New to building please be brutal

joker41 · Nov 6, 2008

CPU: (Quad-Core)Intel® Core™ 2 Quad Q9550 @ 2.83GHz 1333FSB 12MB L2 Cache 64-bit

MOTHERBOARD: Asus P5N-D nForce 750i SLI Chipset LGA775 FSB1333 DDR2 Mainboard

MEMORY: (Req.DDR2 MainBoard)4GB (4x1GB) PC6400 DDR2/800 Dual Channel Memory (Mushkin Value Select)

VIDEO CARD: NVIDIA GeForce 9400 GT 512MB 16X PCI Express (Major Brand Powered by NVIDIA)

VIDEO CARD 2: NVIDIA GeForce 9400 GT 512MB 16X PCI Express (Major Brand Powered by NVIDIA)

HARD DRIVE: Extreme Performance (RAID-0) with 2 Identical Hard Drives (148GB (74GBx2) Gaming Western Digital Raptor 10, 000RPM SATA150 16MB Cache WD740ADFD)

Do I need this, my budget is 1,500. Im looking for speed and performance rather than data space.

Please leave comments, im interested in knowing what to upgrade or downgrade any replys are appreciated.

alvine · Nov 6, 2008

ok firstly you need bigger power supply.

get like 650wats.

secondary the extra vram on those graphic cards is just marketing thing, you will not see any difference unless you will be playing on 1080i.

get dual 8800gt/9800gt

i would go with single 300gb raptor witch is faster since it uses sata2 and has more cashe.

get a bigger case unless your seriously thinkg about putting all that hardware im some cramped cheezy cheap case

get 2x2gb ram, it will make your system easier to overclock and motherboard will need less power to power up two sticks taher than four

nuff said b

br00tal xP

antiacid · Nov 6, 2008

I agree with alvine.

2x2gig ram
1x 300gb raptor
vidcard: either 1x 4870 or 2x 4850. Don't go for 9xxx stuff, it isn't worth it.

I'd say you're better off going for a single 640gig WD drive and spending the money on video cards than getting a raptor. More performance that way.

one-shot · Nov 6, 2008

Check out some GPU reviews. The 9400GT's won't be doing much of any gaming. Since you are looking at getting a board with a Nvidia chipset I would recommend dual 8800GT's or 9800GT's. I would look for a 650W power supply but get a good brand. Cheap Power supplies can destroy your whole system. If you want a fast HD get the 300GB WD Velociraptor. Are you looking to overclock at all in the future? I would also look at getting a better motherboard. Is there any reason why you're leaning toward and Nvidia chipset, or do you just like Nvidia cards to SLI them?

alvine · Nov 6, 2008

I personally have ati 4850 and I couldn't be happier for performance/price ratio.

Its up to him if he wants to go with ati or nvidia, ati has the performance crown right now and if you would get p45 motherboard and dual 4850's your system would levitate two inches from your floor

Onus · Nov 6, 2008

I don't see the PSU listed. A quality 500W-600W one will be sufficient with the following suggestions:
Change to a P45 mobo. From what I've been reading, the nVidia chipset boards have stability problems. I'd choose Gigabyte, Asus, or Biostar.
A pair of 9400GT in SLI makes no sense; my miserable little 3850 would blow them away. For gaming, get a 4850, although your budget even has room in it for a 4870. Choose a dual-slot design that exhausts its heat from your case, from any manufacturer other than Diamond.
Get a 4GB (2x2GB) kit of RAM that will operate on the JEDEC standard 1.8V. I've used some by Mushkin and A-Data with good results.
RAID-0 is data loss and migration headaches with random-delay timers attached to them. If you want fast, I can tell you that a single 150GB Velociraptor is amazing. Maybe add a 640GB WD drive for general storage.
Throw in a nice case, optical drive, floppy or memory card reader (or both), and you'll be well under your $1500 budget.

aevm · Nov 6, 2008

"Please be brutal"??? All right...

CPU: (Quad-Core)Intel® Core™ 2 Quad Q9550 @ 2.83GHz 1333FSB 12MB L2 Cache 64-bit

Smart

MOTHERBOARD: Asus P5N-D nForce 750i SLI Chipset LGA775 FSB1333 DDR2 Mainboard

Dumb. Avoid SLI chipsets at all costs. Also, the P5N-D is one of the worst even for a SLI motherboard.

MEMORY: (Req.DDR2 MainBoard)4GB (4x1GB) PC6400 DDR2/800 Dual Channel Memory (Mushkin Value Select)

Almost smart. Mushkin does good stuff, and DDR/800 is perfect, but you want 2x2GB.

VIDEO CARD: NVIDIA GeForce 9400 GT 512MB 16X PCI Express (Major Brand Powered by NVIDIA)
VIDEO CARD 2: NVIDIA GeForce 9400 GT 512MB 16X PCI Express (Major Brand Powered by NVIDIA)

Whoa, no no no. Never do SLI or Crossfire with crappy cards.

