Tom's Hardware > Forum > Homebuilt Systems > New System Build > Opinion Needed on a High End Desktop Build

Opinion Needed on a High End Desktop Build

Forum Homebuilt Systems : New System Build - Opinion Needed on a High End Desktop Build

Tom's Hardware: Over 1.4 million members in 6 different countries available to answer all your high-tech questions. Sign up now! Its free!
Ask the community Add a reply
Word :    Username :           
 
Computastic   09-28-2008 at 09:50:39 PM

Hey Folks,

I am hoping that someone will be able to provide an opinion, and possibly a few suggestions, in regards to a build I'm planning to create. This machine will not be used for gaming and will be a dual boot of Win XP and Open SUSE.

CPU: Intel E8400

Memory: Kingston DDR3 1333 MHZ 2 x 2GB

Motherboard: ASUS P5E3 Deluxe with the WIFI-AP built in

HDD: 2 x 500GB Western Digital Caviar Green 7200 RPM SATA 3

GPU: NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GT

Display: Samsung SyncMaster 2493HM 24"

Case: COOLER MASTER Mystique 631

Power Supply: Thermaltake Purepower 500W

Do you think that this build may be overkill? There are several other peripherals that I didn't list (mouse, keyboard, fans, etc). Do I need more watts in my PSU? All in all, the final tab with shipping is about $1446.94 USD. I hope that this machine will be future proof for at least a couple years.

Thanks,
Computastic

Add a reply
Sponsored Links
Register or log in to remove.
emp   09-28-2008 at 10:08:31 PM
- 0 +

Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 Yorkfield 2.83GHz 12MB L2 Cache LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819115041

PC Power & Cooling S61EPS 610W Continuous @ 40°C EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817703005

DFI LANPARTY DK X38-T2R LGA 775 Intel X38 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813136045

OCZ Reaper HPC Edition 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820227284

(2x) Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822136218

GIGABYTE GV-R485ZL-512H Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814125238

Antec Three Hundred Black ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811129042

SAMSUNG Black 22X DVD+R 22X DVD-R 16X DVD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 22X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827151173

SAMSUNG 2433BW High Glossy Black 24" 5ms Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 DC 20000:1(1000:1) - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6824001309

(This screen has a better viewing angle.)

There's no point in getting a DDR3 board/DDR3 memory at the moment, because current hardware doesn't gain anything by running with it, you won't see ANY performance gains over DDR2.

Right now newegg is retailing PCP&C silencers 610W for only $100, this is an amazing deal given that these are top quality PSUs built by the best manufacturer, I'd jump on it if I were you. If you really want to future-proof your build for a few years, then you should get a quad core, future proofing with dual cores was 3 years ago and it worked out pretty well for those that did back then.

Also there's no point on getting an nvidia graphics card on an X38 board and there's a pretty great deal on the WD Caviar 640GB at the moment.


------------------------------ Anxiously awaiting the Hydra 100 and the Hydra Engine...
www.lucidlogix.com
 Reply to emp
Computastic   09-28-2008 at 10:20:36 PM
- 0 +

@EMP:

So basically, my build is overkill? Thanks for the heads-up on the quad core. I was also thinking about that. Also, what's wrong with using NVIDIA cards on an X38 motherboard (I do know that you can't SLI them). However, NVIDIA has drivers easily available to linux.

Thanks,
Computastic

Reply to Computastic
emp   09-28-2008 at 10:23:12 PM
- 0 +

Oh well, if you don't plan on SLI'ing at all and you are going to use linux, then definitely get an nvidia card, that's Ati's achilles heel (linux drivers). Yep, you definitely went a little overboard and it was starting to cost you too much for no performance increase.

------------------------------ Anxiously awaiting the Hydra 100 and the Hydra Engine...
www.lucidlogix.com
 Reply to emp
Computastic   09-28-2008 at 10:26:52 PM
- 0 +

@EMP:

Thank you very much for explaining and rebuilding my PC. Is there anything else I should keep in mind?

Thanks,
Computastic

Reply to Computastic
emp   09-28-2008 at 10:33:15 PM
- 0 +

You might need an aftermarket cooler and some thermal paste:

ZEROtherm Nirvana NV120 120mm 2-ball UFO Bearing / Transparent CPU Cooler - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835887011

Arctic Silver Ceramique Thermal Compound - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835100009

------------------------------ Anxiously awaiting the Hydra 100 and the Hydra Engine...
www.lucidlogix.com
 Reply to emp
BobfaceBilly   09-28-2008 at 11:35:07 PM
- 0 +

Howdy,

Since your not going to be gaming, instead of spending money on a x38 and getting 2 PCIe slots when your only going to be using one get this p45 mobo and save yourself some money. Its a very stable well made board for the money.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813131333

and if your not going to be overclocking, the stock heatsink fan will probably be enough to cool your CPU

Reply to BobfaceBilly
Computastic   09-29-2008 at 01:41:02 AM
- 0 +

@BobfaceBilly:

Thanks for the recommendation. That motherboard seems to fit the bill just fine, and because it costs less then the DFI mobo I can spend money on a good CPU heatsink/fan and possibly add another case fan as well.

@EMP:

I am wondering whether there are any performance increases with DDR3? Does DDR3 simply look good on paper, but at the same time bring a negligible increase in performance and a sizeable increase in the price of the RAM and mobo? Also, why does the OCZ RAM you recommend clock in at 800 MHZ? I do notice that it has very good CAS Latency. Does CAS Latency go up along with the clock speed? Wouldn't a fast clock speed equal to an increase in performance despite the increased CAS Latency?

Thanks,
Computastic

Reply to Computastic
emp   09-29-2008 at 01:53:20 AM
- 0 +

There are no improvements with DDR3 unless you're overclocking and planning to use Liquid nitrogen as your cooling solution. In my opinion it's basically a way to introduce the new memory speed and establish it for when it'll hit the mainstream (Deneb and Nehalem CPUs).

It is harder to keep timings low as memory speed increases, so in order to achieve higher speeds, they have to relax the timings. You are not going to need anything above DDR2 1066 even if you're overclocking a lot.

Message quoted 1 times
------------------------------ Anxiously awaiting the Hydra 100 and the Hydra Engine...
www.lucidlogix.com
 Reply to emp
Computastic   09-29-2008 at 02:02:31 AM
- 0 +

emp wrote :

There are no improvements with DDR3 unless you're overclocking and planning to use Liquid nitrogen as your cooling solution. In my opinion it's basically a way to introduce the new memory speed and establish it for when it'll hit the mainstream (Deneb and Nehalem CPUs).

It is harder to keep timings low as memory speed increases, so in order to achieve higher speeds, they have to relax the timings. You are not going to need anything above DDR2 1066 even if you're overclocking a lot.



Thanks for clarifying the issue with memory.

Thanks,
Computastic

Reply to Computastic
Ask the community Add a reply
Tom's Hardware > Forum > Homebuilt Systems > New System Build > Opinion Needed on a High End Desktop Build
Go to:

There are 835 identified and unidentified users. To see the list of identified users, Click here.

Forum map
Bestofmedia Forum ©
2000-2009 Bestofmedia Group
Page generated in 0.490 seconds
Please mind

You are about to answer a thread that has been inactive for more than 6 months.
If you still wish to proceed, please ensure that your posting is original and does not duplicate or overlap any prior responses to this thread.

Add a reply Cancel
Sponsored links
  • Ask the community now
  • Publish
Ad
Related Topics
See all relatives topics
They won a badge
Join us in greeting them