FINAL BUILD Critique and Advice needed. A monster of a PC, for $1200+

Desertfoxx41

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Aug 27, 2008
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Hey, Ive posted a few times, and you all have been very helpful with redirecting me to new products and such, so after consideration (and lack of sleep, stayed up till 2 am reading reviews) I give you my final PC build!


PC Case- Cooler Master HAF 932
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119160

Motherboard- ASUS P5Q Pro
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131299

Power Supply- Corsair 750TX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006

Processor- Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.4 (For overclocking)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115018

Memory (RAM) - OCZ Reaper HPC DDR2 800 4G (2G x2)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227267

Graphics Card- HIS HD4870 Turbo Ed.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161248

Harddrive- WesterDigital 640G
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136218

CD/DVD Drive- Samsung combo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151171

Operating System- Windows Vista 64-bit
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116488

Fan and Heatsink- Freezer 7 Pro
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186134

Extra fans to replace the ones in the Case-
AeroCool XtremeTurbine
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835129245

Thermaltake
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811999122
 

Desertfoxx41

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I hear alot of people putting out figures that the Duo is a better way to go than the quad, and that's bull. For the price, the Q6600 is the best way to go period. It can handle OC easily to over 3.0. :) But yes, the E8400 will OC well. However, for the same price you can buy Quad....

Oh and thanks! This build has taken me 2 months to complete. :) I havent even ordered the parts yet!
 

zenmaster

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Feb 21, 2006
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Good Build and here are just some thoughts........

#1 - That build will really limit the 4870 on Xfire. So consider a lower PSU since that is more power than you need. (But that is a good deal you found.)

500watt Top Notch PSU for $65 Shipped. No Rebates.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703015

#2 - If Going for 64-Bit, Consider another 4gb for 8gb Total.

#3 - Consider a Non-CF Mobo and save a little money.
This is a good one with nice power to handle a highly OC'd Q6600.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131322

#4 - Consider a more powerful CPU Cooler with the money saved.
That is a good cooler, but depending on how hard you want to push the Q6600 a slightly better one could give you more headroom.

Again, I think your build is good as is.
But I thought I would just give you food for thought.

 
Solid build, the only things that i would consider changing would be to upgrade the motherboard to a X38/48 to get the full 16x/16x bandwidth since it looks like you're keeping the option open to crossfire the 4870.
http://www.legionhardware.com/document.php?id=761
You can see that crossfired 4850s take a small hit from the 8x/8x , not sure if the 4870s would take an even bigger hit.
The other change would be to go with the Mushkin 2x2GB DDR2 800 RAM at 1.8v the OCZ reaper has good timings also, but needs 2.1v to get them.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146731

still a solid build, just something to look into
 

helios2052

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I know I will probably be rated down for this but..... DEPENDING on the types of games you play, you COULD get a 9800gx2 for about $20 less that WOULD be much faster in a lot of games but might be slightly slower in some.

Just a suggestion. I got a 9800gx2 to replace my 4850 and it is night and day, and so i imagine it would still make a noticeable improvement over the 4870.

But a really great build! Good Job!!!
 

zenmaster

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Feb 21, 2006
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That is actually a Good Suggestion............
w/o Spending more money and upgrading the board to an X38/X48 for a future 4870CF that would work well.

I'm not really sure upgrading the board to X38/X48 is worth it since an 4870x2 would actually be faster.
I would keep the Mobo he had and get the fastest Single card that is in his price range.
That would be the 9800x2 in most cases. (Even faster than the 280GTX in many cases.)
 

Desertfoxx41

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I had the core contact freezer a while back on the list, but many suggested the one I have. lol Is it a preference thing or is it really better? I would not be OCing the CPU until 6 months after the build and I still would only get it to 2.8. What are your thoughts? Plus, I would like to keep the mobo I have now, so is Xfiring 2 4870s not a good idea? Or is the 9800gx2 a better option?
 

Desertfoxx41

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Im all for saving money. lol However, the PSU you linked, would it handle an SLI or Xfire config? I know if you SLI 2 280GTX cards, you must have at lesat 550W...
 
Actually, I'm pretty sure two 280GTX cards won't work with a 550W PSU. nVidia recommends 1000W for that. The recommendations are padded, but not that much.

Anyway, if you can afford a 4870X2 go for it. If not, upgrade the MB to P5E Deluxe and keep the 750TX, and then you'll be able to add a second HD 4870 later.

+1 for the Core Contact. I like the Xigmatek too but the price is too high when you add shipping for the cooler, the retention bracket, and shipping for the bracket.
 
^True.

http://www.frostytech.com/top5heatsinks.cfm#INTELHEATSINK
 

Desertfoxx41

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At the moment Im only planning on utilizing a one GPU config. Later down the road, I may CF or SLI, and from what I read, the P5Q is perectly fine for it. :)
 

Desertfoxx41

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Woot, thanks! Thats a huge difference and with the X58 coming out, the 48 may drop in price? 16x16 is waaay better than 8x8. Thanks!
 

spathotan

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Looks good. Nothing to nitpick about really. The AC7 cooler will do fine at 3.0ghz. If you never plan on going any higher then there is no reason to switch coolers.