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!!!
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.
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
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.
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.
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
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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
