gigabyte X48-DS4 is probably the best priced one.
You might also consider the LG drive that has Lightscribe. It's $28. I think it's worth it just to have the option of burning labels to your CD's.

Reply to thepowerofdonuts
tbickle   07-21-2008 at 08:58:15 AM
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the logitech keyboard and mouse aren't worth the price.

Reply to tbickle
Shadow of Dawn   07-21-2008 at 02:27:05 PM
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Ok, I've decided that I don't care if I have the option of crossfireing so I'm not going to upgrade to the X48. But now my question is if I should go with a cheaper mobo? Also, now that I'm not going to crossfire I think the Thermaltake armor+MX should provide adequate cooling, I'd like to keep this case as I really like the looks of it. I will switch to the 640gb WD Caviar drive too. And the mouse is worth the price imo, but I'll look for a cheaper keyboard.

Reply to Shadow of Dawn
peter_peter   07-21-2008 at 03:51:22 PM
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I use Zalman cooler and cools my quad very nicely. Also - for gaming just buy a cheap laser mouse - some for 15-20 bucks.

> Also on your monitor - I chose samsung becuase of thier quality products on these products -- I've have 3 samsungs now and do not have any problems...

Looks like a solid build... only thing i would do is get at least 4 gigs... almost same price.


Message edited by peter_peter on 07-21-2008 at 03:54:11 PM
------------------------------ Its not a bug. It's an undocumented feature.
Windows Vista 64bit | EVGA 780i SLI Mobo | Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 Yorkfield @ 3.4 | XFX GTX 260 | (2x2GB) 4GB Corsair XMS DDR2| (3x320)WD Caviar SE16 SATA 3GB/S | ZALMAN CNPS9700 | Antec Neo PS | ANTEC P182SE
 Reply to peter_peter
Shadow of Dawn   07-21-2008 at 03:53:46 PM
- 0 +

I'm assuming you mean 4gigs of ram, and I do have 4gigs of ram. So I don't know what your looking at.

Reply to Shadow of Dawn
peter_peter   07-21-2008 at 03:57:43 PM
- 0 +

oh my bad - thought you had 2 gigs of ram - 4 is good enough.


Message edited by peter_peter on 07-21-2008 at 03:58:26 PM
------------------------------ Its not a bug. It's an undocumented feature.
Windows Vista 64bit | EVGA 780i SLI Mobo | Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 Yorkfield @ 3.4 | XFX GTX 260 | (2x2GB) 4GB Corsair XMS DDR2| (3x320)WD Caviar SE16 SATA 3GB/S | ZALMAN CNPS9700 | Antec Neo PS | ANTEC P182SE
 Reply to peter_peter
Shadow of Dawn   07-21-2008 at 04:17:48 PM
- 0 +

Ok, thanks for the input - I'm going to order now :)

Reply to Shadow of Dawn
peter_peter   07-21-2008 at 04:48:22 PM
- 0 +

i just bought this mouse over the weekend here in a local store, works very nice with cod4

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6826104207


Message edited by peter_peter on 07-21-2008 at 04:53:12 PM
------------------------------ Its not a bug. It's an undocumented feature.
Windows Vista 64bit | EVGA 780i SLI Mobo | Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 Yorkfield @ 3.4 | XFX GTX 260 | (2x2GB) 4GB Corsair XMS DDR2| (3x320)WD Caviar SE16 SATA 3GB/S | ZALMAN CNPS9700 | Antec Neo PS | ANTEC P182SE
 Reply to peter_peter
Shadow of Dawn   07-21-2008 at 08:13:06 PM
- 0 +

Thanks but I already bought the G5, I have used it at a friends house and luv it so I think its worth the price.


Message edited by Shadow of Dawn on 07-21-2008 at 08:13:30 PM
Reply to Shadow of Dawn
Proximon   07-22-2008 at 01:29:00 AM
- 0 +

Ya just ignore those guys. I use both the KB and mouse. It's true the KB is not worth the price if you are clueless and have no idea how to use it's features. My G5 is really solid after 3 years of heavy use.

Reply to Proximon
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