HARD DRIVE: Extreme Performance (RAID-0) with 2 Identical Hard Drives (148GB (74GBx2) Gaming Western Digital Raptor 10, 000RPM SATA150 16MB Cache WD740ADFD)

No. Recent disks like WD6400AAKS or especially the Velociraptors are way better.

Please leave comments, im interested in knowing what to upgrade or downgrade any replys are appreciated.

Lousy grammar. OK, you asked me to be brutal, remember?

Onus · Nov 6, 2008

+1 @aevm's specifics. Add an optical drive too though; get a Retail package to get the software you'll need (including a decoder for movies). Fit it into the budget by dropping the size of the PSU, but the brand is excellent. Here's the 610W model: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703005 for $75 after MIR, but looks like there's a 15% discount code good until 11/14.

SpinachEater · Nov 6, 2008

DO NOT XFIRE with the P45 chipset. You will bump down to x8/x8 mode and screw yourself when using AA/AF. If you are sticking with one video card then P45 is all you need. For xfire use x48 chipsets.

If you want two cards, xfire two 4850s on an X48 board (much better than nV chipsets) Do a GA-X48-DS5 for $240. You can make up the cost by....

Dump the freaking raptor HDDs and just get some WD - Caviars @ $85 for F**** sake. Partition for your OS and get another one later if necessary.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319

Save money by dumping the raptors and put it into upgrading a component that will get you better performance. Who cares if you load a game 20% quicker? A raptor won't improve FPS but a better GPU setup will. (I am assuming you are gaming by saying you want an SLI setup)

erikstarcher · Nov 6, 2008

Whats wrong with the p5n-d???

I have been using one for 6 months now without an issue. I have dual 8800gt's and a e-7200 overclocked to 3ghz (I know thats not a lot). Haven't had a problem with it, and it plays just about everything at full settings on a 19" widescreen @1440x900. Plus, if you want to do sli, nvidia chipset is the only way to go.

I would recommend dumping the 2 9400's and go with one higher preforming card, that you can add to later if you need more preformance.

knotknut · Nov 6, 2008

Is this by any chance a pre-built unit? Some of the wording leads me to think it is. If that is in fact the case you can do much better by building it yourself with proper guidence.

You said, "Do I need this, my budget is 1,500." What exactly will you be using your computer for?

Avem gave you a real good recomendation for a gamming PC.

Zorg · Nov 6, 2008

Follow aevm and or Spinicheater. If you are willing to put up with the potential data loss of RAID then use the 6400AAKS, as said.

I would try to stick with the PC P&C 750, it's worth the extra cash.

Legless Ethiopian · Nov 6, 2008

+1 aevm

SpinachEater · Nov 6, 2008

OMG, that is a horrible name Legless

*Edit: Jeez, I was thrown off by legless, I forgot what I was going to say. oh yeah...RAID doesn't improve FPS either if I remember correctly. Might have been an old THG article that looked into it.

knotknut · Nov 6, 2008

aevm · Nov 6, 2008

Onus :

Oops, I forgot the burner, yeah. Here's one that gets good reviews,costs only $24, comes with Power DVD and Nero Express, and even has a SATA cable included. LG GH22NS30. Just FYI, LG has rip-lock so this drive is not great for ripping DVDs. Not that you'd do that, of course...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136152
There's also the SH-S223Q, but I'm not sure that comes with software.

The Silencer 610W is great, and $75 is as low as I've ever seen it. However, it has 2 PCI-E connectors with 6 pins, and the Sapphire HD 4870 X2 wants a 6-pin and an 8-pin. I believe you'd get the necessary adapter with the card, but I'm not sure. Also, a 750W PSU leaves more room for hard disks and TV tuners and what not. Plus I'm biased, because I have the 750W myself and it hasn't caused me any troubles so far in a year and a half

There's also a Corsair 650TX for $72 at www.buy.com. Designed by Seasonic just like the Silencer 610W, very similar, but it has the connectors for that card.
http://www.buy.com/prod/corsair-650...ply-corsair-tx-cmpsu/q/loc/101/206178324.html

Noya · Nov 6, 2008

Are you guys blind?

As another person stated, this is one of those pre built rips from IBuyPower or crap. No one else puts two low end cards on an SLi mobo.

theblade · Nov 6, 2008

First of all, if you are sticking with NVIDIA buy two 9800GT, or one and add other in the future, it's a waste to use 2 PCIE ports in two 9400 GT's when a single 8800GT or 9800GT would be so much better, also buy a motherboard with a higher FSB (1600MHz) so you will have room for overclocking, if you change your motherboard you could switch to ATI, the 4850 is a great bang for the buck.
Buy 2X2GB memory kit to use them in dual chanel mode.

one-shot · Nov 6, 2008

Ya, Ibuypower or Cyber Power from the looks of it. I don't like their pre-configured rigs. I talked him out of it and built him a PC way faster for less.

petevsdrm · Nov 7, 2008

+1 aevm

He has put together a superb machine for you there, if you follow his recommendations you will be very satisfied.

As a side note, if this is an iBuyPower machine or any pre-built machine for that matter, I would strongly suggest building your own. You will get a much more powerful computer for the same amount of money, and you will learn a valuable skill.

New to building please be brutal

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