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Another builder looking for advice

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Hello all,

This is my first post as I just recently discovered the wonderful world of Tom's Hardware while doing some research on building a new PC. I've got a pretty basic layout of what I would like to get and I'm shooting for a price range of roughly 1200 to 1400 Canadian, since I live in Calgary. I don't do a ton of gaming at the moment, but mostly because I don't currently own a system that can handle modern games, not because I don't want to. The only ones I play regularly are WoW and Everquest 2, though I would like to play more advanced games such as Crysis and whatever games come out in the future. The best place for me to buy parts locally is from a store called Memory Express and I've listed their prices beside the parts.

Thanks in advance for everyones help!

Memory: OCZ 4GB PC2-6400 Vista Upgrade Edition Dual Channel DDR2 Kit (2 x 2GB) $110.00
Mother Board: Asus P5Q-E w/ DualDDR2 1200, 7.1 Audio, Dual GB Lan, 1394, PCI-E x16 CrossFireX - $170.00
Processor: Intel Core™2 Quad Processor Q9550 2.83GHz w/ 12MB Cache - $345.00
GPU: SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 4850 512MB PCI-E Crossfire Configuration - $400.00
DVD Drive: LG Super Multi Security DVD Writer 22x, SATA, Black - $30.00
Power: Corsair TX 750W Power Supply w/ 140mm Fan - $95.00
Hard Drive: Western Digital 640GB Caviar SE16 7200rpm SATA II w/ 16MB Cache $80.00
Sound Card: AuzenTech HDA X-Plosion 7.1 DTS Connect - $80.00
Case: Antec Three Hundred Versatile Mini Tower Gamer Case - $60.00

I also wanted to ask what you guys think about DDR2 vs DDR3 memory. Do you think it's wiser to go with DDR3? And I'm not too sure on what I need for fans/cooling, so any help there would also be appreciated.

Thanks again

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The build looks good.

No, DDR3 is not worth it right now. Are you going with crossfire of those 4850s? You may want an X48 board if you really plan to Crossfire, or just get a 4870 for less than $300 for now.

The rest of the build looks good.

Reply to huron

I am planning to crossfire the 4850's after reading the new September version of the best GPU for your money article. Do you think any of it could be overkill though? I don't want to waste any money on hardware that's not going to give me a decent performance boost.

Reply to templar67

Looks good! If you're looking to shave a few $ off, you could drop the sound card until you determine you need it. You might be surprised. Onboard sound is pretty good now.

You will probably also want to add a 64 bit OS into your budget so you can use all 4GB. I use Vista Ultimate 64 bit and don't have any problems with it at all.

Reply to shortstuff_mt

Cool, good to hear that I'm on the right track, though what do you guys think I should get for cooling/fans?

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to templar67

Yeah personally I'd drop the sound card. Granted I've got a little hearing loss in one ear from shooting. hehe, but I don't think there's that big of a difference in audio quality. Besides, that also depends on the speaker system you're using. If it isn't really high end, you won't actually get any benefit anyhow.

To bad you can't buy online. Could save yourself about $30 on the motherboard, and about $100 on your two video cards in total I'd guess. I hear folks in Canada can't order from the usual places us Americans can. (i.e. Tiger Direct or NewEgg).

Looks like a good quality build however. Should really enjoy that, be it for Crysis, or just extremely smooth WoW play.

------------------------------ i5-750 4Ghz @ 1.32V / Gigabyte GA-P55-UD4P / Xigmatek HDT-S1283
2 x MSI GTX 260 Core 216 SLI (655Mhz) / 4GB GSkill DDR3 1600 9-9-9-24 @1.5v
2 x WD Caviar Black 1TB / Thermaltake Armor BWS8003
Win 7 64bit / Antec TPQ-850 / 3dMark06 24621
Reply to jerreece

Xigmatek 1283 or Sunbeam Core Contact Freezer

Message edited by Silverion77 on 09-10-2008 at 11:19:00 PM

templar67 wrote :

Cool, good to hear that I'm on the right track, though what do you guys think I should get for cooling/fans?

If I had the chance to replace my current CPU cooler, I'd probably shell out the $35 or so for that Xigmatek unit that TomsHardware wrote up a review on a couple months ago. They did a CPU cooler review, and this particular one was not only inexpensive, but cooled the best. Forget the actual model #

Your post about using crossfire came in before my reply. I would look into x48 motherboards if you want to get the full speed out of your GPU's in crossfire. If the x48 board will not fit in the budget, you can still use the p45 chipset - it won't be that much slower at all.

Reply to shortstuff_mt

Great, thanks a million for all the help and advice. And yeah, it is kind of a pain in the a$$ not being able to order from all of the online shops, but at the same time I like dealing with real people and having a place I can go to for warranty issues.

Reply to templar67

I'd drop the sound card (if the budget is a problem) and upgrade the motherboard to P5E Deluxe or GA-X48-DS4 for better Crossfire performance.

DDR2, definitely.

I'd pick an Antec 900 or CoolerMaster RC-690 or NZXT Tempest or some full tower with lots of fans. Two HD 4850 cards need good cooling.

Message edited by aevm on 09-10-2008 at 11:24:12 PM

Reply to aevm

^ +1

Reply to shortstuff_mt

There's a Gigabyte GA-X48-DS4 w/ DualDDR2 1200, 7.1 Audio, Dual GB Lan, 1394, Dual PCI-E x16 CrossFire for $250 that I found. And you think I should get a full tower instead?

Reply to templar67

That board would be great for your configuration. A full tower would allow sufficient cooling for this crossfire setup.

Reply to shortstuff_mt

So I found the cooler master 690 for $80, assuming I got that tower would it be sufficient for keeping the system cool?

Reply to templar67

I don't have any experience with that particular case, but it should work. I have a hard time recommending cases since they are a matter of personal taste. If you like the looks of the Antec 900 case, I would see if you could find it at your retailer for a reasonable price. It moves a lot of air especially with it's big fan right on top where most other cases trap hot air.

Reply to shortstuff_mt

Well the antec is 30 bucks more than the cooler master, but I'm of the opinion that keeping your PC cool is pretty important, so in this case i wouldn't have an issue shelling out the extra dough.

Reply to templar67

IMO the Antec would be worth the extra $30 for the extra cooling capacity.

Reply to shortstuff_mt

i couldn't agree more. and thanks again for your help.

Reply to templar67

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