New Build Questions

[cjz24]

hey whatsup everyone. so i am planning on building a new computer. currently i have a custom built computer running an old school pentium at less than 1 Ghz and 256mb Ram. haha i know it sucks.

i do a lot of photo, video, and sound editing. also do a little flash, cad, and matlab for school. i like to game. as of now i am playing Oblivion and Crysis and want to continue playing them on the highest settings i can get. i'm completely new to finding parts and besides replacing ram, hard drives, and optical drives don't have experience putting everything together although i read a lot so far and feel i can get it done. my budget is $1000 usd but i could potentially go up to $1200.

heres what i got so far.

Processor
Intel Q9450
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115042&Tpk=q9450

Motherboard
ASUS P5Q SE/R LGA 775 Intel P45
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131335&nm_mc=OTC-Froogle&cm_mmc=OTC-Froogle-_-Motherboards+-+Intel-_-ASUS-_-13131335

Ram
CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145184&Tpk=Twin%202x4096-6400C5

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

Optical Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135176

Power Supply
CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006&Tpk=-%2509CORSAIR%2bCMPSU-750TX

HardDrive
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136218&Tpk=Western%2bDigital%2bCaviar%2bSE16%2bWD6400AAKS%2b640GB%2b7200

Graphics Card
ASUS EN9800GT ULTIMATE/HTDP/512M GeForce 9800 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121266

Memory Card Reader
SABRENT CRW-UINB 65-in-1 USB 2.0 Internal Card Reader w/ USB 2.0 Port supports SDHC/VISTA
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820300608


as of now if i buy everything right now it would cost 1057.88 and after mailing in all the rebates 977.79 including shipping. hopefully i didn't miss any vital components (keyboard, mouse, DVD burner and moniter are taken care off). do you guys think this setup will meet my needs? from what i have read everything would seem to work fine together but then again it may not be optimal

i also need help in determining if the power supply is too much for this setup and how to cool the computer and CPU ( i plan on overclocking the processor up to 3.2GHz). if i can cut costs anywhere it would be cool as i am looking into potentially getting a nVidia GTX 260 or the Radeon 4870 x2

i know you guys get a lot of these posts but any help can be useful thanks alot.

 

[V3NOM]

get rid of the 9800GT unless it is the same price as the 8800GT cos if u look at the specs they r exactly the same. if i was you i would get a 4850 but w/e...

 

[jpdykes]

Hi cjz24,

- I agree with changing the graphics card. 9800GT's will be outclassed by the ATi 4000 series cards.

- Your power supply is probably overkill. You could use extreme psu calculator (but it over estimates a bit). You probably need around 500 - 600W. A good make such as Corsair is the way to go.

- You will also want an aftermarket cooler and some thermal paste if you are going to overclock that CPU. Try a Xigmatec Rifle one (can't remember the exact specs) and some MX thermal paste - they seem well recommended here.

- For cooling your case you need to look at what size fans it can take then find a good make. This website has loads of detail about building a quiet and well cooled PC - http://www.silentpcreview.com/. Note it does go for quietness over cooling but to be honest a cold and very loud PC isn't much fun to work with on a day to day basis. I looked into this and PSU's a few months back on this thread:
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/249858-10-replacement-case-fans-quietness-drive

Hope this is helpful.

Jeremy

 

[Onus]

Nice build, but I'll agree with the other comments on the GPU. A 4850 is probably the way to go.
I have that case, and it has great airflow. It comes with fans on the back, front, and side; I added one on top and you may want to also.
The PSU is bigger than you need, but allows plenty of room for future expansion (or maybe your next build). If the money's there, it's a good one. Otherwise, there's a PSU calculator at http://www.extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp. I'll disagree with jpdykes, in fact I'd add to what it recommends just because a PSU is more efficient when operating in the middle of its range, and you'll want to allow room for growth.

 

[georgy]

Very nice choice but like others said get the 4850. This ram has better timings for pretty much the same price http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145194. Very nice build, i have most of these things (psu, case, hdd).

 

[cjz24]

thanks everyone. yea i spent a lot of time putting everything together and trying to find the best prices. i'm probably going to stick with the current psu since its only $100 for a corsair 750 watt psu. i looked into 650 watts and a lot of them are above $120. as for the graphics card, i'm looking around at some radeon hd 4850's and was looking at this one < http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161235 >. its a couple bucks more than the nVidia. and gregory, your link sends me to search results, i'm not sure which ram your talking about.

once again thanks for all the advice and help. i'll probably buy the case and power supply today to see what fans i will need. hopefully it doesnt put me over a grand by too much.