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tastelikepurple   09-03-2008 at 02:28:06 AM

What do you think about it? Is every thing compatible? Any suggestions for changing any thing? If you do have some, I'm not in the US, so I might not be able to get some selections. The computer will mostly be used for gaming, and I had about a 2000$ budget.

 

Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=22211

 

Cooling: Zalman CNPS9700
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=21340

 

Graphics: Two Sapphire ATI Radeon HD4850
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=6666115126

 

Hard drive: Western Digital Caviar SE16 640GB SATA2
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=30004

 

Power supply: Corsair TX750W 750W ATX 12V
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=26415

 

Opticle drive: Samsung SH-S223F SATA DVD+RW
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=30738

 

Case: Cooler Master RC-690-KKN1-GP
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=666616058

 

Mobo: ASUS Rampage Formula X48 ATX DDR2 2PCI-E16
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=29239

 

RAM: Crucial Ballistix PC2-6400 4GB 2X2GB DDR2-800
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=28916

 

Since this is my first time buying the parts to build my computer, I just want to be really sure about every thing that I buy.


Message edited by tastelikepurple on 09-03-2008 at 02:49:37 AM
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auscanzukus   09-03-2008 at 02:39:01 PM
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$2000 pc with HD4850? It looks like an $800 build.

At least HD 4870 or GTX 280, depending on the monitor resolution. If bigger than 26", go with HD 4870 X2. It's 2-gpu on one card.

Look at Antec cases. Like the 900.

Ballistix is no longer as good as it used to be. Go with Mushkin Redline.

Do you overclock the cpu/gpu?

Reply to auscanzukus
aevm   09-03-2008 at 05:24:25 PM
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Get this Noctua NH-U12P cooler, it's cheaper than the Zalman 9700 and it's the best air cooler ever invented. In particular, the Noctua is extremely quiet even under load, while the Zalman isn't.
http://www.ncix.com/products/index [...] ure=Noctua
http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.aspx?i=3268&p=2

 

Q6600, WD6400AAKS, Corsair 750TX, RC-690, SH-S223F all good choices.

 

BTW, http://www.ncix.com/products/index [...] omoid=1065
still offers the reduced price, even though it says the special ended yesterday. Give it a try...

 

2 HD 4850 + Asus Rampage Formula costs 274.5*2+335 = 884. You're better off with this combination:
http://www.ncix.com/products/index [...] re=Diamond
Diamond Radeon HD 4870 X2 750MHZ 2GB GDDR5 2XDVI PCI-E Video Card $610 This beats even HD 4870 Crossfire, let alone HD 4850 Crossfire. Think of it as HD 4870 with extra RAM in Crossfire.
http://www.ncix.com/products/index [...] cture=ASUS
Asus P5Q Pro, $159.

 

This way you pay $115 less and get more fps. Also, the hot air from the HD 4870X2 gets out of the case directly through a vent, while with the HD 4850 it stays in the case because there is no vent. with single-slot cards.

   


Message quoted 1 times
Message edited by aevm on 09-03-2008 at 05:25:44 PM
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aevm   09-03-2008 at 05:28:22 PM
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Forgot to add: you should get Vista 64-bit (Home Premium, or Ultimate if you need the extra features). It has to be Vista because otherwise you'll play in DirectX 9 mode (and some games look better in DX 10), and it has to be 64-bit because otherwise the video cards will hide a lot of the system RAM and you'll end up seeing 2 or 3 GB instead of 4.

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Bronze Home Brew badge Proximon   09-03-2008 at 05:30:30 PM
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aevm wrote :


...

2 HD 4850 + Asus Rampage Formula costs 274.5*2+335 = 884. You're better off with this combination:
http://www.ncix.com/products/index [...] re=Diamond
Diamond Radeon HD 4870 X2 750MHZ 2GB GDDR5 2XDVI PCI-E Video Card $610 This beats even HD 4870 Crossfire, let alone HD 4850 Crossfire. Think of it as HD 4870 with extra RAM in Crossfire.
http://www.ncix.com/products/index [...] cture=ASUS
Asus P5Q Pro, $159.

This way you pay $115 less and get more fps. Also, the hot air from the HD 4870X2 gets out of the case directly through a vent, while with the HD 4850 it stays in the case because there is no vent. with single-slot cards.



Heh, glad a scrolled down before I posted, that was exactly what I was going to say. :p

Reply to Proximon
bdollar   09-03-2008 at 05:34:06 PM
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+1 to aevm's comments. very good advice.

also that ram you chose is not standard voltage. so they upped the voltage to 2.2v inorder to get the cl to 4. rather than 5. better to get the standard 1.8v and then if you end up overclocking and need to then adjust at that point.

what resolution are you using? that may impact other suggestions but so far with AEVM's changes it is looking much better.

Reply to bdollar
tastelikepurple   09-03-2008 at 05:52:23 PM
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I will be overlocking both the cpu and the gpu.


Message edited by tastelikepurple on 09-03-2008 at 06:13:24 PM
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bdollar   09-03-2008 at 05:58:09 PM
- 0 +

then i think it is important to get standard voltage on ram.

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Silverion77   09-03-2008 at 06:00:13 PM
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Totally agree with AEVM but i just realized $270 for a 4850 Holy CRAP!!!

 

Edit: realized they are the 1 gig model
Also i wouldnt really push those ATI cards too far, they run stock fairly hot and in reviews (like the 4870 they only pull out like 30+ on the core) memory though should be fine


Message edited by Silverion77 on 09-03-2008 at 06:03:05 PM
------------------------------ Antec 1200|Antec Signature 850w|Asus Maximus II Formula|Q9650|4GB Dominator 1066|EVGA 9800GX2
 Reply to Silverion77
aevm   09-03-2008 at 06:01:29 PM
- 0 +

Well, that's Canada... You guys in the US are so lucky with your newegg. The good news for us Canadians is there will be a Newegg.ca soon :)

Reply to aevm
tastelikepurple   09-03-2008 at 06:06:00 PM
- 0 +

I'll probably be using the best resolution that I can, while still having decent frame rates. So I guess it depends on the game.

I switched to ASUS P5Q Pro, Noctua NH-U12P, Antec 900,
Mushkin XP PC2-8000 Redline 4GB (2x2)

I decided on two 4870s, but I found this deal that aevm suggested. It's the same cards, but from visiontek, instead of diamond. Would it be worth the 10$ savings?

Dimond: http://www.ncix.com/products/index [...] re=Diamond
Visiontek: http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=32690

Reply to tastelikepurple
Silverion77   09-03-2008 at 06:11:14 PM
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I like visiontek better than daimond.

They have a lifetime warranty and from what ive read it has pretty good support

------------------------------ Antec 1200|Antec Signature 850w|Asus Maximus II Formula|Q9650|4GB Dominator 1066|EVGA 9800GX2
 Reply to Silverion77
aevm   09-03-2008 at 07:04:27 PM
- 0 +

Yeah, me too. Nice deal, the Visiontek is cheaper too. :)

Reply to aevm
aevm   09-03-2008 at 07:08:53 PM
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Here's another coupon, see if it's still accepted:
http://www.ncix.com/products/index [...] omoid=1065

Reply to aevm
tastelikepurple   09-03-2008 at 07:09:31 PM
- 0 +

Alright, I think I'll go with visiontek. Also, thanks for the help every one. I'm pretty confident about every thing that I'm going to buy now.

Reply to tastelikepurple
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