My second build, need input

crypticd

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Dec 10, 2008
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*THANKS in advance for reading this*

Alright, this is my second time ever building my own computer, and the last one was five years ago with the help of two more knowledgeable friends, so I need some input. I'm only buying a new tower (monitor, sound system and keyboard/mouse are still fine) and I want to keep it close to $1000 (US). I'm looking for a future-proofed system, so that I can upgrade components if I need to and it won't be obsolete in a few years. I've done a lot of research, but I'm still not completely sure of myself. So here's my build concept thus far:

Case: Apevia Blue X-Cruiser ATX Midtower case
- I'm not particularly attached to it. From what I can tell, it's cheap, sturdy, has good airflow, and isn't hideous. That's pretty much all I want out of a case.

PSU: Ultra LSP650
- Again, not too attached. It's just cheap ($50) and should do the job.

Motherboard: Asus P5QC *NEED INPUT*
- I'm a bit wary of Asus because I've seen several of my friends have troubles with Asus. I personally like MSI, but I'm looking for a DDR3 mobo and the MSI P45D3 got some bad reviews. Any suggestions on a moderately priced, reliable DDR3 mobo would be appreciated.

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 *NEED INPUT*
- My biggest CPU question is quad-core or dual-core? I am pretty much set on this processor, because of reviews and price, but I've had a few people tell me to just go quad-core. The main purpose for this machine will be schoolwork, gaming, and sound-editing. No movie-editing or 3D film creation in the foreseeable future. Is the quad-core really worth the premium?

Memory: OCZ Dual Channel PC10600 DDR3 1333Mhz (1024GB X4)
- Best price I found.

Graphics Card: Radeon HD3870 or HD4870 *NEED INPUT*
- Now this is up in the air. The 3870 is at $95 post-rebate, whereas the 4870 is at $195. Is the 4870 definitely worth the price jump? Is there a better card out there for the money? I'm mainly looking at ATi because of good past experience and the crossfire capability of the mobo. Of course, if the mobo were SLI compatible, I wouldn't be against an nVidia, in which case I'm considering the XFX GeForce 9600 GSO ($80), or the XFX GeForce 9800 GT ($100).

Hard Drive: WD Caviar SE16 500GB
- Picked for price

LG GH22LS30 Multi DVD Writer
- Picked for price

OS: Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit
- I've been told they've fixed the kinks and this is much better than XP for gaming

Thanks again for reading and any input you can offer. It's greatly appreciated.
 

kjohnson1

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May 9, 2008
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Talking about your video card I own a 4870 and I had a 3870 till it died (I plan to stay with ATI until I find reason to buy a more pricey Nvidia). I can say that the 4870 out performs the 3870 by a BIG margin. In call of duty 4 you see more than a 50 frame increase ( http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/gaming-graphics-charts-q3-2008/Call-of-Duty-4-v1-6,745.html ). Also you can run 2 4870's in cross-fire and they become a devastating force. Even the cheaper 4850 out performs the 3870, so there isn't really any reason to get a 3870. Now talking about your CPU and MOBO, Intel just released their new line of quad-core CPU's. So the previous line of quad-cores should drop in price, but you may want to check out some benchmarks of the I7 CPU's (I hear they are pretty fast), but that will require you to get a socket LGA 1366 motherboard. Everything looks pretty good otherwise, hope my information helps and Happy Building!!

you can find more GPU benchmarks here: http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/gaming-graphics-charts-q3-2008/benchmarks,30.html
 
Most of your choices need to be rethought.

Let's start with DDR3. There is absolutely no reason to want DDR3 on ANY LGA 775 motherboard. There is no performance gain, or so little as to be useless.

If you buy a cheap PSU you will pay far more in the end, replacing parts and trying to figure out why your system is unstable. Ultra does make some good PSUs, but not that one.

I see no good airflow on the case. There may be a forward fan, but it's pretty much completely obstructed.
Tom's Hardware video card guide Dec 08

My guide to choosing parts.
My big list of parts.