Opinions/suggestions on my build...

[RoyalCask]

(Updated)

Alright, I am building this to handle all of my graphic design, and hard core gaming needs... Tell me what you think of this setup, and please feel free to give suggestions!

My build so far:

*XCLIO A380PLUS-BK Fully Black High Gloss Finish 1.0mm SECC/ ABS ATX Full Tower Computer Case

*CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply

*Intel X58 LGA 1366 Socket ATX Motherboard

*Intel i7 920 or 945 (Depends on 945's price) 8MB Socket LGA 1366 Nehalem CPU

*2 x EVGA 01G-P3-N891-RX GeForce 9800 GX2 1GB (512MB per GPU) 512-bit (256-bit per GPU) GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card

*2 x G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory

*LG Black 6X Blu-ray Disc Burner & HD DVD-ROM Drive SATA Model GGW-H20L

*Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

And everything else possibly needed is undecided at this point... So I am asking for help, and suggestions with things I over looked, or changes I should make (If any).

 

[slomo4sho]

Wait a week and go with the i7 cores since your already getting expensive DDR3 ram and paying $320 for a processor and $300 for the motherboard...

Go with a i7 920 with a X58 MOBO. It would end up being the same price point and performance should actually be better than the Q9550 setup.

 

[RoyalCask]

I hadn't even looked into those... I can get a X58 mobo for $225.00, and the i7 for $308.00 (Although, it is only 2.66GHz.. I would like to see what the i7 945 2.93GHz will be (It's 2.93GHz right?), I know the 3.20GHz i7 965 will be around $999.99...) That puts me at $525.00 for the Pro/Mobo setup, when I was going to pay $620.00 for the setup listed above! Thanks Slomo!

What do you think about the rest of the build with those things replaced?

 

[slomo4sho]

Actually the i7 920(2.67GHz) should only run around $284 and the i7 940(2.93GHz) at $562. You are right about the i7 965(3.2GHz), it will be $999.

Your actually better off getting a single 4870x2 with 2 gigs of ram or crossfire 2x 4870 1gig cards than going with two 9800 GX2

 

[RoyalCask]

The GX2's are only $200 a piece though? Aren't the 4870's pretty expensive?

Also how about this for the Mobo:

Asus P6T DELUXE Intel X58 + ICH10R Chipset Socket 1366 Supports both NVIDIA SLI and ATI Crossfire ATX Motherboard

 

[slomo4sho]

From what I have heard, the P6T is a good board.

A 4870 x2 will run you $500

Normal cost of a GX2 is $300(same as a 1 gig 4870). There is a re-certified EVGA model on Newegg for around $200 that you might be thinking of.

 

[RoyalCask]

Which will perform better, 2 GX2's, or 1 4870 x2?

 

[RoyalCask]

Oh, and also a good point I just thought of (If this is possible, haven't looked yet...), once you have 2 GX2's it's done... You can Crossfire 2 4870 x2's! So going with the 4870 x2 would be preparing for a near future upgrade that would out perform 2 GX2's... Correct?

But, for the price difference, 2GX2's $400.00 total, 2 4870 x2's $1,000.00 total.. Is it worth it?

 

[col-p-todd]

2 9800GX2 is a waist of money, your system will not perform any better. The only thing a second 9800GX2 is good for are bragging rights.

 

[col-p-todd]

the money you would save on getting a single 9800GX2 is better spend on a velociraptor.

 

[RoyalCask]

So which will perform better, 1 4870 x2, or 2 GX2's?

 

[slomo4sho]

Oh, and also a good point I just thought of (If this is possible, haven't looked yet...), once you have 2 GX2's it's done... You can Crossfire 2 4870 x2's! So going with the 4870 x2 would be preparing for a near future upgrade that would out perform 2 GX2's... Correct?

Yes, later on down the line you can always add a second 4870 x2 for added performance.

Here is a comparison between the 4870 and the 9800 GX2, keep in mind that this comparison is with the 512mb 4870 and not the 1 gig 4870:

http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/gaming-graphics-charts-q3-2008/compare,795.html?prod%5B2114%5D=on&prod%5B2063%5D=on